Biography of Alexander A. Shoemaker

History of South Dakota vol 1 title page

Alexander A. Shoemaker, born June 18, 1849, in Keokuk, Iowa, was the son of Jesse and Henrietta Shoemaker. His family moved to Council Bluffs in 1849 during the California Gold Rush, and later to near Omaha, Nebraska, in 1857. In 1877, Alexander relocated to the Black Hills of Dakota Territory, engaging in freighting and surviving numerous Indian encounters. He later settled on a ranch near Rapid City, then moved to Hermosa, Custer County, and eventually to a ranch on the Bad River. A successful cattle and horse rancher, Shoemaker served as a government scout and deputy sheriff. He married Anna Lawson in 1874, and they had five children.

Martha Jane Cannary

Calamity Jane

My maiden name was Marthy Cannary. I was born in Princeton, Missouri, May 1st, 1852. Father and mother were natives of Ohio. I had two brothers and three sisters, I being the oldest of the children. As a child I always had a fondness for adventure and out-door exercise and especial fondness for horses which I began to ride at an early age and continued to do so until I became an expert rider being able to ride the most vicious and stubborn of horses, in fact the greater portion of my life in early times was spent in this … Read more