Buried in Michigan: The Original Circus ‘Fat Lady’
This lady – buried in a Branch County, Michigan cemetery - went by a few different names: Elizabeth Charlotte Stice, Lottie Grant, Lizzie Whitlock, and the "World’s Most Famous Fat Lady".
Mainly known as Lizzie, she was featured in the ‘freak shows’ of the circuses due to her extraordinary size. Appearing IN various circuses, she even spent time in the Barnum & Bailey enterprise.
Her place of birth has not been positively identified, but sources say either Missouri, Iowa, or British Columbia, Canada. She was born around 1853 and grew to be over six feet tall. At 14 years old she weighed 500 pounds and would reach a top weight of 722 pounds. Her shoes were size 24.....she is fondly remembered as the original ‘fat lady’ of the circuses.
She married Frank Whitlock when she was 27 and appearing in the Barret & Company Circus. They had three kids, one of them named after Phineas T. Barnum, as a tribute to the fondness she had for that circus.
Around the age of 40 she was down to 650 pounds; she experienced heart problems and passed away on August 16, 1899. She was living in Batavia in Branch County, Michigan and was secretly buried in the local cemetery at midnight in an unmarked grave. A special, oversized coffin was made for her remains, and one pallbearer fell through the floor as they proceeded carried her to the cemetery.
Years later, the information came to light that the world famous, original “fat lady” was buried in Branch County. In 1996 the Branch County Historical Society decided to use a Body Witcher to see if they could locate Lizzie’s actual unmarked gravesite. Once they determined the location, they placed the current gravestone at the spot.
Is this her exact grave? No one is positive.
Scroll down and take a look below...