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From: Dan Hogan <>
Subject: Re: [Irish-American] William F. CODY (1846-1917) - Rugged Frontiersman/Showman "Buffalo Bill" -- (BURKE)
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 19:25:48 -0700
In-Reply-To: <00cb01c3606a$a16ed120$a5403fce@hppav>
Another Irish connection to William CODY is his wife, Louisa FREDERICI
who was from St. Louis, MO. I am supposedly remotely related to her on
my WALSH side of my family, also of St. Louis, but have not found a
concrete connection yet. I have researched her pedigree and although it
is sketchy, I did find some McDONALDs.
Dan Hogan
On Monday, August 11, 2003, at 05:42 PM, Jean Rice wrote:
> SNIPPET: The legend and career of rugged frontiersman William Frederick
> CODY began on 25 Nov 1869, when the "New York Weekly" published the
> first
> installment of a new series, "Buffalo Bill, King of the Border Men."
> Author
> Ned BUNTLINE had gone west in search of an authentic hero and found him
> the
> person of Cody, a 24-year-old Irish-American (roots in Co.
> Tipperary?). It
> was the beginning of an American legend and a career that would span
> more
> than 30 years.
>
> CODY was born in Scott Co., IA, on Feb. 18. 1846. When he was eight the
> family moved to KS. After his father died, he left school and tried his
> hand a a fur trapper, gold prospector, and a Pony Express rider on a
> route in 1860. During the Civil war Cody joined a "Jayhawk"
> (antislavery)
> organization and later served as a Union scout. After the war his
> ventures
> included the operation of a KS hotel. When that venture failed he
> started a
> freighting business but Indians captured his wagon and horses. After
> speculating in land and doing railroad construction work, he became a
> buffalo hunter supplying meat to the Kansas Pacific RR workmen; his
> amazing
> skill with the rifle (he killed over 4,000 buffalo) earned him the
> nickname
> "Buffalo Bill." Subsequent service with the Fifth Cavalry as a civilian
> scout brought him to many violent encounters with Sioux and Cheyenne
> warriors, including one in which he shot and killed the Cheyenne chief
> Tall
> Bull. From 1868 to 1872, Cody served as a civilian scout military
> forces
> fighting Indians. Between campaigns he served as a guide for several
> parties of buffalo hunters. Cody was awarded the Congressional Medal of
> honor for gallantry with a fight with Indians on the Platte River in
> 1872.
> (Congress revoked the award in 1917 because Cody was not a member of the
> military at the time the award was made).
>
> In 1872, William CODY began his long career as a showman. He appeared
> first
> in "Wild West" shows in theaters He took the leading role in a play,
> "Scouts of the Prairies, " which co-starred "Texas Jack" OMOHUNDRO, and
> later, James Butler ("Wild Bill") HICKOK. Cody also made several
> trips
> back to the plains during this time to scout and to raise cattle. In
> 1876,
> he took part in a skirmish with Cheyenne Indians in which he was said to
> have killed and scalped a young chief, Yellow Hand.
>
> Ned BUNTLINE's original stories created a national mania over Buffalo
> Bill"
> and made CODY a celebrity. Dozens of writers would eventually churn
> out
> more than 3,000 "Buffalo Bill" dime novels. Cody's "The Wild West,"
> combined theater, circus, and rodeo for audiences starved for the
> legends
> and lore of the fast-disappearing West and had debuted in Omaha, NE in
> May
> 1883. It proved a huge hit and Cody took it on the road and town after
> town brought out capacity crowds. It grew more elaborate every year,
> eventually comprising 400 horses and 650 cowboys, Indians, musicians and
> support staff. They thrilled audiences with huge re-enactments of
> cattle
> drives and clashes between Indians and cowboy. Over time Cody added big
> name stars like sharp-shooter Annie OAKLEY, and Sitting Bull.
>
> Cody, himself, attributed much of his success to the work of his PR
> man and
> fellow Irish-American, John M. BURKE. At the height of his career,
> Cody was
> an international media superstar, earning an estimated one million
> dollars a
> year from ticket sales and endorsements for products such as Winchester
> rifles and Stetson hats. Unfortunately, Cody blew every penny on high
> living and poor investments and dire financial straits forced him to
> keep
> performing long after his own shooting skills and popularity had faded
> until
> shortly before his death. After 1894, Cody lived on a ranch in the
> Bighorn
> Basin in northwest WY. He died in Colorado in 1917 at the age of 72.
> His
> grave is located on Lookout Mtn, near the town of Golden, CO.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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