Lavinia Warren
Encyclopedia
Lavinia Warren was an American
proportionate dwarf and the wife of General Tom Thumb
.
as Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump, a descendant of a French
Catholic family named Bonpasse, of Governor Thomas Mayhew, and five Mayflower
passengers: John Billington
, Francis Cooke
, Edward Doty
, Stephen Hopkins
, and Richard Warren
— New England families which intermarried many-times over.
Lavinia and her younger sister Huldah Pierce Warren Bump
had a form of proportionate dwarfism
(considered to be desirable by sideshows and "museums" of that era owing to its perfectly miniaturized characteristics, with the same proportions as common larger people) caused by a pituitary
disorder which seemingly occurs when close relatives (cousins) descended of identically replicating DNA (twins) produce offspring.
Lavinia's parents were 4th cousins, the mother being a 2nd great grandchild of married cousins, descended of a twin. The maternal 2nd great grandfather of Lavinia's father James Sullivan Bump, Medad Tupper born 1677, was a son of Thomas Tupper and Martha Mayhew. The paternal 2nd great grandfather of Lavinia's mother Huldah Pierce Warren, Ichabod Tupper born 1673 who married his cousin Mary Tupper born 1685, was a son of Thomas Tupper and Martha Mayhew. Thomas Tupper was born 16 January 1638 as a twin of Henry Tupper in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts.
Lavinia's family was a long-established and well-respected New England family. Her childhood, and that of her younger sister, was entirely normal for the time.
showboat
owned by a cousin. She enjoyed performing, learned of Tom Thumb
's success, alongside the rest of the nation, and pursued a performing career as an adult. Under the management of showman P. T. Barnum
, she changed her name from Mercy Lavinia Bumpus to Lavinia Warren, the stage name she had previously used while performing on the Mississippi River.
Romantically pursued by the tiny entertainer Commodore Nutt
, her affections belonged to General Tom Thumb from their first introduction. She was married in an elaborate ceremony to Tom Thumb
on February 10, 1863 at Grace Episcopal Church and the wedding reception was held at the Metropolitan Hotel which included the couple greeting guests from atop the grand piano. Her sister Minnie Warren
was her bridesmaid. While admission to the actual wedding was free, Barnum sold tickets to the reception for $75 each to the first five thousand to apply.
Together, Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren became famous, perhaps the most famous public personages of the 1860s. President Abraham Lincoln
and his wife provided a reception for the new couple at the White House
. Tiffany and Co. gave a silver coach to the couple. They amassed and spent a fortune over the course of their life together which would have made them millionaires by today's standards.
Lavinia bore no children. Lavinia's 27 inches (68.6 cm) sister Minnie also married a little person in P.T. Barnum's employ named Major Edward Newell and she became pregnant with a normal sized child arriving at 6 pounds (2.7 kg). Excitement was cut short by tragedy when Lavinia's beloved little sister Minnie and the baby died during childbirth on 23 July 1878. Several years later, Lavinia and her husband stayed at Newhall House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and were narrowly rescued by their friend and manager, Sylvester Bleeker, from what had been referred to as "one of the worst hotel fires in American history". Within six months, on 15 July 1883, her husband suddenly died of a stroke at the age of 45, some say as a result of his never having recovered from the hotel fire.
Two years after her husband's death in 1883, she married Count Primo Magri
, an Italian
dwarf and they operated a famous roadside stand in Middleborough, Massachusetts
. At the age of 73, she appeared in a 1915 silent film, The Lilliputian's Courtship, along with Count Magri. She died on November 25, 1919 at the age of 77 or 78 and is buried next to her first husband with a simple grave stone that reads, "His Wife".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
proportionate dwarf and the wife of General Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton , a dwarf who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.-Early life:...
.
Early life
Warren was born at Middleborough, MassachusettsMiddleborough, Massachusetts
Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,117 as of 2008.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Middleborough Center, please see the article Middleborough Center, Massachusetts....
as Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump, a descendant of a French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Catholic family named Bonpasse, of Governor Thomas Mayhew, and five Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
passengers: John Billington
John Billington
John Billington was an Englishman who was convicted of murder in what would become the United States, and the first to be hanged for any crime in New England. Billington was also a signer of the Mayflower Compact....
, Francis Cooke
Francis Cooke
Francis Cooke was one of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower. This early settler is one of the twenty-six male Pilgrims known to have descendants.- Early life and family :...
, Edward Doty
Edward Doty
Edward Doty was a Mayflower passenger, a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and a permanent settler of Plymouth Colony. His surname sometimes appears as Doten, Dotey, or Day....
, Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins (settler)
Stephen Hopkins , was a tanner and merchant who was one of the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620, settling in Plymouth Colony. Hopkins was recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide governance for the colony as well as assist with the colony's ventures...
, and Richard Warren
Richard Warren
Richard Warren was a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620. He settled in Plymouth Colony and was among ten passengers of the Mayflower landing party with Myles Standish at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620...
— New England families which intermarried many-times over.
Lavinia and her younger sister Huldah Pierce Warren Bump
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....
had a form of proportionate dwarfism
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
(considered to be desirable by sideshows and "museums" of that era owing to its perfectly miniaturized characteristics, with the same proportions as common larger people) caused by a pituitary
Pituitary gland
In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g , in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold...
disorder which seemingly occurs when close relatives (cousins) descended of identically replicating DNA (twins) produce offspring.
Lavinia's parents were 4th cousins, the mother being a 2nd great grandchild of married cousins, descended of a twin. The maternal 2nd great grandfather of Lavinia's father James Sullivan Bump, Medad Tupper born 1677, was a son of Thomas Tupper and Martha Mayhew. The paternal 2nd great grandfather of Lavinia's mother Huldah Pierce Warren, Ichabod Tupper born 1673 who married his cousin Mary Tupper born 1685, was a son of Thomas Tupper and Martha Mayhew. Thomas Tupper was born 16 January 1638 as a twin of Henry Tupper in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts.
Lavinia's family was a long-established and well-respected New England family. Her childhood, and that of her younger sister, was entirely normal for the time.
Performing career
After a successful career as a well-respected school teacher, which began at the age of 16, Lavinia went to work as a miniature dancing chanteuse upon a MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
showboat
Showboat
A showboat, or show boat, was a form of theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers . A showboat was basically a barge that resembled a long, flat-roofed house, and in order to move down the river, it was pushed by a small tugboat...
owned by a cousin. She enjoyed performing, learned of Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton , a dwarf who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.-Early life:...
's success, alongside the rest of the nation, and pursued a performing career as an adult. Under the management of showman P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
, she changed her name from Mercy Lavinia Bumpus to Lavinia Warren, the stage name she had previously used while performing on the Mississippi River.
Personal life
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...
, her affections belonged to General Tom Thumb from their first introduction. She was married in an elaborate ceremony to Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton , a dwarf who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.-Early life:...
on February 10, 1863 at Grace Episcopal Church and the wedding reception was held at the Metropolitan Hotel which included the couple greeting guests from atop the grand piano. Her sister 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....
was her bridesmaid. While admission to the actual wedding was free, Barnum sold tickets to the reception for $75 each to the first five thousand to apply.
Together, Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren became famous, perhaps the most famous public personages of the 1860s. President Abraham 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...
and his wife provided a reception for the new couple 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...
. Tiffany and Co. gave a silver coach to the couple. They amassed and spent a fortune over the course of their life together which would have made them millionaires by today's standards.
Lavinia bore no children. Lavinia's 27 inches (68.6 cm) sister Minnie also married a little person in P.T. Barnum's employ named Major Edward Newell and she became pregnant with a normal sized child arriving at 6 pounds (2.7 kg). Excitement was cut short by tragedy when Lavinia's beloved little sister Minnie and the baby died during childbirth on 23 July 1878. Several years later, Lavinia and her husband stayed at Newhall House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
and were narrowly rescued by their friend and manager, Sylvester Bleeker, from what had been referred to as "one of the worst hotel fires in American history". Within six months, on 15 July 1883, her husband suddenly died of a stroke at the age of 45, some say as a result of his never having recovered from the hotel fire.
Two years after her husband's death in 1883, she married Count Primo Magri
Count Primo Magri
Count Primo Magri and Count Rosebud were the stage names of a 19th century Italian dwarf who married Lavinia Warren, the widow of General Tom Thumb on Easter Monday, April 6, 1885 at the Church of the Holy Trinity in New York. At 2 ft. 8 in tall Magri was two inches shorter than her first...
, an Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
dwarf and they operated a famous roadside stand in Middleborough, Massachusetts
Middleborough, Massachusetts
Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,117 as of 2008.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Middleborough Center, please see the article Middleborough Center, Massachusetts....
. At the age of 73, she appeared in a 1915 silent film, The Lilliputian's Courtship, along with Count Magri. She died on November 25, 1919 at the age of 77 or 78 and is buried next to her first husband with a simple grave stone that reads, "His Wife".