*Please note- This site search does not include the Vic. & Tas. BMD's, Lots o' Links & Worth a Look Books
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(Computer generated image)
JOSEPH CAREY MERRICK
THE ELEPHANT MAN
1862-1890
Born Aug 5th 1862 in Leicester, England. Joseph was the oldest of 4 children born to Mary Jane Potterton
& Joseph Rockley Merrick. No photo of the parents has survived, but it's said that his Mother was crippled.
Joseph's younger brother John Thomas died at 3 months in 1864 when Joseph was almost 2 & already he had developed tumors on his face, which continued to worsen as he grew. He went to school like the other children, but was teased & taunted.
His Mother died in May 1873 of bronchial-pneumonia, when Joseph was just 11. His Father remarried, but Joseph's Step-Mother thought that he was an embarrassment & gave her new husband an ultimatum of "Him or Me?". Joseph developed hip disease as a boy as well & was forced to 'street-hawk', selling shoe-black in cold, cobbled uneven streets. Scores of children would followed him from street to street, laughing & calling out cruel names. Charles Barnabas Merrick (his Uncle) looked after him for awhile, but Joseph felt uncomfortable being dependent on his uncle & so went into the Workhouse in Leicester. It must have
broken Charles' heart to see him go there. His condition worsened as bulbous, cauliflower-like growths
grew on his head & body, his right hand & forearm became a useless club.
As a last resort he took a job as a side-show 'freak'. Tom Norman an entrepreneur, took Joseph under his wing, he treated Merrick with great care - after all, Joseph was his livelihood. Joseph's 3 page autobiography makes no mention of mistreatment. In fact, he became quite well off, amassing some £200, which was a lot of money in the late 1800's.
Surgeon Frederick Treves (later Sir) of Whitechapel Hospital (now Royal London), heard of Joseph & arranged a private viewing. Treves presented him before the London Pathological Society in Dec. 1884 & then sent him on his way. Joseph continued to earn a living the only way he knew how, as a freak. Freak Shows had become outlawed in the UK by this time, so he worked across the Channel in Belgium. During that time, an Austrian showman robbed him & left him destitute there.
Somehow making his way back to the Liverpool station distraught, he ended up crumpled on the floor in a heap, starving & breathless. The Police found Dr. Treves' business card in Joseph's pocket, so they took him to the Whitechapel Hospital & he was put directly into the isolation ward, not to alarm other patients. Some time later, plans were made to secure a final home & resting place for him there. Then, hospital policy was never to offer beds to 'incurables', but through Treves' work with Joseph, they had become quite well known & philanthropists and well-doers from all over Britain & Europe were writing to the Hospital, offering
assistance. Large amounts of money were offered to look after him, so enormous pressure was placed on the Hospital to give this 'Child of England' a permanent home.
The ground floor of the East Wing became Joseph's permanent home, where he spent the happiest & last days of his life, cared for by his friend Dr. Treves & the nurses. Joseph felt respected, loved & comfortable there. If ever there was a true example of human kindness, it was here.
Joseph died on April 11th 1890 at 27 yrs of age, suffocated by the weight of his huge, misshaped head. Plaster casts were taken of his body for scientific scrutiny & other samples preserved. Unfortunately they were destroyed during WWII.
A small private ceremony was held, where some of his body parts were buried in an unmarked grave (location unknown). A vertical glass case displays his skeleton at the Royal London Hospital.
Reference
Joseph Merrick's Autobiography
http://publicdomainreview.org/the-autobiography-of-joseph-carey-merrick-1884/
& Joseph Rockley Merrick. No photo of the parents has survived, but it's said that his Mother was crippled.
Joseph's younger brother John Thomas died at 3 months in 1864 when Joseph was almost 2 & already he had developed tumors on his face, which continued to worsen as he grew. He went to school like the other children, but was teased & taunted.
