For Treasure Chest Thursday, I looked at three clippings from the Donna Darling Collection which mention The Burns Theater. I love it when there are handwritten notes with photos and Donna’s notes made analyzing these clippings quite easy. One clipping mentions “Colorado Springs” and the other says Barnes Theatre – Colo. Springs Sept 17-18.
I have cropped, edited, and sized these images for the web.
Key features:
The venue is the Barnes Theatre, Colorado Springs, Co. The theatre was part of the Western Vaudeville Managers’ Association.
The show is the “Donna Darling Revue with Sammy Clark”
Seven other acts were on the bill and also had three shows daily.
Billy Curtis and Lou Lawrence in “Is That The Custom?”
Bozo Fox & Company – Vaudeville’s Latest Surprise
Morrell and Blynor – Beauty, Grace, Speed
Nick Pallizi – The Wizard of the Accordeon [sic]
O’Brien Sisters and Mack – Bits of Musical Comedy Hits
Princess Winona – Indian Prima Donna
Zuhn and Dreis – Dementus Americanos Habitat North America
Analysis
From other research, I know that the “Donna Darling Review [sic] with Sammy Clark” was a 1926 show. On September 7th, 1926, the show played in Alton, IL and on October 9, 1926, the show played in Santa Ana, California so its playing in Colorado Springs on September 17 and 18 makes sense.
Conclusion
Sept 17, 18, 1926 – Colorado Springs, CO – Burns Theatre – Donna Darling Review
Donna was still in Boston in January, 1918 (See: “Boston Sunday Post – Play With Dolls To Banish Fatigue?”). She appears to have left for New York immediately after that because she “Began appearing on the “United Time” with Arthur Daly in February. What she did in March is unknown, but in April she “began to form an act” with George Kennier.
The New York Clipper for April 10, 1918 reported that:
MONTRAN AND KENNIER UNITE
Dinna Montran, of musical comedy fame, and George Kennier, principal with “Very Good Eddie” have framed a singing and dancing act for the Moss and Loew Circuits.
The following week, the Clipper reported that:
George Kennier and Dinna Montran will put on a new singing and dancing act within the near future.
Search as I have, I cannot find any mention of George Kennier other than these two mentions. Even an advertisement for “Very Good Eddie” which opened in December 1915 in Buffalo, NY doesn’t mention him, but it does mention 27 other cast members in that show. Additionally, these two entries in the Clipper are the only two places I’ve encountered “Dinna.” I would have wondered if this were actually Donna, except Montran is such an unusual name and I know that Donna was in New York in February.
We don’t know if this show ever materialized. I have been unsuccessful finding Donna again until October when she is in Decatur, Illinois.
Sources:
New York Clipper – 10 April 1918, Page 6 (VAUDEVILLE), “Montran and Kennier Unite”
New York Clipper – 17 April 1918, Page 19 (ABOUT YOU! AND YOU!! AND YOU!!!) Column 2.
I hate using circumstantial evidence to determine parents, but sometimes there are no documents that identify a person’s parents. The best you can do is explain why your circumstantial evidence seems sufficient. I have tried determining the parents of my second great-grandmother, Malinda Evans and have been unsuccessful. Malinda was listed in the household of her husband, Nimrod Lister during the 1880 Census.[i] It lists her age as 51, born in Ohio, her father was born in Maryland, and her mother was born in Delaware. Malinda and Nimrod married in 1854 in Pickaway County, Ohio, and Malinda shows in Nimrod’s household during the 1860 and 1870 Census records.
The 1850 census does not provide relationship information, so finding Malinda in the 1850 Census only provides circumstantial evidence of her lineage. I was able to find 21-year-old Malinda Eavans [sic] in the 1850 Census living with Samuel and Lane M. Eavans. The 1850 Census does show that Samuel was born in Maryland and that Lane was born in Delaware, just as the 1880 Census suggested I should find. For me, that circumstantial evidence is sufficient for me to tentatively associate Samuel and Lane as Malinda’s parents. Of course, I will add a note that the parent is speculative based upon the 1850 Census, but I will continue using that relationship until I find something that confirms the relationship or disproves her parentage.
