Dora Sutherland (1858 - 1919)

Born 1858 in Niagara, New York

Ancestors

Died 10 Dec 1919 at about age 61 in Los Angeles, California

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Theresa Carrier-Torrealba [send private message]

Dora Sutherland is Notable.

Biography

Dora Sutherland was the sixth of the seven Sutherland sisters. When they were little their mother would slather their hair with a horrible smelling ointment which she believed would make the girls hair thick and long. It was so bad the girls’ classmates shunned them due to the odor. The embarrassed girls (with the long, thick braids) hid in the tall grass near their log cabin when visitors approached.

Their mother Mary died in 1867, when her youngest daughter, Mary, was just a toddler. The sisters would no longer have the foul-smelling oil applied to their hair but their father Fletcher, was determined to provide a better future for himself and his children.

Their father devoted himself to his children's musical education and managed The Seven Sutherland Sisters' burgeoning career. The Sutherland children, including the girls’ only brother, Charles, played musical instruments and toured churches, fairs, and community theaters around Niagara County as the “Sutherland Concert of Seven Sisters, and one Brother.”

In 1882, the sisters signed a deal to tour with with W.W. Coles Colossal Shows, and by 1884, the sisters had joined Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth as a sideshow attraction. P.T. Barnum himself dubbed them, “the seven most pleasing wonders of the world.”

Around 1883, their father came up with the idea to invent a hair tonic when he realized that audiences were more interested in his daughters' spectacular hair than their musical abilities. Although Fletcher died in 1888 the Sutherland business continued and was among the top corporate beauty product manufacturers and marketers at the turn of the century.

Two and a half million bottles of hair grower were sold by 1890, just about four years after production began. With big price tags, ranging between 50 cents to $1.50 per bottle and the average American salary was $2 to $15 dollars per week, the sophisticated marketing and pricing was meant to attract the wealthy. More than $3 million in reported income was realized.

Dora was always referred to as the "cute one" in her Broadway and circus days and she maintained four and a half to six feet of hair over the years. Her face was considered dreamy like a 19th century pinup, with a turned up nose and a sentimental pout that could melt any heart. Dora was an alto in the singing sister act. She had a sharp mind that help her succeed as an incorrigible flirt and later, to set herself apart from most of the family, as a smart businesswoman and entrepreneur in the Canadian territories.

Dora remained devoted to the Sutherland corporation and her interests thrived long after others' withered. In 1919, the three remaining sisters, Dora, Grace and Mary headed to Los Angeles in an attempt to pitch their story to Hollywood, however the deal fell through. Dora was killed when she was struck by a car while crossing the street in Los Angeles. Mary and Grace were so broke they didn’t even have the money to get her cremated, so they never claimed her remains.

Sources

"United States Census, 1870," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8V3-S8W : accessed 17 Aug 2014), Dora Southerland in household of Flet Southerland, New York, United States; citing p. 42, family 316, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000552553.

"New York, State Census, 1875," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VTZ5-454 : accessed 17 Aug 2014), Dora Sutherland in household of Fletcher Sutherland, Cambria, Niagara, New York, United States; citing p. 6, line 39, State Library, Albany; FHL microfilm 1577676.

"United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MZXC-BPK : accessed 17 Aug 2014), Dora Sutherland in household of Fletcher Sutherland, Cambria, Niagara, New York, United States; citing sheet 12C, NARA microfilm publication T9.

"New York, State Census, 1905," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MK93-7P2 : accessed 16 Aug 2014), Dora Sutherland, Lockport, Ward 03, E.D. 01, Niagara, New York; citing p. , line ; FHL microfilm .

Untangling the Tale of the Seven Sutherland Sisters and Their 37 Feet of Hair by Lisa Hix, September 6th, 2013 (http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-seven-sutherland-sisters-and-their-37-feet-of-hair/  : accessed 15 Aug 2014)

Famous Ladies with Long Hair: The Sutherland Sisters (http://www.angelfire.com/art/rapunzellonghair/rapunzellonghairarchive/portrait4.htm  : accessed 15 Aug 2014)

The Long Hair Success Story of the Seven Sutherland Sisters by Doug Farley (http://dougfarley.hubpages.com/hub/The-Long-Hair-Success-Story-of-the-Seven-Sutherland-Sisters#  : accessed 15 August 2014)