In 1861, Nutt was touring New England with a circus when Barnum hired him to appear at the American Museum in New York City.

Nutt toured the world between 1869 and 1872 with the Thumbs and Minnie Warren, Lavinia's sister.

He toured with a comic opera company, put together a variety show on the United States West Coast, and operated western saloons in Oregon and California.

According to Nutt family records, George Washington Morrison was born on 1 April 1848.

[7] Nutt was being exhibited and touring the New England countryside with a manager named Lillie when P. T. Barnum learned of him.

[2][8] Barnum met Nutt in 1861 when the boy went to the American Museum in New York City.

In his autobiography, Barnum wrote that Nutt was "a most remarkable dwarf, who was a sharp, intelligent little fellow, with a deal of drollery and wit.

Following Barnum's orders, the lawyer offered Nutt's parents a large sum of money to sign their son to a five-year contract.

The contract required Barnum to give both young men food, clothing, a place to live, and the costs of travel and medical care.

When other showmen heard this rumor, they rushed in to offer Nutt's parents huge sums of money to be the first to sign their son.

[12][16] Commodore Nutt made his debut at Barnum's American Museum in February 1862.

He asked Thumb to cut his tour short, return to New York, and perform on the same stage with Nutt.

"[14][19] About two months after his debut, Nutt met with New York City Police Department officers.

Then he sent a telegram to the officers of the Ninth Precinct telling them that he had just gotten a job on the Broadway Squad—with "extraordinary powers to arrest" people outside the museum and to "take [them] upstairs".

[20] President Abraham Lincoln asked Barnum and Nutt to come to the White House in November 1862.

Nutt asked Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, if he was the man who was spending so much of Uncle Sam's money.

"[9][12] Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump was a dwarf who taught school in her hometown of Middleborough, Massachusetts.

It did not fit her finger properly, so he told her to give the ring to Nutt as a token of her friendship.

[22] Thumb was not appearing in New York City when Lavinia was hired, but he met her when he visited the museum in the autumn of 1862.

[17] Nutt had a hard time forgiving both Thumb and Barnum for (as he termed it) this "dastardly" offense.

[17] Barnum wanted Minnie and Nutt to go to the wedding as Lavinia and Thumb's bridesmaid and best man.

"[17] Thumb and Lavinia were married at Grace Episcopal Church, New York City, on Tuesday 10 February 1863.

Police stopped traffic as people gathered in the streets to see the arrival of the wedding party.

Mrs. John Jacob Astor, Mrs. William H. Vanderbilt, Mrs. Horace Greeley, and General Ambrose Burnside were there.

Much of the public curiosity about the marriage was based on an interest in the sexual mechanics of Thumb and Lavinia.

[29] They travelled 60,000 miles (97,000 km) around the world, visited 587 cities and towns, and gave 1,471 performances of songs, speeches, and military drills.

Minnie married a song and dance man who performed on roller skates named Edmund Newell.

His bride's height was of no concern, he said, but he did "prefer marrying a good, green country girl to anyone else.

It is thought that he was buried in a spot either next to or possibly between his parents, or between the siblings that were also interred in the family plot.

[15] In 1891, the editors of Appleton's Cyclopedia wrote, "Commodore Nutt was distinguished for large-hearted virtues that are often lacking in bigger men; his genial temper was allied to constancy and generosity that entitle his memory to the highest respect."