William Frederick Cody

(1846-1917)

William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was born just west of the Mississippi River near LeClaire, Iowa on February 26, 1846. At the age of 12, he worked for a wagon train going to Fort Laramie; one year later he participated in the gold rush to Colorado; at age 15, he rode for the Pony Express. By the end of his life, Buffalo Bill had come to symbolize the American frontier itself.

Cody served as a scout for the Union's 7th Kansas Cavalry during the last years of the Civil War. On March 6, 1866, Will married Louisa Frederici (1843-1921) in St. Louis. They had four children: Arta Lucille (1866-1904), Kit Carson (1870-1876), Orra Maude (1872-1883) and Irma Louise (1883-1918). In 1867, Cody began hunting buffalo for Kansas Pacific work crews, earning his moniker "Buffalo Bill" and his reputation as an expert shot. The next year, Cody was employed by the U.S. Army as a civilian scout and guide for the Fifth Cavalry. His experience and skills as a plainsman made him an invaluable tracker and fighter. In 1872, Cody became one of only four civilian scouts to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars for valor in action.

General Phillip Sheridan saw in Cody a combination of charisma and frontier know-how - a natural public relations windfall for the Army of the West, which was in need of some good publicity. Under the protection of the Army, visiting dignitaries - such as the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia - took lavish hunting expeditions with Buffalo Bill as their guide and accompanied by General Sheridan and Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer. These excursions were full-scale media events, glamorizing both the military and Cody.

The pulp industry romanticized the exploits of the heroes and villains who roamed the plains, and Buffalo Bill was a central figure of these inflated truths. In 1872, Cody was persuaded by dime novel writer Ned Buntline to take to the stage, portraying himself. The show business bug hit, and led to the formation of Cody's own "combination" troupe in 1873. The group included James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok and Texas Jack Omohundro - being authentic Western characters they gave some credence to the melodrama.

During the height of the Plains Indians resistance to white settlement, Cody returned to the prairies in the summer to scout for the Fifth Army. On July 17, 1876, just three weeks after Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were defeated at Little Big Horn, Cody's regiment intercepted a band of Cheyenne warriors. When Buffalo Bill, in his stage clothing, killed and scalped a Cheyenne warrior named Yellow Hair (often mis-translated as "Yellow Hand"), he reportedly cried out "First scalp for Custer!" Buffalo Bill the frontiersman had proven that Buffalo Bill the character was no mere actor.

In 1883, Cody created what would become Buffalo Bill's Wild West, a vehicle that propelled him to fortune and worldwide fame. The Wild West would run - in one form or another- for 30 years, charming crowds throughout the United States and Europe. In Europe, Cody was called "Nature's Nobleman" because he was someone who had grown up on the frontier yet represented all of those best aspects of civilization.

Despite his characterization as a figure from the past, Buffalo Bill always looked to the future. As a businessman, he invested in projects that he hoped might bring economic growth to the West. With his earnings he invested in an Arizona mine, hotels in Sheridan and Cody, Wyoming, stock breeding, ranching, coal and oil development, film making, town building, tourism, and publishing. In 1899, he established his own newspaper, the Cody Enterprise, which is still the main source of information for the town of Cody today. Taking advantage of his celebrity status, Cody was an early advocate of women's suffrage and the just treatment of American Indians.

By the turn of the 20th century, William F. Cody was probably the most famous American in the world. No one symbolized the West for Americans and Europeans better than Buffalo Bill. He was consulted on Western matters by every American president from Ulysses S. Grant to Woodrow Wilson. He counted among his friends such artists and writers as Frederic Remington and Mark Twain. He was honored by royalty, praised by military leaders, and feted by business tycoons. Cody was America's ideal man: a courtly, chivalrous, self-made fellow who could shoot a gun and charm a crowd. Yet as Annie Oakley put it - he was the simplest of men, as comfortable with cowboys as with kings.

GENEALOGY

Those interested in exploring their genealogical ties to William Frederick Cody may contact:

International Cody Family Association
8010 Parkford Place NW,
Massillon, OH 44646
or email Lee Norwood

Questions about family ties or genealogy may also be directed to:

Aldus Cody
3610 Northgate Dr. #T2
Kissimmee, FL 34746
or call 407/870.9891

RESOURCES

Life of Buffalo Bill

Dates in U.S. and World History

Events to Remember

Chronology of William F. Cody

Buffalo Bill Bibliography

IMAGES

1. Tintype photograph with head and shoulders of William F. Cody in dress clothing, ca. 1865, age 19.
2. Arta, William F., Louisa & Orra Cody, ca. 1880. Black & white photograph.
3. "Wild Bill" Hickok, "Texas Jack" Omohundro, "Buffalo Bill" Cody, ca. 1874. Cabinet photograph.
4. Sepia toned photograph of members of Wild West troupe taken in Italy, ca. 1889/1890. Handwritten: "Banks Mediterranean Ocean. 1889" Handwritten (front row): No Neck, Rocky Bear, Black Heart, Georgie [Duffy], [Wm. F.] Cody, Bessie [Farrell], [Annie] Oakley, Red Shirt. Others in back row: Buck Taylor (fifth from right), Johnny Baker (fourth from right), Carter Couturier (?), advertising agent (second from right), Has No Horses (?) (far right) P.69.799.
5. Original cabinet photograph. “Col. W.F. Cody, (Buffalo Bill,) & His Old War Horse ‘Charlie’.” Taken on the England Wild West tour, 1886. Vincent Mercaldo Collection. P.71.34.1.
6. Photograph. William F. Cody, ca. 1886. Photograph by Max Platz Portraits Chicago. 88 N. Clark St., Chicago. Handwritten on reverse: W.F. Cody/Buffalo Bill and Max Platz was a close/friend of my grandfather Henry F. Akin/H.A.T. Gift of Mrs. James H. Thompson. P.69.2075.
7. Handcolored photograph of Red Cloud, Wm. F. Cody and American Horse taken at Madison Square Garden, April 1897. Copyright By D. F. Barry. P.69.866.
8. The Irma, " Buffalo Bill's Hotel in the Rockies." F.S. Hiscock, photographer, Cody, Wyoming, 1908. Vincent Mercaldo Collection. P.71.556.
9. Col. W.F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, ca. 1900. Hand colored by artist Adolf Spohr, 1958. Gift of Richard I. Frost. P.69.1483.
10. Black and white photograph of Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull, 1885. Photo by Wm. Notman & Son, Montreal. Copied c. 1900 by D.F. Barry. Gift of D.F. Barry. P.69.2125.