Buffalo Bill, 1846-1917

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1846-02-26
Death 1917-01-10
Americans,
English,

Biographical notes:

Buffalo Bill was employed as a scout by the United States 5th Cavalry, 1868-1872. In 1869 he participated in the Battle of Summit Springs, Colorado, in which the 5th Cavalry defeated Cheyenne Indians.

From the description of Letter : Saint Louis, Missouri, to Joseph Witherspoon Cook, Greenwood, South Dakota, 1896 May 23. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702162229

From the description of Letter : Saint Louis, Mo., to Joseph Witherspoon Cook, Greenwood, S.D., 1896 May 23. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79628294

American scout and showman. William Frederick Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, operated Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and other business ventures from 1883 on. The Campo Bonito Mine, Oracle, Ariz. was owned by the Cody-Dyer Arizona Mining and Milling Company. Partners were Cody and Col. J.E. Dyer; Ernest J. Ewing was the manager.

From the description of Papers, 1911-1932, (bulk 1912-1916). (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 31036859

American scout and showman. William Frederick Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, operated Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and other business enterprises from 1883 on.

From the description of Letters, 1912-1914. (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 31036847

From the guide to the Buffalo Bill letters, 1912-1914., (University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections)

U.S. government scout and guide, and Nebraska legislator, born William Frederick Cody.

From the description of Papers, 1916. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 39330843

William F. Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, won reknown as an Indian scout in the West, later became a showman from 1883-1916.

From the description of ALS, [no year] June 24 : Biddeford, Maine, to H.G. Finn. (Copley Press, J S Copley Library). WorldCat record id: 16849176

Scout and showman.

From the description of Letter of Bill Buffalo, undated. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79453775

William F. Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, was an Indian scout in the West, later a showman from 1883-1916.

From the description of ALS, 1895 October 13 : Columbia, S.C., to Sherman D. Canfield, Sheridan, Wyoming. (Copley Press, J S Copley Library). WorldCat record id: 16849122

Born in Scott County, Iowa; raised in Kansas; worked as cattle driver, Pony Express rider, stagecoach driver, scout, and buffalo hunter. Ned Buntline, a dime novelist, wrote more than 200 novels featuring heroic "Buffalo Bill;" in 1872, a play was produced in New York about his life. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, managed by Nate Salsbury, toured the United States and Europe for three decades. Cody died in Denver, Colorado, and is buried atop Lookout Mountain.

From the description of William Frederick Cody / Buffalo Bill papers, 1870-1992. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 13280294

William F. Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill. American frontiersman, scout for the U.S. Army, and showman largely responsible for romanticizing the American West.

From the description of Papers, 1910-1929. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122535955

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a scout for the Fifth U.S. Cavalry, an Indian fighter, a meat supplier for railroad construction crews, a frontier entrepreneur, and a showman. He operated a touring wild west show from 1883 to 1913.

George Washington Thornton Beck was a Wyoming sheep rancher, oil land developer and the last president of the Council of the Territory of Wyoming before it became a state in 1890. He homesteaded at the present site of Sheridan, Wyoming and was active in development of various business enterprises in Sheridan, Buffalo, Beckton, and Cody, Wyoming.

The Shoshone Irrigation Company was founded in 1895 and incorporated in 1896 for the purpose of building an irrigation canal to supply water to arid land around present day Cody, Wyoming. Cody was president and Beck was manager and secretary of the company. The town of Cody was established near the canal route in 1896.

From the description of Letters to George T. Beck, 1895-1910. (University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center). WorldCat record id: 32379275

Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody), United States army scout, buffalo hunter, and entertainer. Organized his first Wild West exhibition in 1883. The show combined with Pawnee Bill's Great Far East in 1909. Cody invested earnings from the show into silver mines, ranches, and real estate in the West. Faced with financial uncertainty when the show went bankrupt in 1913, Cody continued performing in the United States and Europe with other touring groups, including the Sells-Floto Circus in 1912 and the Miller Brothers and Arlington 101 Ranch Real Wild West Tour. Cody died in Denver, Colorado in January 1917.

