She was the tenth child of a family of twelve.
The Sadler family was impoverished, and many of Sadlers children worked as farm hands.
Ellen was a quiet, dreamy and thoughtful child.
She remained distant and melancholy, not inclined to join in the more boisterous sports of her youthful companions.
She had a great reverence for sacred things, particularly the Bible, and was always good and obedient.
While Ellen was in Marlow, she became overcome with fits of immense sleepiness.
At the same time she began to complain about a constant pain in her head.
Hayman diagnosed her of glandular swellings, or an abscess on the back of her head.
Her symptoms also suggested a spinal disease.
After 18 weeks at the hospital, Ellen was released.
The doctors stated that her condition was incurable.
Two days later, on 17 March 1871, Ellen suffered a series of seizures.
Ellen would remain in this position for the next nine years.
The house where Ellen lived, now called Sleepy Cottage.
News of the sleeping girl spread like wildfire, and people began to flock to Turville.
Ellens parents didnt mind the visitors for the publicity brought money which the family desperately needed.
Many began paying an admission fee in return for a glimpse of the girl.
Among those who visited her were journalists and medical professionals.
Even Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, is said to have visited her.
The eyes are calmly closed, as though in healthy sleep.
The girl’s [hand] was quite warm and moist, and the finger nails were neatly trimmed.
The fingers are not the least bit stiffened …
The child’s body is very thin as compared with her limbs.
Ellens mother would open her mouth slightly and feed her with a spoon.
The interior of Sleepy Cottage.
It was unclear how the family dealt with Ellens passing urine and feces.
Naturally, not many people took Ann Sadlers words at face value.
Some neighbors swore that on some nights they saw Ellen sitting by her window.
Ann Sadler did not allow medical personnel to remain in Ellens room for too long.
She also prohibited Ellen to be moved to a hospital.
Her parents were subsequently convicted of manslaughter.
… [Ellen’s case] very much … incites suspicion of deliberate imposture.
Once begun, they soon pass into real disease.
The village of Turville.
Photo:Amateur with a Camera/Flickr
In May 1880, Ellens mother passed away by heart attack.
Five months after her mothers death, Ellen woke up with no memory of the previous nine years.
By this time, Ellen was twenty-one years old.
She was reported to have fully recovered.
However, she suffered few long-term effects such as slightly stunted growth and a “weak eye”.
Ellen recovered enough to lead a fairly normal life.
She married in 1886 and gave birth to six children.
She died sometime after 1911.
The mystery was never solved.
The Sadler family home still stands in Turville and is known as the Sleepy Cottage.
