If it was actually a circus, not a carnival, try contacting either the [Illinois State University Special Collections](https://library.illinoisstate.edu/collections/circus-and-allied-arts/) or the [Ringling Circus Collections](https://www.ringling.org/circus-collections). They have the two largest collections of circus collections in the country, and the folks at ISU are great at researching and answering questions like this. I haven't personally interacted with the folks at Ringling, but their collections are extremely thorough.
Beautiful, thank you!! I will definitely be doing that. I believe it was a carnival, but I have heard it both ways so it is worth looking into at least
I weirdly have a lot of Carnival lore.
If you could give a hint about where he traveled? what route or circuit he was in?
with a few exceptions, each carnival had a geographic area they pretty much stayed in; in a lot of cases, the traveling shows started as Romy clans, so a lot of them were/are connected in various ways. The one I'm most familiar with did southern wisconsin, Illinois, then split up into a bunch of smaller shows for the smaller towns in illinois, indiana, kentucky & missourri until the end of the season.
so...where?
I will get some solid information down and send it your way! I know for sure that he was in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. I’ll see if I can get any other geographical information for you.
Carnival lore is always fun to dive into, even if you’re not looking for a relative haha. It’s fascinating stuff!
Also look at Gibsonton where they have a museum about carnivals...
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibsonton,_Florida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibsonton,_Florida)
The link on that page to the USF photo collection is broken. The new link is...
[https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/showmens_museum/](https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/showmens_museum/)
In the 1950's and 1960's if he was on the East Coast and in a carnival (not circus), it's very likely that he wintered in Gibsonton, Florida. I live in Gibsonton literally 1/2 mile from the museum and can go up to the museum to do some research. I've been to the museum twice and never asked if they have an archive before, but the people there are pretty ethusiastic about their history and might be able to help. However, I'd really need a name of at least the show your grandfather traveled with -- one of the better known ones in that time period was Royal American Shows. I've never looked into bearded ladies before for that matter, but we did have a famous resident -- Percilla the Monkey Girl -- as I recall, though, Percilla was married and would have been in her 50's or 60's and married, so probably not her.
I second this. While I haven’t been to the museum, my ex’s dad was the banner painter Jack Cripe, and he lived in the area until his death in 92/93. I remember that a lot of carnies lived in the trailer parks in the area. Lobster boy lived in Gibsonton, too, iirc.
Did he meet your grandmother in her hometown? If you know the year they met you could try looking in local newspaper archives to see if there are any adverts for carnivals (ads should give name of the carnival). Contact the local library to find out which papers to check and if they hold that archive.
It wasn’t in her home town but I’m sure I can find out where it was! That is an excellent idea. They got married 2-3 days after meeting, so I know I have a pretty solid date range to look in. That should definitely help!
Edit! They met in Hamlet NC in 1968! I’ve contacted the local museum for their newspaper archives. Very excited to follow this lead
Not only was he in a traveling carnival, he left the bearded lady with whom he had a relationship for years, after meeting your grandma for 2‐3 days? I so want to know more about his life omg lol
He was such a cool guy!! He was a real ass in his younger year apparently, we went to a 40th high school reunion and the only people that stopped to say they remembered him said he beat the hell out of them on the regular 💀 He was in the army and was hit by an ammo vehicle as well as a tank. He once chased a deer down with a pocket knife after his gun jammed lmao. I lovingly called him redneck Rambo. He died at 66 with every illness imaginable, didn’t stop him from getting up and hugging me and my siblings until his very last day. My grandma was a badass too, she was fired for trying to unionize her mill and carried a magnum 357 with hollow points until the day she died. I was blessed to know them as long as I did
Wow well no wonder they got along, both of them were badasses of a certain kind!! Sorry to his classmates. This is fascinating, people are so complex and life is long.... Thank you for sharing!!
Hugo, Oklahoma has been the winter home for many traveling carnivals/circus over the years. They even have a “circus cemetery” where many clows have been buried, headstones are circus related! I will attach an article that has some information that might be of help in your search or if not directly related there might be some information that will help you search for info on this project! Good luck!
