mutter's marvels. he was born in 1811 to john and lucinda mutter. they were very well-off virginians, very successful merchant. his wife was very well read, and they had two sons; tom first and then later, james. within seven years the entire family, except for tom, died. which was not unusual back in the 19th century. you would have infectious diseases that would ravage whole families, towns and cities. he was sent to live with his grandmother, and then the grandmother, too, passed away. and they tried to find a home for him, but he was sort of a jinx of a child, no one wanted to take the kid. but he eventually found a home here in saw bean hall -- sabine hall which is the family of the -- the home of the king family. and robert carter was his guard guardian. he sported his -- supported his education but did not support his clothing. even from a very young age, even as an orphan ward he wanted to look really great, and it's sort of emblematic of the person he would later become. he realized a scam he could perform which is he could charge his cloth