His Mother died in May 1873 of bronchial-pneumonia, when Joseph was just 11. His Father remarried, but Joseph's Step-Mother thought that he was an embarrassment & gave her new husband an ultimatum of "Him or Me?". Joseph developed hip disease as a boy as well & was forced to 'street-hawk', selling shoe-black in cold, cobbled uneven streets. Scores of children would followed him from street to street, laughing & calling out cruel names. Charles Barnabas Merrick (his Uncle) looked after him for awhile, but Joseph felt uncomfortable being dependent on his uncle & so went into the Workhouse in Leicester. It must have
broken Charles' heart to see him go there. His condition worsened as bulbous, cauliflower-like growths
grew on his head & body, his right hand & forearm became a useless club.
As a last resort he took a job as a side-show 'freak'. Tom Norman an entrepreneur, took Joseph under his wing, he treated Merrick with great care - after all, Joseph was his livelihood. Joseph's 3 page autobiography makes no mention of mistreatment. In fact, he became quite well off, amassing some £200, which was a lot of money in the late 1800's.
Surgeon Frederick Treves (later Sir) of Whitechapel Hospital (now Royal London), heard of Joseph & arranged a private viewing. Treves presented him before the London Pathological Society in Dec. 1884 & then sent him on his way. Joseph continued to earn a living the only way he knew how, as a freak. Freak Shows had become outlawed in the UK by this time, so he worked across the Channel in Belgium. During that time, an Austrian showman robbed him & left him destitute there.
Somehow making his way back to the Liverpool station distraught, he ended up crumpled on the floor in a heap, starving & breathless. The Police found Dr. Treves' business card in Joseph's pocket, so they took him to the Whitechapel Hospital & he was put directly into the isolation ward, not to alarm other patients. Some time later, plans were made to secure a final home & resting place for him there. Then, hospital policy was never to offer beds to 'incurables', but through Treves' work with Joseph, they had become quite well known & philanthropists and well-doers from all over Britain & Europe were writing to the Hospital, offering
assistance. Large amounts of money were offered to look after him, so enormous pressure was placed on the Hospital to give this 'Child of England' a permanent home.
The ground floor of the East Wing became Joseph's permanent home, where he spent the happiest & last days of his life, cared for by his friend Dr. Treves & the nurses. Joseph felt respected, loved & comfortable there. If ever there was a true example of human kindness, it was here.
Joseph died on April 11th 1890 at 27 yrs of age, suffocated by the weight of his huge, misshaped head. Plaster casts were taken of his body for scientific scrutiny & other samples preserved. Unfortunately they were destroyed during WWII.
A small private ceremony was held, where some of his body parts were buried in an unmarked grave (location unknown). A vertical glass case displays his skeleton at the Royal London Hospital.
Reference
Joseph Merrick's Autobiography
http://publicdomainreview.org/the-autobiography-of-joseph-carey-merrick-1884/
1. Roots
2. Leicester
3. Child Hawkers
4. Dr. Treves
5. Proteus Syndrome
6. The Elephant Man
7. Freak Shows
8. P.T. Barnum
2. Leicester
3. Child Hawkers
4. Dr. Treves
5. Proteus Syndrome
6. The Elephant Man
7. Freak Shows
8. P.T. Barnum
Roots
Joseph Carey Merrick's Birth certificate.
Looks like any other birth certificate of a perfect baby boy.
We just never know when we see these entries.
Looks like any other birth certificate of a perfect baby boy.
We just never know when we see these entries.
Leicester
Leicester
is one of the oldest cities in England. It is believed that the Romans arrived in the Leicester area around AD 47, during their conquest of southern Britain. The EnglandGenWeb Project- Leicestershire http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~englei/ Genuki http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LEI/ Leicestershire Parish Records http://leicestershireparishrecords.blogspot |
The Workhouse in Leicester http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Leicester/ Leicester Union Workhouse was built in 1836-1938 in Sparkenhoe Street in the City of Leicester Pauperism in The Leicester Workhouse in 1881 https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/ |
Nothing stated as a Handicap for Joseph. Elizabeth Merrick, may have been his grandmother?
