Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Hiram & Barney Davis, The Wild Men Of Borneo - Mound View Cemetery

Mound View Cemetery, section H, Mount Vernon Ohio

The marker is somewhat unassuming. Names, birth years, death years and Little Men at the top.


The marker is for the Wild Men Of Borneo, Waino and Plutanor. They were neither wild, nor from Borneo. Waino and Plutanor were their stage names.


Hiram was born to "normal" parents in England in 1827. The family moved to New York where Barney was born. Afterwards the family moved to Ohio. The parents went on to have 3 "normal" kids. The father died in the late 1840's. The mother remarried and had another kid.


Hiram and Barney suffered from microcephaly. Basically undersized heads. They grew to be about 40 inches tall and about 45 pounds in weight. They apparently could lift up to 300 pounds.


Lyman Warner and his family started to exhibit the brothers in various shows until 1880. After that point they worked for P.T. Barnum. It's said they earned $200,000 in their career. Hiram became ill in 1903 and died in 1905. Barney followed in 1912.