Ellis Rhinehart, the Tom Thumb of Pennsylvania

 

Very little has been written about Goldsboro native Ellis Rhinehart, though his life story would undoubtedly be one of the most fascinating biographical sketches of any Pennsylvania resident of the 19th century. At a height of 32 inches and a weight of just 45 pounds, Ellis Rhinehart was widely believed at the time to be the smallest adult in the history of Pennsylvania.

Although details are scarce, Rhinehart was born in 1858 in York County. The first mention of his name in print appears to be in 1879, when Rhinehart was 22 years of age. The Harrisburg Patriot wrote that "the little fellow creates quite as much curiosity as Admiral Dot or Tom Thumb, and should be in the hands of Mr. Barnum by all means."

While it's unclear whether or not Rhinehart was ever offered a contract by Barnum, it is certain that he eventually became a showman; the 1880 census, which had Rhinehart living across the river in Marietta, Lancaster County, lists his occupation as "32 inches high-- lives on a show" (undoubtedly a reference to a traveling carnival or circus). According to the 1880 census, Rhinehart lived at a boardinghouse owned by Franklin and Charlotte Curran at 222 Second Street (later renamed East Market Street). By my best estimation, this house would've stood next to the First Methodist Episcopal Church.

Though only a few references to Ellis Rhinehart appear in American newspapers, his marriage to Lydia Thorpe in 1886 garnered a mention in London papers, perhaps indicating that Rhinehart had spent time abroad. A blurb in the theater section of the May 2, 1886, edition of Reynold's Newspaper (London, England), states:

Ellis Rhinehart, a very diminutive circus dwarf, thirty-three inches in height, was lately married in Philadelphia to Lydia Thorpe, a tall and comely eighteen-year-old blonde.

Legal documents show that this marriage took place on March 30, 1886, in Camden, New Jersey (right across the river from Philadelphia), and that the correct spelling of the bride's last name is "Thorp". One account of the ceremony appeared in the Lancaster Examiner on April 7, 1886. 

 

 

Ellis Rhinehart and Lydia Thorp were married before Magistrate James M. Cassady in his office on Federal Street. Rhinehart, who was 36 years old at the time, gave his address as 833 Race Street in Philadelphia, which also happened to be the address of Harry Roop's Concert Saloon, which was a vaudeville theater of minor repute (or disrepute, as it seemed to be a frequent target of police raids).

Witnesses to the ceremony were two friends of the bride, Fred Warde and Kitty Burke. Thorp, who was presumably a chorus girl or burlesque performer at Roop's Saloon, provided the same address. The Examiner article went on to state that Major Rhinehart (Ellis' stage name) had recently been arrested during a raid on concert saloons the previous week, when police cracked down on saloon proprietors who were accused of serving underaged patrons.

Their marital bliss would not last long, however. Rhinehart died less than two years later. Again, details of his death are scarce; some sources claim he died in 1886, while other sources claim he passed away in 1887.

Do you happen to have any additional information about this remarkable little fellow? Send me an email or leave your comments below.