Commodore Foote and the Fairy Queen

Charles Nestel was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1849; his sister Eliza followed in 1857. Both were midgets. They began performing publicly in 1861 in a show called The Little People. At full maturity both of the siblings stood around three feet tall. With the stage names Commodore Foote and the Fairy Queen the two performed in dime museums, with the sideshow of P.T. Barnum’s circus and the with the American Lilliputian Opera Company. When Charles passed away in 1937, Eliza was so despondent she only outlived him by ten days.

For more on performing little people please check out Rose’s Royal Midgets and Other Little People in Vaudeville.