Marble sculpture of Charles S. Stratton's head, originally from the monument at his grave in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut. A native of Bridgeport, Stratton is better known by his stage name, General Tom Thumb. This head was part of a life-sized statue made of carrara marble that is set atop the obelisk in the Stratton family plot. The figure was carved from a life cast that Stratton had made in the 1860s when he was in his twenties. It would not likely have been considered morbid to prepare for death in this way, because in the mid-1800s, cultural norms regarding death, mourning, and remembrance were changing. Society embraced the idea of burying the dead in specially designed, park-like landscapes featuring elaborately carved monuments, rather than in simple - and often crowded and unkempt - church graveyards. Cemeteries, as these new places were called, were intended to be beautiful, contemplative landscapes where people could walk at leisure, enjoying art and nature. Among those to embrace this concept was P. T. Barnum, who was a founder of Bridgeport's Mountain Grove Cemetery. The cemetery, established in 1849 features elaborate gated entrances, and many impressive monuments, including the one of Stratton which this head originally stood atop. Across from Stratton’s plot is the Barnum family plot. In 1959, vandals damaged the Stratton figure by knocking off the head, even though the statue was set high above the ground. Several years later, the Mountain Grove Cemetery Association and the Barnum Festival Society raised funds to restore the monument, and a replacement head was carved and mounted. Years later the original head, well-worn, was found by chance in a nearby brook, and the cemetery association gave it to the Barnum Museum. It has been mounted on a dark green marble base. Charles S. Stratton (4 January 1838-15 July, 1883), known as General Tom Thumb, was a 19th century entertainer and Bridgeport Conn. native who got his start with P.T. Barnum. Stratton's parents signed him with Barnum at age 4, as exhibiting people with dwarfism was lucrative at the time. Stratton took quickly to performing, and he entertained audiences worldwide, including nobility such as Queen Victoria. Stratton married fellow performer M. Lavinia Warren and the two had a happy marriage. Stratton's performances brought him renown as a celebrity, perhaps one of the biggest at the time, and he and Warren were able to live comfortably when not working. On 15 July 1883, Stratton suffered a stroke and passed away. Lavinia Warren Stratton died in 1919 and is buried beside her husband.
