May Lillie

Deceased Person

1869 – 1936

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Who was May Lillie?

Mary E. "May" Manning was an American sharpshooter & equestrian.

Mary Manning was born on March 12, 1869 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents were William R. and Mary Manning. May had two sisters, Elmira and Elizabeth Manning and a younger brother, William B. Manning. May also had three half brothers, Samuel, Edward and Albert Eager. Mary Manning married Gordon William Lillie in 1886 at her parent's home in Philadelphia.

Gordon Lillie's wedding gift to his bride was a pony and a Marlin .22 target rifle. A natural shot, May traveled the country as the “Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West.” Lillie starred his petite wife in his Wild West shows as a sharpshooter and expert “lady” rider. She was one of the first women to perform as an equestrian and shooter in American Wild West Shows. While on tour in 1907, May gave a speech to women in Chicago, she said: “Let any normally healthy woman who is ordinarily strong screw up her courage and tackle a bucking bronco, and she will find the most fascinating pastime in the field of feminine athletic endeavor. There is nothing to compare, to increase the joy of living, and once accomplished, she’ll have more real fun than any pink tea or theater party or ballroom ever yielded.”

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Born
Mar 12, 1869
Philadelphia
Spouses
Nationality
  • United States of America
Died
Sep 17, 1936

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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