Posts Tagged With: Booth Family

Had she been born into any other family, her life may have been considered a normal one.  However, when your father and brothers are world renowned actors, one of whom later assassinates President Abraham Lincoln, it’s impossible to be judged by the standard of “normalcy”.  So was the case of Rosalie Ann Booth, the eldest daughter of theatrical genius Junius Brutus Booth and his “wife” Mary Ann Holmes.

In literature about the Lincoln assassination or the Booth family, Rosalie is mentioned very little, if at all.  In the brief lines where Rosalie is discussed, she is often subjected to unsubstantiated claims of being mentally inept.  Author Stanley Kimmel who wrote the book, The Mad Booths of Maryland, seems to be the source of these claims stating that Rosalie, “had little of Junius [Jr.]’s calm common sense, being inclined to a neurotic moodiness that kept her from enjoying the normal social pleasures of a young girl.  Apparently she was never able to throw off this morose disposition, even as a grown woman, for we seldom hear of her participating actively in the lives of her brothers and sister…”  While Rose (as she was called by her family) was not the outgoing girl that her younger sister Asia was, family letters demonstrate that she not only engaged in social pleasures as a young woman but also took an active interest in her siblings throughout their lives and even beyond.

Rosalie Ann Booth was born on July 5, 1823 at the Booth family farm near Bel Air, Maryland.  The timing of her birth, during the break between theatrical seasons, allowed her father to be present during her birth.  Witnessing the birth of one of his children would later prove to be a rare event for the often absent Junius.  When Rose was two years old, her family journeyed back to her parents’ native home of England.  Rose, along with four year-old Junius, Jr. and newborn Henry Byron, resided in England for a year while their father attempted to renew his acting career in London.  After coming back to the U.S., the family returned to their small cabin in Bel Air.  Over the next seven years, the growing Rose witnessed the birth of three more siblings at the farm.  Then, as her father was touring in 1833, tragedy struck.  In February, the Bel Air farm experienced a cholera epidemic.  Nine year old Rose never became ill, herself, however she watched as her three youngest siblings, Mary, Frederick, and Elizabeth, all perished from the water borne infection.  In the aftermath of their deaths, Rose’s mother, Mary Ann, was hopelessly grief stricken.  Author Nora Titone makes the likely supposition that it was these, “dark weeks of 1833 when cholera killed so many of Mary Ann’s children”, that created a, “close tie” between Rose and Mary Ann.  For the remainder of her days, Rose was her mother’s devoted and loyal companion.

Over the next two years, Mary Ann and Junius had two more children, Edwin and Asia.  In the fall of 1836, Junius decided that, after an absence of ten years, he wanted to return to England to act.  Rose was 13 years old during this second trip to her parents’ homeland.  Sadly, tragedy followed the family across the ocean when Rose’s 11 year-old brother, Henry Byron, caught small pox.  He along with Junius, Rose, Edwin, and Asia had all been given the vaccine for the disease before setting out for England, but on Henry the vaccine had no effect.  He died in England on December 28, 1836.  Again, it is likely that Rose was the chosen one to comfort her grieving mother.  While in England, Junius, Sr. wrote to his father back in Maryland stating that, “Rosalie goes to school and is improving very fast”.  Far from mentally inept, Rose took to school well and learned to write effectively and eloquently.

The Booths returned to their Maryland farm in 1837 and in, May of 1838, a new son was born, John Wilkes.  For a time, life on the farm was quiet.  Then in 1839, the Booths were besieged by visitors from England.  The “guests” were Junius Sr.’s sister, Jane, her husband, James Mitchell, and their litter of eight children.  The Mitchells were destitute and had used Junius’ name to gain food and clothing after landing in America in March of the previous year.  The reason for their poverty was James Mitchell, a beast of a man who worked little, drank profusely, and physically abused Jane.  When the Booths were in England, Junius had given his sister some money so that she might escape her husband and bring the children to America.  Junius, along with his father Richard Booth, were furious when they saw that James Mitchell had made the journey with Jane.  The farm and cabin became a very crowded place for Rose and her siblings.  With such limited space, the outdoors became the children’s area when there was no snow on the ground.  What experiences the teenage Rose might have had with her needy cousins are unrecorded, but it is very likely that the cohabitation worked to push Rose even closer to her mother, who was also suffering under their invasion.

In February of 1840, the last Booth child, Joseph, was born.  A letter written by Junius to Mary Ann in June of 1840 shows his affection for all of his children, “Kiss them for me, and give my love to each and all from Rosalie down to Joey” (Junius, Jr. was with his father when this letter was written).  Despite the added cost of supporting the Mitchell clan, Mary Ann Booth needed a respite from the interlopers.  Starting in the fall of 1840, the Booth family began renting a home in Baltimore, spending only the summers on the family farm.  In 1846, the Booths purchased their own two story brick house on North Exeter Street.  They would remain in Baltimore until the death of Junius Brutus Booth in 1852.  When their father died, Edwin Booth was just starting off on his acting career and Junius, Jr. had never gained much success in his theatrical endeavors.  Left without a steady means of support, Mary Ann chose to rent out the Baltimore home and move her children back to the farm.  Over the preceding years, the Mitchells had been evicted from the premises and Junius Sr. had started construction a dream home for his family.  Sadly, Junius did not live to see his home, “Tudor Hall” completed.  When Mary Ann moved in following Junius’ death, she was joined by a now almost 30 year-old Rose, who helped her care for 17 year-old Asia, 14 year-old John Wilkes, and 12 year-old Joseph.

The most complete views of Rose come from the writings of her younger sister, Asia.  So little is known about Rose’s childhood and early womanhood due to the lack of family documents during that period of time.  When Asia became of age, she filled the role as the Booth family chronicler.  As a teenager on the family farm, Asia started a correspondence with a friend named Jean Anderson.  This correspondence would last the rest of Asia’s life and the letters she sent to Jean give an honest view of the quite normal life of the Booth family.  After the tragedy that engulfed her family, Asia would write four manuscripts about her family.  Her 1874 work, an untitled book about her misguided brother, is filled with stories about life on the farm in the 1850’s.  In this volume, Asia writes of Rose, “My sister had been from childhood always more or less an invalid.”  However, Asia’s own period letters during the time and even the stories that she recounts in her book, do not support this view of Rose.  The probable reason for Asia’s inclusion that her sister was, “an invalid” is that when Asia was composing her manuscript around 1874, Rose had become a withdrawn, and possibly infirm, woman.  During these years at the farm, however, there was a vibrancy and liveliness to Rose.  Through a mixture of Asia’s letter to Jean Anderson and the volume on John Wilkes, the life of Rosalie Booth is suddenly brought out of the shadows and into light.

While living at the farm in the 1850’s, Rose would often return, unaccompanied, to Baltimore to visit friends and shop. “While Rose was in town, Mother and I had all the work to do,” Asia partially complained to Jean in October of 1853.  At times these trips to Baltimore resulted in gifts for her siblings.  “Rose brought [John Wilkes] home a new saddle” in December of 1853.

Rose was well loved by her siblings.  In January of 1854, Junius Jr. was visiting from California with his wife and new baby, Marion.  Junius gave Marion the middle name of Rosalie, in honor of the sister he was closest in age to.

Contrary to Stanley Kimmel’s assertion that Rose never enjoyed the, “social pleasures” of a young girl, there is some evidence that she may have been courted a bit while on the farm.  On April 30^th, 1854, Asia wrote to Jean, “I am sitting on the porch this afternoon.  Dan Scott is walking with Rose over the fields to gather wild flowers,” and later in the letter, “I see Rose coming now with her hands full and Jack Wharton’s tongue outruns Nannie’s.”  Rose probably had a desire to get married and Asia wrote of a mysterious rite that it is likely Rose participated in one Halloween. “The female portion of the family, resorted to the woods in perfect silence, found a hollow stump of a tree that contained the mystic dew with which we bathed our foreheads, and standing apart and silent, waited to greet the expected bridegroom.  Those who were fated for a married existence either saw or pretended that they there and then beheld him.”  It is unlikely that Rose beheld any spiritual bridegrooms that night, as she would remain unmarried for the rest of her life.

Life was not always easy or carefree on the family farm during those days.  Poor tenant farmers, who yielded bad crops and worked the animals too hard, pushed the family into near starvation.  At one point, Rose, Asia, and John Wilkes were left alone on the farm.  Joe had been sent off to school by then, the servants had all gone to a Christian camp meeting that lasted ten nights, and their mother had travelled to Baltimore to acquire more food which was running low.  At this most inopportune time, Asia heard horse’s hooves from far off in the distance.  “Two ladies on horseback. Two more in sight!” Asia yelled to Rose. “What shall we do?” Rose replied before deciding, “You be ready to entertain them.  We’ll have to manage somehow.”  The three Booth children, Rose, Asia and John Wilkes then proceeded to put on an elaborate show for the visitors in order to keep up appearances.  One servant, a young boy about 5 years old, was the only one who had not gone with the others to the camp meeting.  He greeted the ladies and managed to wrangle their horses to the stable where John Wilkes was hiding to properly secure them.  Asia distracted the ladies in idle conversation while Rose went to work in the dining room and kitchen:

“After an anxious time of forced gaiety and real distress, my sister entered and afforded an opportunity for my escape and the gratification of my curiosity.  I found how industriously she had worked.  All the best china was set out, and the silver also (which was never to be used), preserves, fresh cresses and radishes, our last bit of meat cut beautifully thin, some delicious fruit decorated with flowers, made the round table beautiful; and on entering the kitchen, I beheld our little stock of butter and milk from the dairy, and our last wee loaf ready to be taken to the table.”

