1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from dot Com. Hello, 2 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,239 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: tract Even Wilson and Tracy. I would like to start 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: this one personal question to you, which is what is 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: the longest your hair has ever been? Oh, it has 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: been pretty like midway down my back is the longest. 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: And that's about the longest that it will grow. It 8 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 1: was probably not quite that long. I was always very 9 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,480 Speaker 1: envious of my cousin Missy, who had this like beautiful, 10 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: beautiful long long hair when we were children. Um, I 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: learned much later that it was just a terror to 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: to manage. Yeah, I had very long hair when I 13 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: was quite young, and my dad really liked long hair 14 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: and little girls. My mom kept threatening to cut it, 15 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: and he kept saying don't, and she finally had had 16 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: it and said, fine, then you're responsible for taking care 17 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: of her hair. And to his credit, bluss his heart, 18 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: he did. My dad was the one that shampooed and 19 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: brushed and dealt with my hair. But then when I 20 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: got older, I went through a hippie phase, like in college, 21 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: and it grew very long about you know, but length. 22 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: But now I could never manage anything like that. However, 23 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: just genetically will not get that long. I shudder to 24 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 1: thinking how long mine would get. Although it's not terribly pretty, 25 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: Like long hair is not always pretty, you know what 26 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: I mean, Like it doesn't retain it's like resiliency and 27 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: it's luster. You have natural oxidation as it grows out, 28 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: so the ends tend to be more brittle. But the 29 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: people we were talking about today had crazy long hair. Uh. 30 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: We're talking about the Sutherland sisters. They were Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Dora, 31 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: and Mary Sutherland. And these ladies were all really capable musicians. 32 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: They all sang and played and played instruments. Uh, and 33 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: they had a stage act, but their fame was really 34 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: not about their music so much. That played a part, 35 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: but really it was all about their incredible hair. So 36 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about them today, and we will 37 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,959 Speaker 1: start with sort of their early life with their parents 38 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: and kind of how they became stage children. So they 39 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: were born in the years that spanned from eighteen forty 40 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: five and eighteen sixty five, and their parents were Mary 41 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: and Fletcher Sutherland. This family had a turkey farm in Cambria, 42 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: New York and while I mean, they got by, but 43 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,079 Speaker 1: they were definitely poor, and the girls really did a 44 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: lot of work on the farm, helping to take care 45 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: of the turkeys. Yeah, you'll hear various accounts of them 46 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: kind of like barefoot and really raggedy clothes, kind of 47 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: running around the turkeyyard trying to care for things and uh. 48 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 1: But they always had this incredible hair from a very 49 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: early age. And while that was almost definitely due at 50 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: least in some degree to genetics, their mother may have 51 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: told a different story about it, because she was a 52 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: big fan of ointment, uh, and she would treat the 53 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: girl's hair with the as ointment that she concocted that 54 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: apparently smelled awful because she believed that it was giving 55 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: them these long, strong, lustrous locks, like the kind of 56 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: stuff that you would normally hear in modern ad campaigns. 57 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: But she was doing it with this really stinky ointment. 58 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 1: The smell of this concoction was so bad that their 59 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: classmates were always teasing the girls and they would all 60 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: hide whenever somebody came to the house rather than you know, 61 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 1: stand around talking about how bad their mother's hair treatment smelled. 62 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: But they did all have very long, thick care Yeah, 63 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: so whether the ointment played a part or not, we 64 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: don't really know, but uh so, their father, Fletcher Sutherland, 65 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: was really not a farmer by trade. He had inherited 66 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: that Turkey farm property from his father, Colonel Andrew Sutherland, 67 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: who was a man of some renowned uh So. From 68 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: nine th to eight forty five, Fletcher worked as a 69 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and after that he 70 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: moved to politics. He kind of parlayed his ability to 71 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: speak in front of a crowd and eventually worked as 72 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: a speaker during President James Buchanan's eighteen fifty six campaign. 