The following photos and identity are not
confirmed...
This image is not a Sutherland
Sister, but possibly a Dora stand-in.
Historical Timeline
according to Clarence O.
Lewis, author/researcher of the Niagara County Historical Society
1800-10
Peter Sutherland, father of
Andrew,
Jane, Amey, and Susan Sutherland, along with their brother-in-law,
Benjamin Cooley, moved out from Rutland, Vermont to Niagara County.
Andrew
Sutherland (about 30 yrs old) and his wife,
Naomi
Cooley Sutherland purchased 140 acres in Cambria, south side of Niagara
Road or "Great Ridge Road," one mile west of Warren's Corners.
Andrew
& Naomi built
their log cabin. Naomi gave birth to eight children: Naomi, Susan,
Byron, Benjamin, Addison, Andrew, Carroll, and
Fletcher.
1812
Andrew
Sutherland defended the Niagara Frontier in the War of 1812, and earned
the title Colonel.
Colonel
Andrew
commanded the Cambria Company.
1818
Rev. Fletcher
Sutherland was born in Sutherland Falls, Vermont.
Naomi,
his mother, had retreated to her parents home in Vermont during the War of
1812, and eventually returned to Cambria.
1836, February 29
Colonel Andrew
Sutherland died at the age of 56.
Naomi
continued to live in the same log cabin, and became a teacher in
District No. 16, Cambria. She later died in 1870 in Michigan at 82
yrs.
c.1838 Fletcher
attended school at Warren's Corners, and then studied for the ministry at
the Genesse Wesleyan School in Lima, New York.
Fletcher
served as minister of Methodist churches in Lyons, Geneseo, and
Caledonia.
1844
Fletcher married
Mary.
Mary's father,
George Brink, met Fletcher
in Lyons. Mary
was taking an advance course in music at the Lima Seminary.
1846
Sarah
was born in Lyons, Wayne County.
1849
Victoria
was born in in the Cambria log cabin.
By 1857 Isabella,
Grace, Naomi,
and Dora
were born.
1864
Mary
was born.
1867, September 24,
Mary Brink Sutherland
died.
1868, January 5, Sarah,
Victoria,
Isabella,
Grace,
Naomi, and
Charles were confirmed
at the Grace Episcopal Church.
1885, April 15,
Naomi
married Henry Bailey
Rapunzel's
All things long and
beautiful hair™
for friends, health, &
support.
The United States Census is a
decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution.
The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used
to allocate
Congressional seats (congressional
apportionment),
electoral votes, and government program funding.
Some states or local jurisdictions also conduct local censuses.
-Wikipedia
Birthplace ~ Cambria, New York
The Sutherland
sisters were born in the town of Cambria, on what is known as the
Sutherland farm, near the city of Lockport, Niagara County, New York,
a few miles east of Niagara Falls.
They are all
members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, having been confirmed by
Bishop Cox, of Buffalo, and when at home are under the pastoral care
of Doctor Foster Eley, rector of Grace Church, Lockport City.
Lockport, New York
Lockport became
a town during the construction of the Erie Canal and the Lockport
Locks ( 1821-1825). In 1865, Lockport became a boom town and
had grown to over 20,000.
Lockport Locks 1879
Mules were used to tow
the canal barges
The first
superhighway in the world !!! The Lockport Locks scaled 60
feet above the Niagara escarpment connecting the Midwest & Lake
Erie, across the Appalachians, to the Hudson River, to the east
coast & New York City; a total of 350 miles. The original cost
of the Erie Canal (latter renamed
as the Barge Canal) was $7 million dollars, equivalent to 4 billion
in today's money. The locks and the canal system was improved
several times over the years, and was used commercially into the
1950s.
Naomi
Sutherland passed away in 1893;
four years before
the New York Hair Grower photo (below) was taken. Miss Anna
Roberts (right) took Naomi's place.
Exhibit of the Most Beautiful
Hair in the World produced by the use of the
SUTHERLAND SISTERS HAIR GROWER
AND SCALP CLEANER,
in New York, May 24th, 1897.
Photo taken in NY, by Siegel Cooper Co.
The girl's parents are at right.
"The Seven Wonder Sisters"
In New York City, the beginning of December, 1880, the Wonder
Sisters launched their career showing off their long tresses and
vocal talents. The following summer the Sisters toured the
Southern States as far south as Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans.
Their popularity grew... no pun attended :-)
Pennsylvania |
Indiana | Indiana Weekly Messenger, The | 1883-11-14
Mary Fletcher Sutherland
Now this is
strange, I received the following about Mary. How can Mary
spend her time locked up in her room and at the same time operate a
business with her sister? Maybe it will make sense later on.
-Webmaster
. . . . . . .
.
Mary was the
youngest and she was considered mentally ill. She would have
"spells" and the family would lock her in her bedroom. Mary
lived in the Sutherland Mansion most of her adult life. She
and her sister Grace then lived with their nephew, Harry Bailey in
Buffalo, where Mary's condition worsened. She was committed to
the State Institution for the insane in Buffalo, NY where she died
on May 12, 1939. She is buried at the Glenwood Cemetery near
the Castlemaine Mausoleum in Lockport, NY.
Newspaper Articles
Texas | San Antonio | San Antonio Light, The |
1947-11-16
During
the late 1800's and early 20th century, the Seven Sutherland Sisters,
of Lockport, New York, were a illustrious act of singing sisters with
the
Barnum & Bailey
Circus (c. 1892-1907.)
The Sisters were more known for their exceptionally long hair
than for their musical talents.
The Sister's collective length of hair reached thirty seven feet!