John Wilkes, meanwhile, had escaped the stables unseen and had sneaked into the kitchen as well.  He was cooking pancakes like a real cook.  After placing them in a covered dish on the dining-room table, he went back into hiding in the kitchen.  Rose and Asia seated the ladies in the dining room and proceeded to serve the meal.  Rose poured the ladies some coffee.  The meal was going well when on the guests remarked that John Wilkes must be working very hard on the farm since they had not yet seen him.  Rose replied, “He’ll be in soon, I think.”  When the pancakes ran out, Asia had to make a muttering comment about the worthlessness of their servants in order to explain why she had to go back into the kitchen to get a fresh set of pancakes.  At once two of the ladies offered to help her get the servants.  Asia, panicked that they would follow her and find that there were no servants in the kitchen and just John Wilkes, the impromptu cook, came up with the lie, “We’ve got such a fierce dog in the kitchen.” John gave Asia a new set of pancakes while she informed him that Rose had carelessly called for his appearance.  John cleaned himself up and appeared in the dining room about fifteen minutes later.  He saluted the ladies and, “dropped a kiss on [Rose’s] fore[head] as if he had been absent from home all day and was not in the least hungry.  John, though starving from his hard work at subterfuge, ate very little, knowing that there was nothing left when these meager supplies ran out.  He talked of flowers with the ladies and managed to sneak away right before the end of the ladies visit which had lasted the afternoon and most of the evening.  Unseen he brought their horses, along with his own, to the mounting blocks.  “When the moon had well risen, amid many gay farewells, the horses bore away our visitors and our hungry brother,” who escorted the ladies home.

When the visitors had gone, Rose said to Asia, “Does it ever enter your thoughts that John has worked hard all day and had scarcely any food?”  Asia replied back that, due to the veracious hunger of their guests, their own provisions were nearly gone.  For the next three days, Rose, Asia and John, “subsisted on the scantiest allowance each, until the arrival of our mother with laden hampers.”

During another, hungry winter, the family sent John through the frozen snow to purchase a cow from a distant farm.  Upon his return with the bovine, the family relished, “draughts of warm good milk, and no butter was ever so eagerly watched as that which came of the first churning.  We three, Wilkes, my sister [Rose] and self, took turns at the dasher, and were so fearful of letting the ‘churning go back,’ as the country folk say, but we could not easily forget that to enjoy these luxuries we had risked our boy’s life.”

There was no question that Rose and her sister, Asia, had differing personalities.  Asia was extremely sociable while Rose was on the quiet side.  In a letter Asia wrote to Jean in September of 1856, she stated, “The Talmud saith, ‘Allah sent ten measures of garrulity (talkativeness) to earth, and the women took nine.’ Rose thinks I got my share and hers too.  For a fact, nature has cheated her tongue out of its right, and my brain of its wisdom.”

Edwin Booth made his return to the Booth family farm in 1856 after an absence of four years.  During this time he had made a name and, more importantly, a fortune for himself by acting in California.  He had also toured Australia and played before King Kamehameha IV in Hawaii.  When Edwin witnessed the poverty that his family was living in on the farm, he whisked them away and put them up in a home in Baltimore.  The family would never live at Tudor Hall again.

For almost the rest of her life, Rose was housed and given an allowance by her brother Edwin.  She followed her mother as they moved from rented homes in different cities, procured for them with Edwin’s influence and money.  In 1859, Asia Booth married actor John Sleeper Clarke and the two took up residence in Philadelphia.  Mary Ann moved in with the newlyweds about two months after their marriage and soon Rose and Joseph followed.  The entire family was residing at the house when the 1860 census was taken.  In a March 7^th, letter to Jean Anderson, Asia writes, “Ned [Edwin] has sent Rose and me the very loveliest of Escritoires”.  They are large boxes inlaid with pearl, containing drawers for jewelry and little [indecipherable] a writing desk nicely furnished and a work box at the top of all, I wish you could see and admire.”

Rose subsequently wrote her own letter to Edwin, in part to thank him for the writing desk.  Her letter, in full, is as follows:

“Phil’a

March 12^th

1860

Dear Ned

I received yours from Nashville dated the 7 inst. Asia has got a fine little girl and is doing pretty well so far.  So you see you have won the bet.  Clarke telegraphed you on Saturday. Asia wrote one day last week we both got our boxes and are very much pleased with them and I thank you a thousand times. Mother got a letter from June written on the 6^th of Feb’y he got the check that she sent and was going to write to you at the same time.  He was in good health but little Mary had a very bad cold. He sends his love to you and Joe. In regards to living in New York or Boston it does not make the slightest difference to me as all places are alike as I will have [to] live where Mother does (unless I get married, and have a house of my own but I don’t think that there is any danger of that yet awhile) Mother thinks that she ought to be where Joe is as he is the one that wants some one to take care of him. She [said] that John has been away from home so long that he can get along very well by himself. Love to Joe and tell him to find time to answer my letters. Sleeper says that he got something for Joe to do at the Arch if he has made up his mind to follow the stage. In regard to Wilkes’ fight at Richmond it was with a man named Pat Redford or Bedman in the box office who had insulted him several times before but he did not say what the insult was. He played Ludovico the other night for Julia Dean Hayne’s benefit and was the only one called before the curtain and had a 6 minute call. He seems very much pleased at it. He has got your letter was to answer it. Mother has just written to you and says she will tell you all about how she wants to live as for me all places are alike. Asia sends her love to you and Joe. I am glad that Joe succeeded so well in Biondello.

God bless you my dear Brother is the pray[er] of your loving sister

Rose A Booth”

Rose, hardly seems to be a victim of a, “morose disposition,” that prevented her from, “participating actively in the lives of her brothers and sister” after reading this letter.  Rather, she writes clearly and fondly of all of her siblings.  She notes John Wilkes’ long curtain call while performing in the play Evadne in Richmond, and sends her congratulations to her youngest brother’s attempt at acting alongside Edwin in the play The Taming of the Shrew.  Both events, as a matter of fact, occurred on the same day, March 2^nd, 1860.

Rose even jokes with Edwin stating that he “won” their bet regarding Asia and, assumedly, her skills at motherhood.  The 36 year-old also seems to make humorous reference to her continued unmarried status with her aside of, “unless I get married, and have a house of my own but I don’t think that there is any danger of that yet awhile.”

The devotion Rose has to her mother is very clear in the letter.  Asked by Edwin where she wished to live, New York or Boston, Rose replies that she will go wherever 57 year-old Mary Ann goes.  This bond between mother and eldest daughter would continue to grow in the years to come.  Letters from Asia to Jean over the next three years contain references to her mother and sister’s continued cohabitation:

• “Mother & Rose are boarding in Marshall Street at a private house,” Asia wrote in December of 1860.
• “Rose and Mother are very well,” she wrote in November of 1861.
• On January 15^th of 1863, Mary Ann wrote to Edwin noting that, “Rosalie went yesterday to Blockley post office – but no letters…” The pair was hoping for word from Joe, who had run off to England and then Australia with hardly a note to keep them apprised of his whereabouts.

Further demonstrating Rose’s involvement in the lives of her siblings, she and Asia went to see John Wilkes perform while he was in Philadelphia.  Together, they saw him in The Marble Heart at the Arch Street Theatre on March 3^rd, 1863.

Along with supporting John Wilkes’ theatrical career, Rose also at one time supported her brother financially.  In April of 1863, John Wilkes bid on land in Boston’s Back Bay.  He successfully purchased the lot at 115 Commonwealth Avenue for $8,192.10.  John Wilkes had to pay a quarter of the sale in cash within fourteen days of the sale.  On April 19, 1863, John Wilkes wrote to his representative Joe Simonds in regards to the matter: “Rose sent Orlando a draft from Phila. and I sent one from here. Has he enough?”  Where Rose got the money to assist John Wilkes is unknown.  Perhaps it was her savings from the living allowance Edwin provided for her.  Regardless it is interesting that John picked Rose to help him with his down payment and demonstrates a connection between the two siblings.  After three semiannual installments, Wilkes succeeded in acquiring the land on October 17^th, 1864.  However, when the deed was finally delivered, he had it made out to Mary Ann instead of himself.  This was about the time that John’s thoughts were of “patriotic” duties and perhaps he had the land deeded to Mary Ann to ensure it would not be confiscated by the government after his actions.