73 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: But even more than politics, what Fletcher really focused on 74 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: whence he left the ministry was the girls. He'd already 75 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: included them in church performances as singers from the time 76 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: they were really young, basically toddlers, but he had really 77 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: bigger dreams for them than singing during church services. Uh 78 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: Fletcher's wife, Mary actually died of dropsy in eighteen sixty seven, 79 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 1: and she was only forty three at the time. And 80 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,280 Speaker 1: at this point their youngest daughter, who was actually also 81 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: named Mary, was still very small accounts very but you'll 82 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: see Mary listed as either two or three years old, 83 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: so still a toddler at this point, and it's at 84 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 1: this point that Fletcher had all of his children. At 85 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: this point, they had the seven daughters and they also 86 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: had one son, Charles, who was born kind of in 87 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: the middle of all the girls really step up their 88 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: musical act. So he made the kids learn to play 89 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 1: instruments as well as sing, and he started taking them 90 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: on tours around the county, and so they would make 91 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: appearances in churches, they would be at small theaters, they 92 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: would sing at fairs. And Naomi, who was thirteen at 93 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: the time that this really started rolling and she was 94 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: fifth in birth order of the girls, was the most 95 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,799 Speaker 1: talented singer, and so she really garnered some pretty great 96 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: reviews as a standout of the family as they kind 97 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: of started to bolster their image. Over the course of 98 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: the years from eighteen sixty seven to eighteen eighty, the 99 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: touring territory of the family got bigger and bigger, and 100 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: the girls changed as well. Mary was no longer around 101 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: to douse their hair with really stinky ointment, but their 102 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: hair did continue to grow and their long locks became 103 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: the trademark of their act. During their performances, the young 104 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: women would unfurl their braids and reveal how long and 105 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: incredible their hair was, and eventually their hair really started 106 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: to eclipse their music when people talked about their show. 107 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: Charles actually stopped taking the stage with the sisters so 108 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: they can start appearing as the Seven Wonders. And I 109 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: found online and image of a handbill from this time 110 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: advertising the Sutherland's act, and it kind of cracked me 111 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: up and was wonderful, and it read matchless incomparable. Seven 112 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: Sutherland Sisters, seven wonders of the world, seven long haired sisters, 113 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 1: seven songsters, seven eccentric ladies, seven accomplished musicians, seven refined 114 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: and educated ladies, seven sisters all of one family. Seven 115 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: models of beauty and womanly grace. Seven ladies with forty 116 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: nine feet of hair, seven feet of hair each, seven 117 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: ladies with hair four inches thick. The Sutherland Sisters entertained 118 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: visitors with music afternoon and evening. The part of the 119 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: funniest handbill ever yet, the part about seven sisters all 120 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 1: of one family, really makes me laugh because like where 121 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: else would seven sisters be from? Like just borrowed from 122 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: other families where they had different sisters who weren't related 123 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: to each other. I don't know that's that's gonna come 124 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: up a little bit more in a minute. But the 125 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: thing that cracked me up the most is that they 126 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: say seven eccentric ladies and then two lines later seven 127 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: refined and educated ladies. Uh, it's just it's very they 128 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: wanted to catch all anything that might attract the crowd 129 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: got included in that one hand bill. Yeah. So despite 130 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: the fact that forty nine feet of hair was not 131 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: entirely accurate, I mean that would mean all seven of 132 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,239 Speaker 1: them had hair that was seven ft long. The Seven 133 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: Wonders really took off, and in December of eighteen eighty 134 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: the Sibling Troop made its debut on Broadway. The following year, 135 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: Fletcher took his family on the road to travel through 136 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: more of the United States, and he took numerous stops 137 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: in the South, including the International Cotton Exposition in Atlanta. Yeah, 138 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: that's almost always when you read any of the accounts 139 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: about the girls, they talk about that stop like it 140 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: was a really important thing. And I am embarrassed to 141 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: admit I don't know about the International Cotton Expo very much. 142 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: Just kind of shameful since I live in Atlanta. But 143 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: it always sounds like it was. This was a big engagement. Uh. 144 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: And so Tracy had just mentioned that they didn't all 145 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: have seven feet of hair each, So we're going to 146 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: talk about that. While the ladies all had massive amounts 147 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: of hair, they were not really all equals in the 148 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: hair game anymore than they were equally gifted musically. We 149 