The child who was turned into a circus freak: Who is Ella Harper?

Ella, known as the "camel girl", was very popular during her time and had an appearance that amazed those who saw it. This nickname, while emphasizing her difference from other people, was also humiliating in a way.

The life story of Ella, who was condemned to live this way throughout her life due to an orthopedic disorder called "Recurvatum", is quite interesting.

Ella Harper (January 5, 1870 – December 19, 1921), known professionally as The Camel Girl, was born with an extremely rare orthopedic condition that caused her knees to bend backwards, called congenital genu recurvatum. Her preference to walk on all fours resulted in her nickname "Camel Girl".

Recurvatum is a disorder that causes a person's knees to bend backward a certain amount while walking on their feet, although they should remain straight.

This unusual disease is so rare that it is unknown and is called "behind-the-knee deformity" in modern medicine.

Due to this disease, Ella Harper had to walk on all fours throughout her life, and this caused her to be called "camel girl".

Her father, William Harper, was a farmer and her mother, Minerva Ann Childress, was a housewife, and Ella had 4 more siblings. None of her siblings had such a disorder. While Ella's twin brothers died a month after they were born, Ella clung to life despite her disability and even earned her own living for part of her life.

Ella Harper was born on January 5, 1870, in Tennessee. She was born with a rare condition known as congenital genu recuvatum, with her knees bent backward and forcing her to walk on all fours instead of two.

At the age of 12, Ella started working in a small-scale circus called "freak show".

The little girl, whose fame increased as her performances increased, appeared on stage accompanied by a camel and fascinated the audience. She managed to appear in various newspapers during the period and found herself on the circus stages in New Orleans. It was claimed that Ella earned $200 per week from these shows.

The following sentences were written on the back of the cards prepared and distributed to customers who would watch the show:

“They call me camel girl because my knees turn backward. As you can see in the picture, I can walk best on my hands and feet. "I've traveled a lot in show business over the last four years, and I'm now considering leaving show business in 1886, going to school, and pursuing another career."

She was described in the newspapers as "the greatest freak of nature since the creation of the world."

In addition to being given the nickname "camel girl" due to her orthopedic disorder, she appeared on the circus stage with a real camel, and the audience was tried to be impressed with this resemblance.

Most newspaper ads referred to her as “half-camel.”

By the end of May 1886, some newspapers had written various unflattering articles claiming that Ella was a fraud. It was also mentioned that Ella was "nothing but a pleasant-faced young woman with her knees turned backward rather than forwards." Maybe these scribbles were the sentences that caused the little girl to move away from the circus.

Misfortunes and pain followed Ella, who returned home after graduating from school.

Ella, who married a teacher and accountant named Robert Savely when she was 35, lost her first child when she was only 6 months old. The couple then adopted a girl named Jewel Savely and were shaken by her death within three months.

Ella Harper, who had a unique body and a striking life story, passed away due to colon cancer on December 19, 1921, at the age of 51.