The Seven Sutherland Sisters

The Seven Sutherland Sisters were singers popular in the 1880s, and whose fame was due in part to their unusually long hair. At the grand finale of their performance, the seven sisters turned their backs to the audience, and let fall their Rapunzel-length locks.

In 1884, the Sisters performed with Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth. Their father, realizing that the crowds were largely entranced by their ankle-length hair, mixed together a concoction (of vegetable oil, alcohol, borax, and quinine) that he marketed as The Seven Sutherland Sisters Hair Grower.

• Sarah - Solo singer. The eldest daughter, her hair was the shortest at three feet long, but very thick. She took over the family business at her father's death.

• Victoria - Mezzo-soprano. The second sister, with hair that grew to seven feet in length. She was considered the most beautiful of the Sutherlands, and had an affection for diamonds.

• Isabella - Soprano. The third sister, though it was rumored that her biological mother was her father's unmarried sister-in-law. Her hair grew to six feet in length. At 46, Isabella married a 27 year old charmer and trickster named Frederick, who died young of a morphine overdose. Isabella reportedly spent many nights draped across his tomb.

• Grace - Tenor. Her hair was five feet long. She remained a spinster, although she took custody of her sister Naomi's children when Naomi died. Nevertheless, she died alone and in poverty at the age of 92, at a county home.

• Naomi - Bass. Her hair grew to five and a half feet in length. Naomi married J. Henry Bailey while traveling with the Barnum and Bailey circus. She died at the age of 35, and was replaced by a recruit, Anne Louise Roberts, who had 9-foot long hair.

• Dora - Alto. Her hair reached 4 and a half feet in length. She lived a quiet life in Toronto after the sisters stopped performing, managing the Canadian sales of the Hair Grower business in Toronto.

• Mary - Soprano. Mary had 6-foot long hair. She was mentally ill and would have "spells" during which she was locked in her bedroom. Her behavior was a closely-guarded secret, as long, heavy hair was thought by some to "rob the brain of nourishment" and lead to insanity (not great for marketing the hair tonic). She was committed to the State Institution for the Insane in Buffalo where she died on May 12, 1939.

The seven sisters were often seen tending to the gardens of Sutherland Mansion in the summer, wearing elaborate cloth masks to protect their hair and faces from the sun.