Photograph: Charles S. Stratton in Masonic uniform (owned by the Barnum Museum)
Charles S. Stratton (General Tom Thumb)
Southworth, Mary (associated with)
Southworth, Mary (associated with)
1875 – 1880 (Date manufactured/created)
6.5 in H
X
4.25 in W
Photograph of Charles S. Stratton, better known by his stage name "Gen. Tom Thumb," dressed in his Knights Templar uniform of the Freemasons. He is posed standing with a hand resting on a chair. The cabinet card photograph was taken when Stratton was older, likely around 1880 when he was in his forties, and had grown to about 42 inches high. His uniform includes a chapeau de bras style hat with a white ostrich plume, a black wool frock coat, a baldric or sash, leather gauntlets, and a sword, hanging by his side. He sports a thick mustache. Stratton joined the Masons in 1862, a year before his marriage to M. Lavinia Warren. He joined Saint John's Lodge No. 3 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and became a member of the York Rite. He achieved the thirty-second degree. Upon Stratton's death in 1883, he was honored with a Masonic funeral, his sword and hat laid atop his coffin in the procession to the cemetery. The Barnum Museum owns the Knights Templar uniform seen in this photograph.
Charles S. Stratton (January 4, 1838- July 15, 1883), known as General Tom Thumb, was an entertainer and Bridgeport Conn. native who got his start with P.T. Barnum in 1842. Stratton's parents signed him with Barnum at age 4, as exhibiting those 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, and toured both nationally and internationally. Their performances brought them even greater renown and celebrity, and they became wealthy. On July 15, 1883, Stratton suffered a stroke and passed away. He is buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His wife died years later, in 1919, and was buried beside him.
Charles S. Stratton (January 4, 1838- July 15, 1883), known as General Tom Thumb, was an entertainer and Bridgeport Conn. native who got his start with P.T. Barnum in 1842. Stratton's parents signed him with Barnum at age 4, as exhibiting those 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, and toured both nationally and internationally. Their performances brought them even greater renown and celebrity, and they became wealthy. On July 15, 1883, Stratton suffered a stroke and passed away. He is buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His wife died years later, in 1919, and was buried beside him.
A Gift of the Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut
2003.009.069