Huldah Pierce Warren Bump (June 2, 1849 – July 23, 1878), better known as Minnie Warren, was an American proportionate dwarf and an entertainer associated with

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

. Her sister

Lavinia Warren Mercy Lavinia Warren Stratton ( Bump; October 31, 1841https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/warren-lavinia-1841-1919 – November 25, 1919) was an American proportionate dwarf, who was a circus perform ...

was married to

General Tom Thumb Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), better known by his stage name "General Tom Thumb", was an American dwarf who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum. Childhood and early life Bo ...

. They were very well known in 1860s America and their meeting with

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

was covered in the press.Kunhardt, Philip B., Jr., Kunhardt, Philip B., III and Kunhardt, Peter W., Alfred A. (1995) ''P.T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman''. Knopf. .

Early life

Warren was born in

Middleborough, Massachusetts Middleborough (frequently written as Middleboro) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,245 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The town was first set ...

, the daughter of Huldah Pierce (Warren) and James Sullivan Bump. She was from a respected family whose roots went back to the beginning of the colony. Minnie and her sister had both been born at a normal birth weight but then stopped growing early in their lives. Their siblings were of a normal stature.

Career

In addition to the public interest in her tiny stature, Minnie performed as a singer. She married

Edmund Newell Edmund Newell (July 27, 1857 – December 23, 1915), better known as General Grant Jr. or Major Edward Newell, was a 19th-century dwarf who gained fame as an associate of P. T. Barnum. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Edmund S. Newell and Sara ...

, who was also a dwarf and paid performer for

Death

Warren died from complications in childbirth on July 23, 1878. The baby, a girl who weighed 6 pounds, died a few hours later. She is buried in

Nemasket Hill Cemetery Nemasket Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Middleborough, Massachusetts. It was set aside as a burial ground in 1662, and is the oldest in Middleborough. The oldest engraved headstone here (and within the town of Middleborough) is that of E ...

, Middleborough, Massachusetts.

References

1849 births 1878 deaths American entertainers Deaths in childbirth Entertainers with dwarfism Sideshow performers Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus People from Middleborough, Massachusetts {{US-entertainer-stub