General Tom Thumb
Encyclopedia
General Tom Thumb was the stage name
of Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), a dwarf
who achieved great fame under circus
pioneer P.T. Barnum.
, carpenter named Sherwood Edward Stratton. Sherwood was the son of Seth Sherwood Stratton and Amy Sharpe. Sherwood married his first cousin Cynthia Thompson, daughter of Joseph Thompson and Mary Ann Sharpe. Charles Stratton's maternal and paternal grandmothers, Amy and Mary Ann Sharpe, were allegedly small twin girls born on 11 July 1781/83 in Oxford, New Haven, Connecticut.
Born in Bridgeport to parents who were of medium height, Charles was a relatively large baby, weighing 9 pounds (4.08233133 kg) at birth. He developed and grew normally for the first six months of his life, at which point he was 25 inches (63.5 cm) tall and weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kg). Then he stopped growing. His parents became concerned when, after his first birthday, they noticed he had not grown at all in the previous six months. They showed him to their doctor, who said there was little chance Charles would ever grow to, or reach normal height.
By late 1842, Stratton had not grown an inch in height or put on a pound in weight from when he was six months old. Apart from this, he was a totally normal, healthy child, with several siblings who were of average size.
, twice removed), heard about Stratton and after contacting his parents, taught the boy how to sing, dance, mime, and impersonate famous people. Barnum also went into business with Stratton's father, who died in 1855. Stratton made his first tour of America at the age of five, with routines that included impersonating characters such as Cupid
and Napoleon Bonaparte as well as singing, dancing and comical banter with another performer who acted as a straight man. It was a huge success and the tour expanded.
A year later, Barnum took young Stratton on a tour of Europe
making him an international celebrity. Stratton appeared twice before Queen Victoria
. He also met the three-year-old Prince of Wales
, who would become King Edward VII. The tour was a huge success, with crowds mobbing him wherever he went.
On his return home from his second tour in 1847 ( Black 47 of the Irish Famine), aboard the Cambria, he attracted the attention of the explorer John Palliser
who "was not a little surprised, on entering the state-cabin, to hear the most unnatural shrill little pipe exclaiming, “Waiter! bwing me a Welsh wabbit”. It was the fashion of the day, popularized by Dickens, to employ a juvenile speech impediment, substituting 'w' for 'r', mocking the British aristocracy and their affectation in ordering Welsh rarebit.
In 1847 he started to grow for the first time since the first few months of his life, but with extreme slowness. In January 1851 Stratton stood exactly 2 in 5 in (73.66 cm) tall. On his 18th birthday, he was measured at 2 foot tall. Stratton became a Freemason on October 3, 1862. Stratton, by now 2 in 11 in (88.9 cm) tall, was sworn in with a man 6 in 3 in (190.5 cm).
, became front-page news. The wedding took place at Grace Episcopal Church
and the wedding reception was held at the Metropolitan Hotel. The couple stood atop a grand piano in New York City
's Metropolitan Hotel to greet some 2,000 guests. The best man at the wedding was George Washington Morrison ("Commodore") Nutt
, another dwarf performer in Barnum's employ. The maid of honor was Minnie Warren
, Lavinia's even smaller sister. Following the wedding, the couple was received by President Lincoln
at the White House
. Stratton and his wife toured together in Europe as well as Japan.
Under Barnum's management, Stratton became a wealthy man. He owned a house in the fashionable part of New York and a steam yacht
, and he had a wardrobe of fine clothes. He also owned a specially adapted home on one of Connecticut's Thimble Islands
. When Barnum got into financial difficulty, Stratton bailed him out. Later, they became business partners. Stratton made his final appearance in England in 1878.
On January 10, 1883, Stratton was staying at the Newhall House in Milwaukee when a fire broke out, which Milwaukee historian John Gurda would call "one of the worst hotel fires in American history". More than 71 people died, but Tom and Lavinia were saved by their manager, Sylvester Blaker.
