Ella Harper

Ella Harper (January 5, 1870 – December 19, 1921),[1] known professionally as The Camel Girl,[2] 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". In 1886 she was featured as the star in W. H. Harris's Nickel Plate Circus, appearing in newspapers wherever the circus visited. The back of her pitch card reads:

I am called the camel girl because my knees turn backward. I can walk best on my hands and feet as you see me in the picture. I have traveled considerably in the show business for the past four years and now, this is 1886 and I intend to quit the show business and go to school and fit myself for another occupation.[3][4]

Ella Harper
Harper in 1886
Born	Ella Harper (1870-01-05)5 January 1870 Sumner County, Tennessee
Died	19 December 1921(1921-12-19) (aged 51) Nashville, Tennessee
Resting place	Spring Hill Cemetery 36°14′13.8″N 86°43′26″W
Occupation	Circus performer
Years active	1882–1886
Spouse	Robert L. Savely (1905)
Parent(s)	William Harper and Minerva Childress

Harper received a $200 per week salary for her appearances (equivalent to $6,500 in 2022). The money she earned via this role likely afforded her opportunities in life she may not otherwise have had.[2]

Harper married a schoolteacher named Robert Savely in 1905; she died in 1921 at the age of fifty-one. She is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.[1]