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: said earlier that Naomi was really the standout singer. So 150 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: the shortest hair belonged to Sarah, who was the oldest girl. 151 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: Her hair was only and I have to use the 152 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: air quotes there a yard long, so it was a 153 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: little less than a meter. On the other end of 154 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: the spectrum was her sister Victoria, who was second oldest, 155 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: and she had the longest hair, which was seven ft 156 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 1: in length, which is about two point one meters, and 157 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: that's from root to tip. But added up amongst all 158 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:49,840 Speaker 1: of them, it is believed that they had closer to 159 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: thirty seven feet for eleven point three ms of hair, 160 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: rather than forty nine, which would have been fourteen point 161 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: nine ms. So they all had there was three to 162 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: four was the shortest, seven the longest, feat and then 163 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: everyone else kind of fell in the middle at varying links, 164 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,599 Speaker 1: kind of averaging around five to six. So all this 165 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 1: hair obviously was very recognizable, and the sisters could not 166 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 1: go out in public without just being mobbed, and some 167 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: of their admirers even went so far as to try 168 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: to sneak and sniffle lock of their hair away. Holly 169 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: couldn't find any definitive accounts of whether any of them 170 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: were successful in doing this, though, No, there were certainly 171 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: accounts of like people having offered some of them what 172 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: were at the time huge sums of money to cut 173 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 1: off all their hair so that they could have it. 174 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: I think at one point, UH someone offered Victorias to 175 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: cut her hair and she turned it down. But all 176 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: of this admiration and excitement that they were getting and 177 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: generating started to attract a completely different sort of attention, 178 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: and that was the eyes of agents uh, people that 179 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,319 Speaker 1: promoted vaudeville and put together acts for vaudeville as well 180 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 1: as circus entrepreneurs. And so the Seven Wonders actually became 181 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: an act for the W. W. Cole's Colossal Shows in 182 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty two, which they did for a little while, 183 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: but then by eighteen eighty four they had actually moved 184 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: away from that company into Barnam and Bailey's Greatest Show 185 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: on Earth and their act with Barnum and Bailey. The ladies, 186 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: who at this point ranged in ages from eighteen to 187 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: thirty six, were all white, and they performed a series 188 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: of songs before they let their hair down and this 189 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: grand finale that would draw gasps from the crowd. And 190 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: what's really interesting is that, you know, they were billed 191 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 1: as a sideshow act. They were uh, you know what. 192 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: Normally you'll even see them sometimes listed in lists of 193 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: like famous freaks, but their performances were really perceived as 194 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: being much more refined than most other circus acts. The 195 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: ladies themselves were refined, at least publicly. They would tell 196 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: tasteful stories, they would sing church music, and people who 197 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: normally viewed the circus as an entertainment for the lower 198 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: class started to be drawn to attendance by these lovely 199 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: Sutherland women's. They were very successful. And we're going to 200 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about each of them after 201 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: a brief word from a sponsor. So getting back to 202 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: the ladies, we'll talk a little bit about each one individually. Uh. 203 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,679 Speaker 1: Sarah being the eldest, she kind of naturally fell into 204 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: the role of being the leader of the group, and 205 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 1: she was a soprano. She was also a really strong 206 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,559 Speaker 1: piano player, and she used her natural musicality to teach 207 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: for a little while before the act became a full 208 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: time endeavor. And she was also known for always carrying 209 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: her Bible with her Victoria saying mezzo soprano parts, and 210 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: she's generally described as the magpie of the sisters. She 211 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: was the most obsessed with their clothing, and she was 212 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: a big fan of having expensive baubles to wear. Yeah, 213 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: because she had the longest hair, she was kind of 214 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: she kind of elevated to a certain revered status, so 215 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 1: people kind of indulge her in her love of clothes 216 00:11:56,679 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: and jewelry. Isabella, the third sister, was a ten and 217 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: she's actually interesting Tracy had mentioned earlier, like, of course 218 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:06,760 Speaker 1: they are all of the same family, but there have 219 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: always been rumors that she wasn't actually maryan Fletcher's daughter, 220 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: because she really did not resemble the rest of the 221 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: family aside from the fact that she had long hair, 222 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: