Wild Bill's Impresario
THE OVERLOOK
By Tom Clavin
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Some big top aficionados will know that in January 1768 the first incarnation of the modern-day circus made its debut in London. There was a circular arena surrounded by tiers of seats and events included acrobatics and trick riding on horses and comedy acts. It was an instant success.
This anniversary of sorts reminded me of my fear of clowns, and once I got past that, I recalled Agnes Lake. She was a delightful surprise when I was writing my book Wild Bill. She was not just Hickok’s wife but one of the premier circus impresarios in the United States. Here is some background, with input from Phil Roberts and the Wyoming Almanac.
Agnes was born on August 24, 1826, in Alsace, Eastern France, to the Mersman family. Four years later, after her mother had died, the remainder of the family sailed to America, settling in Cincinnati. At the age of 16 Agnes met a professional clown performing at a circus near her home. They eloped and were married in Louisiana. Agnes and her husband, Bill Lake, toured with the circus for 13 years. She mastered the high-wire and tamed lions. After she toured Europe in 1862 with another circus, she returned to work in a circus organized by her husband.
Bill Lake was killed in Granby, Missouri, in 1869 by a man who had tried to sneak into the show without paying. Lake was shot while attempting to evict the man. Agnes took over management of the circus and it continued to tour America. The circus visited Abilene, Kansas, in 1871, and Agnes met the town marshal, William Butler Hickok, during the short stand in town. In 1873 her circus was performing in Rochester, New York. Coincidentally, Wild Bill was there, too, in a Wild West show headed by Buffalo Bill Cody. Once again, sparks flew. Agnes continued to operate the circus until her daughter, Emma, the only surviving child with Bill Lake, eloped with Gilbert Robinson, a member of the famous Robinson circus family. Soon after, Agnes sold her circus, giving her financial independence.
Since meeting in Abilene, Wild Bill and Agnes had written letters to each other that became increasingly affectionate, but it wasn’t until February 1876 that they saw each other again. Agnes, returning from a visit to San Francisco, stopped to visit friends in Cheyenne. Wild Bill was in town preparing to leave for the gold fields of the Black Hills. The result of the meeting was reported in The Cheyenne Daily Leader, March, 7, 1876: “Married: By the Rev W. F. Warren, March 5, 1876, at the residence of S. L. Moyer, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, Mrs. Agnes Lake Thatcher of Cincinnati, Ohio, to James Butler Hickok, Wild Bill, of this city.” Moyer operated a saloon in Cheyenne and he and Mrs. Moyer were witnesses to the ceremony.
The minister was not convinced that the marriage would go well. He wrote in the Marriage Record of the First Methodist Church of Cheyenne: “Don’t think he meant it.” Hickok gave his age as 46. In reality, he was 38 and his bride was 11 years his senior.
In its March 8 edition, the Cheyenne Daily Sun noted: “Wild Bill of western fame has conquered numerous Indians, outlaws, bears and buffaloes, but a charming widow has stolen the magic wand. The scepter has departed and he is as meek and gentle as a lamb. In other words, he has shuffled off the coil of bachelorhood.”
Following the wedding, the couple honeymooned in Cincinnati for two weeks so that Hickok could meet other members of the Mersman family. When he returned to Wyoming, Agnes stayed on to care for Emma who was about to deliver her first and only child, Daisy Robinson.
Back in Cheyenne, Hickok completed arrangements for his trip into the South Dakota gold fields. He did not leave until sometime in June. He wrote letters to Agnes from time to time and several still survive. In the last one, he wrote, “Pet, we will have a home yet then we will be so happy.” Wild Bill was not a good prognosticator. Two weeks after the letter was mailed, he was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall in a Deadwood saloon.
Agnes Hickok did not come to Deadwood until September 1877, when she arranged for a fence to be erected around Wild Bill’s grave. On her return she stopped in Cheyenne and married the man who had escorted her to South Dakota, George Carson. The marriage certificate listed Carson’s age as 29. Agnes was no longer 42 as she was listed the previous year on the Hickok marriage certificate – the new document listed her as 38, when in reality she was 51. The marriage lasted less than a year.
Agnes spent most of her retirement years in Cincinnati, then moved to New Jersey to be with her daughter and her family. She died there at age 80 in 1907. She was buried in Cincinnati next to her first husband, Bill Lake. Wild Bill Hickok was not left completely alone – upon her death in 1903, Calamity Jane was buried next to him in the Deadwood cemetery.
Tom Clavin is the bestselling author/co-author of 25 books, including The Last Outlaws, which was published in December, and (with Bob Drury) Throne of Grace, which will be published by St. Martin’s Press in May. Please go to your local bookstore or to Bookshop.org, Amazon.com, BN.com, or tomclavin.com to purchase a copy.