In the same vein, John started to close his other investments, namely his failed oil ventures.  His well in Venango County, PA had produced nothing.  He transferred his essentially worthless share of the ”Dramatic Oil Company’s” land to his brother, Junius, and his business agent, Joe Simonds.  Outside of his Dramatic Oil Company land, John had also invested $1,000 in a share of some property along Pithole Creek.  The land had not been drilled when John decided to transfer that interest away as well.  The recipient of this share was his sister Rose.  Perhaps this was John’s way of repaying her for her funds when he was purchasing the Boston land.  When the land was finally tested in early 1865, Joe Simonds wrote to Booth that, “Pithole promises fair to be a good thing and a fine arrangement for Rosa.  You might not to have given her more than half of that share, John, for it now looks as though it would prove a fine income.”  In the end, the Pithole property proved to be a very lucrative one and caused the small area to become a boom town in 1865 with a fascinating, albeit short lived, history.  A letter from a former Booth neighbor written in 1886 states that Rose acquired a deal of money from her brother’s investment, but, thus far, no concrete evidence has been found to support this claim.  Rose’s stock in the area was never sold or transferred, however, when the town went bust about two years later there would have been no need for Rose to officially sell her share in the now worthless land. It is also a possibility that Rose received no money from this venture and, due to the events of April 14^th, 1865, washed her hands of yet another thing associated with John Wilkes.

In John Wilkes’ last letter to his mother, written the day of the assassination, he writes, “everything is dull” and that he has received a letter, “from Rose”.  In a few short hours, John changed the history of the Booth family and America forever.

Mary Ann and Rose were living in Edwin’s home in New York in 1865.  While Edwin was on tour, doting grandmother and aunt cared for Edwin’s daughter Edwina, since her mother had died in 1863.  The news of Lincoln’s assassination by the hand of her brother hit Rose like a ton of bricks.  One family friend later recalled arriving at the Booth household, on the morning of the 15^th, “We came to the somber household within whose walls a mother and sister sat grief stricken and stunned with grief, like Rachel of old refusing to be comforted.”  Quickly that same day, Mary Ann departed for Philadelphia.  Asia had been suffering an already difficult pregnancy and Mary Ann worried how the dreadful news would affect the daughter who loved John so much.  Rosalie stayed at Edwin’s home in New York to care for Edwina.  Another friend of Edwin’s, Launt Thompson, stopped by the Booth home after Mary Ann had left.  He found Rose, “all alone – waiting for some definite information.”  What thoughts swirled in Rose’s mourning mind can only be guessed.  When it was rumored that John Wilkes Booth had been captured, one later account states that Mary Ann cried out, “O God, if this be true, let him shoot himself, let him not live to be hung! Spare him, spare us, spare the name that dreadful disgrace!”  John’s death at the Garrett farm on April 26^th, ended the family’s ongoing torment, but they would never truly awaken from the nightmare of his legacy.

There is a marked silence of all the Booths in the years following John’s crime.  Asia, in her grief and busy motherhood, wrote less often to Jean.  She buried herself in work, writing a biography of her father in an attempt to reclaim the honor of her family name.  Edwin retired briefly from the stage but returned with America’s unanimous support.  He would never again act in Washington, D.C., however.  During this period Mary Ann needed Rose more than ever.  The mournful hours the two spent together are immeasurable.  From 1865 onward, the references to Rose in family letters slowly change from the vibrant, young woman at the family farm to an increasingly isolated and sad individual.

Rose was the bearer of bad news when she visited Asia’s friend Jean Anderson in Baltimore in 1866, “I suppose Rose has told you, if she called as she purposed doing, of the death of my little Lilly.”  Lilly was one of the twins Asia was pregnant with when her brother assassinated Lincoln.  Despite the loss of a child, it was the innocence and playfulness of the other Booth children that helped breathe life into the melancholy Booths.  In October of 1867, Asia, who was temporarily staying at Edwin’s home with Mary Ann and Rose in New York, wrote to Edwin:

“Edwina say, ‘Grandma, I’ll have a hot roll.’ ‘Hot rolls are not good for you, Edwina.’ ‘Well, Uncle Clarke eats hot rolls, they don’t hurt him, I’m made of the same skin Uncle Clarke is and why will they hurt me –‘ It was a funny argument and longer than I have expressed between Edwina and mother.  Edwina reasons – I can see that – she doesn’t merely say a funny thing, but actually reasons it out.  I told her Papa’s arm was dark colored with Iodine – then Rose said, now Papa is a n—-r, a black man.  Edwina looked at me a long time, and then said very seriously, ‘You ain’t black, Aunt Asia, how can Papa be black – you’re Papa’s sister and…’ Then we began to laugh and she said ‘Well it’s a puzzle – it’s a puzzle anyhow that some are white and some are black.”

On March 18^th, 1868, Asia moved to England with her husband, John Sleeper Clarke, and her children.  Though she wrote of her hope to return to America in a few years or so, only her corpse made the return trip to be buried in the family lot at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.  With the main chronicler of the Booths across the ocean, the records dissipate considerably.

On April 23^rd, 1879, while Edwin was performing at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago, a half-crazed man named Mark Gray shot at the actor while he was on the stage.  The bullets missed him and Edwin was unharmed.  During that time Mary Ann, Rose and Joe were staying in Boston.  In a letter written by Joe to Edwin, he recounted his 55 year-old sister’s reaction to the news that her brother was the target of an assassination attempt:

“Your dispatch was read by Rose before I got up, & when I went into the room where she was I found her crying very lively.  She had opened your dispatch and all she seemed to be able to do was to point to it on the mantlepiece, it greatly startled her I assure you.”

In the aftermath of the attempt on his life, Edwin felt that an acting tour of England would benefit him.  Asia, having been isolated in England for the last ten years, greatly supported a visit by her brother:  “Sometimes I think it is sad for all to wish to leave America as poor Mother would be left completely alone, but she really cares more for Rose and Joe than for any others, and they seem to have sunk into a groove – that no one can lift them out of…”Edwin acted in London during the 1880/1881 season, returned home, and then completed an acting tour of the European continent for the 1882/1883 season.  Mary Ann and Rose lived in New York during this time, summering with Joe at his home in Long Branch, New Jersey.

In September of 1883, the eldest Booth sibling, Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., became fatally ill with bladder and heart problems.  Edwin and Joe rushed to his home in Boston.  He died on September 16^th at the age of 61.  Rose did not attend her older brother’s funeral as she stayed home to care for 81 year old Mary Ann.

In January of 1884, Mary Ann Booth fell at her and Rose’s shared home in New York.  The accident resulted in a broken hip, the effects of which she would never recover.

Mary Ann was now bed ridden and, as her mind began to go, Edwin refused to allow people to tell her of the perpetual nature of her bed rest.  With the help of nurses, Rose cared to her mother’s needs as best she could.  Mary Ann remained in her bed ridden state for over a year and a half.  Before her death, Mary Ann had requested Rose sleep in bed with her:

“For some nights past she [Mary Ann] insisted that Rose should sleep in the same bed with her – she felt too nervous to be alone, & Rose was asleep beside her, when the nurse woke her & informed her of Mother’s death.”

Mary Ann Holmes Booth died on October 22, 1885 at the age of 83.  Rose took the death of her mother the hardest, as Edwin recounted in a letter to his daughter Edwina:

“Joe is of little use, poor Rose – of none at all… ’Tis for poor Rose I feel the most anxious – she has just sighed, barely loud enough for me to hear, “I wish I was gone to”; poor, poor soul! I must arrange something now for her.”

In the aftermath of their mother’s death, Edwin asked Marie Anderson, a woman who had often visited and entertained Mary Ann during her illness, to keep an eye on Rose. “See her when you can conveniently, but do not treat her as a child – that’s what she has chafed under all her life.”

Rose went to live with her brother Joe who spent his time between Long Branch, New Jersey and his doctor’s office in New York.  In 1886, Edwin visited his brother and sister in Long Branch and the trio conversed about the family’s life back on the Bel Air farm.  Rose, helped fill in her younger brothers’ memories as to the early goings on at the farm.

When Joe and Rose were back in New York in January of 1888, Edwin visited the two.  He wrote to Edwina, who was by now married with two children of her own, “I’ve seen Rose several times, and shall say good-bye to-morrow.  I do all I can for her, but nothing on earth can render her lonely life less weary, poor soul!”  It appears that Rose never got over the loss of her mother and continued to mourn her passing.

Asia Booth Clarke died in England on May 16, 1888.  Her body was shipped back to America by her husband, John Sleeper Clarke.  On June 1^st, the funeral for Asia was held at Green Mount Cemetery.  From newspapers, it is difficult to determine if Rose attended her sister’s funeral.  The only names noted in the press were that of Asia’s husband, John, and their famous brother, Edwin.  It seems likely, however, that Rose and Joe would have been there to help lay their sister to rest.