and there's been some speculation that she was a cousin 223 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: or even adopted from outside the family. There isn't solid 224 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: substantiation for those theories. There is some kind of hints, 225 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,680 Speaker 1: like I was looking through a census record and it 226 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: lists her place of birth is slightly different from the 227 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: other girls, but it's like in the next county, so 228 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: it's possible that she uh, you know, it was just 229 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: a records thing. A lot of people have theorized that 230 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: she was actually the daughter of Fletcher's sister, but we 231 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:51,080 Speaker 1: don't know for certain. Grace was an alto and maybe 232 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: the most talkative of the group. She's the one who 233 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: took on the role of negotiator, both in business and 234 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: in family arguments. She also had auburn hair, which set 235 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: her apart from her sisters, who all had brown or 236 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: black hair. The next sister, Naomi, is always described as 237 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 1: just really good humor uh and as we mentioned earlier, 238 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: she had the most praised voice of the group, with 239 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 1: a rich base. She's sort of always labeled as like 240 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 1: the sweetheart. Uh. Dora was another Alto and is routinely 241 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: described as the most beautiful of all of them. She 242 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: was also really personable, and she used her wit and 243 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: her charm to great advantage. Her brains would also lead 244 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: her to being a strong businesswoman. As the family fortunes 245 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: got bigger thanks to all their musical stuff. Yeah, and 246 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 1: then uh, Mary the Youngest was also an alta like Dora. 247 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: She was not, however, particularly gifted musically, and she was 248 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: apparently a little bit difficult to deal with. She was 249 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: prone to tantrums. Uh. It's believed she actually had some 250 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: sort of mental illness, although the specific nature of it 251 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: is not really clear. Allegedly, there were some doc there's 252 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,199 Speaker 1: that theorized that her long hair actually contributed to her 253 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,320 Speaker 1: mental health issues in some way, either by just adding 254 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: pressure to her head or causing her to hold her 255 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 1: head oddly. It's not really, it's always one of those 256 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: doctors think this. There's really no scientific basis for any 257 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: of these rumors, but it's well, there were also some 258 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: preachers that thought that her hair was somehow causing problems. 259 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:30,480 Speaker 1: It's a little fuzzy. It's one of those things. You'll 260 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 1: always read it as like the throwaway line in any 261 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: description of Mary, like Mary had some mental problems. We're 262 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: not sure what, but some doctors think her hair was 263 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: too heavy for her head. And it's like that. I've 264 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: never once seen any sort of medical literature. Uh, but 265 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: with substantiate that kind of claim, uh, we were in 266 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: the earliest days of evidence based medicine at this point. Precisely, Hey, Dracy, 267 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: do you want to pause at this moment and have 268 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 1: a quick word from one of our sponsors. So when 269 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: it came to the Sutherland Girls, the whole group and 270 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,320 Speaker 1: all of that hair was really greater than the sum 271 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: of its parts. And while fans would often fixate on 272 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: their favorite sister, it was the seven of them together 273 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: as an act that really drew in all the crowds. 274 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,920 Speaker 1: So while all of this refined entertainment that the seven 275 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: girls were performing was going on, their father Fletcher was 276 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: hatching an entirely other money making scheme behind the scenes. 277 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,160 Speaker 1: As early as eighteen eighty two, he was investigating the 278 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: possibility of developing a branded hair tonic that would capitalize 279 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: on the popularity of his daughters in their hair. He 280 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: concocted this tonic, which was allegedly based on his wife 281 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: Mary's formula, which he sent to a chemist for analysis 282 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: and endorsement, and the review that he got was quite good. 283 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: And here's a quote, Cincinnati, Ohio, March four, having made 284 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: a chemical analysis of the hair grower prepared by the 285 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: seven long haired sisters, I hereby startifive that I found 286 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: free from all injurious substances. It is beyond question the 287 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: best preparation for the hair ever made, and I cheerfully 288 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: endorse it. J R. Duff, m D. Chemist. And this review, 289 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 1: to me is actually sort of hilarious because later on, 290 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 1: according to an entry in the drug periodical The Pharmaceutical Era, 291 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: which was published in so almost ten years after this 292 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: was going on, uh, they had had another group try 293 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: to replicate this formula, and they determined that to do so, 294 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: you