Apart from stepping on each other's hair, they were also successful in
selling their HAIR GROWER and SCALP CLEANER, until the bob style become
vogue after World War I.
Signs of the times... to bad, so sad :-(
Caption
reads... Oh! Where is your hair? When the barber bobbed your hair, did
your sentiment cause you to treasure the shorn locks? If so, just
imitate Estelle Clark and make a wonderful braided belt. The fad
is spreading like wild-fire.
Below, is an envelope
locally mailed and canceled on April 30, 1936, Toronto 2, Ontario, Canada.
The advertisement is on the backside.
SEVEN SUTHERLAND SISTERS
193-195 SPADINA AVE.
TORONTO 2 - CANADA
Is the Sister's Hair Grower Tonic
Valid?
NOT
INHERITED
Sutherland
Sisters' Beautiful hair produced by using tonics
Massachusetts | North Adams | North Adams Transcript,
The | 1899-06-05
I have found many websites which tag the
Sister's tonic as "snake oil" and nothing more than hair
quackery, all
without supporting
evidence or
rationale.
At this time, I cannot find the the
Sister's Hair Grower tonic recipe. Some say the recipe
was lost when a fire destroyed their home in 1938. I have
searched the US Patent
Office filings and found nothing in the Sister's, business or
Bailey's name.
But, I did
find a common ingredient in most tonic formulas-- boiling of
roots and/or vegetables, and the use of
alcohol.
I make soap, and most books I use tell about a process called
"infusion."
Infusion is a very old method of extracting nutrients and from
plants into a broth, or into an alcohol (or oil)
tincture. The method is similar to
steeping leaves into a tea.
There are conflicting opinions about the
loss of
vitamins using boiling type infusion. In any case, whatever
nutrients do survive remain in the broth. Alcohol acts as a
preservative. But I also found that alcohol also acts a transdermal
carrier, like
DMSO. For example, alcohol is used in
skin patches to help transport drugs through the skin into the blood
stream.
I found a few articles that touch base
with the ingredients of the Sister's Hair Grower. The Sister's
tonic is made mostly of "vegetable preparations" and "alcohol."
Which make sense, because it is something that can be grown in the
garden and mixed together, simply at home. Before the
Hair Grower business, Sisters used a
hair ointment, and the kids at school would complain about the smell (The
Seven Sutherland Sisters by Clarence O. Lewis, 1991, pg.10.)
Gleaner, The
Thursday, August 07, 1947 Kingston, Kingston
Winnipeg Free Press
Saturday, July 20, 1968 Winnipeg, Manitoba
"Emu
oil is used topically on the scalp. Studies and clinical
experience show that it helps prevent hair loss and stimulates hair
growth and hair follicles."
There is a new science/study called
Nutrigenomics.
The study explores the relationship between
genetics and nutrition. If this is true. If
genetics can be modified by nutrition, then the Sister's
tonic is valid. What are the odds of having six out of seven
Sisters with floor length hair? And, one of the six is likely
adopted? (1865 Census reported Isabella was adopted, Id. at
pg.32)
Emu oil
is also a transdermal carrier, a transporter. Emu oil is very effective, has no side-effects, and helps
improve circulation. So far I have not found any specific information
using Emu oil, mixed with a wide spectrum, cellular ready, liquid
vitamin and
ionic
mineral supplement, as a
topical
hair grower.
There are products that contain Emu oil
with other ingredients to help arthritis and skin problems.
There are Emu oil shampoos and scalp creams. Emu oil alone can
help stimulate hair growth. But I believe, used topically as a
transdermal carrier for vitamins/ionic minerals will far exceed
expectations.
First as singing amateurs ~ before
their claim to fame
Before the
Sisters showed off their hair, they were well known in their local
area as the "Sutherland Concert of Seven Sisters, and one Brother"
Opinions of the
press....
"Naomi's
voice was extraordinary." At 13 years old she sang low bass,
solo:
Who
Treads the Path of Duty
Sarah sang
Scotch and English songs as high soprano, solo:
This
is an unusual portrait of the sisters. Yes, they are the
Sisters. On the backside is the list of their names.
Anyhow, you can see a dog sitting at the bottom right of this image.
The Sutherland Sisters had many pets. They were so heartbroken when
one of their dogs passed away. They spent $500 for their dog's
funeral. The dog in this image appears to be a pug.
Rising star
The Observer - UK Mika Rottenberg,
artist Emma Love
Sunday October 8, 2006
Rottenberg, 29, won
the inaugural Cartier Award at this year's Frieze Art Fair for a film
piece - a movie trailer based on the true story of seven American
sisters with record-breaking long hair who made a fortune with an
anti-baldness cure....
Frieze Art Fair,
featuring the Frieze Projects in
association with Cartier, is held in Regent's Park, London, 12-15
October And
don't forget Alyssa, Mika's assistant.
Sutherland
Hair Grower Sales
Continued Through April 30, 1936
Mary and Grace were
still alive and in business selling their hair "fertilizer" through '36.
Dora ran the Canadian branch in the 20s out of Buffalo, New York
Dora's Hair Fertilizer
Mailer & Advertisement
Contributed by Robert Coutts
1886
Hannah Terry Corwin & Friends
Collection Hannah
did assignments for the
Seven Sutherland Sisters Co. selling and demonstrating Sister's hair
tonic
The
Sister's father started the hair grower business in 1882. Not
until one of the Sisters married Henry Bailey of the
Barnum & Bailey
Circus did their father's business really take-off. The
Sisters continued the business after their father's death in 1888.
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And
don't forget Alyssa, Mika's assistant.
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