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Lavinia Warren
Mercy Lavinia Warren Stratton (née Bump; October 31, 1841 – November 25, 1919) was an American proportionate dwarf, who was a circus performer and the wife of Charles Sherwood Stratton, known as General Tom Thumb. She was known as a performer and for her appearance in one silent film, The Lilliputians' Courtship, 1915.
Warren was born as Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump at Middleborough, Massachusetts, the daughter of Huldah Pierce (Warren) and James Sullivan Bump. She was distantly descended from a French family named Bonpasse, from 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.
At birth Warren weighed six pounds. Lavinia and her younger sister Minnie Warren 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.
After a successful career as a well-respected school teacher, which began at age 16, Lavinia went to work as a miniature dancing chanteuse upon a Mississippi showboat owned by a cousin. She enjoyed performing, learned of Charles Stratton's (known as Tom Thumb) 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 Bump to Lavinia Warren, the stage name she had previously used while performing on the Mississippi River.
In February 1872 she visited England with Stratton, whom she had married, her sister and George Nutt, known as Commodore Nutt. They were photographed in Stonehouse, Plymouth, and all four signed the photograph.
Romantically pursued by the tiny entertainer George Nutt, known as Commodore Nutt, her affections belonged to Charles Stratton, General Tom Thumb. Warren met Stratton while working at Barnum's American Museum. Their wedding was one of the biggest events in nineteenth century New York. They were married in an elaborate ceremony on February 10, 1863, at Grace Episcopal Church.
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. After the couple was married, their fame grew even greater.
Though their fame afforded Warren and Stratton a life of luxury, it came with downsides. They were presented as childlike to the public by P.T. Barnum. This was an advertising strategy to make the audience feel sympathetic for them in order to sell more tickets. Though they were some of the most famous people in America at the time, due to the way they were presented, people treated them like children.
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Lavinia Warren
Mercy Lavinia Warren Stratton (née Bump; October 31, 1841 – November 25, 1919) was an American proportionate dwarf, who was a circus performer and the wife of Charles Sherwood Stratton, known as General Tom Thumb. She was known as a performer and for her appearance in one silent film, The Lilliputians' Courtship, 1915.
Warren was born as Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump at Middleborough, Massachusetts, the daughter of Huldah Pierce (Warren) and James Sullivan Bump. She was distantly descended from a French family named Bonpasse, from 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.
At birth Warren weighed six pounds. Lavinia and her younger sister Minnie Warren 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.
After a successful career as a well-respected school teacher, which began at age 16, Lavinia went to work as a miniature dancing chanteuse upon a Mississippi showboat owned by a cousin. She enjoyed performing, learned of Charles Stratton's (known as Tom Thumb) 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 Bump to Lavinia Warren, the stage name she had previously used while performing on the Mississippi River.
In February 1872 she visited England with Stratton, whom she had married, her sister and George Nutt, known as Commodore Nutt. They were photographed in Stonehouse, Plymouth, and all four signed the photograph.
Romantically pursued by the tiny entertainer George Nutt, known as Commodore Nutt, her affections belonged to Charles Stratton, General Tom Thumb. Warren met Stratton while working at Barnum's American Museum. Their wedding was one of the biggest events in nineteenth century New York. They were married in an elaborate ceremony on February 10, 1863, at Grace Episcopal Church.
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. After the couple was married, their fame grew even greater.
Though their fame afforded Warren and Stratton a life of luxury, it came with downsides. They were presented as childlike to the public by P.T. Barnum. This was an advertising strategy to make the audience feel sympathetic for them in order to sell more tickets. Though they were some of the most famous people in America at the time, due to the way they were presented, people treated them like children.
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