Rose was living with Joe at Long Branch in December of 1888, when an apparent attempt on the life of Joe almost ended her own.  One night, a knock was heard on the Booth home in Long Branch.  Joe had not yet returned from work, and so Rose answered the door.  As she opened the door an unknown assailant threw a brick at her head.  The brick hit the door a few inches from Rose’s head.  At the same time a number of stones and gravel were thrown at the door and windows of the home.  Rose quickly shut the door and called to the servants to lock the house down.  When Joe arrived home, he found the household very much alarmed and a two pound brick on the porch.  As stated in the papers, “where it struck the door casing was a deep dent, showing that if the aim of the wretch who threw it had been true the blow would probably have killed Miss Booth.”  Dr. Joe Booth had been involved in a lengthy legal dispute with his neighbors over a tall fence he had put on his property and believed it was one in that “incensed” party that had desired to harm him.

A month later, on January 15^th, 1889, Rosalie Ann Booth, the eldest daughter of her beloved mother, passed away.  Her death certificate states the chief cause of death was “bulbar paralysis” with “progressive spinal sclerosis” as a contributing factor.  Her final illness lasted from January 7^th until her death on the 15^th at 10:00 p.m.  Her body was transported from New York to Baltimore and a surprisingly well-documented funeral commenced:

“FUNERAL OF MISS BOOTH

The Grave Covered with Beautiful Flowers – The Services

The remains of Miss Rosalie Ann Booth, daughter of Junius Brutus Booth, and a sister of Edwin Booth, who died in New York on last Tuesday, were quietly interred at noon yesterday in the family lot at Greenmount Cemetery.  Only the immediate friends of the family, a few personal friends, and about forty outsiders witnessed the interment.  Mr. Edwin Booth had made a special request that the funeral should be as quiet as possible.

The remains, which arrived from New York on Thursday, were removed from the undertaking establishment of Henry W. Mears at 11:00 o’clock.  At the same hour Messrs. Edwin Booth, Dr. Joseph A. Booth of New York, Lawrence Barrett, John W. Albaugh, of the Holliday Street Theater, Arthur B. Chase, agent of the Booth-Barrett Company, George Graham and wife, Mrs. D. A. Anderson, Miss Marion Booth, a niece of Miss Booth, all of New York, and a colored nurse, left the Mt. Vernon Hotel in several carriages for the cemetery.  The remains arrived a little before twelve o’clock, and were followed by Rev. Peregrine Wroth, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Messiah.  The Booth party arrived a few minutes later.

The burial lot is in the southern end of the cemetery, to the right of the main entrance.  Mr. Edwin Booth, upon whose left arm leaned Mrs. [Marie] Anderson, a bosom friend of his sister, and at whose house she died, took a position on the north side of the grave.  Miss Marion Booth stood next.  The other members of the party gathered near.  Rev. Wroth recited the impressive funeral service of the Episcopal Church.  Mr. Booth seemed much depressed.

After the services Miss Marion Booth strewed the casket with white Marechal Niel roses.  The remains were cemented in the brick-lined grave.

Mr. Booth, accompanied by Mrs. Anderson, visited the grave of Mrs. Asia Booth-Clarke and also that of Mrs. Susan Hyde, an old friend of the family.  The party then left the cemetery.

In the meantime, the grave was strewn with flowers.  It was completed covered with evergreen and smilax, pinned down with wire.  At the head rested a beautiful large bud of yellow roses and smilax, which were brought out by Mr. Booth.  In the center was a magnificent floral piece, the token of Mr. Lawrence Barrett.  It was made of about fifteen white lilies backed up by La France roses and smilax and tied with white ribbon.

A Large bunch of white lilies were strewn on the grave of Mrs. Asia Booth-Clarke.”

–          Baltimore American & Commercial Advertiser – January 19^th, 1889.

It may be a romantic notion, but the plethora of flowers on Rosalie’s grave and the fact that Asia preceded her sister in death seems to put a spiritual perspective to Asia’s former words of, “I see Rose coming now with her hands full [of flowers].”

Over the course of this biographical sketch, there has been only one intriguing aspect of Rosalie Booth’s life that has been withheld until now.  In the immediate aftermath of John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Junius Brutus Booth who had travelled to Asia’s home in Philadelphia to be his mother wrote the following to Edwin back in New York:

“God bless you, dear brother.  I have warned Mother about Sharpers [swindlers] who wish to get money – see that she holds no communication with weeping imposters.”

Junius and Edwin knew their younger brother was popular with the ladies.  As he toured around from city to city, he invariably left behind smitten and heartbroken girls.  He was called the “handsomest man in America” by some and woman swooned over him.  A letter to John from a female admirer found in his trunk at the National Hotel started with the words, “I am about your own age, possibly a few months younger, and you will probably wonder what a woman” before being conveniently torn off.  Appropriately then, Junius and Edwin worried that some of John’s former admirers might attempt to take advantage of Mary Ann in her grief by claiming to be John’s fiancée or, worse yet, the mother of his children.

Sure enough, widows of all shapes and sizes came out of the woodwork.  Edwin would later write that he was besieged by about “twenty [widows] that wrote to me just after John’s death.”  While Edwin ignored and denied them all, at least one crafty “widow” discovered and successfully preyed upon Rose.

The alleged widow was named Izola Martha Mills, though her name went through many variations over the years.  She claimed that John Wilkes Booth had fathered her daughter, Ogarita, and son, Alonzo.  In 1937, Ogarita’s daughter, Izola Forrester, wrote a book entitled, This One Mad Act, in which she claimed John Wilkes as her grandfather.  The book is poorly written, the evidence is flawed, and though there are claims of family letters and documents that “prove” various points, they are not provided in any form.  In 1991, two Burrillville, Rhode Island historians wrote a book entitled, The Elusive Booths of Burrillville, in which they investigated many of the claims in Forrester book trying to prove, one way or another, the legitimacy of the “Booths” who later resided in their hometown.  Their overall thesis was inconclusive, but they were successful in disproving several of Forrester’s grandiose claims such as the notion that John Wilkes Booth did not die at Garrett’s farm and, instead, later met up with Izola Mills in California and had another child with her in 1870/71.  The issue that kept the Burrillville authors from dismissing Forrester’s book entirely was the fact that poor Rosalie Booth had fallen for Izola Mills’ claim to be the mother of her brother’s children.

Only a handful of known documents exist that prove a relationship existed between Rose and the con-artist Izola Mills.  The most open and honest account of their relationship comes from a letter written by Mrs. Elijah Rogers.  Mrs. Rogers was a neighbor of the Booths when they lived on their farm near Bel Air and is mentioned in a couple of Asia’s “Tudor Hall” letters.  Mrs. Rogers apparently kept in touch with the Booths, to some extent, after they moved from Tudor Hall.  In 1886, a Baltimore doctor by the name of William Stump Forwood was working on a biography of Junius Brutus Booth, the elder.  He wrote to Mrs. Rogers, asking her about the life of the Booth family in Bel Air.  She, in return wrote him six letters of her reminiscences.  While her memories must be taken with a grain of salt, in a letter Mrs. Rogers wrote on August 16^th, she mentions quite openly Izola and her children:

“John [Wilkes Booth] had one daughter Ogretia and one son Alonso. Ogretia was beautyfull. Alonso was very much like the old Mr Richard Booth. Johns wife is still living. her name was Izalia. I do not know her maiden name. John told Roslie he would give her two oil wells, and he wished her to take care of those two children, which she did, although they were with there Mother. Rosie calls them her Children. John was not married to there Mother. after Johns Death Izalia she went with the Children A way to the Ilenoiise. they the Children are both married now. poor Children… None of the family takes any account of John Wilks’ Children but Roslie. she is very kind to them: does not visit them, but sends them money every spring and fall. calls them her Children.”

It is interesting that Mrs. Rogers supports the notion that Izola’s children are John Wilkes’ in this letter.  In Ella Mahoney’s 1925 book, Sketches of Tudor Hall and the Booth family, she recounts that, “Mrs. Rogers did not believe her [Izola’s] story, and of course advised her against trying to get the girl’s interests advanced in that capacity, as the daughter of Booth.”  Beyond the recollections of Mrs. Rogers, however, there are other, more personal, pieces of evidence that prove that Rose took an interest in Izola’s children and provided for them financially.

In December of 1885, an article was published in the New York Tribune and other newspapers debunking a previous article in a Boston paper that stated that John Wilkes Booth was still alive and well in Alabama.  Edwin Booth read this article.  Instead of being pleased that someone was discrediting yet another tale about his brother’s alleged survival, Edwin Booth was furious that the author claimed to have been John Wilkes’ widow and mother of his two children.  Edwin wrote that same day to Edwina:

“Today’s Tribune contains a wretched lie about John Wilkes’ family, not one word of truth in it from end to end; I suspect it is the beginning of a ‘black-mail scheme’ of which I had some intimation months ago through a Boston lawyer… The widow of this Tribune article is only one of twenty that wrote to me after John’s death & is the one, I suspect, who got all poor Rose’s money – some $10,000 from her.  Rose says all that is ended now & that she will save her money – I hope she is not deceiving me.”

