Joice Heth (c.1756 -1836) · George Washington's Mount Vernon
Joice Heth (c.1756 -1836) · George Washington's Mount Vernon Joice Heth was an enslaved, elderly black woman whom a young P.T. Barnum bought and displayed as the 161-year-old former nurse of George Washington. Joice was actually in her eighties, but Barnum forcibly pulled her remaining teeth to make her look older. Heth made Barnum a small fortune telling stories about “little George” and singing a hymn. When she died in 1836, Barnum charged 50 cents admission to watch her autopsy SHOP ON AMAZON NOW: Moore: Pageant of P.T. Barnum - 2. Joice Heth _ 161 Year Old Negress Joice Heth was an enslaved African American woman whom P. T. Barnum marketed as George Washington’s 161-year-old nurse. Historians do not agree on her actual birth date, although most believe that she was born in 1756, which would have made her around 80 years old at the time of her death in 1836 in New York City. Heth, and Barnum's stories about her, captivated thousands of Americans in the early United St...