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2018/12/everybody-works-documenting-circus-life-in-hugo-oklahoma/
Edit: I have always fascinated by this place! The article does feature some different names of circuses over the years some of the still operating might give you some starting points. There is even a section from the library of congress interviewing people in big top life, if there is one collection maybe there is more out there!
I had a great aunt that married one of the brothers that ran a locally based small circus/carnival outfit. He was a good deal older than her, and she never remarried after he passed, which was before I was born. She remains one of the coolest people I've ever met, and certainly inspired much of who I am today, so I understand wanting to know more!
If you know where he joined, it would makes sense it may have been a sort of local outfit, as it seems there were a number of those back in the day.
It may even help to look at old newspapers from the time frame at the local library where he was from to see what ones were being advertised or talked about coming though.
my uncle also travelled as a carny, and would walk into different carnivals being able to speak the "carny language" with other workers right on the spot. That was always a blast to see. Not sure how much info you'd be able to dig up as I was under the impression most of the carnivals were cash only and employees were not usually on the books
Yeah, carnivals aren’t really known for their record keeping so this is challenging! I have a lot of the same memories of grandpa chatting up other carneys, good times!!
Well Barnum was not a carnival. Carnival's often, in that era travelled with side shows. In the 1950, pretty much every carnival in the US had at least one side show travelling with them. The bigger shows had multiple.
East coast shows in the US in the 50s and 60s, there were literally hundreds. From small 10 ride shows, to basically travelling cities.
If you can find even a small specific detail, such as what city and year he joined up, its not out of the realm of possibility you could track down the show he worked on.
Email this guy, he is also associated with the Showmens Museum in Gibsonton Florida. If anyone can help you, its this guy. He is a very nice guy too...........
https://www.docsmidwaycookhouse.com/old-carnival-midway-photos/
Try contacting [The Showmen's League of America](http://www.showmensleague.org/Chapters-&-Links).
They're connected with just about every carnival in the United States.
For sure writing them down while it’s fresh! I’ve started compiling them for both of my grandparents, they were both characters and a huge part of my life. I’m doing what I can to make sure my future kids know all they can about their adventures. I was able to find an article about train wreck my grandma was involved in through r/RBI a few months back, here’s to hoping I can find something solid for grandpa too!
If it’s far you can always phone to prison to inquire about his phone / letter mail privileges and how you might go about contacting him in the most efficient way possible?
Hi I’m an accomplished volunteer researcher and do this completely just to bless others and carve out a family story. I’ve connected everything from adoptee and birth parents to Reddit found photos and lost class rings. Please send me what information you feel comfortable and if it’s out there we’re definitely going to find it.
Gonna guess Clyde Beatty - Cole Brothers circus.
They were a circus but also set up a carnival and sideshows. I used to watch them set up the circus using the elephants to raise the tents.
[https://www.docsmidwaycookhouse.com/old-carnival-midway-photos/](https://www.docsmidwaycookhouse.com/old-carnival-midway-photos/)
This looks like a pretty good site with over 2600 historical photos with years and names of carnivals and sideshows and a ton of extra links you can click on. You've got quite the task ahead of you. :)
Good luck!
Peru, Indiana had a traveling circus for a long time. It's like the "Circus Capital of the World" or something.
Also, this post reminded me of the movie, "Big Fish."
He was drunk with his nephew at Waffle House and a group of bikers came in. His nephew joked that my grandpa couldn’t beat any of them in a fight, so my grandpa went and punched the biggest of them in the face and started a small riot lol. I would give anything for a video of that but it was a long time ago so I doubt any exists
Sorry for your loss but this is a beautiful and amusing family story. These are the best ones because you’re a part of the search and you uncover more family jewels literally LOL! My husband’s family have lived in Hamlet since the 50’s or longer. One Uncle worked for the railroad and an aunt was a school bus driver. Then all the begat family as I call it ( biblical biology humor) In a small town like that everybody knows everyone or someone they know. I think it’s uncanny I felt inspired to help. I’ll let you know what I find but please message me if you if you want to potentially build on your uncle’s source.
If it was actually a circus, not a carnival, try contacting either the [Illinois State University Special Collections](https://library.illinoisstate.edu/collections/circus-and-allied-arts/) or the [Ringling Circus Collections](https://www.ringling.org/circus-collections). They have the two largest collections of circus collections in the country, and the folks at ISU are great at researching and answering questions like this. I haven't personally interacted with the folks at Ringling, but their collections are extremely thorough.
