News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-04-04
NOTED DWARFS.
A. MIDGET WHO KILLED HIS
MAN IN A DUEL.
The Famous Diminutive Statesman
of South Africa-American Dwarfs
Some of the Smallest Babies Ever
Born.


who have appeared upon the stage o
action during the past three hundred
years, but for the reason that he i,
the earliest of which authentic record
has been preserved. He was born in the
wear 1919, at Oakham, Rutlandshire
England He first attracted the atten
ton of the Duke of Buckingham in 1928
he being nine years old and but eight
cen inches high. x-
Little Goeffrey, or ,T6iffef, as it il
sometimes written, remained in the ser
vice of the Duke until the time of the
tour of Charles 1, King of England,
through the different shires, after his
marriage with Maria Henrietta.
When the King and his new bride Wis
tied Buckingham, in order to serve theil
maiesties with unique surprise, Geof-
frey, the Dwarf, was incased in large
pie and served at dinner, much to the
delight of the Royal visitors.
Her Majesty was so pleased with the
pranks of the little elf that she was al
lowed to take him with her to London.
Soon after this event he began growing
rapidly, and soon shot up to three feet,
a calamity which he Enthusiastically
claimed was due to Royal feeding. Still
he retained his position as Court dwarf
under the suggestive name of Lord Min
linus; was present upon all state occa-
sions, and knew more, perhaps, of the
affairs of the Government than the
Kings Ministers themselves.
He was sent to France to bring an at
tendant for the Queen, she being ma
tive of that country. While on this
errand, thinking himself dwarf of con-
| siderable Importance, he foImed the
acquaintance of Mr.. Crofts, young
man of high social standing and position
in France, who teased the poor little
! dwarf beyond the bonds of reason.
! Being a courtier when at home he
naturally resented the treatment of
young Crofts, which finally became un-
bearable, resulting in challenge from
the dwarf.
When Crofts and his friends appeared
at the scene of rendezvous Crofts was
armed with a shotgun filled with muddy
water. This enraged the little English
man to the extent that q real duel fol
lowed, the participants being mounted
on horseback, which put them more on
level. Crofts fell dead at the first fire.
The remainder of the adventurous life
of Hudson reads like romance. He
was for some time a slave in Barbary !;
afterward, upon his return to England,
a Captain in the Royal army. In 1864
he accompanied the Queen on visit to
France, but after the bestowal of all
this Royal honor upon him he was sent
as a prisoner to Gatehouse, Westminster,
having been suspected of being privy to
the Popish plot. He died at the Gate
house prison in his sixty-third year.
COUNT JOSEPH BoRowLAsKI.
Count Joseph @-o~ -aski .-sS- "a Pole.
He was born in she yeaS 1879; he came
of family of six children, of which
every other one were dwarfs. The first
of the family was a son three feet four
inches high; then came another who
was six feet in his stockings after he had
attained mans estate; next came Joseph,
the object of this sketch, who was but
twenty-seven inches high on his twenty
Joseph, the first and last were of ordinary
proportions, the middle one being
dwarfess, who died at the age of twenty
two, being then but twenty three inches
tall. Joseph became celebrated for his
remarkable longevity as we'll as for the
brevity Of his stature, he living to the
advanced age of ninety eight. After
tour through England, he visited his
native land, but returned two years later
to the British Isles, married lady of
ordinary size, raised large family, and
died at Banks Cottage, near Durham,
in 1887.
TOM THUMB.
About five years after the death of
Borowlaski, in 1842, Tom Thumb, the
most celebrated dwarf of modern times,
although not the smallest by any means,
began his triumphant march under the
auspices OF his patron saint, P. T. Bar
mum. Toms real name was Charles
Stratton. He was born in 1888, and
was, therefore, but four years of age
when put on exhibition at Barnum's S
Museum, New York city. He weighed
twelve pounds when first exhibited;
soon became famous, and made his trip
to England i'll 1874, / believe, but it
may have been year or two later. He
grew but very little until after the end
OF his fifteenth year; then grew until
he was twenty-three. At the age of |
thirty he began to 'ffill out" and dur
ing his last trip West, in 1888, he stated |
his weight to be seventy pounds! Not |
much of midget" sure. He died at |
his summer residence, near Middle |
boro, Mass, July Is, 1883, aged forty
five.
THE WARREN SISTERS.
Mrs. Tom Thumb, the wife of the
subject OF the foregoing, was, before she |
attracted the attention of her husbands |
patron SAINT, little Betsy Bump. When |
put ON exhibition beside her future hus- |
band, at the New York Museum, she |
adopted Lavlna Warren rs a stage name. |
She was married to the little General at |
Grace Church, New York City, in 1868, |
and was, therefore, just twenty years
wife.
Mrs. Stratton, when young. weighed
anywhere from fifteen to thirty pounds. |
As age advanced she became quite
portly, and weighed, when she made the
last trip west, not less than fifty pounds.
Robust health, general portliness, COM
blned with a natural rotund figure, gave
her quite motherly appearance, which
earned for her the soubriouet of the
''Matron in Miniature. I"
After mourning the death of the
renowned Tom for year and nine
months, Mrs. Stratton tried abbre-
waited matrimony o second time bv
union with Count Primo Maori. April
9Th, 1885. The Count is but thirty-two
inches in height and weighs less than
his miniature bride. Like her first
marriage, this second one was also per
formed in New York city, at the Church
of the Holy Trinity, Rev. DR.. Watkins
officiating. The large church was
packed to overfowing Many distin-
guished faces were seen among the
audience, including, among others. Mrs. |
August Belmont, Mrs. Paran Stevens. |
Mrs. W. w. Astor, Mrs. w. K. Van |
derbilt and others. Lucy Adams, the |
midget, acted as bridesmaid and Major
Newell as grOomsman. Newell is also |
a well known dwarf.
Since her second marriage the late |
Mrs. Thumb has settled down to the en- |
joyment of an enviable reputation; but |
few inklings of her everyday life are
given to the public.
Minnie Warren was another celebrat-
ed dwarfess She was sister to Mrs. |
Tom Thumb, and before being put on |
exhibition beside her sister was plain |
Huldah Bump. Minnie was some ten
years younger than Mrs. Thumb and |
weighed forty-two pounds. She was |
born on the Bump homestead, two miles
out from Middlehmo Center. Mass, and |
carly began the show business. She was !