The Lebanon Patriot
Lebanon, Indiana
February 11, 1886
A Weighty Subject
Winnie Johnson, the fat woman, was on exhibition in Lebanon last week. She is a Mulatto, and was born and raised in Henry county, Kentucky, and was never out of ehr native county until last September. She measures eight feet and nine inches around the bust, thirty inches around the thigh, thirty inches around the calf and is five feet and eight inches high, and weighs seven hundred and twenty-seven pounds.
She is 46 years old, is the mother of 10 children, and had them at 9 births, was married in slavery at age of 15 and at that time weighed only 96 pounds; at 18 years of age 125 pounds; at 28 years, 336 pounds; at 35 years, 401 pounds; at 36 years, 511 pounds; at 42 years, 635 pounds; on her 46th birthday, September 27th, 1885, she weighed 707 pounds. She is constantly increasing, is in perfect health and always has been, and has taken but very little medicine. Her head is adorned by a growth of silver hair about 7 inches long, which stands erect like that of the Circassian women. When sitting in an ordinary chair her thighs lie on the floor, and on the 15th day of January, 1884, while sitting at home her thighs were frozen to the floor, necessitating a surgical operation, and the removal of 7 pounds of flesh, by Dr. Jones of Bethlehem, Henry county, Kentucky.
Transcribed by Teresa Goodwin-Skaggs
The Baltimore Herald
Baltimore, Maryland
Date Unknown
Winnie "Big Winnie" Johnson was born in 1839 and died September 14, 1888 at the age of 49. Her obsequies took place from her late home on East Street in Baltimore, Maryland, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. "Big Winnie" died of fatty degeneration of the heart at 11:30 p.m. Monday. She was well-known to the public as the prize fat colored woman in the world, tipping the scales at
849 pounds. Evans and Spence, the undertakers who had charge of the funeral, experienced the greatest difficulty in preparing the body for burial. They searched every establishment in the city to find a coffin large enough, but without success, and finally they were compelled to order a special box from Maryland Burial Case Company. It took 20 pallbearers to lift "Big Winnie" and the coffin.
Winnie Johnson was born in Henry County, Kentucky, in 1839. As a child she gave no signs of attaining her wonderfully unusual size. She was born in a cabin on either the Boyd Clubb farm or the farm of E. M. Bryant, near Franklinton. When she was 15 years of age she married a man of her own race by the name of Johnson, and when 20 years of age she began to grow large, until Monday night the time of her death, she had amassed the enormous weight of 849 pounds. There was no bed big enough for her, so she slept on the floor.
She was the mother of ten children of whom three survived. Her husband died about six years ago (1882), and soon after she contracted with a showman to go on exhibition, and has since then traveled over a considerable portion of this country.
Transcribed by: E. T. "Hammer" Smith
Lebanon, Indiana
February 11, 1886
A Weighty Subject
Winnie Johnson, the fat woman, was on exhibition in Lebanon last week. She is a Mulatto, and was born and raised in Henry county, Kentucky, and was never out of ehr native county until last September. She measures eight feet and nine inches around the bust, thirty inches around the thigh, thirty inches around the calf and is five feet and eight inches high, and weighs seven hundred and twenty-seven pounds.
She is 46 years old, is the mother of 10 children, and had them at 9 births, was married in slavery at age of 15 and at that time weighed only 96 pounds; at 18 years of age 125 pounds; at 28 years, 336 pounds; at 35 years, 401 pounds; at 36 years, 511 pounds; at 42 years, 635 pounds; on her 46th birthday, September 27th, 1885, she weighed 707 pounds. She is constantly increasing, is in perfect health and always has been, and has taken but very little medicine. Her head is adorned by a growth of silver hair about 7 inches long, which stands erect like that of the Circassian women. When sitting in an ordinary chair her thighs lie on the floor, and on the 15th day of January, 1884, while sitting at home her thighs were frozen to the floor, necessitating a surgical operation, and the removal of 7 pounds of flesh, by Dr. Jones of Bethlehem, Henry county, Kentucky.
Transcribed by Teresa Goodwin-Skaggs
The Baltimore Herald
Baltimore, Maryland
Date Unknown
Winnie "Big Winnie" Johnson was born in 1839 and died September 14, 1888 at the age of 49. Her obsequies took place from her late home on East Street in Baltimore, Maryland, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. "Big Winnie" died of fatty degeneration of the heart at 11:30 p.m. Monday. She was well-known to the public as the prize fat colored woman in the world, tipping the scales at
849 pounds. Evans and Spence, the undertakers who had charge of the funeral, experienced the greatest difficulty in preparing the body for burial. They searched every establishment in the city to find a coffin large enough, but without success, and finally they were compelled to order a special box from Maryland Burial Case Company. It took 20 pallbearers to lift "Big Winnie" and the coffin.
Winnie Johnson was born in Henry County, Kentucky, in 1839. As a child she gave no signs of attaining her wonderfully unusual size. She was born in a cabin on either the Boyd Clubb farm or the farm of E. M. Bryant, near Franklinton. When she was 15 years of age she married a man of her own race by the name of Johnson, and when 20 years of age she began to grow large, until Monday night the time of her death, she had amassed the enormous weight of 849 pounds. There was no bed big enough for her, so she slept on the floor.
She was the mother of ten children of whom three survived. Her husband died about six years ago (1882), and soon after she contracted with a showman to go on exhibition, and has since then traveled over a considerable portion of this country.