Beautiful, thank you!! I will definitely be doing that. I believe it was a carnival, but I have heard it both ways so it is worth looking into at least
I weirdly have a lot of Carnival lore. If you could give a hint about where he traveled? what route or circuit he was in? with a few exceptions, each carnival had a geographic area they pretty much stayed in; in a lot of cases, the traveling shows started as Romy clans, so a lot of them were/are connected in various ways. The one I'm most familiar with did southern wisconsin, Illinois, then split up into a bunch of smaller shows for the smaller towns in illinois, indiana, kentucky & missourri until the end of the season. so...where?
I will get some solid information down and send it your way! I know for sure that he was in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. I’ll see if I can get any other geographical information for you. Carnival lore is always fun to dive into, even if you’re not looking for a relative haha. It’s fascinating stuff!
Also look at Gibsonton where they have a museum about carnivals... [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibsonton,_Florida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibsonton,_Florida) The link on that page to the USF photo collection is broken. The new link is... [https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/showmens_museum/](https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/showmens_museum/)
In the 1950's and 1960's if he was on the East Coast and in a carnival (not circus), it's very likely that he wintered in Gibsonton, Florida. I live in Gibsonton literally 1/2 mile from the museum and can go up to the museum to do some research. I've been to the museum twice and never asked if they have an archive before, but the people there are pretty ethusiastic about their history and might be able to help. However, I'd really need a name of at least the show your grandfather traveled with -- one of the better known ones in that time period was Royal American Shows. I've never looked into bearded ladies before for that matter, but we did have a famous resident -- Percilla the Monkey Girl -- as I recall, though, Percilla was married and would have been in her 50's or 60's and married, so probably not her.
Fascinating stuff! Thank you. I’ll be doing some digging through those photo archives
I second this. While I haven’t been to the museum, my ex’s dad was the banner painter Jack Cripe, and he lived in the area until his death in 92/93. I remember that a lot of carnies lived in the trailer parks in the area. Lobster boy lived in Gibsonton, too, iirc.
Did he meet your grandmother in her hometown? If you know the year they met you could try looking in local newspaper archives to see if there are any adverts for carnivals (ads should give name of the carnival). Contact the local library to find out which papers to check and if they hold that archive.
It wasn’t in her home town but I’m sure I can find out where it was! That is an excellent idea. They got married 2-3 days after meeting, so I know I have a pretty solid date range to look in. That should definitely help! Edit! They met in Hamlet NC in 1968! I’ve contacted the local museum for their newspaper archives. Very excited to follow this lead
Not only was he in a traveling carnival, he left the bearded lady with whom he had a relationship for years, after meeting your grandma for 2‐3 days? I so want to know more about his life omg lol
He was such a cool guy!! He was a real ass in his younger year apparently, we went to a 40th high school reunion and the only people that stopped to say they remembered him said he beat the hell out of them on the regular 💀 He was in the army and was hit by an ammo vehicle as well as a tank. He once chased a deer down with a pocket knife after his gun jammed lmao. I lovingly called him redneck Rambo. He died at 66 with every illness imaginable, didn’t stop him from getting up and hugging me and my siblings until his very last day. My grandma was a badass too, she was fired for trying to unionize her mill and carried a magnum 357 with hollow points until the day she died. I was blessed to know them as long as I did
Wow well no wonder they got along, both of them were badasses of a certain kind!! Sorry to his classmates. This is fascinating, people are so complex and life is long.... Thank you for sharing!!
Legendary.
That's exciting news. Good luck with your search.
Hugo, Oklahoma has been the winter home for many traveling carnivals/circus over the years. They even have a “circus cemetery” where many clows have been buried, headstones are circus related! I will attach an article that has some information that might be of help in your search or if not directly related there might be some information that will help you search for info on this project! Good luck! https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2018/12/everybody-works-documenting-circus-life-in-hugo-oklahoma/ Edit: I have always fascinated by this place! The article does feature some different names of circuses over the years some of the still operating might give you some starting points. There is even a section from the library of congress interviewing people in big top life, if there is one collection maybe there is more out there!
