Agency through Otherness: Portraits of Performers in Circus Route Books, 1875-1925 Main Menu Introduction Introduction to the book and information about ways to navigate the content. The American Experiment: Circus in Context Circus performers and American history timeline Routing the Circus: The Things They Carried Circus Routes Map, 1875-1925 Ethnological Congresses and the Spectacle by Rebecca Fitzsimmons Outsiders in Demand: Chinese and Japanese Immigrant Performers by Angela Yon and Mariah Wahl Shattering Gender Roles: Women in the Circus by Elizabeth Harman Side Show Sounds: Black Bandleaders Respond to Exoticism Annexed Circus Musicians by Elizabeth C. Hartman Native Performance and Identity in The Wild West Show by Mariah Wahl Showmen's Rests: The Final Curtain Circus Cemetery Plots by Elizabeth C. Hartman List of Performers Performers covered in this exhibit Bibliography & Further Readings Bibliography and readings for each chapter Acknowledgements Creative Commons License

Ella Ewing

38294 Bearded Women
A large woman who was not excluded from the newspapers when the circus was coming to town was Ella Ewing, the Missouri Giantess. Much of Ella’s life is publicly known, having been shared by her family, the circus, and herself. Born in Missouri, Ella grew at an average rate until the age of seven where she grew exponentially throughout the rest of her life. She did not enjoy being the constant center of attention anytime she ventured outside of her town, but when asked to be exhibited by fairs and eventually the circus, she took the job. 9 Ella knew that she was going to live a life being stared at no matter what, so she took matters into her own hands and made what she could of it. 

She was featured in news articles talking about life in and out of the circus and how she had grown accustomed to the stares and enjoyed traveling with the show rather than without because of the amenities she was given. 
 

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