From Seala The Seal Girl’s autobiographical pamphlet: was born in Paris, Texas, November 26, 1919, of Scotch-Irish parentage. My mother was not frightened by a seal or anything else, not even the size of the hospital bill. People often ask me what caused my deformity. My mother was very ill in 1918 (the year of the flu epidemic in the United States) and did not have enough strength for me to develop normally.
