| Ella Harper | |
| Birth Name: | Ella Harper |
| Birth Date: | 1870 1, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Sumner County, Tennessee |
| Death Place: | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Restingplace: | Spring Hill Cemetery |
| Occupation: | Circus performer |
| Yearsactive: | 1882–1886 |
| Spouse: | Robert L. Savely (1905) |
| Parents: | William Harper and Minerva Childress |
Ella Harper (January 5, 1870 – December 19, 1921),[1] known professionally as The Camel Girl,[2] was born with an extremely rare orthopedic condition that caused her knees to bend backwards, called congenital genu recurvatum. Her preference to walk on all fours resulted in her nickname "Camel Girl". In 1886 she was featured as the star in W. H. Harris's Nickel Plate Circus, appearing in newspapers wherever the circus visited. The back of her pitch card reads:
Harper received a $200 per week salary for her appearances . The money she earned via this role likely afforded her opportunities in life she may not otherwise have had.[2]
Harper married a schoolteacher named Robert Savely in 1905; she died in 1921 at the age of fifty-one. She is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.