Clarene W. Rowley, Boston lawyer for entertainers and celebrities including William F. Cody. Rowley invested in several mining and oil ventures with Cody, including the High Jinks Gold Mining Company.

From the description of Buffalo Bill letters to Clarence W. Rowley, 1911-1916. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702179337

William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody participated in the westward expansion of the United States and helped shape the world's romantic image of the American frontier.

Born February 26, 1846 in LeClair, Iowa, he moved with his family to Kansas and later rode for the Pony Express (1860-1861). He served briefly in the American Civil War and was given the nickname "Buffalo Bill" when he supplied buffalo meat for workers on the Kansas Pacific Railroad in 1867-1868. As chief of scouts for the Fifth U.S. Cavalry he participated in several Indian fights between 1868 and 1872.

In 1869 his career took a new turn when he became the subject of a dime novel; he subsequently appeared in theatrical melodramas, touring successfully for 11 years. In 1883 he organized a Wild West show that staged Indian fights, roundups, stage robberies, and buffalo hunts and introduced such stars as Buck Taylor and Annie Oakley to the public. Cody maintained several business interests one of which was the Shoshone Irrigation Company, which began in 1895, in partnership with George Washington Thornton Beck. His Wild West Show toured Europe and the United States until 1913, after which Cody retired to the West until his death on Jan. 10, 1917.

George Washington Thornton Beck was a Wyoming sheep rancher, oil land developer and last president of the Council of the Territory of Wyoming before it became a State in 1890.

Born near Lexington, Kentucky he studied civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1877, at age 21, Beck moved West and prospected in Colorado for several years. He then settled on a homestead on the present site of Sheridan, Wyoming. He acquired large herds of sheep and at the same time was engaged as a mining engineer. Beck established and operated the first flour mill in Wyoming at the town of Beckton, which he had established. He also built an electric light plant, water works, and flour mill in Buffalo, Wyoming, and an electric light and power plant in Cody, Wyoming. In addition to his other business interests he was manager of the Shoshone Irrigation Company, of which William F. Cody was president.

The Shoshone Irrigation Company was founded in 1895 for the purpose of bringing water into the arid region surrounding what is now the site of Cody, Wyoming. During the course of the project the town of Cody was established in 1896. The Bureau of Reclamation eventually took over the project to establish a dam on the Shoshone River.

From the guide to the Buffalo Bill Letters to George T. Beck, 1895-1910, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)

Links to collections

Comparison

This is only a preview comparison of Constellations. It will only exist until this window is closed.

  • Added or updated
  • Deleted or outdated

Information

Permalink:
SNAC ID:

Subjects:

  • Bridles
  • Cattle
  • Cheyenne Indians
  • Commerce
  • Courts
  • Cowboys
  • Cowboys
  • Entertainers
  • Frontier and pioneer life
  • Indian captivities
  • Irrigation canals and flumes
  • Irrigation canals and flumes
  • Mines and mineral resources
  • Speculation
  • Summit Springs, Battle of, Colo., 1869
  • Water resources development
  • Water resources development
  • Wild west shows
  • Wild west shows

Occupations:

  • Entertainers
  • Entertainers
  • Lawyers
  • Scouts

Places:

  • West (U.S.) (as recorded)
  • Cody (Wyo.) (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Wyoming (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Park County (Wyo.) (as recorded)
  • Cody (Wyo.) (as recorded)
  • West (U.S.) (as recorded)
  • Colorado (as recorded)
  • West (U.S.) (as recorded)
  • Wyoming--Park County (as recorded)
  • West (U.S.) (as recorded)
  • Wyoming (as recorded)
  • Massachusetts--Boston (as recorded)
  • West (U.S.) (as recorded)
  • Colorado (as recorded)
  • Oracle (Ariz.) (as recorded)
  • Arizona--Pinal County (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Campo Bonito Mine (Oracle, Ariz.) (as recorded)
  • West (U.S.) (as recorded)
  • Park County (Wyo.) (as recorded)
  • Fort Sedgwick (Colo.) (as recorded)
  • Cody (Wyo.) (as recorded)
  • Fort Sedgwick (Colo.) (as recorded)
  • Wyoming (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)