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Leicester/Leicester1881.shtml
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Leicester/Leicester1881.shtml
A plaque unveiled in 2004, by the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Joseph's hometown, Achieved through the dedicated campaigning of the website below. http://www.jsitton.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/elephantm |
Child Hawkers
Child Street Hawkers
Victoria’s England was a child-dominated society. Poor children who survived infancy were often put to work at an early age. In the 1830s and 40s, many children labored in textile mills and coal mines, where working conditions often proved deadly. Girls as young as five went into domestic service as nurses or maids to wealthy families. Rural children worked on farms or in cottage industries, while thousands of urban children worked as street hawkers, selling matches, sweeping crossings or like Joseph Merrick, selling shoe-black
The Victorian Child, c.1837-1901
http://www.representingchildhood.pitt.edu/
Victoria’s England was a child-dominated society. Poor children who survived infancy were often put to work at an early age. In the 1830s and 40s, many children labored in textile mills and coal mines, where working conditions often proved deadly. Girls as young as five went into domestic service as nurses or maids to wealthy families. Rural children worked on farms or in cottage industries, while thousands of urban children worked as street hawkers, selling matches, sweeping crossings or like Joseph Merrick, selling shoe-black
The Victorian Child, c.1837-1901
http://www.representingchildhood.pitt.edu/
From- 'Rogues and Vagabonds': Vagrant Underworld in Britain 1815-1985 By Lionel Rose
THE SHOEBLACK BRIGADE
The London Shoeblack Brigade was established in the mid 19th century by Lord Shaftesbury and John MacGregor. It provided regular and better paid employment for children accustomed to making their living by cleaning shoes and boots. In the evening they were encouraged to attend lessons at Ragged Schools. Boys of the Central Shoeblack Brigade wore a red uniform. The Greatness of Ducie Street
http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.com.au |
VICTORIAN CHILDREN - STREET SWEEPERS
AND SHOE-BLACKS http://visitvictorianengland.blogspot.com.au/2014/04 |
Small doll dressed in the uniform of the London Shoe Black Brigade. Such dolls could be purchased cheaply and then dressed at home. Charities often used to sell such items at bazaars to raise funds.
http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/ob |
Photographs of Lewis Hine: Documentation of Child Labor
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hine-photos/
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hine-photos/
'Street Life in London' by the socialist journalist Adolphe Smith and Scottish photographer John Thomson, published in 1876-7 by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington of Fleet Street, London. Smith and Thomson innovatively combined photography and essays, as they sought to publicise the precarious conditions of a life of poverty in the capital.
http://www.historytoday.com/reviews/street-life-london
http://www.historytoday.com/reviews/street-life-london
Pioneering photojournalist John Thomson in 1877, shows what life was really like for thousands of Londoners in Victorian Britain.
While the boy cleaning shoes in the photo above left looks barely a teenager, by the time this photo was taken he had served in two brigades (the 'blues' and the 'reds'), sailed the oceans as a sailor, and was now an 'independent shoe-black' to support his mother and invalid father with a few pence cleaning boots. Italian street musicians (above right) were much admired in Victorian England, despite being a somewhat scruffy lot. Thomson and Smith offer: 'There is an element of romance about the swarthy Italian youth to which the English poor cannot aspire'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487041/Dickens-London-brought-life-Fascinating-snapshot-Victorian
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487041/Dickens-London-brought-life-Fascinating-snapshot-Victorian
From 'Street Life in London'
https://archive.org/stream/streetlifeinlond00thom#page/n7/ |
Parker then found himself in the workhouse, but was anxious to get out onto the streets
to be a 'dramatic reader'
to be a 'dramatic reader'
London Nomades
Travelling folk known as the 'London Nomades' were homeless Londoners who 'attend fairs, markets, and hawk cheap ornaments or useful wares from door to door'. "The dealer in hawkers' wares in Kent Street, tells me that when in the country the wanderers 'live wonderful hard, almost starve, unless food comes cheap. Their women carrying about baskets of cheap and tempting things, get along of the servants at gentry's houses, and come in for wonderful scraps. But most of them, when they get flush of money, have a regular go, and drink for weeks; then after that they are all for saving... They have suffered severely lately from colds, small pox, and other diseases, but in spite of bad times, they still continue buying cheap, selling dear, and gambling fiercely.' http://digital.library.lse.ac.uk/objects/lse:jer426cev |