Malinda Evans was born on January 8, 1829, in Pickaway County, Ohio. She was probably the child of Samuel and Lane M. Evans.
It appears that Malinda had two older sisters, Sarah and Charlotte, born about 1825 and 1827 respectively. She also seems to have had two younger brothers, Meredith and John born about 1833 and 1836 and well as a younger sister, Eliza born about 1840.
Pickaway County was formed in 1810 and its capital, Circleville, was built to conform to a circular prehistoric earthwork. When the Ohio canal reached Circleville in 1831, the circular layout was found to be a hindrance, so local businesses began “squaring the town.”[ii] Malinda grow up during the heyday of the Ohio and Erie Canal which connected Circleville to Akron, Cleveland, and Lake Erie (which was 237 miles away by the canal).[iii]
In 1842, Malinda joined the Methodist Church and remained a faithful member throughout her life.
During the 1850 Census, Malinda and her family lived 17 miles west of Circleville in Perry, Pickaway County, Ohio.[iv]
The two children born in Ohio are presumed to have been born in Pickaway County. The six children born in Indiana were all born in Sullivan County, Indiana. The 1900 Census indicates that one of the eight children died before 1900, but I haven’t discovered which one it was, yet (Except it was not Marada nor William.
In 1860, Nimrod and Malinda were living in Turman Township, Sullivan County, Indiana.[vi] Nimrod is a farm laborer and has personal property valued at $30. James is attending school, and Charles had not reached his first birthday before the census was taken.
In 1870, Nimrod owned real property valued at $660 and personal property valued at $349. He is a farmer and Malinda is keeping house for Nimrod, herself, and seven children. Their four oldest children, James, Nancy, Charles, and Eliza are attending school and their next three are too young for school.[vii]
In 1880, Nimrod is still a farmer and Melinda is keeping house.[viii] Twenty-five-year-old James is living with them and working as a huxter. The three youngest children, Marada, William, and Sarah, are also at home and are attending school.
Nimrod died on 7 April 1888 and 1900, and the widow Lister is living with her Daughter Eliza and her son-in-law Albert Hopewell.[ix]
On January 1, 1902, the Sullivan Union reported that Malinda was very sick at her daughter’s Mrs. Joel Barnes’ home. [x]
Malinda died on 24 April 1903 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Albert (Eliza) Hopewell in Sullivan County, Indiana. Her burial location is unknown.[xi]
[iv] 1850 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, 1850 Census – Samuel Eavanz (Evans) – Perry, Pickaway, Ohio. “United States Census, 1850,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXQY-XTW : 12 April 2016), Samuel Eavanz, Perry, Pickaway, Ohio, United States; citing family 71, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXQY-XTW.
[v] Malinda (Evans) Lister’s obituary indicates that she had nine children, six of whom were living. The 1900 Census Indicates that Malinda had 8 children, 7 of whom were living. I believe the 8 children is the accurate number. I have seen no other evidence of a 9th child.
My blog received the most significant amount of effort from me during the year. I wrote 143 posts during the year – A couple of months with 14 posts, a couple of months with nine posts, but the result was 2.75 posts per week. My goal is to post a minimum of once every three days, so I met my goal by posting an average of once every 2.5 days. My number one post was the same as post as in 2016, “Why I’ll never do business with MyHeritage Again.” I guess people like to read rants.
My second most popular blog posting concerned learning of a half-sister for my mother. In “OMG – Another Half-Sibling,” I write about learning that my mother has a half-sister that no one ever knew about. A woman, given up for adoption in the 1930s, through Ancestry DNA learned of her biological family, and I had the opportunity to be a part of the discovery. I had the enjoyable experience of traveling to Chicago and meeting her and her daughter. It was a great experience.
Number 3 on my blog posts was a surprise. Website Review: Lost Cousins didn’t provide much insight on their website. Instead, it pointed out to me some of the weaknesses in my data and research citations.
