About 75 years after the birth of Petrus a hairy girl-child was born in Germany. Her name was Barbara Urslerin. Her case was different than the Gonzales' however as she claimed no one in her family was similarly afflicted. Our good doctor Bondeson in the above-mentioned title tells her story and confirms that she began to be exhibited from a very early age and continued to be exhibited for probably 40 years. Those who 'studied' her all agree that her entire body was covered with "soft, blonde, curly hair". Supposedly her husband John Michael Van Beck was a sort of early day showman and married her to secure her earnings.
Fast forward now, 200+ years, and go east from the continent of Europe to that of Asia to the country of Burma. Here was born hairy man Schwe Maong. Mr. Maong was the father of four kids, three normal-looking and one hairy like himself - a daughter named Mah Phoon. She, in turn, married a Burmese fellow and they had two children, a boy and a girl, both hairy like their Mom - Moung Phoset and Mah Me. I believe at one time the entire 3 generations exhibited together but by 1887 only Mom and son were left as Mah Me died young at age 18. This is why most photos you see of "The Sacred Hairy family of Burma" consist of Mother and son surrounded by other regular-looking family members. They could be seen at least thru 1889.
Leonine, the Lion-Faced Girl" was known mostly in British sideshow circles but once travelled to the States and later toured all of Europe. Her promoters had to have a story about how her mother was scared by a lion when she was pregnant. There being no wild lions in England, the story was concocted that Leonine's dad was an officer in the British Army deployed to Sierra Leone in west Africa. His wife insisted on accompanying him and , well, you make up the rest. It can't be any worse than the whopper the promoters told!
Oddly, one of the greatest prodigies of the modern era has become one of the least well known. You won't find her picture in any modern-day book on the subject yet she was spectacular in appearance. Her name was Alice Doherty and she was billed as "Alice, the Hairy Woman". All I know of her was that she was exhibiting as early as age 6.
In 1871 the newspapers mentioned a 13 year old girl, a native of Palermo, named Theresa Gambardella (or Gambardelia). She was descibed as "literally covered with hair like fur. The hairy covering extends from head to foot, even her forehead is overgrown. The head closely resembles that of a monkey, while the shape of her jaws and teeth, the pliability of her tongue, which she can roll up completely in her mouth, her enormous appetite, and low oreder of intellect, make the correspondence more complete." Unfortunately, I've never seen a photo of her but one must surely exist. I don't know, however, if she was ever seen for profit.