just needed seven ounces of bay rum, nine ounces 295 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: of distilled water of witch hazel, a drop of salt, 296 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 1: a drop of five solution of hydrochloric acid, and magnesia 297 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 1: as needed. So nothing especially magical was going on here. 298 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 1: I look at that list and I go, all right, 299 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: that seems like it might be great if your hair 300 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: was really oily, But for everyone else, right, that's gonna 301 00:16:55,520 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: that's stripper. Okay, cosmetics history so weird. As all this 302 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: was happening, the girl's father was having some difficulty getting 303 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: this new venture off the ground, at least until Harry 304 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 1: Bailey from the Barnum and Bailey Circus family offered his 305 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: help with the business. While the chemist was reviewing the 306 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: tonic that Fletcher had sent over, Harry, who was dating 307 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: Naomi Sutherland at that point, started the Sutherland Sisters Corporation, 308 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: and he applied for a trademark for seven Sutherland Sisters 309 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,920 Speaker 1: hair Grower. And so once the proper paperwork was filed 310 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: and the chemist had endorsed this product, the hair grower 311 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 1: really started selling. And Harry was very good at kind 312 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: of pr and pushing this product, and so the Sutherland 313 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,359 Speaker 1: Sisters Corporation sold about ninety thou dollars worth of product 314 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 1: in their first year. So as eighteen eighty four came 315 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,400 Speaker 1: to a close, they were starting to make a lot 316 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: of money from this venture. The following year, in eighteen 317 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,560 Speaker 1: eighty five, Naomi married her suitor and business associate, Harry Bailey, 318 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,439 Speaker 1: so they also called this product hair Fertilizer, and just 319 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: a few years into the successful hair fertilizer business venture, 320 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: Fletcher Sutherland died. This was on September six, and his 321 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: obituary in the New York Times read, Fletcher Sutherland, the 322 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: father of the Seven Sutherland Sisters, died at his country 323 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: home near Lockport, New York, yesterday of paralysis. He was 324 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 1: seventy three years of age. He was a prominent Methodist 325 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: minister at one time, but he left the pulpit as 326 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: soon as his daughters took to the stage. And it's 327 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: interesting because in some biographies that you look at or 328 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: accounts of this, Fletcher is often characterized as kind of 329 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: a skunk like they talk about how he is perfectly 330 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: willing to exploit his children for money and how you know, 331 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: he was this very pushy stage father. Um. So if 332 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:51,359 Speaker 1: that were the case, you might think that once he 333 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: had died, the ladies might have pulled back from their 334 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,879 Speaker 1: life in the spotlight or these multiple ten drills of 335 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: businesses that were starting to happen. But in fact that 336 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 1: was not the case at all. With Fletchers passing, the 337 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: Sutherland Sisters inherited part of the company he had with 338 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:10,920 Speaker 1: Harry Bailey, and the cosmetics low and afterward expanded considerably. 339 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: They added a scalp cleanser as well as a Sutherland 340 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: Sisters branded comb. Hair color was also offered in eight 341 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: different shades. But they also branched out of offering just 342 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: hair products and started selling face scream as well. Yeah, 343 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,919 Speaker 1: they offered some other skin and facial products. They just 344 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: kind of became bigger and bigger and bigger, and the 345 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: Sutherland Sisters brand really employed an incredibly effective strategy to 346 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: market all these products, so trading on the lady's image 347 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:42,919 Speaker 1: that they had kind of established at this point of 348 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: being refined and elegant. These products were priced fairly high 349 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,439 Speaker 1: for the time, so things would range from between fifty 350 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: cents to a dollar fifty. That was substantial in the 351 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: late eighteen hundreds in early nineteen hundreds, and what this 352 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,199 Speaker 1: meant was that their target audience was theoretically wealthy ladies, 353 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: but price point was just at that level where, uh, 354 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: this made the cosmetics line incredibly desirable for less wealthy women, 355 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:09,879 Speaker 1: so they would spend probably more than they really should 356 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: have in terms of budgets so that they could also 357 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: have these products. And so in short, this approach worked 358 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,640 Speaker 1: like a charm. It turned out that the women had 359 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: incredible business sense. They came up with brilliant taglines for 360 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: their products, and they spent their time away from performing 361 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,680 Speaker 1: bolstering their merchandise business by modeling their products. Because business 362 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:33,360 Speaker 1: was really booming, the company was also expanding into new 363 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,439 Speaker 1: territories and they opened offices all over the United States 364 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 1: and in Canada and Cuba, and at the company's peak, 365 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: they had a sales force of more than twenty eight 366 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: thousand dealers, so this is a huge company. At this point, 367 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: the sisters were making millions from their products, and this 368 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 1: was one of the most successful cosmetics companies in North America. 