Photograph of the Bumps, Bleeckers, and Strattons, 1870. In the back row, from left to right, are B.W. Bump, Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Bleecker, and George H. Bump. In the front row, from left to right, are M. Lavinia Warren ("Mrs. Gen. Tom Thumb"), Charles S. Stratton ("Gen. Tom Thumb"), and Huldah "Minnie" Warren, Lavinia's younger sister. Photographed by Bradley and Rulofson, 129 Montgomery Street, San Francisco. Charles S. Stratton (January 4, 1838- July 15, 1883), known as General Tom Thumb, was an entertainer and Bridgeport, Connecticut, native who got his start with P.T. Barnum in 1842. He was born with a genetic condition called proportionate dwarfism, and his physical growth slowed almost to a halt when he was just a few months old. (He did continue to grow over the course of his life however, reaching 42 inches.) Stratton's parents signed him with Barnum just before he turned five; he was only about 21 inches tall at the time. He moved, with his parents, to New York City where he performed at the American Museum on Broadway. Barnum gave him his famous stage name, and billed him as being six years older than his actual age in order to make his size seem more impressive to people. He was advertised as the "Man in Miniature" because he was so perfectly proportioned. The young boy was tutored, and having a bright mind, and outgoing, affable personality, he took quickly to performing, including acting, singing, mimicking statuary poses, and more. By early 1844 he was entertaining audiences in England, including nobility and royalty, as well as the public. Between 1844 and 1847 Barnum toured Stratton through the United Kingdom, Belgium and France, a three-year tour that quickly made them international celebrities, and brought them both great wealth. Stratton still being a child, his parents Sherwood and Cynthia accompanied their son on the tour, and reaped the financial benefit. At age 25 Stratton married fellow performer and little person Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump ("Miss Lavinia Warren," aka "The Queen of Beauty"), and the two had a happy marriage. The couple's performances brought them great renown as celebrities; arguably they were America's first international celebrities, as they did a world tour, venturing as far as Australia. The Bleeckers managed this tour, and the Strattons developed a long-term friendship with Mr. and Mrs. Bleecker. Lavinia Warren (October 31, 1841-November 25, 1919) was a schoolteacher for a year or so before embarking on a show business career on a river "showboat" owned by a relative. She was in her late teens at the time. This was an era when exhibiting people with dwarfism was popular and profitable, and Lavinia saw this as an opportunity to "see the world" though in a limited sense; her life as a schoolteacher would not have afforded that chance. That career ended with the start of the Civil War, since travel on the Mississippi River was unsafe, but Barnum heard of Warren and brought her to the American Museum. She signed with Barnum at age 21. In December of 1862 Lavinia was introduced to performer Charles S. Stratton (General Tom Thumb), and after a whirlwind romance the two wed on February 10, 1863, a grand event promoted and paid for by P. T. Barnum. Lavinia's younger sister Minnie Warren, who also had proportionate dwarfism and was even smaller than Lavinia, also signed with Barnum, and traveled on the world tour. On July 15, 1883, Charles Stratton suffered a stroke and passed away. He was buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Two years later, Warren married Primo Magri, an Italian entertainer of similar stature, on April 6, 1885. Magri and Warren traveled and performed together as part of a company that included Primo Magri's brother. The couple operated a roadside souvenir stand in Middleboro, Mass., as they became older. Warren died on November 25, 1919, and was buried beside her first husband at Mountain Grove Cemetery; her stone is simply marked "Wife." Count Magri intended to return to Italy, but died only about a year after Lavinia, still living in Massachusetts.