The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-04-08

Phineas Taylor Barnum was born In Bethel,
Conn, July 8 1910. Ills father was country
innkes per aud a merchant in small way.
Phineas, from the age OF ID to IL years was
In many different branches of business, part
of the time In BROOKLYN and part in New
York city. He gathered together little
money and came back to Bethel AMI started
little store. lie took the agency for n lot
terry chartered by the state to build the Gro
ton monument. He failed In business in 1879,
got married anh started n newspaper called
The Herald OF Freedom. 1t was not long be-
fore he was in jail for libel. ln 1885, no
brought TO New York colored woman, Joyce
Eeth. said to be l6l years old and the nur5e
Of George Washington. post nortem
showed she had added eighty years to age.
Tom Thumb and Jenny Lind.
But Barnum had got taste of the show
business and never thereafter forsook 1t. IIo
travelled through the south with one horse
cfrcuses which were generally unsuccessful.
In ls4l, without dollar of his own, he bought
out Scudder's museum, renamed II and man
aged to make it pay. He brought out Charles
g. StFatton Crom Thumb, then less than two
feet high and weighing only sixteen pounds.
He took the dwarf through the United States
and Europe and made money. But IL was in
l8ib, when he brought Jenny Lind over and
got her to sing in Castle Garden, that he made
anational reputation for himself. lie paid
her $1,000 night. aud the gross receipts of a
tour of nineLy-fiY concerts were STE, ,lBl.
He retired from business in 1855 and de-
voted his attention to booming the town of
East Bridgeport. In order to encourage a
manufacturing company to establish itself
there he indorsel their notes for nearly
siOjO0OO. The company failed and Barnum
went into bankruptcy, but he had settled
fortune upon his wife anu he started into the
ehow business again.
As an Advertiser.
He took charge % his old New York museum
once more, It was then at the corner of Broad
way and Ann street. While there he aston
lshed tho vestry of Trinity church by asking
permission TO stretch an advertising banner
from his museum to the steep.e of ST. Pants
chapel. This was the finest specimen of sub
lime nerve then known to the American
people. On July l3, 1861, the museum burned
down. and hO got an unlimited quantity of
advertising out Of 1t by securing the pub,i-
cation OF u most gaudy account of the way
the orang oulang and the lion and other
donizens of the tropical forests took the
connAgration. He rebuilt IL. and again 1t
burned.
In 1871 he established travelling museum
and added numerous features, like the hippo
drome and elephant races TO the old circus.
Never was travelling show so advertised.
and the country boys for weeks pored over
his Advance Courier with more interest than
that given to any yellow backed novel.
He used to give temperance lectures from
the ring and was himself prominent feat
urc OF the street parade.
His Season In London.
At the close Of the season of 1889 Mr.. Bar
nnm transported his entire aggregation to
London. at a cost of sS500W. and astonished
the natives with midwinter America cir
Gus. His attempt and failure to have his
street parade on the day of the lord mayors
show gave him great deal OF grntultous ad-
vertising. and the receipts of his thirteen
weeks season aggregated S9j0,lOO.
The Jumbo episode occurred In 1882. Mr..
Barnum's agents arrived In London In Feb
ruary Of that year and purchased the great
elephant from the Geological society for
G2,0O0 sterling.
Air. Barnum wal four times member of
she Connecticut legislature and n mayor of
bridgeport. He presented that city with a