Much of the information about the early years of Calamity Jane's life comes from the autobiographical booklet which she dictated in 1896, written for publicity purposes.
She was about to begin a tour in which she appeared in dime museums around the United States, and it was intended to help attract audiences.
Some of the information in the pamphlet is exaggerated or even completely inaccurate.

Calamity Jane was born on May 1, 1852, as Martha Jane Canary (or Cannary) in Princeton, within Mercer County, Missouri.
Her parents were listed in the 1860 census as living about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Princeton in Ravanna.
Her father Robert Wilson Cannary had a gambling problem, and little is known about her mother Charlotte M. Cannary.
Jane was the eldest of six children, and had two brothers and three sisters.

In 1865, Robert and his family moved by wagon train from Missouri to Virginia City, Montana.
In 1866, Charlotte died of pneumonia along the way, in Blackfoot, Montana.
After arriving in Virginia City in the spring of 1866, Robert took his six children on to Salt Lake City, Utah.
They arrived in the summer, and Robert supposedly started farming on 40 acres (16 ha) of land.
The family had been in Salt Lake City for only a year when he died in 1867.
At age 14, Martha Jane took charge of her five younger siblings, loaded up their wagon once more, and took the family to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory, where they arrived in May 1868.
From there, they traveled on the Union Pacific Railroad to Piedmont, Wyoming.

In Piedmont, Jane took whatever jobs she could find to provide for her large family.
She worked as a dishwasher, cook, waitress, dance hall girl, nurse, and ox team driver.
Finally, in 1874, she claimed she found work as a scout at Fort Russell.
During that time, she also began her on-and-off employment as a prostitute at the Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch.
She moved on to a rougher, mostly outdoor and adventurous life on the Great Plains.
Much of the information about the early years of Calamity Jane's life comes from the autobiographical booklet which she dictated in 1896, written for publicity purposes. She was about to begin a tour in which she appeared in dime museums around the United States, and it was intended to help attract audiences. Some of the information in the pamphlet is exaggerated or even completely inaccurate.
Calamity Jane was born on May 1, 1852, as Martha Jane Canary (or Cannary) in Princeton, within Mercer County, Missouri. Her parents were listed in the 1860 census as living about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Princeton in Ravanna. Her father Robert Wilson Cannary had a gambling problem, and little is known about her mother Charlotte M. Cannary. Jane was the eldest of six children, and had two brothers and three sisters. 
In 1865, Robert and his family moved by wagon train from Missouri to Virginia City, Montana. In 1866, Charlotte died of pneumonia along the way, in Blackfoot, Montana. After arriving in Virginia City in the spring of 1866, Robert took his six children on to Salt Lake City, Utah. They arrived in the summer, and Robert supposedly started farming on 40 acres (16 ha) of land. The family had been in Salt Lake City for only a year when he died in 1867. At age 14, Martha Jane took charge of her five younger siblings, loaded up their wagon once more, and took the family to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory, where they arrived in May 1868. From there, they traveled on the Union Pacific Railroad to Piedmont, Wyoming.
In Piedmont, Jane took whatever jobs she could find to provide for her large family. She worked as a dishwasher, cook, waitress, dance hall girl, nurse, and ox team driver. Finally, in 1874, she claimed she found work as a scout at Fort Russell. During that time, she also began her on-and-off employment as a prostitute at the Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch. She moved on to a rougher, mostly outdoor and adventurous life on the Great Plains.
Calamity Jane