Martha Jane Cannary-Burke, better known as Calamity Jane, was a frontierswoman and professional scout best known for her claim of being a close friend of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans. Calamity Jane was born on May 1, 1852 as Martha Jane Cannary in Princeton, Missouri, within Mercer County. Her parents, Robert W. and Charlotte Cannary, were listed in the 1860 census as living about 7 miles (11 km) further northeast of Princeton in Ravanna. Martha Jane was the oldest of six children, having two brothers and three sisters. In 1865, Robert packed his family and moved by wagon train from Missouri to Virginia City, Montana. Charlotte died along the way in Black Foot, Montana in 1866 of "washtub pneumonia". After arriving in Virginia City in the spring of 1866, Robert took his six children on to Salt Lake City, Utah. They arrived in the summer, and Robert supposedly started farming on 40 acres of land. They were there only a year before he died in 1867. Martha Jane took over as head of the family, loaded up the wagon once more, and took her siblings to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory. They arrived in May of 1868. From there they traveled on the Union Pacific Railroad to Piedmont, Wyoming.(1)
This article is from the BISMARCK TRI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, BISMARCK - DAKOTA TERRITORY, AUGUST 17th 1877.
This came from a very large article detailing Deadwood including Seth Bullock the sheriff of Deadwood. She was 15 when her father died in Utah, this paper believed it was a Mormon camp. I don't believe the television show Deadwood ever made her out to be a prostitute, but in this article it seems that was one of her professions.
(1) Most of the materials were from Wikipedia on this posting. I usually try to shy away from using it but in this case I did not.
2 comments:
This blog is delightful! Wow:)
Calamity Jane's relationship with Wild Bill Hickok is explored in a new book, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane: Deadwood Legends by James D. McLaird.
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