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Nellie Boswell

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Nellie Boswell
Born1858 or 1859
Paris, France
Died21 May 1938
Blackpool, England
NationalityBritish

Ellen Clara "Nellie" Boswell later Nellie Cattle (1858/9 – 21 May 1938) was a British equestrian performer.

Life

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Boswell was born in Paris in 1858 or 1859. Her father, James Clement Boswell [it] was a well known performer in Paris as an acrobatic clown.[1] He would perform upside down with his head on a pole as his trained animals performed around him. He died from a cerebral injury caused by his act in 1858.[2]

She worked in Hengler's Circus for 20 years.[3] She would perform on the back of a moving horse creating different characters. She would change costumes as the horse was moving and was known for performing The Sailor's Hornpipe as if the ground was stationary.[1]

Boswell continued to perform until 1892. She was interviewed at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1935. She died a widow at her home in Blackpool on 1938.[1]

Private life

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She was the second wife of a circus clown named Frederick Isaac Cattle known as "Comic Cattle. They married on 30 October 1878.[1] Their children included William who climbed unsupported ladders in his act.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Turner, John M. (23 September 2004). "Boswell [married name Cattle], Nellie [Ellen Clara] (1858/9–1938), equestrian performer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53838. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "Boswell, James Clement su Enciclopedia | Sapere.it". www.sapere.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  3. ^ "The Boswells: The Story of a South African Circus". studylib.net. Retrieved 23 January 2023.