How do we know that it was Izola, and not another of the many “sharpers” Junius, Jr. was worried about, that tricked Rose out of her money?  The evidence for that comes from two sources.  First, in the family papers for Izola Forrester, the woman who claimed John Wilkes as her grandfather, there is a letter written in 1888 from her mother Ogarita to her brother Harry.  In it she states, “I received a beautiful letter from Miss Rogers in Baltimore.  You remember us speaking of her.  She sent her love to you, calling you my little brother, she is going to find out Aunt Rosalies address for me.  She is living somewhere in New York with Uncle Joseph.”  It should be mentioned here that Ogarita was an actress and used her alleged paternity to increase her fame and appeal.  From this letter it appears that Ogarita either truly believed she was John Wilkes’ daughter, or continued the subterfuge for financial and professional reasons even after her mother’s death.  If Rose upheld her promise to Edwin, it is unlikely that she held any additional correspondence with Izola Mills or Ogarita after 1885, explaining Ogarita’s ignorance of “Aunt Rosalie’s” current address in 1888.

Izola Forrester’s book is filled with claims of gifts, letters, and money that flowed from Rose to Izola and her children.  Edwin’s letter seems to corroborate the passage of a great deal of funds from Rose to the imposter.  In the Forrester papers, there are no surviving letters from Rose.  There is, however, a gift that Rose sent to Izola Mills.   This gift takes the form of a book of poems, published in 1881, entitled, Donata and other Poems, by Adidnac.  An inscription inside the book reads:

Mrs. M. Lizola Bates
From her ever loving sister
Rosalie A. Booth
September 11^th 1883.
“Many happy returns of your birthday.”

The handwriting of the inscription was looked at by a handwriting expert in 1988.  Using a letter written by Rose housed in Edwin’s club, The Players, a comparison was made.  The inscription in the book was authenticated to be from Rose.

The length of time that Izola Mills successfully swindled money from Rose is uncertain.  What’s even more uncertain is what led Rose to be convinced by this imposter.  Perhaps it is like what Mrs. Rogers implied.  As the recipient of John Wilkes’ oil profits, Rose was torn about what to do with the money from his brother turned murderer.  When approached by Izola, playing the part of a grief stricken widow with “Booth” children to feed, Rose discovered the only ethical use for her brother’s blood money.  Or perhaps Rose chose to believe Izola because, in her own way, she truly missed her brother, regardless of his crime.  Though it was a lie, giving money to Izola was her way of preserving the decent part of her brother’s memory.

Regardless of her motivation, Edwin’s letter seems to prove that Rose eventually saw Izola for the thief and liar that she was.  However, due to Rose’s temporary willingness to believe that her brother had left innocent children behind, the lies spread by Izola have tricked many historians, including author Stanley Kimmel who included Izola and Ogarita in his 1969 reprint of his book, The Mad Booths of Maryland.

As was discussed at the beginning of this biographical sketch, had Rosalie Ann Booth been born into a family other than the Booths, her life would have been considered a normal one for the time period.  Though she did not marry and certainly had a prolonged period of loneliness after the death of her mother, descriptions of her as having perpetual “neurotic moodiness” or of being mentally inept, do not appear to be justified.  In the light of family letters and memoirs, Rosalie is shown to be a devoted and caring soul.  While she never achieved the fame (or infamy) of her parents and siblings, she clearly supported and loved them dearly.  She was a witness to the darkest times in the Booth family, of which they had more than their fair share, but she was also a participant in some of the happiest moments in their lives.  Though often forgotten or ignored today, Rosalie was a Booth and, therefore, an influential figure in American history.

Author’s Notes:
There is at least one more letter written by Rosalie Ann Booth. It is housed in the Hampton-Booth Library in The Players. The library’s current policy prohibits the copying of materials and a so a transcription is only able to be made in person. The author discovered a poorly photocopied version of the letter in the Izola Forrester family papers, as it was this letter that was used to authenticate Rosalie’s signature on Izola Mills’ book of poetry. A workable transcription has not yet been produced due to the low quality of the source image and difficulty in reading Rose’s handwriting.  Work will continue on a transcription and, when completed, a follow up post will relate its contents.  In the meantime, the photocopy of the letter can be seen by clicking HERE and HERE.

The only known image of Rosalie Ann Booth is the engraving included above. The engraving is based on a true picture, hopefully housed at The Players. A poor photocopy of the original image, and basis of this engraving, was provided to the author by Art Loux. That image can be viewed by clicking HERE.

References:
The writing of this biography utilized many, many resources.  A list of those resources follows below.  Though each fact and quote above has not been specifically footnoted, all are based on a consulted reference.
John Wilkes Booth: A Sister’s Memoir by Asia Booth Clarke edited by Terry Alford
Transcriptions of Asia Booth Clarke’s letters to Jean Anderson Sherwood, currently housed at the Maryland Historical Society, were provided courtesy of Art Loux and Ford’s Theatre NPS.
Edwin Booth: A Biography and Performance History by Arthur Bloom
The transcription of Rosalie Ann Booth’s 1860 letter was first published in the June 1979 edition of Richard Sloan’s Lincoln Log.  A copy of the original document, housed at the New York Public Library, was provided courtesy of Richard Sloan.
Junius Brutus Booth: Theatrical Prometheus by Stephen Archer
The Elusive Booths of Burrillville by Joyce Knibb and Patricia Mehrtens
My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone
The Mad Booths of Maryland by Stanley Kimmel
John Wilkes Booth – Oilman by Ernest Miller (click for full text)
Edwin Booth: Recollections by his Daughter… by Edwina Booth Grossman (click for full text)
Lust for Fame: The Stage Career of John Wilkes Booth by Gordon Samples
The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence edited by William Edwards and Ed Steers
Crowding Memories by Mrs. Thomas Aldrich (click for full text)
Prince of Players by Eleanor Ruggles (click for full text)
This One Mad Act by Izola Forrester
Draft copy of “John Wilkes Booth’s Enigmatic Brother Joseph” by John C. Brennan provided by Art Loux.
“Boston: A Home for John Wilkes Booth?” By Richard and Kellie Gutman in the Surratt Courier, September, 1985.
The Izola Forrester Family Papers accessed via www.iffp.com
Newspaper articles were found using GenealogyBank.com
The Art Loux Archive

I thought this 1896 article containing pictures of the Booth family was worth sharing.  Click it to enlarge and read:

I’ve never seen the “unpublished” image of a young Junius Brutus Booth before, nor have I seen anything other than this line drawing of Rosalie Booth. Reading this article certainly makes me want to visit The Players to see if they still have the originals of these pictures in their collection.

I’m in the midst of reading the book, Junius Brutus Booth: Theatrical Prometheus by Stephen M. Archer. One of the most fascinating things I’ve come across thus far is the drama that occurred when Junius Brutus Booth made his star debut in the theaters of London. In preparation for a post about the matter, I found myself with a wealth of material on the early theatrical life of Junius Brutus Booth. Instead of summarizing key points of Junius’ initial acting career, I decided to write a series of posts examining the humble acting beginnings of the man who would later father a theatrical dynasty, including the assassin of President Lincoln. What follows is a continuing part of a series of posts entitled, “When Junius Took the Stage”. Click here for Part 1, here for Part 2, and here for Part 3 of the series.

Part 4 – When Junius Took the Lead

Back home in London after a tour of the European continent, 19 year-old Junius Brutus Booth was still struggling to make his way.  Recently married and with a baby on the way, Junius needed to make a name for himself in his chosen theatrical profession.  Upon his return from the continent, Junius used the name of a patron he had met during his travels in order to gain an audience with the manager of the Covent Garden Theatre, Henry Harris.  Junius signed a five year contract with Harris, with a salary of two pounds a week for the first four years which would double on the fifth year.  Not willing or financially able to wait until the 1815-1816 theatrical season commenced in the fall, Junius spent the summer of 1815 in the country provinces.  He joined Thomas Trotter’s theatres in the costal cities of Brighton and nearby Worthing and was paid one pound ten shillings per week.

Pregnant Adelaide joined her husband at Brighton but, by September the couple was back in London awaiting Junius’ debut at Covent Garden.  Junius was still merely a supernumerary, a supporting player.  While he was given a weekly salary regardless of whether he worked or not, his pay was not sufficient enough to even support him.  On October 5^th, 1815, Junius had another mouth to feed with the birth of his daughter, Amelia Portia Adelaide Booth.  The only way to earn an adequate amount of money to support a family as an actor was to progress into a star.  In order to become a star, a supporting character had to be on stage as much as possible in order to gain supporters and beneficial reviews.  During the 1815 – 1816 season at Covent Garden, Junius’ work was hardly consistent, hindering his efforts to create a following of fans.  Over the nine month season at the Covent Garden, Booth acted only 18 times.  His most repeated role during this time was the part of Silvius, the sheepherder, in the play, As You Like It.  Little better than a walk on role, Booth played Silvius a total of 5 times that season.

