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Will Rogers: Cherokee Kid
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Will Rogers was first an Indian, a cowboy then a national figure. He now is a legend. Born in 1879 on a large ranch in the Cherokee Nation near what later would become Oologah, Oklahoma, Will Rogers was taught by a freed slave how to use a lasso as a tool to work Texas Longhorn cattle on the family ranch. After the 10th grade, Will Rogers dropped out of school to become a cowboy in a cattle drive. He always regretted that he didn't finish school, but he made sure that he never stopped learning--reading, thinking and talking to smart people. His hard work paid off.
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Will Rogers was born on the Dog Iron Ranch in Indian Territory, near present-day Oologah, Oklahoma. The house in which he was born was built in 1875 and was known as the "White House on the Verdigris River."[2] His parents, Clement Vann Rogers (1839–1911) and Mary America Schrimsher (1838–1890), were each of Cherokee heritage. Rogers quipped that his ancestors didn't come over on the Mayflower but they "met the boat."[4] Clement Rogers was a distinguished figure in Indian Territory. A Cherokee senator and judge, he served as a delegate to the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention. Rogers County, Oklahoma is named in honor of Clement Rogers.[2] Mary Rogers was the daughter of a Cherokee chief. She died when Will was 11, and his father remarried less than two years after her death.[5]
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William Penn Adair Rogers (1879-1935) was born in Indian Territory, an area of land that later would become known as Oklahoma. Will began his entertainment career as the "Cherokee Kid" with his fancy rope tricks. He had an extended film career, staring in movies from 1918 to 1935. Will Rogers was ... a syndicated columnist and radio guest. He was also a promoter of aviation. His insightful observations of the human condition won him acclaim as the Cowboy Philosopher.
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In desperation, Will accepted a last minute replacement job at a vaudeville theater in Brooklyn. He arrived just as he was supposed to go onstage, without his horse – which was delayed in traffic. He decided quickly to drop the name "The Cherokee Kid" and used his real name. Will Rogers was very nervous on that appearance – his wife was in labor, his horse, an integral part of his act, was not there. He flubbed a rope trick and just incidentally started chatting with the audience in his normal, folksy, witty manner. He was a huge success.
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Will attended several schools during his childhood, including Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri from 1897 to 1898. He dropped out in the 10th grade to become a cowboy. In 1902 and 1903, Will traveled in South Africa with "Texas Jack's Wild West Show," in which he played "The Cherokee Kid" and did roping tricks. He ... traveled in Australia and New Zealand with the Wirth Brothers Circus. Back in the United States in 1904, Will appeared at the World's Fairs in St. Louis and New York City. Will extended his career in entertainment, touring vaudeville circuits in America, Canada and Europe from 1905-1915.
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William Penn Adair Rogers was born on November 4, 1879, in Indian Territory, near what is now Claremore, Oklahoma, and was raised on his father's ranch. In later years Rogers would proudly refer to his Indian and pioneer heritage. Preferring horses and ropes to books, he left school and went into ranching. Yearning to travel, he went to South America. Before he was 24, he had worked his way around the world as a cowhand and as a circus actor called "The Cherokee Kid."
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Cherokee Kid