At St. Philip's, Birmingham, there is the following inscription
on a tomb: "In memory of Mannetta Stocker, who quitted this life
on the 4th day of May, 1819, at the age of thirty-nine years, the
smallest woman in the kingdom, and one of the most accomplished."
She was born in Krauma, in the north of Austria, under normal
conditions. Her growth stopped at the age of four, when she was
33 inches tall. She was shown in many villages and cities over
Europe and Great Britain; she was very gay, played well on the
piano, and had divers other accomplishments.
In 1742 there was shown in London a dwarf by the name of Robert
Skinner, .63 meters in height, and his wife, Judith, who was a
little larger. Their exhibition was a great success and they
amassed a small fortune; during twenty-three years they had 14
robust and well-formed children. Judith died in 1763, and Robert
grieved so much after her that he himself expired two years
later.
Figure 161 shows a female dwarf with her husband and child, all
of whom were exhibited some years since in the Eastern United
States. The likeness of the child to the mother is already
noticeable.
Buffon speaks of dwarfs 24, 21, and 18 inches high, and mentions
one individual, aged thirty-seven, only 16 inches tall, whom he
considers the smallest person on record.
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