Number 4 was a posting about “Family Tree Maker for Mac 2.1.” I had become frustrated with Family Tree Maker when a previous version had corrupted my source citations. I returned to Family Tree Maker last year and have subsequently updated to Family Tree Maker for Mac 2017. I am pleased with the decision. It isn’t as robust as some other products, like Roots Magic, but has an actual Mac interface, which I prefer to Windows runtime emulators. If Roots Magic had a real Mac interface, I’d be hard-pressed to decide which I would use.
Number 5 is the main menu for my Brown family tree activities. When I am in communications with folks about my genealogical activities, I suggest they watch my four primary family pages, My mother’s line Brown-Montran, my biological father’s line Roberts-Barnes, my wife’s father’s line, Howell-Hobbs and my wife’s mother’s line, Darling-Huber. I have done more research on my Brown-Montran tree, so as I might expect that tree had the highest number of visits.
I receive the most significant number of compliments and “that was interesting” statements from individuals regarding my Donna Montran vaudeville articles. For me, learning of Donna’s trunk and the photos and news clippings that it contained has provided insight into Donna’s life. My process of digitizing them, incorporating them into a much more extensive Donna Montran story is one of the most enjoyable activities in which I engage.
Scarborough Historical Society
My number two area of activities is with the Scarborough Historical Society. Certainly, I have become their “technology guru” and an important resource for people who come to the society and museum with genealogical questions. I am slowly beginning to know about the vast genealogical resources there. If you have ancestors in Scarborough, I can probably help you find resources. I also manage their Blog site, Scarborough Historical Society dot Org and serve on the society’s Board of Directors.
Genealogy Groups
Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society (MGS)
I am the Treasurer of the Greater Portland Chapter of MGS. I regularly attend meetings with them. Additionally, the Chapter president has appointed me to be the “Officially Designated Representative” (ODR) to the Maine Genealogical Society. As the ODR I am a board member on the MGS and participate in their board meetings.
Maine Genealogical Society
Besides being the ODR to the MGS, I am also an assistant webmaster for their website – Maine Roots dot Org. I don’t do design activities; instead, I keep up with routine maintenance activities adding user accounts, changing prices on items for sale, etc.
Scarborough Public Library Genealogy Group
I organized and lead a Genealogy Group at my public library.
Finally, add the MGS annual Fall Conference, the MGS Spring Workshop, and Summer Genealogical Fair and, somehow, I seem to keep busy. They say the key to a great retirement is to keep busy. I guess I am doing so and loving it.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoy my blog articles. I will try to do a few more reviews of services; they seem to be my most popular postings. If you don’t subscribe to my blog, please do so. Also, I intersperse affiliate advertising on my blog. I try not to make promotion the focus of my activities. As a matter of fact, I endeavor to keep them unobtrusive. However, they have the potential to help offset my costs (although they haven’t so far). Your use of my links will be much appreciated.
The most amazing thing about 2017’s significant discoveries was that they weren’t even thought of in 2016. So, I’m excited to learn what developments 2018 will bring. I expect them to be things I haven’t thought of yet. Hopefully, your new year will be as exciting as I anticipate mine will be.
We rented the house on Fremont Avenue for only a few months in 1962. During the summer of 1962, Budgar[i] bought a duplex at 2419 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN and we moved there. We lived downstairs and had renters living upstairs. Grandma Kees lived with us for a short time. Budgar and her argued all the time. He called her a liar and she knew he was an abuser. In any event, Budgar threw Grandma Kees out before Christmas, 1962. It is interesting that I have no photos whatsoever of anyone at that house. Not me, not my mother, not Budgar, not even my sister Sharon, who was born in the fall of 1962.
Budgar wouldn’t give me an allowance. He said I needed to earn my way. So, while living on Bryant, I had a paper route most of the time. I always delivered the morning paper. I’d get up about 3:30, get my papers about 4 am, and have my route delivered by 5:30. I’d be home by 6 for breakfast and to get ready for school.
