Women of Note; Annie Oakley
1860-1926. Nicknamed ‘Little Sure Shot’, Annie was a famed sharpshooter. She didn’t attend regular school, but spent her time learning to shoot in the woods near her home, being taught by her father. By the time she was 17, she was supporting her family by catching game and, at the same age, she met her future husband—Annie defeated Frank E. Butler in a shooting competition in Ohio.
For 17 years the pair of them traveled with The Buffalo Bill Show, and Annie quickly became one of America’s first female superstars, impressing everyone, including Queen Victoria of England, with her abilities. She is perhaps most well known for being able to slice a playing card in half with a single bullet but, as well as that, she could put a hole in a tossed coin and blow the ash out of a cigarette. Once, the Crown Prince of Germany asked her if she could shoot his cigarette from his mouth.
She retired in 1916 and became a teacher, instructing other young women on how to defend themselves. It was around 1922 that her health began to fail—she developed lead poisoning after all the ammunition she had handled, and lost her life in 1926. After her death, Frank stopped eating and died 18 days later. The couple are buried near to the house where Annie grew up.