At the end of the 1815-1816 season, it was very obvious to Booth that Harris and the Convent Garden Theatre were not going to give him the chances he needed to be a star.  During the summer months, Booth returned to the provinces of Worthing and Brighton playing at Thomas Trotter’s theatres there.  Trotter increased Booth’s salary from the previous summer, and now paid him two pounds two shillings per week.  This was an increase even over his normal pay from Covent Garden and, at Trotter’s theatres, Booth was able to act regularly and in more lucrative roles.  As the summer came to a close, Booth wisely decided to remain in the provinces for the 1816-1817 season.  As his acting ability grew, Junius began to assemble a modest group of supporters in the provinces.  On September 25^th, 1816, Junius got the opportunity that all supernumeraries prayed for.  At his theatre at Brighton, Thomas Trotter announced that Edmund Kean, the leading actor in England, was to play Sir Giles Overreach in A New Way to Pay Old Debts.

A leading London star in the provinces was a sure way to pack the houses and people came out to witness Kean’s majesty. In a serendipitous twist, Kean never showed up.  Kean later stated that he had never agreed to any such performance at Trotter’s, though it is equally likely that an attack of brandy prevented him from making the journey.  Trotter quickly brought in Booth who had been performing at his Worthing theatre.  Junius played the role meant for Kean that night, and he pleasantly surprised the expecting audience.  As Dr. Archer states in his book, “the neophyte had risen to the occasion.”  This successful, break out performance by Junius Brutus Booth led Trotter to give him more substantial roles.  In time, this greater exposure allowed Booth to gain a following of fans.  Several of these fans turned out to be better than your run of the mill theatre goers.  Three rich and influential patrons banded together on Junius’ behalf.  They collectively paid a visit to Henry Harris back at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.  They convinced Harris to give Booth a trial night in the city where he would play the leading role.  His shot as a star on the London stages occurred on February 12^th, 1817.

Junius’ star debut came at a crucial time for the young actor.  He and Adelaide had suffered the devastating death of their first child, Amelia.  Though her exact date of death is unknown, it is likely that the poor girl passed away sometime during Junius’ season in the provinces.  Mourning the loss of their daughter, a needed boost in Junius’ theatrical career was just what the small family needed.  Alas, when Junius arrived at Covent Garden to rehearse for his leading role, he was greeted with less than open arms.  His former cast mates jeered him stating, “Why, I declare! It’s little Silvius of last season, come to play Richard the Third, in opposition to the great Kean!” “I wonder, now, if the manager expects respectable actors to play secondary parts to him!”  In fairness, it was probably a slap in the face to the troupe of Covent Garden to play supporting roles to an amateur that had been among the lowest in their ranks a year before, even if the arrangement was for only one night.  One of the supporting actresses, a Sally Booth, requested that Junius might add an “e” to the end of his surname so that, upon his assumed failure that night, the audience would not mistakenly believe they two were related and therefore tarnish her reputation.  In turn, Junius made a snide remark about how Ms. Booth had been trying to change her own name through marriage with an equal amount of success as her acting ability.

Despite the negativity from his colleagues, Junius prepared for his best, and perhaps only, chance at stardom.  He chose Shakespeare’s Richard the Third as his play as it was one of his successful roles in the provinces.  This was Junius Brutus Booth’s chance to replicate the success of Edmund Kean.  Kean, himself, had come from the provinces as an unknown actor in 1814 and was now the most celebrated star in London with a following of devoted fans known as Keanites.

We can only imagine the amount of stress and trepidation Junius must have felt when the curtain rose on February 12^th, 1817.

When the curtain fell at the conclusion of the play, Junius’ fate as an actor was set.  Here are some quotes from London theatre critics of “Mr. Booth’s” debut at Covent Garden:

“an exact copy or parody of Mr. Kean”

“a perpetual strut and an unwielding swagger”

“He stamps too often”

“[he] traverses more extent of the stage than any Actor we ever beheld”

“Though it may pass at Brighton for grand, gracious, and magnificent, even the lowest of the mob will laugh at [it] in London”

From these reviews, it would appear that Junius was practically booed from the stage.  However, the exact opposite was true.  Despite the complaints of some theatre critics and loyal Keanites, Booth closed Richard the Third with “rapturous and unanimous applause”.  Following Junius’ bows, another actor appeared onstage to announce the next evening’s performance, as was customary.  When the audience heard that tomorrow’s play, A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, would not feature Junius Brutus Booth, they stood shouting chants of, “Richard the Third!  Booth as Richard!”  The shocked messenger actor retreated backstage and consulted the manager.  In face of the sudden and thunderous acclamation of Booth, the manager ceded to the audience’s wishes.  He announced that Booth would repeat his role and talent the following night.  As Dr. Archer expertly sums up in his book, “No new tragedian, fresh from the country, could ask for more.”

The next night, Junius received an almost identical demonstration of support.  At the conclusion of his second performance as Richard the Third the audience once again rose to their feet and demanded a third performance for the next night, Friday.  Though this time the manager refused, he did announce that Booth would return as Richard on Monday the 17^th.  Junius had succeeded in establishing himself as an exciting, new tragedian and soon had his own following of fans named “Boothites”.

There is no doubt that Adelaide and Junius’ father, Richard, were incredibly relieved at Junius’ new found success.  However, in a city such as London, there can be only one reigning monarch of the stage.  A battle, the likes of which had never been seen before, was about to start between the rising upstart Junius Brutus Booth and the king of the London stages, Edmund Kean.  Which would come out the victor in their Shakespearian scuffle? Stay tuned for the next post in this series.

References:
Junius Brutus Booth: Theatrical Prometheus by Stephen Archer

After my last post about the whole Booth family living under one roof during the 1860 census, Art Loux posed an interesting question:

Has anyone found the Booths in the 1870 census? I have looked for Mary Ann, Rosalie, Edwin and Joseph but have not found any of them. Asia was in England.

I decided to see if I could find an answer for him.  I decided to look for Edwin first, hoping the rest of the family would be with him.  As a popular actor, I figured he would be the easiest one to track down.  Having recently bought Arthur Bloom’s wonderful new book, Edwin Booth: A Biography and Performance History, I figured I’d have the answer in just a half hours work. Boy was I wrong.  After a couple days of pouring over census pages, I’ve still come up empty trying to find the greatest Hamlet of his generation in the 1870 census.  However, I have two ideas as to why I haven’t been able to find him: Either Edwin missed the census or the census missed him.

First, utilizing Bloom’s biography of Edwin, let’s discuss Edwin Booth’s life leading up to the 1870 census.

1867 – 1869:

The three years previous to the census were very formative years in the life of Edwin Booth.  In June of 1867, Edwin purchased four adjacent land plots at the intersection of 6^th avenue and 23^rd street in New York City.  It was here, that Booth invested his fortune to build his own theatre, Booth’s Theatre.  Though Booth managed the building of the theater, he spent little time witnessing the progress on it.  Instead, he spent the acting seasons of 1867-1868 and 1868-1869 touring in order to fund the project.  He had hoped to have the theatre ready to go by December of 1868, but delays pushed back the grand opening of his theatre until February 3^rd, 1869.  He opened his namesake theatre with Romeo and Juliet.

Shortly after the theatre opened for business, Edwin most likely read in the papers about the presidential pardon of Dr. Mudd for his involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  Pardons for conspirators Samuel Arnold and Edman Spangler followed soon after.   Seven days after his theatre’s debut, Edwin Booth wrote to President Andrew Johnson asking, again, for the remains of his misguided brother.  Edwin was successful this time, but he did not go to Washington, sending his brother and business manager Joseph in his stead.

During this period, Edwin had fallen in love again.  Mary Devlin, Edwin’s first wife and mother of his only child, Edwina, had died in 1863.  The new object of Booth’s affection was Mary McVicke.  Mary was the step-daughter of James McVicker, the actor and owner of McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago.   In mid-1867, Booth offered Mary McVicker the role of his leading lady for the 1867-1868 season.  In truth, McVicker was hardly experienced enough to be a leading lady, but Edwin was smitten with the 19 year old.  They toured together and by the summer of 1868, Edwin and Mary McVicker were living together.  They finally made the arraignment official and married on June 7^th, 1869, four months after the opening of Booth’s Theatre.  By October of 1869, Mary was pregnant.

From Bloom’s biography and newspaper accounts, we learn that during this time period Edwin and Mary were living in Booth’s Theatre in a suite of rooms.

When the summer months rolled around, Edwin and Mary liked to vacation at Long Branch, New Jersey.  Long Branch had been a beach resort town since the late 18^th century.  By the 19^th century, it had become a “Hollywood” of the east coast, with many actors (particularly those from New York) calling Long Branch their summer home.  In fact, Mary’s stepfather, James McVicker, owned a home in Long Branch and the family would summer there.

During the 1869 -1870 theatrical season, Edwin needed to make more money to help repay his debts from building Booth’s Theatre and therefore went touring.  Pregnant Mary joined her husband as he travelled to Philadelphia, Boston, and other New England cities.  By January of 1870, the Booths were back at their own theatre.  Edwin’s next documented performance outside of New York was not until the 1870 – 1871 season.