369 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:58,640 Speaker 1: So they continued to expand outside of just offering hair 370 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,360 Speaker 1: and facial goods. They then started selling Sutherland Sisters memorabilia 371 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: to create an entirely new revenue stream. So one of 372 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 1: the things that they had was like, uh, trading cards 373 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: that featured each of the sisters and you know these 374 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: cute little poses. And at one point Victoria did sell 375 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: a single strand of her hair for twenty five dollars 376 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: and a jeweler had bought it so that he could 377 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: hang a diamond from the end of it in his 378 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: shop window. At this point, they had a lot of money, 379 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: and so they decided to build a new home back 380 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: in Cambria, where they had lived as children. So they 381 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: built a really really massive mansion which housed the whole 382 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,640 Speaker 1: family as well as providing a home office for their 383 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 1: retail business. They spared no expense in the construction and 384 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: once everybody moved in, even the servants and the pets, 385 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: lived lives that a lot of other citizens in the 386 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: area really could hardly imagine. This shift in their new 387 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 1: mansion also marks a significant shift in the ladies lives 388 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: because they started to become progressively more and more eccentric. Yeah, 389 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 1: they had always kind of been labeled as eccentric, partially, 390 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: I imagine because they were just an unusual group, all 391 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: of these women with all of this hair, and but 392 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 1: they really started to kind of live that life of 393 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: wealthy captains of industry, like, completely full of over indulgences. 394 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 1: They would throw lavish events, these big parties for the 395 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 1: neighborhoods and surrounding community, which always ended with spectacular fireworks, 396 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 1: and the partying that they got into, according to the 397 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,640 Speaker 1: rumors that were swirling at the time, uh, only got 398 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 1: wilder when the guests actually went home. So gossips started 399 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,439 Speaker 1: to spread around Cambria and the Niagara Falls area that 400 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: the family was into very heavy drinking, even some drug use, 401 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:49,880 Speaker 1: even some partner swapping. Uh. And there was even witchcraft 402 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 1: mentioned about what might be going on at the mansion 403 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 1: with this eccentric family when no one else was there 404 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: but in the middle of all this extravagant celebration of 405 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: their wealth, there was tragedy. Naomi died suddenly, in which 406 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: really wasn't long after they had moved into the house. 407 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: This left Harry and her three children behind, and she 408 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: was only thirty nine years old at the time. The 409 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: show had to go on, though. The sisters were still 410 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,919 Speaker 1: working for the circus and they were making regular appearances, 411 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,920 Speaker 1: so they hired a replacement sister. After auditions were held. 412 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 1: The job went to a woman with nine feet which 413 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: is about two point seven meters of hair. Her name 414 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: was Anna Louise Roberts. Yeah, there are lots of really 415 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,480 Speaker 1: sort of disturbing stories about how the family dealt with death. 416 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:42,399 Speaker 1: Apparently they kept Naomi there in the house for quite 417 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: some time while they were allegedly going to build her mausoleum, 418 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: but something we're not entirely sure what went wrong with that, 419 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: and the mausoleum never got built, and eventually they had 420 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 1: to just bury her in an unmarked grave. It's a 421 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 1: little bit and we're gonna hear some more crazy how 422 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: they dealt with the passing of others. Uh. The next 423 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,359 Speaker 1: major event, however, in the Sutherland's life only added to 424 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: the rumors and speculations about them. Uh. It arrived in 425 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: the form of a young man named Frederick Castlemaine, and 426 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: he was from a wealthy family, and he was apparently 427 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:19,679 Speaker 1: Dora's suitor. But then somewhere along the line something happened 428 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: very quickly and shocked everyone, and he married her sister, Isabella. 