Cynthia and Sherwood Stratton were the parents to Charles S. Stratton, a little person made famous by P.T. Barnum under the stage name of General Tom Thumb. The family was native to Bridgeport, and the papers within offer a glimpse into how the family's most famous son impacted the family's wealth.
Born 1891, Vincent Leo Keating was a lawyer within the City of Bridgeport for most of his life. However, his legal career was interrupted by his service in World War I as a part of Company L, 26th Infantry, First Division at Cantigny France. The scrapbooks that Keating assembled primarily contain photographs, but also include correspondence. This central part of the collection allows for excellent visual insight into local participation in the first World War.
These papers concern William Carlson, who along with his brother Philip was the founder of Metropolitan Body Company, a truck manufacturer, in Brigeport in 1919. A small number of materials related to the company accompany a larger collection of Carlson's correspondence, records of philanthropy, photos of his role as Ringmaster in Bridgeport's 1952 Barnum Festival, and tributes following his death in 1970.
William Warren is best known for his various volumes that represent a comprehensive history of the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Within this collection are lectures he gave within his lifetime, research material used for both the lectures and for his regimental history, and additional photographs of regiment members, as well as secondary works.
This photograph collection features various autographed photos from stage stars of the 1920s, all dedicated to "dad", a doorman at Poli's Theatre during the 1920s. Research is ongoing to determine the identity of the doorman.
The P.T. Barnum Research Collection represents archival materials collected by the Bridgeport History Center over the years relating to the life and ventures of P.T. Barnum. Barnum himself was deeply connected to Bridgeport, building four homes there, serving as mayor, and hosting his circus' Winter Quarters in the city. As a result, this collection represents both national and local history. The series in the collection relate to his personal life, the American Museum, Barnum's circus ventures, Jumbo the Elephant, Jenny Lind, and Charles S. Stratton and Lavinia Warren. Each series contains manuscript material including an extensive correspondence series in Barnum's own hand, programs, tickets, artifacts, illustrations, and photographs, as well as clippings and examples of promotional material in the form of booklets, trading cards, and even paper dolls. This collection is artificial, and has grown over the years. The series themselves were formed by researcher needs, and as such have been kept intact at the time of arrangement.
Raymond W. Fletcher is perhaps best known as a local Bridgeport artist, self-taught and extremely prolific. His deep connection to Bridgeport also meant that from an early age, Fletcher was surrounded by the circus. Bridgeport was the home of Barnum and Bailey's winter quarters, as well as the adopted city of P.T. Barnum himself. As a result, Fletcher maintained a healthy interest in the circus all his life. In addition to being a member of the Bridgeport Barnum Festival and the Circus Model Builders, he collected circus material. This includes the material that makes up this collection.
One of the earliest Swedish owned businesses in Bridgeport, A.H. Nilson Machine Tool Company was founded by Axel Nilson and operated as a general machine shop before becoming known for making lathes, four-slides, and other machine tools. This collection primarily features patents, blue prints, and product photographs of their material from about 1900 to the 1980s.
Portrait photographer Anne Brignolo was an institution in Bridgeport, having taken over the studio from her father in the 1970s. From the mid-1970s until her retirement in 2009, Brignolo's keen eye, sense of perfection, and dedication to photography helped her to become an award winning photographer. Within the Anne Brignolo Studio collection is not only her correspondence and notes on her work, but a substantial collection of the work itself.
On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam burst and flooded the Pennsylvania town of Johnstown. The sudden flooding killed over 2,200 and left a swath of destruction. Donations came from all over the United States, including Bridgeport. The city's donation response was spearheaded by W.B. Hincks. These records show the individual donations of private citizens and major Bridgeport companies.
Connecticut's Archives Online