The World’s Tallest Black Woman in the 1800s— Mysteriously Vanished

The 8 feet tall African Giantess who worked as a side attraction in the late 1800s

Ella Williams with a man, a woman, and a child (Photo Credit -Authur Winter edited by Author)

Born Ella Grigsby in South Carolina, in 1865, just 10 months after slavery ended, Ella’s parents were slaves working for the Grigsby family.

After she left home, she decided to change her surname from her father’s slave master’s name to Williams. Ella Williams would later become a notable figure because of her unusual height of eight feet.

Her Life

When Ella Williams was just 14 years old, she suffered from Malaria a sickness contracted by mosquito bites and shortly after, she began to increase mysteriously in height.

Soon, Ella became too tall for her age and was beginning to draw more and more attention from people — especially people in the circus/show business, who believed they could exploit her unusual appearance for financial gain but Ella turned down their business proposals because she did not like the idea of being displayed in shows for people amusement.