About
America's "Bearded Lady" who toured with showman PT Barnum as a circus attraction in the late 1800s up until her death from tuberculosis in 1902. She died at the young age of 37.
Before Fame
After first being horrified at their baby daughter having the facial hair of a full-grown man, her parents realized they could profit off their daughter's condition. They took her to New York City at nine months old. There, P.T. Barnum booked her into his "Greatest Show on Earth" by billing her as the "baby Esau," a reference to the famously hairy brother of Jacob in the Old Testament.
Trivia
Her condition was probably due to hirsutism or hypertrichosis. As an adult, she became the country's top "bearded lady" and acted as a spokesperson for Barnum's "Freaks," a word she tried to abolish from the business. Civil War photographer Mathew Brady took her portrait in 1865.
Family Life
She was born in Virginia, reputedly with hair already covering her chin. She married Richard Elliot in 1881 but divorced him in 1895 for her childhood sweetheart William Donovan, who died, leaving Jones a widow.
Associated With
Some of the other members of Barnum's show included the four-legged Myrtle Corbin, little person General Tom Thumb, and the dwarf dancers, the Warren Sisters, Minnie, and Lavinia Warren.
