Francis "Frank" Edward Butler

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Frank E. Butler (February 25, 1852 – November 21, 1926) was a marksman in Wild West variety shows. He was married to sharpshooter Annie Oakley.

Butler was born in county Longford, Ireland and moved to the United States about the age of 13. After a series of odd jobs, he developed a shooting act and toured with variety shows. After meeting at a shooting competition in Cincinnati, Butler and Oakley married on August 23, 1881. They developed their shooting act in 1882 when Oakley stood in for Butler's sick partner.

In 1884 the Butlers joined the Sells Brothers Circus, and in 1885 they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, leaving it in 1901. As Oakley became the star attraction, Butler became her manager, writing articles and press releases. Oakley said that "the financial part was always in her husband's hands."

Oakley returned to performing between 1911 and 1913 with Vernon Seaver's "Young Buffalo Show", with Butler again as her manager.

Butler also worked as a representative of the Union Metallic Cartridge Company and as a salesman for the Remington Arms Company.

After they retired, Butler and Oakley spent part of the year at Pinehurst, North Carolina, and Cambridge, Maryland.

There is disagreement over the dates of their first meeting and their marriage; they may have wed as early as 1876, but their only known marriage certificate is in Windsor, Canada, and is dated June 20, 1882. Various reasons have been given for the discrepancies, including the possibility that Frank was not yet legally divorced from his first wife when he and Annie wed. - See more at: http://www.historynet.com/annie-oakley#sthash.p7Nv51NT.dpuf

• Photo (lot 485) Frank Butler