1870:

After a great deal of researching here is my timeline for Edwin Booth for the year of 1870, the census year.

January – April,  1870 – Edwin and Mary are at home, living in Booth’s Theatre on the corner of 6^th avenue and 23^rd street, NYC.  Edwin is performing in his own theatre.

April 16^th, 1870 – Edwin’s last performance at Booth’s Theatre for the 1869 – 1870 season.

May 1870 – Edwin and (most likely) the pregnant Mary travel to Long Branch, New Jersey for a brief vacation before the baby is due in June.  Newspaper clippings support the idea that Edwin was in Long Branch.

May 30^th, 1870 – James McVicker, Mary’s stepfather, opens at Booth’s Theatre in a new play called “Taking the Chances”.

Early June, 1870 – Edwin and Mary return to their home above Booth’s Theatre in New York.

June 13^th, 1870 – Edwin writes a letter to Jervis McEntee from New York, verifying that he is back home.

June, 1870 – Per Bloom’s biography: “Edwin and Mary were married in June 1869, and by late October she was pregnant.  The baby was almost a month late.  The doctors in attendance convinced the Booths that Mary miscalculated.  They all thought it was a joke, but the result was a disaster.” If the couple expected the baby was going to be born in June, this would explain why they left Long Branch after only spending a month there.  Since Mr. McVicker was playing at Booth’s Theatre, it would make sense that he would want to witness the birth of his (step) grandchild.

July 3^rd, 1870 – Per Bloom: “Mary was a physically small woman, and the baby was so large (10- ½ pounds) that the attending doctors were forced to use forceps, which slipped twice and damaged the child’s head.  Edwin assisted at the birth, which came at 11:30 p.m. on July 3, 1870.”  By 4 a.m. the baby, named Edgar, had died.  The birth occurred at home in Booth’s Theatre.

July, 1870 – The birth was hard on Mary, and she was sedated with chloroform for five days after.  During her sedation, Edwin buried Edgar next to his first wife, Mary Devlin, in Massachusetts.  When he came back, he took Mary back to Long Branch to recover, likely with the McVickers in tow.

July 25^th, 1870 – A letter written by Edwin Booth to Jervis McEntee from Long Branch, NJ, verifies that Booth was back at Long Branch.

August 20^th, 1870 – A letter written by Edwin Booth to Charles Gayler (the playwright for the play Mr. McVicker had debited in May) from Long Branch, NJ, verifies that the couple was still at Long Branch.

September 5^th, 1870 – Edwin Booth starts the 1870 – 1871 season at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago.  Mary, now recovered from the after effects of childbirth, accompanies him, and her parents, there.

October – December, 1870 – Edwin Booth acts in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

December 16^th, 1870 – Booth is in Philadelphia playing at the Walnut Street Theatre.  Edwin wrote to a friend on this date stating, “I shall be home at Xmas (God willing) and will follow Jefferson at Booth’s in Jan.  This is rather unexpected, tho’ I’m rather glad of it, for I am sick of traveling, and it is not the thing for Mary, who has been confined to the house for a week past…”  It appears Mary had continued to follow Edwin during his entire tour.

December 24^th, 1870 – Edwin’s last performance in Philadelphia.  Edwin and Mary assumedly go home to New York.  Edwin starts playing at his own theatre starting January 9^th, 1871.

Theories:

With the timeline above, I have two theories as to what happened with Edwin Booth and the census.

1. Edwin Booth missed the census.

According to Ancestry.com: “The official enumeration day of the 1870 census was 1 June 1870. All questions asked were supposed to refer to that date. The 1870 census form called for the dwelling houses to be numbered in the order of visitation; families numbered in order of visitation; and the name of every person whose place of abode on the first day of June 1870 was with the family.”  From newspaper accounts, we know that Edwin Booth was in Long Branch, NJ in May.  From a letter Booth wrote on June 13^th, we know that he was then back in New York.  Two possible scenarios would eliminate Edwin Booth from being counted.  Either Edwin was still in Long Branch when his neighborhood was surveyed or Edwin was back in New York when the census enumerators came, but since he had been living in Long Branch on June 1^st, they did not include him.  Two identical newspaper clippings from two different papers make a joke that supports the idea that Edwin Booth missed the census:

2. The census missed Edwin Booth

The 1870 census was not without controversy.  After it was completed many states, including New York, believed that large portions of the population had been missed.  Could Edwin Booth have been one of those who were missed?  It may not be as ridiculous as it sounds.  Mary Booth’s step father, James McVicker, was engaged at Booth’s Theatre from May 30^th –  June 11^th performing in “Taking the Chances”.  Though I’ve not yet found documentation for it yet, it is extremely likely that Mr. McVicker stayed on at Booth’s Theatre to await the birth of his (step) grandchild.  This puts Mr. McVicker in New York City from May 30^th to at least July 3^rd.  If census takers surveyed him, he could honestly say he was living in NYC on June 1^st and he would have been included.  However, like Edwin Booth, James McVicker is nowhere to be found in the 1870 census.  He’s not in New York City, he’s not in Long Branch, he’s not back home in Chicago.  Nor is there any record for Mrs. McVicker in the 1870 census either.  Perhaps the 1870 census actually missed Edwin Booth and his entire household.

The weirdest part of all of this is that, barring an obvious mistake by me, the Booths had to have been missed not once, but twice.  New York City was given permission to do a recount of the 1870 census and started a 2^nd enumeration in December of 1870.  Edwin would have been at home when the enumerators were in his neighborhood in early January, but again, there is no record of him.  Perhaps, living in his own theater as he did, the census people did not think to knock on the theatre doors and ask about anyone living there.

The Rest of the Family:

While I was not successful in finding Edwin Booth for Art, I did find Mary Ann, Rosalie, and Joe.  The three of them were not living at the Booth Theatre.  In August of 1869, Edwin wrote a letter to a friend in which he stated, “I sold my house some weeks ago—obtained comfortable quarters for my brother and sister— with whom Joe resides…”  The “Joe” Edwin names is not his brother, but rather actor Joseph Jefferson.  When this letter was written, Joe Jefferson was performing his famous Rip Van Winkle character at Booth’s Theatre.  This helped me place the residence of the Booth family somewhat close to the Theatre.  When I found the following census record for a “Maria”, Rosalie, and Joseph Booth, boarding less than a mile from Booth’s Theatre down 6^th avenue, I knew I had found the right family.

They all decided to fudge their ages a bit.  In reality, Mary Ann was 68, Rosalie was 47, and Joe was 30.  Oh vanity, thy name is Booth.

Conclusion:

If I have completely wasted my time and Edwin is actually in the 1870 census, plain as day, I welcome the correction.  I’d be embarrassed for missing him, of course, but I’d rather know.

Despite his fame and fortune, Edwin Booth has proven to be an elusive man.  Though I’ve come up empty handed trying to find him in the 1870 census, the process of searching for him has taught me more about his life around that period than I would ever have known otherwise.  I searched the records, documented Edwin’s movements and read hours’ worth of census pages.  The search for knowledge is what makes this all worthwhile.  Still, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and take a nap until the next census to recover.  Or maybe a vacation would do me some good.  I’ve read Long Branch, NJ is nice.

References:
Edwin Booth: A Biography and Performance History by Arthur Bloom
The 1870 Federal Census accessed through Ancestry.com
Newspaper articles from GenealogyBank.com
The Hampton-Booth Theatre Library online card catalog
Letters from Edwin Booth to John E. Russell from The Outlook magazine April 20^st, 1921

Asia Booth Clarke, John Wilkes Booth’s sister, had a lifelong pen pal named Jean Anderson.  From her early days at Tudor Hall to her isolated years in England, Asia wrote to Jean with regularity.  For years, some of Asia Booth Clarke’s letters to Jean Anderson were held at the Peale Museum in Baltimore.  What follows is a transcript of Asia’s letter to Jean in the aftermath of the assassination:

 

Philadelphia, May 22, 1865.

My Dear Jean:

I have received both of your letters, and although feeling the kindness of your sympathy, could not compose my thoughts to write — I can give you no idea of the desolation which has fallen upon us. The sorrow of his death is very bitter, but the disgrace is far heavier; – Already people are asserting that it is a political affair — the work of the bloody rebellion — the enthusiastic love of country, etc. but I am fraud to us it will always be a crime –

Junius and John Clarke have been two weeks to-day confined in the old Capital – prison Washington for no complicity or evidence — Junius wrote an innocent letter from Cincinnati, which by a wicked misconstruction has been the cause of his arrest. He begged him to quit the oil business and attend to his profession, not knowing the “oil” signified conspiracy in Washington as it has since been proven that all employed in the plot, passed themselves off as “oil merchants”.

