๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ฆ
AbomahMme. Abomah was an international celebrity known as the Amazon Giantess and the African Giantess. In the early 1900โs, she traveled all over the world as the tallest woman in the world. She was billed as being 7'4" / 7'6โณ tall.
Her real name may have been Ella Grigsby. A newspaper advertisement also calls her โElla Abomah.โ While still in her teens, Abomah went to work for Elihu and Harriet Williams. It is speculated that since Grigsby was the name of her parentsโ slaveholder, she was reluctant to use it, and so adopted her employerโs last name. However, in many sources, sheโs known simply as โAbomah.โ
Abomah claimed none of her other siblings were unusually large and she had been contacted by various vaudeville and circus promoters to sign a contract and tour as a giantess, but always refused. However, while working as a cook in her native South Carolina, she agreed to be hired by Frank C. Bostock for a tour of the British Isles in 1896.
In her own words Mme. Abomah says โI was born near Cross Hill in Laurens county. None of my sisters or brothers are unusually large. For years every time a show man saw me he would want me to sign a contract, but I never could make up my mind to leave Columbia. Finally in the fall of 1896 while I was cooking for a prominent family in Columbia, Manager F.C. Bostock got me to sign up for a tour.โ (1915)
Bostock renamed her Mme. Abomah (Abomey being the then-capital of Dahomey, now known as Benin), and presented her as an African warrior princess. She was billed as a Dahomey Amazon; one of the real life female bodyguards who protected the ruler.
๐๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ:
๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒโฆ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐โฆ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟโฆ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป. ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐๐๐ธ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐, ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐. โ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ถ๐-๐๐ถ๐๐ (7 ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ 1900)
Itโs said that Abomah and her manager took her act to Europe because racism in Europe was not as pronounced as in the United States and audiences there would be more receptive to a very tall, strong, beautiful Black woman. Over the course of her 30 year career Abomah was to tour not only Britain but most of continental Europe, Australia and New Zealand, South America, and Cuba.
According to her bio pamphlet, which she sold at her shows, Abomah appeared in 1900 in Liverpool with Reynoldโs Waxworks and Exhibition; 1901 & 1902 at the Alhambra, Blackpool; 1903 with Reynoldโs and later touring Australia; seasons 1904 โ 08, touring New Zealand; 1909, South American tour; 1910- 11, European tour; 1912- 13, Reynoldโs Waxworks; 1914, touring English variety halls; 1917 Dreamland at Coney Island and Cuba; 1918 with Barnum and Bailey. In 1920 she was at Dreamland and the Worldโs Museum and in 1921 again at the Worldโs Museum in Philadelphia when it was announced that she was going to sail for Paris for a three months engagement.
In New Zealand, Abomah had a very expensive and extensive wardrobe. She also had an attendant, which invoked a sense of royalty.
๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ โ๐ข๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ต, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐, ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ 7๐ณ๐ 6๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐, ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐๐น๐น-๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ [๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป], ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น-๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ โ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐ฑ๐โ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟโฆ ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ต, ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐, ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ โ๐ ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐น๐๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น,โ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐บ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐. โ ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ [๐ก๐ญ] ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ 1904
Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. Abomah cancelled her tours and returned to the United States in March of 1915 narrowly avoiding the attacks on London by German Zeppelins in April. She worked for Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey and at Coney Island. Her career continued into the 1920โs, and then apparently she disappears from history.