2419 Bryant Avenue – Today (May 2013)
Across the street from where we lived on Bryant was the Franklin Junior High attendance area. Likewise, two blocks south was also Franklin Junior High attendance area, so we lived just about as far away from Jordan Junior High as was possible and still be in the Jordan attendance area. During the winter, some of my friends and I would hop on the back bumper of the city bus. It was really dangerous because the bumpers on the bus only stuck out about a half an inch and the sign on the back of the bus wasn’t sturdy enough to rely upon. Better than the city bus, we learned the route a postman took and could hop the back of his mail truck for several blocks. We’d also just hop the back fenders of moving cars occasionally. I think all of us could hop off the back of a car moving at 30 miles per hour without falling. On really snowy days we would just grab a passing vehicle and slide on our shoes for blocks on the snow-packed streets. Budgar hollered at me a couple of times about my needing to walk and not shuffle my feet as I was going through shoes way to fast. Little did he know…. I remember putting linoleum inside my shoes to make it through the summer and not need new shoes until winter.
I attended all three years of Junior High at Jordan starting with 7th grade in 1962 and completing 9th grade in 1965. It was the longest I ever attended a school. There were a couple of excursions during that time, but more about them later. I remember school lunches at Jordan (after my grandmother moved out) or any other school I ever attended.
Mr. Goodrich in 1963 Source: Jordanian 1963
By the time I got to the 9th grade, I was pretty much incorrigible and continually battled with Budgar and with my teachers. I had a Home Room teacher named Mr. Goodrich. He and I didn’t get along at all. I think I received the paddle from him every day for two weeks straight. I am sure I was the bane of his existence in 1965. Within the 20-minute homeroom period, I pretty much always smarted off. Sometimes, I’d be sent down to the Vice-principal’s (Mr. Carlson’s) office, but mostly, Mr. Goodrich and I would step out into the hallway, and he’d give me from one to three good swats with a paddle, depending upon what I had done. For me, it was something of a game and a mark of status in the school.
Music Room, Jordan Jr. High (c. 1937)
During junior high, I learned that I was good at almost everything scholastic and I didn’t need to study. I did great in science and math, very good in history, civics, and social studies, and about average in English. I was a klutz in sports. Even though I once did 1000 sit-ups without stopping, I couldn’t climb a rope up 20 feet in gym class. (I had core strength but no upper body strength). I did well in the shop classes they had, particularly well in print shop but I still did okay in woodworking and metal shop as well. I got a few stitches in my head because in woodshop someone came around the corner with the base for a soapbox derby car and smacked me in the head by accident. I was also in the school orchestra and learned how to play the cello using a school-owned instrument. I had enough skill that my orchestra teacher suggested I try out for the Minneapolis Junior Symphony Orchestra. I asked Budgar to buy a cello for me. Of course, he wouldn’t. I had to have my own instrument to be considered for the Junior Symphony and couldn’t afford one on my newspaper delivery income, so I never had a chance to try out. I wonder how different my life would have been had he purchased that cello… I still love the sound of the cello; it is my favorite instrument.
Jordan Junior High School, Minneapolis, MN (1924 photo)
I remember gaining some “cred” when a school bully was picking on skinny little me. (I was probably over 6 foot and under 135 pounds in 9th grade.) We were to meet in the alley behind Frank’s Grocery store, a half a block from the school. He and I fought; there were probably 50 kids there to see the fight. My first punch was a lucky punch that broke his nose; after that, I kept hitting on it whenever I could. Blood everywhere. Don hit me a few times but nothing damaging. After a few minutes of fighting, the police showed up, and everybody ran. Neither Don nor any of the other school kids messed with me after that. I didn’t look for fights, and they didn’t look for me either.
Jordan Junior High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jordan Jr. High during demolition, 1985.
Jordan Junior High was at 29th and Irving Avenues in North Minneapolis. It was named after Charles Morison Jordan, a Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools. The school opened in 1922. It was razed in 1985. Today the school location is Jordan Park. Next to it is the Hmong International Academy.
Endnotes
[i] Budgar is a combination of “Bud” my step-father’s nickname and “Edgar” his actual first name. In the 1960s, I always called him “Bud,” and I learned to call him “Budgar” later in life.
The Burns Theatre, Colorado Springs, CO
The Burns Theatre, Colorado Springs, CO