429 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:29,560 Speaker 1: And this was scandalous for the obvious sudden romantic interest change. Again, 430 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: this kind of fueled those rumors of partner swapping that 431 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: had already been happening, but also because Isabella was more 432 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: than a decade older than her new husband. In terms 433 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: of odd behavior, Castlemaine really fit right in. He was 434 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,359 Speaker 1: a man given to extremes, and he had kind of 435 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 1: a drug problem. He liked to shoot his gun from 436 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: the front porch. And in addition to these foibles, he 437 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: also created more a tragedy for the ladies when he 438 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: committed suicide while he was traveling with them during one 439 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: of their tours. Yeah, I saw one mention that he 440 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,120 Speaker 1: had overdosed on opium, but I was not able to 441 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 1: get hard evidence on that. Uh, So that to me 442 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:08,679 Speaker 1: kind of opened a question mark of wait, was that 443 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,879 Speaker 1: a suicide or was that an accidental overdose. It's usually 444 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,679 Speaker 1: mentioned as a suicide, but we don't know for certain. 445 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: But just as with Naomi, instead of burying this young groom, 446 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: the sisters first put him in a glass enclosure in 447 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 1: the house so that they could see him and sing 448 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 1: to him every day. He had not been embalved at 449 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,640 Speaker 1: this point. Uh And this went on for a little 450 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,880 Speaker 1: less than two weeks before the authorities stepped in because 451 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,119 Speaker 1: the neighbors were complaining about the horrible odor that was 452 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 1: starting to come from the property. Uh. And Frederick was 453 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: finally laid to rest in a very pricey mausoleum that 454 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: they had built for him, which still stands today and 455 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: it houses not only Castlemain's remains, but also several of 456 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 1: the sisters as well. And all of the women seemed 457 00:25:56,359 --> 00:25:59,360 Speaker 1: really really heartbroken at the loss of Frederick, but especially 458 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: of course, is a Villa and she mourned him very 459 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:07,680 Speaker 1: deeply for two full years. Another upheaval and loss followed 460 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,479 Speaker 1: close behind the loss of Mr Castlemaine. Victoria finally got 461 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,880 Speaker 1: married in at the age of fifty and her new 462 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,199 Speaker 1: husband was only nineteen, so the marriage caused a huge 463 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,679 Speaker 1: rift between Victoria and the rest of the family. She 464 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: and her new groom were not welcome in the family home, 465 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: and she and her sisters were estranged right up until 466 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: her own death in nineteen o two. Yeah, so there, 467 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:33,919 Speaker 1: things are really starting to fall apart. At this point, 468 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: Isabella did remarry after her two years of mourning, again 469 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: to a much younger man that seems to be a 470 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:44,400 Speaker 1: theme with the ladies uh named Alonzo Swain, and at 471 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 1: this point she was forty six and he was thirty. 472 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: But this marriage did not seem to be an issue 473 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:50,640 Speaker 1: with the rest of her sisters and set off any 474 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 1: sort of arguments the way Victoria's did, like they've done. 475 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: When Naomi died, they found a replacement for Victoria. Her 476 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,240 Speaker 1: name was Anna Haney and she had six feet of hair. 477 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: She was hired so the Settlements can continue their appearances, 478 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: but at that point the days were numbered for the group. 479 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:09,960 Speaker 1: In nineteen o seven, they concluded their work with Barnamon 480 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: Bailey and Mary, who, as we mentioned earlier, has had 481 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: always had some mental illness that really isn't properly documented, 482 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,280 Speaker 1: grew much worse after Victoria's death than she was, allegedly 483 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,720 Speaker 1: making threats against her sisters at some point, at some 484 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,199 Speaker 1: points when she was particularly upset, and their way of 485 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:31,000 Speaker 1: handling this was to send her to her room and 486 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,160 Speaker 1: lock the door, so she was kind of just shut away. 487 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: Isabella died in nineteen fourteen. Uh, And then the eldest sister, Sarah, 488 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 1: died in nineteen nineteen. And unfortunately, there was also some 489 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,120 Speaker 1: social change happening that was kind of spelling the end 490 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 1: because by that time, the trend of ladies cutting their 491 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: hair in short Bob's was on an upswing, and that 492 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:54,840 Speaker 1: basically spelled doom for a hair care retail business aimed 493 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,520 Speaker 1: at keeping very long tresses tidy and strong. In an 494 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:02,640 Speaker 1: effort to come up with another money making opportunity, sisters Dora, 495 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 1: Mary and Grace traveled to California. They were hoping to 496 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,879 Speaker 1: sell their story to a motion picture studio and it 497 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: didn't work out. But to make matters worse, Dora died 498 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,400 Speaker 1: while they were traveling. She was killed in a car accident. Allegedly, 499 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,640 Speaker 1: her remains were never claimed because Grace and Mary were 500 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:24,360 Speaker 1: too short on funds to do it. Yeah. At this point, 501 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: you know, the money was running out. Uh. And the 502 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,880 Speaker 1: two remaining sisters who were unable to sustain anything even 503 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 1: vaguely resembling the lifestyle that they had known in their 504 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: heyday when they were spending money really willy nilly, because 505 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:39,959 Speaker 1: it seemed like it was there was never an end 506 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: to it. Uh, they had to abandon their mansion in 507 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: ninety one, and unfortunately it burned to the ground seven 508 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: years later on January twenty one night. And one of 509 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: the the real tragedies here is that it took most 510 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: of the family records with it. So when I say 511 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 1: a lot of things, there are things that aren't substained, cheated. 