Doctor Treves
Dr. Treves
Had it not been for Dr. Treves, he certainly
would have died on the railway platform or in a lunatic asylum. Frederick Treves was a famous and very well paid London surgeon who specialised in appendix surgery. Sadly, and ironically, despite his specialism Treves was unable to save his youngest daughter, who died from a perforated appendix in 1900. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife Treves operated on
Edward VII (1841-1910) Two days before the new king's coronation ceremony. He drained an abscess on the king's appendix at Buckingham Palace in 1902. Fortunately, the king recovered well and Treves’ international reputation was sealed. Treves was awarded a Baronetcy
The difference between a Baron & a Baronet-
Baron is the lowest rank in the British peerage. A Baron is “Right Honorable” and is styled “My Lord”. All children of a Baron are “Honorable.” Baronet: A hereditary rank, lower than the peerage & is not of Royal descent. BRITISH TITLES AND ORDERS OF PRECEDENCE http://www.edwardianpromenade.com/resource |
These photos are believed to be of Joseph's Aunt Jane and Uncle Charles Barnabas
http://www.jsitton.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/elephant A Baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The practice of awarding baronetcies was originally introduced in England in the 14th century and was used by James I of England in 1611 as a means of raising funds. (wiki)
Red Hand of Ulster, for English, Irish & UK baronets
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"I went to school like other children until I was about 11 or 12 years of age,
when the greatest misfortune of my life occurred, namely - the death of my mother,
peace to her, she was a good mother to me".
when the greatest misfortune of my life occurred, namely - the death of my mother,
peace to her, she was a good mother to me".
A vertical glass case displays Merrick's skeleton at the Royal London Hospital.
FAMILY HISTORY London Museums of Health and Medicine If you have a medical professional in your family history, one of our member museums may be able to help with your research. http://www.medicalmuseums.org/family The Royal London Museum
The Museum presents displays on the history of the Hospital since its foundation in 1740. Notable figures such as Joseph Merrick (the 'Elephant Man'), are featured. http://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/about Interesting Read- Real Life In London, Volumes I. & II, by Pierce Egan
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20484/2048 |
"I supposed that Merrick was imbecile and had been imbecile from birth. The fact that his face was incapable of expression, that his speech was a mere spluttering and his attitude, that of one whose mind was void of all emotions and concerns gave grounds for this belief. The conviction was no doubt encouraged by the hope that his intellect was the blank I imagined it to be. That he could appreciate his position was unthinkable. ..............It was not until I came to know that Merrick was highly intelligent, that he possessed an acute sensibility and -- worse than all -- a romantic imagination that I realised the overwhelming tragedy of his life.
Dr. Treves- The Elephant Man Memories http://www.jsitton.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/elephantman Barts Pathology Museum
http://www.qmul.ac.uk/pathologymuseum/about/history/index Discover Medical London
http://discovermedicallondon.com/ |
Proteus Syndrome
Back- How Joseph Merrick actually looked in his 20's. Front- A computer generated image of how he'd look without the disease.
Sculpture of Joseph Merrick
By Paul Komoda |
Proteus Syndrome
Joseph's disorder-'Proteus Syndrome', has been recorded in fewer than 100 cases, ever. Today this disease can be treated (not cured) with the removal of tumours. http://www.proteus-syndrome.org/ Proteus syndrome also known as Wiedemann syndrome (named after the German pediatrician Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann), is a rare congenital disorder that causes skin overgrowth and atypical bone development, often accompanied by tumors over half the body.
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The Elephant Man
Joseph (not John as in the movie)
was an intelligent individual.
Able to write and speak eloquently
& also able to read
which was a rarity among
the poorer class at that time.
was an intelligent individual.
Able to write and speak eloquently
& also able to read
which was a rarity among
the poorer class at that time.
Photo of he actual Church which Joseph constructed, despite incredible difficulties
FREAK SHOWS
Freak shows were profitable business ventures that incorporated human disability to provide entertainment & collect revenue. Though they are considered immoral in today’s society, the social & historical context of the 1800's, was a suitable environment for freak shows to flourish.
