ANNIE OAKLEY American Heroine

How the female sharpshooter rose from poverty to become an icon of the Wild West

- Emily Staniforth

Upon hearing the name Annie Oakley, your mind might conjure up an image of a rough and ready American gunslinger: the woman who defied the norm and became the epitome of the Wild West. This image has accompanied the memory of Oakley since her death and is far more familiar to us  than the truth because, even in her own lifetime, she was elevated to such a legendary status that many people only remember her as the great sharpshooter of her time. But the reality of Oakley’s life is, in many ways, much more impressive than her public persona lets on.

EARLY LIFE

On 13 August 1860 in Darke County, Ohio, a young girl was born who would go on to astound the world with her talent. Phoebe Ann Moses was one of the nine children of Quakers Jacob and Susan Moses. The family lived in a log cabin on a farm that struggled to accommodate the ever-expanding family. Young Phoebe’s early life was surrounded by tragedy. Her sister, Catherine, who was born a year before her, had died as a baby and another younger brother was stillborn. When she was six, Phoebe’s father became stuck in a blizzard and contracted hypothermia. He was unable to work and was attended to by Phoebe and her sisters throughout the winter, but hypothermia became pneumonia and eventually Jacob died, leaving Susan to raise their seven children by herself. Shortly afterwards, Phoebe’s eldest sister, Mary Jane, also died after succumbing to tuberculosis.