Searching through old newspapers, I stumbled across a story that caught my eye. The headline read ‘Death of a Midget’. This story was widely reported throughout the United Kingdom. The story seemingly appeared in all major newspapers up and down the country in 1885.
The report was that a woman had died. She was 42 years of age. The reason the story was of interest was due to her physical appearance – she was a widget. Each newspaper devoted pretty much the same few lines to the incident:
The Woman Behind the Headline
A woman, aged 42 years died in Oldham. She was a midget who stood 20 inches high. She had been part of an exhibition at Tommyfield, Oldham. The woman died of erysipelas. She was the mother of 2 children who were also on exhibition. The woman was described as “next to the smallest living”. She was buried in Chadderton cemetery and her death and funeral caused much excitement in Oldham.
First of all, the woman’s anonymity is troublesome. She is simply referred to as ‘a Midget’ throughout the reports of her death and this is the case in every single report. Never once is her name used. I did some research and discovered her name. It was Antonie Sigmore. The name does not appear to be English in origin. It is not one that I can find in any records of Victorian England. Similar variants of the first and last name can be found in Canada and Germany. I assume that Antonie travelled to England, perhaps as part of a ‘freak show’ which was a popular Victorian pastime. At least now, we have a name.
Let’s consider her height. The smallest living woman in the world is currently Jyoti Kishanji Amge (born 1993) who stands 24 inches tall. The shortest woman ever recorded was Pauline Musters 1876 – 1895 also known as Princess Pauline. She was measured in 1895 and measured 23.2 inches. The newspapers back then, as now, tend to sensationalise matters. It seems unlikely that Oldham was once a temporary home for the world’s shortest woman, they likely exaggerated just how short Antonie was.
Antonie’s Death
Antonie died of erysipelas. This is an infection of the skin. If treated properly, even in Victorian times, a person would have a reasonable expectation of recovery. However, the patient can suffer from complications, such as sepsis.
I am unable to discover which exhibition Antonie was part of. There are no records which mark which shows travelled through Oldham at the time. The newspapers mention ‘Tommyfield’ as the place of the exhibition. Tommyfield is the site upon which now stands the indoor ‘Tommyfield Market’. It was once a meeting place in Oldham and the likely place for a ‘Freak show’ to put on an exhibition.
Antonie’s death record gives her address as ‘Lord Street’, Oldham. No number is given, we can therefore not trace who registered her death. The children’s names are not given either and so we cannot trace them.
Antonie’s Resting Place
Antonie died on 20th April 1885 and was buried the following day. A burial the day after death was not unheard of, but it was not the norm. A period of 4 days between death and burial was the norm. Perhaps there were few arrangements required – Antonie may have had few relatives, friends and acquaintances. Or perhaps the manager of the show wanted a swift funeral, so members of the show could pay their respects before leaving for the next town. Maybe there was some element of foul play here and a swift burial meant that a secret was quickly buried. Who knows.
Antonie lies in an unmarked grave in a bare section of Chadderton Cemetery. This section of the cemetery is noticeable for its absence of headstones. At least we can now put a name to the “Death of a Midget” headline. Antonie Sigmore now lies at rest in a peaceful section of Chadderton Cemetery.
Rest in Peace Antonie Sigmore.
For a similar post, see Disorderly Scenes at a Funeral.