512 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: Probably there was some paperwork in that house that could 513 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 1: have helped illuminate things, but it is gone. And Mary 514 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: actually died the year after the house burned. She at 515 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: that point had been committed to an asylum, and Grace 516 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 1: lived until but she was completely destitute when she died 517 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: and was buried in a potter's field. So while the 518 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,680 Speaker 1: Subtle and sisters had had a really wild ride and 519 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: this really intense success for a while, in the end 520 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: it really kind of all fell apart and they were 521 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: just as poor, if not more so, than they had 522 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 1: been when they started on a turkey farm. Wow, So 523 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: I don't know if there's a good life lesson in there, 524 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: just not to laugh at tragedy, But you know, I don't. 525 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: It's one of those things we see it happen all 526 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: the time in in modern era, where performers become really 527 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: really popular and they make a lot of money, and 528 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 1: then you hear later that they're completely broken, they are 529 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: a mess and can't hould their lives together. And this 530 00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: is not a new thing. It turns out this is 531 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: already happening all the time. Do you also have some 532 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,760 Speaker 1: listener mail for us? I do. This is from our 533 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: listener Gina, and it is about our Artemisia Gentileski episode. 534 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: And I'm not reading the whole thing, but I wanted 535 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: to share some of her insights about Artemisia's work. She 536 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: majored in painting in our history and college and really 537 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 1: liked Gentelesky, so she has some good insights. And she says, 538 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 1: I really like the point you made about the culture 539 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 1: she was painting in and the time in which she lived. 540 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:28,760 Speaker 1: But there are a few things I think could be 541 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,400 Speaker 1: added in. First that Judith and Hallo Farnes itself was 542 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 1: a common subject matter among painters at the time. Second 543 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: that Artemisia is painting is rather more accurate in its 544 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: depiction of the physical aspects like blood spatter. While many 545 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:46,240 Speaker 1: artists of the time presented anatomically correct figures, they stylized 546 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: the more groupesome details. Her depiction is more like real 547 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 1: life than illustration or allegory. For me, this is where 548 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: her experiences played a role in her work. She lived 549 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:58,960 Speaker 1: through real things, and the women she painted weren't props 550 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: to tell a story. They were people with a history 551 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: in life all their own. This is what makes her 552 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: work so moving, this combination of great skill, great insight, 553 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,760 Speaker 1: and attention to detail. And then she talks a little 554 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: bit about Caravaggio. But then I also really liked her 555 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: her PostScript on this one, she says, I really enjoyed 556 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 1: the letter to Galileo. Speaking of that plot point in 557 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:23,320 Speaker 1: the Artemisia Gentileski episode, it inspired me to look at 558 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:25,720 Speaker 1: more about the scientific and political events at the time 559 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: and think about them in connection with painting. I'm kind 560 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 1: of blown away by how much was going on Galileo's 561 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: telescope observations, Kepler's law of planetary motion, early American colonies, 562 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 1: and even the Dutch East India Company. I really have 563 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 1: never thought about the broader context in which the Baroque 564 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,600 Speaker 1: artists lived, or even that Italy had just come out 565 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 1: of a war with a Reformation and was mostly controlled 566 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,200 Speaker 1: by Spain. So thanks for the happy hours of research. 567 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 1: I too love those moments of insight where you realize 568 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: how connected these huge world events are with things that 569 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: we're talking about and to each other. That kind of 570 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,520 Speaker 1: get I think compartmentalized a lot when we learn about 571 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,240 Speaker 1: history and talk about it, and some of that is 572 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 1: just kind of information management, like you can't always paint 573 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 1: the full full picture, but it's really nice when the 574 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: puzzle comes together. So that was our lovely letter from Gina, 575 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 1: Thank you for those insights. 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