How did little orphan Annie die?

Answer 1

A car accedent killed Annies mom and dad.

in the musical they died in a fire

The Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley is the original creator of Little Orphant Annie. Little Orphant Annie is really Little Orphant Allie. Her name was Mary Alice Smith. She was born September 25, 1850 in Union County, Indiana.

In truth - she wasn't an orphan in the real sense of the word. I am not quite sure what happened to her mother. However, when Mary Alice was four - either her parents separated (it was referred to as a "marital disunion") or her mother died. Mary Alice's father could not take care of a small child and sent her to live with his mother, Alice Smith in Hancock County, IN.

Her father did not die until much later. He remarried and Mary Alice had half siblings, but there is no evidence that she ever went to live with her father and his new family.

She came to live with the Riley Family in Nov/Dec 1861. She only stayed less than a year, and then went to work in a tavern as a maid. She married a local farmer and lived the rest of her life on the farm.

Mary Alice's father, Thomas Smith, died at the Veteran's Home in Lafayette on June 21, 1898.

Answer 2

She died March 7, 1924. Her real name was Mary Alice (Allie") Smith Gray. She is buried in the Philadelphia, Indiana Cemetery. She was the inspiration for the poem, Little Orphant Annie - by James Whitcomb Riley.