On August 13, 1860, Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Moses) was born in a primitive log cabin near North Star, in Darke County, Ohio.


 The times during lil’ Phoebe Anne’s childhood in the Buckeye State have been described by one author as being “a time of scarcity, loss and immense adversity,” being that her beloved father died when she was five. A hardworking farmer, he succumbed to complications from exposure during a terrible surprise snow storm.


Out of necessity, Annie learned to hunt and shoot at a very early age (perhaps around eight years old); and, with her new found skills, she helped support her mother and siblings. She was so proficient with hunting, in fact, that there was usually a surplus of fresh meat. Therefore, her mother started selling her overflow of pheasant, quail, rabbit, squirrel, and other game to local markets.


Annie easily won her first shooting match at 15 years of age. The truth of the matter is that she was a dead-eye with a rifle or pistol from a very early age.


In 1885, Annie was invited to join Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World spectacular where she was eventually given a nickname, “Watanya Cicilla” (Little Sure Shot) by the great Sitting Bull (1831-1890), a Hunkpapa Lakota leader, who performed briefly with the traveling western show. The nickname stuck for the rest of Annie's life.


From the beginning, Annie was accepted by the crowds and considered one of the main attractions of the show, even out-shooting the legendary Buffalo Bill on many occasions.


During her time with Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley grew in fame and was world renowned during the post-feud years, and she was likely an admired celebrity in the eyes of McCoys and Hatfields, and most other Appalachians during the era.


This image, a 1922 photograph, shows Annie at age 62 (still an incredible rifle shot and performer, mostly attending exhibitions and fundraisers by this period).

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