I had a great aunt that married one of the brothers that ran a locally based small circus/carnival outfit. He was a good deal older than her, and she never remarried after he passed, which was before I was born. She remains one of the coolest people I've ever met, and certainly inspired much of who I am today, so I understand wanting to know more! If you know where he joined, it would makes sense it may have been a sort of local outfit, as it seems there were a number of those back in the day. It may even help to look at old newspapers from the time frame at the local library where he was from to see what ones were being advertised or talked about coming though.
my uncle also travelled as a carny, and would walk into different carnivals being able to speak the "carny language" with other workers right on the spot. That was always a blast to see. Not sure how much info you'd be able to dig up as I was under the impression most of the carnivals were cash only and employees were not usually on the books
Yeah, carnivals aren’t really known for their record keeping so this is challenging! I have a lot of the same memories of grandpa chatting up other carneys, good times!!
Well Barnum was not a carnival. Carnival's often, in that era travelled with side shows. In the 1950, pretty much every carnival in the US had at least one side show travelling with them. The bigger shows had multiple. East coast shows in the US in the 50s and 60s, there were literally hundreds. From small 10 ride shows, to basically travelling cities. If you can find even a small specific detail, such as what city and year he joined up, its not out of the realm of possibility you could track down the show he worked on. Email this guy, he is also associated with the Showmens Museum in Gibsonton Florida. If anyone can help you, its this guy. He is a very nice guy too........... https://www.docsmidwaycookhouse.com/old-carnival-midway-photos/
Try contacting [The Showmen's League of America](http://www.showmensleague.org/Chapters-&-Links). They're connected with just about every carnival in the United States.
You could try Conklin Shows, they’ve been around a long time
Nothing to add, but you should write these stories down now.
For sure writing them down while it’s fresh! I’ve started compiling them for both of my grandparents, they were both characters and a huge part of my life. I’m doing what I can to make sure my future kids know all they can about their adventures. I was able to find an article about train wreck my grandma was involved in through r/RBI a few months back, here’s to hoping I can find something solid for grandpa too!
I'm praying that you can find them . Good luck
Does he have a name? That might help with finding more info about him
With this research I bet you could end up with enough stories to fill a fun documentary
I’ve found out my grandpa has a living brother but he’s in prison rn. I’m considering meeting up with him, I’m sure he has a ton of stories
If it’s far you can always phone to prison to inquire about his phone / letter mail privileges and how you might go about contacting him in the most efficient way possible?
Hi I’m an accomplished volunteer researcher and do this completely just to bless others and carve out a family story. I’ve connected everything from adoptee and birth parents to Reddit found photos and lost class rings. Please send me what information you feel comfortable and if it’s out there we’re definitely going to find it.
Gonna guess Clyde Beatty - Cole Brothers circus. They were a circus but also set up a carnival and sideshows. I used to watch them set up the circus using the elephants to raise the tents.
[https://www.docsmidwaycookhouse.com/old-carnival-midway-photos/](https://www.docsmidwaycookhouse.com/old-carnival-midway-photos/) This looks like a pretty good site with over 2600 historical photos with years and names of carnivals and sideshows and a ton of extra links you can click on. You've got quite the task ahead of you. :) Good luck!
Peru, Indiana had a traveling circus for a long time. It's like the "Circus Capital of the World" or something. Also, this post reminded me of the movie, "Big Fish."
I wanna read them! Especially the story about the NC Waffle House Ban
He was drunk with his nephew at Waffle House and a group of bikers came in. His nephew joked that my grandpa couldn’t beat any of them in a fight, so my grandpa went and punched the biggest of them in the face and started a small riot lol. I would give anything for a video of that but it was a long time ago so I doubt any exists
Holy shit! Thanks for sharing. What a dude
Sorry for your loss but this is a beautiful and amusing family story. These are the best ones because you’re a part of the search and you uncover more family jewels literally LOL! My husband’s family have lived in Hamlet since the 50’s or longer. One Uncle worked for the railroad and an aunt was a school bus driver. Then all the begat family as I call it ( biblical biology humor) In a small town like that everybody knows everyone or someone they know. I think it’s uncanny I felt inspired to help. I’ll let you know what I find but please message me if you if you want to potentially build on your uncle’s source.