As early as 1861, in his study, London Labour and the London Poor, Henry Mayhew wrote, it was"'moral corruption & human degradation".
Abnormality was a meal ticket!
The advertisers of these shows aroused the curiosity of the audience by overplaying & often entirely inventing, 'true life' stories. http://www.brightbytes.com/collection/spe Strange and Bizarre: The History of Freak Shows https://thingssaidanddone.wordpress.com/ |
Some of these performers were incredibly talented
Martha Morris, The Armless Wonder
http://undereverystone.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/the Prince Radian, The Human Caterpillar
0:39 |
Circus Sideshow / Freakshow
41:49 |
Exhibitions of live human curiosities had appeared in travelling fairs, circuses and taverns in England since the 1600's. These included so-called giants, dwarves, large people, the very thin, conjoined twins etc.. Freak shows were a particularly popular form of entertainment during the Victorian period, when people from all classes flocked to see these unusual examples of human life. Both showmen and performers alike, said it was better if freaks were in public, displaying their abnormalities for profit, rather than struggling to live among everyday people without a job and in complete isolation.
The Decline of the Freak Show
Joseph Merrick was exhibited as, "Half-a-Man and Half-an-Elephant." By 1885, freak shows had fallen out of favor in Victorian England & police closed the 'Elephant Man' exhibit. By the 1890s, the popularity of freak shows started to dwindle, with the almost complete disappearance by the 1950s. In the early years of the 20th century, a rise in disability rights inspired people to turn against sideshows and what they deemed as exploitation not entertainment. |
P.T. Barnum
With an Elephant starting the Merger, the Circus giants of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey, will no longer have Elephants as part of their circus as from 2018.
What's the circus without an Elephant?
What's the circus without an Elephant?
P.T. Barnum
On January 1, 1842, P.T. Barnum challenged this popular social ideology by opening his American Museum on lower Broadway in New York City. Promoting the Museum as a place for family entertainment, enlightenment and instructive amusement http://www.barnum-museum.org Explore P.T. Barnum's Virtual Museum
http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/barnum.html Barnum used his museum to exhibit human oddities and medical curiosities which also proved to be crowd-pullers such as the “Fiji mermaid”, which was half-fish and half-mammal. In reality was the head and body of a baby monkey sewn to the back half of a fish and covered in paper-mâché. He was regularly humiliated by the press who saw him as a scam artist. Barnum eventually suffered a reversal of fortune and by 1856, after some bad investments, he was broke.
Barnum was middle-aged when he turned his natural salesmanship toward a circus, but it was Bailey, in fact, who had an elephant first:
Later, when a baby elephant, the first born in captivity, arrived in Bailey’s rival camp, Barnum offered $100,000 for the infant, a fact which Bailey so blatantly advertised that Barnum was forced to merge with his rival in self-defense. Thus, in 1881, was born Barnum & Bailey — thanks to an elephant. Barnum & Bailey merged with Ringling Bros. Circus in 1907 and the two circuses began doing combined shows about a decade later.
(Time Magazine) |
Phineas Taylor Barnum
was born in Connecticut on July 5, 1810 1. Barnum was an entrepreneur from an early age. 2. He first rose to prominence by engineering a famous hoax. 3. Barnum didn’t go into the circus business until relatively late in life. 4. He helped popularize opera in the United States. 5. Barnum never said “there’s a sucker born every minute.” 6. His famous elephant “Jumbo” is the mascot of Tufts University. 7. Barnum once used his circus animals to test the strength of the Brooklyn Bridge. 8. He was a famous supporter of the temperance movement. 9. Barnum also served as a politician. 10. He spent years writing and updating his autobiography. http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not P.T. Barnum issued an annual newspaper, sent out in advance of the circus as an advertising circular
https://blogs.princeton.edu/graphicarts/2012/08/pt Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. The circus, known as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, was started in 1919 when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus.
The real Jumbo endeared himself to audiences as the gentle giant.
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