Transcribed by: E. T. "Hammer" Smith
The Lebanon Patriot
Lebanon, Indiana
February 11, 1886
A Weighty Subject
Winnie Johnson, the fat woman, was on exhibition in Lebanon last week. She is a Mulatto, and was born and raised in Henry county, Kentucky, and was never out of ehr native county until last September. She measures eight feet and nine inches around the bust, thirty inches around the thigh, thirty inches around the calf and is five feet and eight inches high, and weighs seven hundred and twenty-seven pounds.
She is 46 years old, is the mother of 10 children, and had them at 9 births, was married in slavery at age of 15 and at that time weighed only 96 pounds; at 18 years of age 125 pounds; at 28 years, 336 pounds; at 35 years, 401 pounds; at 36 years, 511 pounds; at 42 years, 635 pounds; on her 46th birthday, September 27th, 1885, she weighed 707 pounds. She is constantly increasing, is in perfect health and always has been, and has taken but very little medicine. Her head is adorned by a growth of silver hair about 7 inches long, which stands erect like that of the Circassian women. When sitting in an ordinary chair her thighs lie on the floor, and on the 15th day of January, 1884, while sitting at home her thighs were frozen to the floor, necessitating a surgical operation, and the removal of 7 pounds of flesh, by Dr. Jones of Bethlehem, Henry county, Kentucky.
Transcribed by Teresa Goodwin-Skaggs
The Baltimore Herald
Baltimore, Maryland
Date Unknown
Winnie "Big Winnie" Johnson was born in 1839 and died September 14, 1888 at the age of 49. Her obsequies took place from her late home on East Street in Baltimore, Maryland, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. "Big Winnie" died of fatty degeneration of the heart at 11:30 p.m. Monday. She was well-known to the public as the prize fat colored woman in the world, tipping the scales at
849 pounds. Evans and Spence, the undertakers who had charge of the funeral, experienced the greatest difficulty in preparing the body for burial. They searched every establishment in the city to find a coffin large enough, but without success, and finally they were compelled to order a special box from Maryland Burial Case Company. It took 20 pallbearers to lift "Big Winnie" and the coffin.
Winnie Johnson was born in Henry County, Kentucky, in 1839. As a child she gave no signs of attaining her wonderfully unusual size. She was born in a cabin on either the Boyd Clubb farm or the farm of E. M. Bryant, near Franklinton. When she was 15 years of age she married a man of her own race by the name of Johnson, and when 20 years of age she began to grow large, until Monday night the time of her death, she had amassed the enormous weight of 849 pounds. There was no bed big enough for her, so she slept on the floor.
She was the mother of ten children of whom three survived. Her husband died about six years ago (1882), and soon after she contracted with a showman to go on exhibition, and has since then traveled over a considerable portion of this country.
Transcribed by: E. T. "Hammer" Smith
Lebanon, Indiana
February 11, 1886
A Weighty Subject
Winnie Johnson, the fat woman, was on exhibition in Lebanon last week. She is a Mulatto, and was born and raised in Henry county, Kentucky, and was never out of ehr native county until last September. She measures eight feet and nine inches around the bust, thirty inches around the thigh, thirty inches around the calf and is five feet and eight inches high, and weighs seven hundred and twenty-seven pounds.
She is 46 years old, is the mother of 10 children, and had them at 9 births, was married in slavery at age of 15 and at that time weighed only 96 pounds; at 18 years of age 125 pounds; at 28 years, 336 pounds; at 35 years, 401 pounds; at 36 years, 511 pounds; at 42 years, 635 pounds; on her 46th birthday, September 27th, 1885, she weighed 707 pounds. She is constantly increasing, is in perfect health and always has been, and has taken but very little medicine. Her head is adorned by a growth of silver hair about 7 inches long, which stands erect like that of the Circassian women. When sitting in an ordinary chair her thighs lie on the floor, and on the 15th day of January, 1884, while sitting at home her thighs were frozen to the floor, necessitating a surgical operation, and the removal of 7 pounds of flesh, by Dr. Jones of Bethlehem, Henry county, Kentucky.
Transcribed by Teresa Goodwin-Skaggs
The Baltimore Herald
Baltimore, Maryland
Date Unknown
Winnie "Big Winnie" Johnson was born in 1839 and died September 14, 1888 at the age of 49. Her obsequies took place from her late home on East Street in Baltimore, Maryland, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. "Big Winnie" died of fatty degeneration of the heart at 11:30 p.m. Monday. She was well-known to the public as the prize fat colored woman in the world, tipping the scales at
849 pounds. Evans and Spence, the undertakers who had charge of the funeral, experienced the greatest difficulty in preparing the body for burial. They searched every establishment in the city to find a coffin large enough, but without success, and finally they were compelled to order a special box from Maryland Burial Case Company. It took 20 pallbearers to lift "Big Winnie" and the coffin.
Winnie Johnson was born in Henry County, Kentucky, in 1839. As a child she gave no signs of attaining her wonderfully unusual size. She was born in a cabin on either the Boyd Clubb farm or the farm of E. M. Bryant, near Franklinton. When she was 15 years of age she married a man of her own race by the name of Johnson, and when 20 years of age she began to grow large, until Monday night the time of her death, she had amassed the enormous weight of 849 pounds. There was no bed big enough for her, so she slept on the floor.
She was the mother of ten children of whom three survived. Her husband died about six years ago (1882), and soon after she contracted with a showman to go on exhibition, and has since then traveled over a considerable portion of this country.
Transcribed by: E. T. "Hammer" Smith
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