THE BALLYHOO
CONGRESS OF THE ODD
SIDONIA DE BARCSY – The Bearded Lady Baroness
Unlike many of her bearded lady contemporaries – the Baroness Sidonia de Barcsy was a genuine member of a royal family. Sidonia was born whisker-free on May 1, 1866 in Hungary. She remained sans mane until shortly after she gave birth to her son at the age of 19. Her son, Nicu, was a dwarf and was destined to stand less than three feet in height. The Baroness, meanwhile, began to sprout facial hair and in a few short months Sidonia possessed a full beard measuring nearly 9 inches in length.
Sidonia’s husband, Baron Antonio de Barcsy, was quite fond of the bushy beard. He took great pride in the unique bearded lady appearance of his beloved wife and he relished the celebrity she drew to the family. The Baron knew there was a fortune to be had and actively cultivated a career for Sidonia and his son in exhibition and sideshow. In the pursuit of fortune and fame the Baron moved his family to Western Europe in the the 1890′s and the “De Barcsy Troupe’ began to actively tour to great success. The Troupe was certainly unique as it completely consisted of royal family members and was self-contained. With a blue-blood Bearded Lady as well as a dwarf on display, the Baron himself ’rounded’ out the troupe. At a weight of nearly 400 pounds the Baron made for a rather respectable Fat Man and he displayed himself as such.
In 1903, the troupe travelled to America and found even greater fame with the Ringling Bros. and Campbell Bros circuses. In 1912, while wintering in Oklahoma, the Baron became stricken with illness and passed away. Sidonia continued touring America until she died on October 19, 1925 due to complications associated with Diabetes. Despite having remarried, the Bearded Lady Baroness Sidonia de Barcsy asked that her ashes be laid to rest next to the Baron.
The last member of the family, Nicu, continued to exhibit himself and perform in America. Adopting the title of ‘Baron’ following the death of his father. Baron Nicu was perhaps best known for performing at Coney Island as a magician and escape artist. Ironically, having lost the title to his family estate in a fire, Nicu was never able to return Hungary to claim his royal title officially.
Nicu eventually retired to Enid, Oklahoma in 1932. There he was well known and liked by the locals for his card tricks, his doves and his faithful dog. Nicu passed away in August of 1976 at the age of 91, that last member of a most remarkable family.
© 2011 – 2012, J Tithonus Pednaud. All rights reserved.
RECOMMENDED READING
American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia
Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit
Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination
Freaks, Geeks, and Strange Girls
Pickled Punks & Girlie Shows: A Life Spent on the Midways of America
The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins
The Circus Age: Culture and Society under the American Big Top
Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body
James Taylor's Shocked and Amazed: On & Off the Midway
THE AUTHOR
J Tithonus Pednaud has dedicated this site to highlighting the remarkable lives of those born exceedingly different. These so-called freaks and human oddities stand as uplifting testaments to human spirit and serve as inspiring examples of human tenacity.
5 Responses to “SIDONIA DE BARCSY – The Bearded Lady Baroness”
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Quite interesting, though there is no such aristocrata family like Barcsy. Not even in Romania :) So it seems their “real” personalities are unknown.
The family name is Hungarian, but the personal names (Sidonia, Antonio, Nicu) are not. Hungary never had a baronial family named Barcsy, let alone royalty. (Since the 16th century, the kings of the country came from the German-speaking Hapsburg dynasty.) There is a Hungarian baronial family named Barcsay, and for some short years in the 17th century a Barcsay has ruled in the principality of Transylvania. However, his descendants in the 19th century were fairly rich and deeply integrated in the aristocracy, with castles and lands and industry holdings of their own. I doubt that they had any connection to this family of performers. It seems to be a case of assumed identities.
That is, of course, always a possibility.