Born 14 Feb 1860 in Bloomington, Illinois,United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Emma (Manning) Lillie — married 31 Aug 1886 in Philadelphia,United States

Died 3 Feb 1942 at age 81 in Pawnee, Oklahoma,United States

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Biography

Gordon William Lillie, was known as Pawnee Bill.He was an American showman his specialty was Wild West shows, he was known for his partnership with Buffalo Bill. They joined their two Wild West shows, the show became Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Pawnee Bill's Great Far East. In 1888 he became the leader of the Boomer Movement, a group who wanted to open Oklahoma's Unassigned Lands to white settlement .He led a group of four thousand in the Land Run of April 22, 1889.

Gordon William Lillie was born February 14, 1860,^[1]in Bloomington, Illinois. In 1870's the lillie family moved to Wellington, Kansas ,after his fathers mill burnt . Even at a young age Gordon Lillie had a great fascination of the West.

At age 19 Gordon Lillie moved to Indian Territory. He met Trapper Tom McClain and started working for the McClain outfit as a trapper, waiting tables, and working as a cowboy. He also worked as a teacher at the Pawnee agency and was appointed as interpreter and secretary to Major Edward Bowman, U.S. Indian agent. It was during this time he became known as Pawnee Bill.

In 1883 Buffalo Bill Cody ask Pawnee Bill, to help with the Pawnee troupe in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. This was Buffalo Bill's very first show. While travelling with the show in Philadelphia, Gordon met May Manning who was 15 years old. After knowing each other for 2 years ,they were married on August 31, 1886. May's family who were Quakers, encouraged Gordon Lillie to start his own Wild West show. In 1888, he began touring the country with Pawnee Bill's Wild West.May was the star of the show,billed as the Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West. The first season of Pawnee Bill's show was a financial failure.

Pawnee Bill became leader of the Boomer Movement, a group who wanted to open Oklahoma's Unassigned Lands to white settlement in 1888. ^[2]He led a group of four thousand in the Land Run of April 22, 1889. Pawnee Bill was now in the spot light because of involvement in the Boomer Movement,he thought it would be a good time to start another show. Which he called Pawnee Bill's Historical Wild West, Indian Museum and Encampment. This show would proved very popular and was a financial successful.

Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill Cody joined their shows in 1908 . The show became known as Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Pawnee Bill's Great Far East, a Wild West show that was like no other at that time. While Pawnee Bill had been on tour , May took over the running of the Pawnee Bill Ranch,the show closed in 1913 after 5 seasons.Pawnee Bill and May adopted a baby boy they called Billy in 1916. ^[3] When Billy was 9 years old he and a friend pretended to be hanging horse thieves, he accidentally hung himself while playing cowboy with his friend.

After his show was finished Pawnee Bill who had invested in banking, real estate, and oil. Now tried film making at his ranch.^[4] He also wanted to preserve the buffalo and rebuild their herds. By this time, the buffalo had almost disappeared. He established a herd on his ranch and lobbied Congress to pass legislation to protect the buffalo.

Pawnee Bill and May opened Pawnee Bill’s Old Town near this ranch in 1930. It burned to the ground in the 1940s and was never rebuilt. 1936 Pawnee Bill and May attended a local celebration in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While driving back to their ranch that night, they had a car accident. May died as a result of her injuries. Gordon William Lillie ^[5] died at his home on Blue Hawk Peak in Pawnee on February 3rd, just short of his 82nd birthday.

Maj. Gordon W. "Pawnee Bill" Lillie, frontiersman, wild west showman and last surviving leader of the Oklahoma boomers, is dead. The stocky, white-haired old veteran died last night at his buffalo ranch. He would have celebrated his 82nd birthday On Valentine's Day.He has been an invalid since 1936, when he was injured in an automobile accident near Cleveland, Oklahoma. His wife Lilly, was killed. Pawnee Bill was captain of the boomer movement, which had for its purpose the colonization of Oklahoma Territory. The boomers had become a menace to the peace of the communities along the border of Oklahoma territory and in 1888 Pawnee Bill was employed by the Wichita, Kansas, Chamber of Commerce to organize the scattered bands and lead them into the new country. Lillie, who took the job because the show business was in a slump, assembled about 4000 followers and moved to Caldwell Kansas, preparatory to an invasion of Oklahoma. The pressure of this group was credited with speeding through Congress a bill opening Oklahoma for settlement in 1889. Pawnee Bill was a colorful showman. Once, when playing to empty houses in Belgium, he saw that a balloon ascension was getting a big play. He got on it. The balloon broke away and for three days he and the balloonist sat in the basket and gestured at each other. Neither spoke the others language.

Sources

1. ↑ Family Search - Citing this Record "United States Census, 1870," index and images, FamilySearch , Gordon W Lillie in household of Newton W Lillie, Illinois, United States; citing p. 317, family 2384, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000545757.
2. ↑ Pure Cowboy - Pawnee Bill his involvement in the opening of the unassigned lands
3. ↑ NewsOk - A tale of tragedy for Pawnee Bill
4. ↑ Google Newspapers - The Ellensburgh Capital - Mar 28, 1903 - Vast Buffalo Trust Pawnee Bill's plans for saving the Bison
5. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVG-M3F6 : 13 December 2015), Gordon William Lillie, 1942; Burial, Pawnee, Pawnee, Oklahoma, United States of America, Highland Cemetery; citing record ID 18041015, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

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