Annie Oakley

Phoebe Ann Oakley Moses was born in Darke County, Ohio in 1860 to Quakers Susan and Jacob Moses. Her family already had a somewhat turbulent past, with her father a veteran of the War of 1812 and her family having to move to Ohio from Pennsylvania due to a fire burning down the family business, a tavern.
Jacob Moses died in 1866 from pneumonia, but not before giving his wife six other children. Annie was the fifth in line and had to deal with her father's death at a young age, as well as her mother remarrying and having another child before losing that husband as well.
Due to financial circumstances the young Annie was placed with a local family for a time where she was abused both physically and mentally, reconciling with her family when her mother married a third time. Multiple marriages were not unheard of at this time, when a single mother had very little chance of survival or being able to care for her children.
The young Annie started hunting at the tender age of nine to try and put food on the table for her family, resulting in her becoming quite the expert shot. Her skills brought attention from the public and she began to compete in local shows. At the age of 16 she went to Cincinnati and defeated Frank Butler, a noted marksman who was working with a visiting sideshow. But in the end it was Butler who won, wooing the young Annie and marrying her the same year; adding her to his travelling sideshow. At this point she took on the stage name "Annie Oakley".
At that time travelling sideshows were big entertainment, giving the people a skewed view of the old west with wild displays and exaggerations of how life was in the old west not only for women but for natives and those seeking their fortunes.
The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show was just one example and Butler joined the show in 1885 with his expert shot wife. Annie was advertised as "Little Miss Sure Shot", supposedly a nickname bestowed on her by the famous Native American Sitting Bull.
Her fame became widespread thanks to her expert shooting skills and the showmanship of Buffalo Bill, allowing her to pull off such stunts as shooting the ashes off a cigar held by no other than Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany!
Annie Oakley's skills were known around the world, giving her fame and fortune far beyond what a simple girl from Ohio could have ever expected. When she finally passed away on November 3, 1926 she was one of the most famous women of her time, stepping outside of the barriers that restricted women in society. Indeed, the famous musical "Annie Get Your Gun" is loosely based on her experiences! Even after all these years "Miss Little Sure Shot" can still motivate and encourage young girls to look beyond society's boundaries and go further.