John Clarke was arrested for having in his house a package of papers upon which he had never laid his hands or his eyes, but after the occurrence when I produced them, thinking it was a will put here for safe keeping — John took them to the U.S. Marshall, who reported to head-quarters, hence this long imprisonment for two entirely innocent men –

I would not object at present to have back for my private use all the money they have squandered on Sanitary Commissions, Hospital Endowments, Relief of Soldiers Widows, and the like, for the good done by them as actors and citizens goes nothing towards providing their innocence, and it might well have been tendered to a better purpose –

I suppose they will be examined in the leisure of the Court and return home to be nursed through a spell of illness, — as one Gent has done who was released last week, — and whose arrest proved only a farce as General somebody in authority expressed it — Poor old country, she has seen her best days, and I care not how soon I turn my back upon her shores forever, it is the history of the Republic over again.

I was shocked and grieved to see the names of Michael O’Laughlin and Samuel Arnold. I am still some surprised to learn that all engaged in the plot are Roman Catholics — John Wilkes was of that faith — preferably — and I was glad that he had fixed his faith on one religion for he was always of a pious mind and I wont speak of his qualities, you knew him. My health is very delicate at present but I seem completely numbed and hardened in sorrow.

The report of Blanche and Edwin are without truth, their marriage not to have been until September and I do not think it will be postponed so that it is a long way off yet. Edwin is here with me. Mother went home to N.Y. last week. She has been with me until he came.

I told you I believe that Wilkes was engaged to Miss Hale, — They were most devoted lovers and she has written heart broken letters to Edwin about it — Their marriage was to have been in a year, when she promised to return from Spain for him, either with her father or without him, that was the decision only a few days before the fearful calamity — Some terrible oath hurried him to this wretched end. God help him. Remember me to all and write often.

Yours every time,

Asia

The “Blanche” that Asia refers to is Blanche Hanel, Edwin Booth’s fiancée.  Edwin Booth’s first wife, Mary Devlin, died in February in 1863.  By September of 1864, Edwin was romantically involved with Blanche Hanel, a wealthy Philadelphian.  As Asia wrote above, the two were engaged to be married when the assassination occurred.  In addition to retreating from the stage, Edwin also wrote to Blanche allowing her to break off their engagement due to the circumstances.  At first Blanche stayed by Edwin and as Asia writes, their engagement continued.  In the end, however, Blanche’s father would not allow the marriage and by November of 1865, Edwin and Blanche’s relationship ended.  It wouldn’t be until June of 1869 that Edwin Booth would remarry, this time to Mary McVicker of the Chicago theatrical family.

John Wilkes Booth’s father, Junius Brutus Booth, was a productive progenitor. With his two wives, Adelaide Delannoy and Mary Ann Holmes, Junius fathered a total of twelve children. Of these twelve children, seven survived into adulthood, five married, and four had children of their own that survived into adulthood. This post is about two of the Booth children, both of whom died young. They are Amelia Portia and Henry Byron Booth.

Amelia Portia Adelaide Booth

I discussed Amelia briefly in my last post on the Booth family, “The Son of John Wilkes Booth“. Alas I have little more to add about young Amelia because her life was short lived and there is little documentation about her. Amelia Portia Adelaide was born on October 5th, 1815. She was baptized in the Parish of St. George Bloomsbury in London on January 7th, 1816. St. George was the same church in which Junius and Adelaide were married on May 8th, 1815. In the baptism record book, which is attached below, Junius gives his occupation as a “Solicitor” instead of an actor. Amelia’s baptism took place while Junius was still making a name for himself and so perhaps the man who suddenly had a family to support was questioning his future.

Thus far, no death date or burial record for Amelia Booth has been found. However, a book published in 1817 called, “Memoirs of Junius Brutus Booth” gives the following footnote to the marriage of Junius and Adelaide: “Mr. Booth has had one child by his marriage, which died in its infancy”. This would place Amelia’s death in 1816 or early 1817.

Henry Byron Booth

In April of 1824, Lord Byron, the renowned British poet, died at the age of 36. It was with the romantic words of Lord Byron that Junius Brutus Booth had lured the young flower girl, Mary Ann Holmes, away from her family and life in England to abscond with him to America. The poet held a special place in the hearts of the couple. It was for this reason that Junius and Mary’s third child, the first to be born after the poet’s death, received the middle name of Byron. The exact date of Henry Byron Booth’s birth is unknown. From sources, however, I have been able to deduce that he was born between April 4th and December 28th, 1825. I attempted to deduce Henry Byron’s birthdate even further by looking at the dates in which Junius Brutus Booth was home from tour with Mary Ann and the pair could have conceived Henry. Unfortunately, Junius was home from mid June, 1824 until mid March, 1825, which, 9 months later, would leave me with the same basic spread for a birthdate. If Henry Byron was born between April and about mid August, then he would have been born on the family farm near Bel Air, Maryland, the same location where seven of his brothers and sisters were born. If he was born between mid August and the end of December, 1825, however, then Henry Byron Booth’s place of birth was the same as his half siblings: England. You see about August 22nd, 1825, Junius Brutus Booth took Mary Ann, his children, and one of his servants back to London with him. This was Junius’ first return to England since he ran off with Mary Ann in 1821. The man who had formerly trumped Junius on the London stage, Edmund Kean, had recently fled to America himself after his own adulterous relationship with a married woman became public knowledge. Hoping to usurp Kean’s title yet again, Junius brought the family to England. Alas, despite the personal distaste theatergoers had for Kean and his recent adultery, Junius was still treated and reviewed as professionally inadequate to Kean’s talents. The Booth family stayed in England for about a year before returning to Baltimore on August 15, 1826. So, whether Henry Byron Booth was born in Maryland or England, he did spend the first several months of his life on foreign shores.

Junius had high hopes for this boy and he appears to have been the favorite of his father’s. While still young, Junius wrote home asking if four year old Henry could read yet, hoping to ignite the spark of creativity and genius he saw in the young boy. Ten years had passed since Junius’ last tour of England. In the fall of 1836, having witnessed his fame grow even greater in America (and the death of Kean having occurred 3 years previous), Junius decided to try his luck again in his native land. Again he was lured with offers from London managers as to the money he (and subsequently they) could earn. Across the sea he brought along the family; Mary Ann, Junius Jr., Rosalie, Henry Byron, Edwin, four-month-old Asia, and the family’s long-time servant Hagar. Junius would later write that the tour was hardly the money making endeavor promised him, “…theatricals in England are gone to sleep – with all their puffing of full houses, I don’t believe that more than two Managers in London got even enough to pay for what they individually eat.” But Junius’ time in England in 1836/1837 would be far worse than unsatisfying house numbers. On December 28th, 1836, disaster struck the Booth family while in London. The following letter, written by Junius to his father Richard back in Maryland, explains the extreme misfortune that found the Booth’s abroad:

“We have at last cause and severe enough it is, to regret coming to England. I have delayed writing till time had somewhat softened the horror of the event. Our dear little Henry is dead! He caught the small pox and it proved fatal – he has been buried about three weeks since in the chapel ground close by. Guess what his loss has been to us – So proud as I was of him above all others. The infernal disease has placed Hagar in the hospital, but she is recovering and the two youngest who were inoculated are also getting well. Junius and Rosalie have been vaccinated – so had Henry – but on him the vaccine had not taken effect and his general health being so excellent caused us to forget the danger he was liable to.”

The death of his favorite son caused a great melancholy in Junius and, “unhinged the requisite energies for coping with the Tricksters of London.” Junius made his last appearance in England on March 17th, 1837 and shortly thereafter the family returned to America. Junius would never again return to his native land and he left poor Henry buried beneath its shores.

Henry Byron Booth was buried in the burying ground of St. James of Clerkenwell near Pentonville Chapel. According to Asia Booth Clarke’s book, “The Elder and Younger Booth“, Henry’s stone bore the following epitaph:

“Oh, even in spite of death, yet still my choice,
Oft with the inward, all-beholding eye,
I think I see thee, and I hear thy voice.”

The burial took place on January 9th, 1837 as this burial record shows:

Like the London cemetery holding the body of Henry Wilkes Booth, Henry Byron Booth’s graveyard was also turned into a park around the turn of the century. As one author wrote of the burial ground in 1896, “It is nearly an acre in extent, full of tombstones and very untidy, but the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association has undertaken to convert it into a public garden.”

Today, Henry Byron Booth’s burial place is called Joseph Grimaldi Park. Grimaldi was a famous English clown who was buried in the cemetery before its transformation. Grimaldi’s stone is the only one to have remained untouched when the cemetery was turned into a park and today it has a small gate around it. Some of the other stones that once filled the cemetery now border the walls of the park, but it is unlikely that Henry Byron Booth’s is one of them:

Junius Brutus Booth would be very distraught over the loss of Henry Byron Booth for months. It wasn’t until the birth of his next child in May of 1838, that his dark cloud would lift. In the eyes of this newborn son Junius saw again the spark of one who would change the world. This child’s name was John Wilkes Booth.

References:
London Metropolitan Archives
Junius Brutus Booth: Theatrical Prometheus by Stephen M. Archer
The Elder and Younger Booth by Asia Booth Clarke
Memoirs of Junius Brutus Booth
My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone
The London Burial Grounds by Mrs Basil Holmes