. He was 45 years old, 102 centimetre tall and weighed 32 kilograms (70.5 lb). Over 10,000 people attended the funeral. P.T. Barnum purchased a life-sized statue of Tom Thumb and placed it as a grave stone at Mountain Grove Cemetery
in Bridgeport, Connecticut
. Lavinia Warren is interred next to him with a simple grave stone that reads, "His Wife".
In 1959 vandals smashed the statue. It was restored by the Barnum Festival Society and Mountain Grove Cemetery Association with funds raised by public subscription.
The cause of Stratton's extreme shortness was and still is unknown. X-ray
s were not discovered until 1895, 12 years after Stratton's death, and the medical techniques of the day were unable to ascertain the pathology underlying his dwarfism.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), a dwarf
Midget
A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small...
who achieved great fame under circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
pioneer P.T. Barnum.
Early life
Stratton was a son of a Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, carpenter named Sherwood Edward Stratton. Sherwood was the son of Seth Sherwood Stratton and Amy Sharpe. Sherwood married his first cousin Cynthia Thompson, daughter of Joseph Thompson and Mary Ann Sharpe. Charles Stratton's maternal and paternal grandmothers, Amy and Mary Ann Sharpe, were allegedly small twin girls born on 11 July 1781/83 in Oxford, New Haven, Connecticut.
Born in Bridgeport to parents who were of medium height, Charles was a relatively large baby, weighing 9 pounds (4.08233133 kg) at birth. He developed and grew normally for the first six months of his life, at which point he was 25 inches (63.5 cm) tall and weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kg). Then he stopped growing. His parents became concerned when, after his first birthday, they noticed he had not grown at all in the previous six months. They showed him to their doctor, who said there was little chance Charles would ever grow to, or reach normal height.
By late 1842, Stratton had not grown an inch in height or put on a pound in weight from when he was six months old. Apart from this, he was a totally normal, healthy child, with several siblings who were of average size.
Under Barnum
P.T. Barnum, a distant relative (half fifth cousinCousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
, twice removed), heard about Stratton and after contacting his parents, taught the boy how to sing, dance, mime, and impersonate famous people. Barnum also went into business with Stratton's father, who died in 1855. Stratton made his first tour of America at the age of five, with routines that included impersonating characters such as Cupid
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...
and Napoleon Bonaparte as well as singing, dancing and comical banter with another performer who acted as a straight man. It was a huge success and the tour expanded.
A year later, Barnum took young Stratton on a tour of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
making him an international celebrity. Stratton appeared twice before Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. He also met the three-year-old Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, who would become King Edward VII. The tour was a huge success, with crowds mobbing him wherever he went.
On his return home from his second tour in 1847 ( Black 47 of the Irish Famine), aboard the Cambria, he attracted the attention of the explorer John Palliser
John Palliser
John Palliser was an Irish-born geographer and explorer. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he was the son of Colonel Wray Palliser and a brother of Major Sir William Palliser , all descendants of Dr William Palliser, Archbishop of Cashel .From 1839 to 1863, Palliser served in the Waterford Militia,...
who "was not a little surprised, on entering the state-cabin, to hear the most unnatural shrill little pipe exclaiming, “Waiter! bwing me a Welsh wabbit”. It was the fashion of the day, popularized by Dickens, to employ a juvenile speech impediment, substituting 'w' for 'r', mocking the British aristocracy and their affectation in ordering Welsh rarebit.
In 1847 he started to grow for the first time since the first few months of his life, but with extreme slowness. In January 1851 Stratton stood exactly 2 in 5 in (73.66 cm) tall. On his 18th birthday, he was measured at 2 foot tall. Stratton became a Freemason on October 3, 1862. Stratton, by now 2 in 11 in (88.9 cm) tall, was sworn in with a man 6 in 3 in (190.5 cm).
Marriage and later life
Stratton's marriage on February 10, 1863, to another dwarf, Lavinia WarrenLavinia Warren
Lavinia Warren was an American proportionate dwarf and the wife of General Tom Thumb.-Early life:Warren was born at Middleborough, Massachusetts as Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump, a descendant of a French Catholic family named Bonpasse, of Governor Thomas Mayhew, and five Mayflower passengers: John...
, became front-page news. The wedding took place at Grace Episcopal Church
Grace Church, New York
Grace Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, located at 800 and 804 Broadway at the corner of East 10th Street, where Broadway bends to the north, with Grace Church School and the church houses – which are now used by the school – behind it at 86-98...
and the wedding reception was held at the Metropolitan Hotel. The couple stood atop a grand piano in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Metropolitan Hotel to greet some 2,000 guests. The best man at the wedding was George Washington Morrison ("Commodore") Nutt
Commodore Nutt
George Washington Morrison Nutt , better known by his stage name Commodore Nutt, was a 19th century dwarf who became famous working for P. T. Barnum.-Early life:Nutt was born in Manchester, New Hampshire...
, another dwarf performer in Barnum's employ. The maid of honor was Minnie Warren
Minnie Warren
Huldah Pierce Warren Bump , better known as Minnie Warren, was a 19th century dwarf who gained fame as an associate of P.T. Barnum. Her sister, Lavinia Warren, was married to General Tom Thumb....
, Lavinia's even smaller sister. Following the wedding, the couple was received by President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Stratton and his wife toured together in Europe as well as Japan.
Under Barnum's management, Stratton became a wealthy man. He owned a house in the fashionable part of New York and a steam yacht
Steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.-Origin of the name:...
, and he had a wardrobe of fine clothes. He also owned a specially adapted home on one of Connecticut's Thimble Islands
Thimble Islands
Ghost Island redirects here. For the island in Japan, see Hashima Island.The Thimble Islands is an archipelago consisting of small islands in Long Island Sound, located in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut.The archipelago of islands made up of...
. When Barnum got into financial difficulty, Stratton bailed him out. Later, they became business partners. Stratton made his final appearance in England in 1878.
On January 10, 1883, Stratton was staying at the Newhall House in Milwaukee when a fire broke out, which Milwaukee historian John Gurda would call "one of the worst hotel fires in American history". More than 71 people died, but Tom and Lavinia were saved by their manager, Sylvester Blaker.
Death
Six months later, Stratton died suddenly of a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. He was 45 years old, 102 centimetre tall and weighed 32 kilograms (70.5 lb). Over 10,000 people attended the funeral. P.T. Barnum purchased a life-sized statue of Tom Thumb and placed it as a grave stone at Mountain Grove Cemetery
Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport
Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut, was laid out in 1849 in a park-like, rural setting away from the center of the city.The cemetery was designed by P. T. Barnum, who himself is buried there.-Notable interments:...
in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
. Lavinia Warren is interred next to him with a simple grave stone that reads, "His Wife".
In 1959 vandals smashed the statue. It was restored by the Barnum Festival Society and Mountain Grove Cemetery Association with funds raised by public subscription.
The cause of Stratton's extreme shortness was and still is unknown. X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s were not discovered until 1895, 12 years after Stratton's death, and the medical techniques of the day were unable to ascertain the pathology underlying his dwarfism.
See also
- Stamford MuseumStamford MuseumStamford Museum was located in Stamford, Lincolnshire in Great Britain. It was housed in a Victorian building in Broad Street, Stamford and was run by the museum services of Lincolnshire County Council from 1980 to 2011.-The building and area:...
where a suit of his clothes is displayed for comparison with those of Daniel LambertDaniel LambertDaniel Lambert was a gaol keeper and animal breeder from Leicester, England, famous for his unusually large size. After serving four years as an apprentice at an engraving and die casting works in Birmingham, he returned to Leicester around 1788 and succeeded his father as keeper of Leicester's gaol...
.
External links
- "Sideshow Ephemera Gallery: General Tom Thumb" by James G. Mundie - biographical essay with photos
- Harpers portrait and report on General Tom Thumb's Wedding
- Details of a museum in Middleboro, MA. A town where they made their home. - Link points to RoadsideAmerica.com
- "Tom Thumb" at the Disability History Museum