“Donna in the News” reports newly found newspaper articles and advertisements regarding my grandmother, Madonna Montran (aka Donna Montran and Donna Darling). I am always excited when I discover a new venue for my grandmother’s exciting show business career of the 1910s and 1920s.
This week from the Hudson Observer (Hoboken, NJ), dated November 15, 1920, I learned that Donna’s California Bathing Beauties played at the Pastime Theatre, Fourth St., Union Hill.
PASTIME THEATRE Fourth St – Union Hill
3 Days — Only Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday The Surprise of the Season The California Bathing Beauties 10—Beautiful Girls in Person—10 In “A Beach Promenade” This Galaxy of Girls Played at the Broadway Theatre, New York, for Twenty Consecutive Weeks.
November 15-17, 1920 – Union Hill, NJ – Pastime Theatre – “A Beach Promenade.”
Endnotes
My thanks to Newspapers.com for providing access to this clipping.
Social Posting: 104 years ago, The California Bathing Beauties, which included my grandmother, “Donna Darling,” was in the news for being at the Pastime Theatre in Union Hill, NH. #Genealogy #Vaudeville #InTheNews #A-Beach-Prominade
I have long known the 3rd great-uncle James Cooper Lamb died on 20 April 1898, and that he was a Royal Dublin Fusilier. “Carol in Australia” was kind enough to share a newspaper clipping regarding the inquest of Sargeant Lamb. Through the clipping, I learned that he drowned. Besides learning that he was “a steady, well-conducted man,” I also learned he was a widower. I had no record of his marriage. Definitely, an area for further research.
Transcript of the newspaper clipping:
A COLOUR SERGEANT FOUND DROWNED
One the 21st inst., Dr. P. L. O’Neill, Coroner for South Kildare, held an inquest at Pollardstown, County Kildare, on the body of James C. Lamb, a Colour Sargeant of the 4th Batt. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, who was found drowned on the previous day in a stream in the vicinity which supplies the Grand Canal. [The] deceased had been missing from the 18th inst. The evidence given at the inquiry did not tend to elucidate the circumstances which led to the unfortunate man’s death, but it was made clear that there was nothing like foul play or violence connected with it. A servant in the employment of Mr. John Hooney, Pollardstown, deposed to seeing a man in uniform of a soldier walking about Mr. Hooney’s land close to the river on the previous day. His arms were held across his chest and his head down. This was about noon, and in an hour afterwards she saw him in the same position. James Murphey, on his way to the Curragh races also saw a man standing by the river, and on his return in the evening with two other men, he found the body of [the] deceased lying face downwards in the river. A Colour Sergeant named Timothy Murphy, of the same corps as deceased, deposed that Lamb had 17 years service and was a steady, well conducted man. His age was about 38, and he was a widower. Colour Sergeant Morris gave evidence to the same effect. Deceased was in his usual health and spirits on the 18th when witness last saw him. He held the position of pay sergeant of his company, and Morris by order of the adjutant checked his account and found them not alone correct, but he had a surplus of cash on hand. Dr. Power, Kildare, proved that there were no marks of violence whatever on the body. The jury returned a verdict of death from drowning.
Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 040 Hinkley Family Photographs (2024.13.43) Gorham, Portland, & Standish, Maine; New York By Don Taylor
This photo album is from the Linwood D Dyer Photo Collection and is in very rough condition. Because most images are glued in place, I cannot access the photo backs. My initial look suggests this photo album highlights the Hinkley family. The collection includes hundreds of images, documents, and genealogies of people who lived in Portland, Scarborough, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth, Maine. My goal is to reunite the images with family members who may have never seen the pictures before. The Scarborough Historical Society holds the originals in the Linwood Dyer Photo Collection.[i]
Rufus Henry Hinkley (1830-1900).
The second photo in the album is labeled “Rufus H Hinkley” with a comment below of “1830-1900.” (I’ll get to the first photo below.)
What I learned while researching this photo:
FamilySearch has a profile M63J-84P for Rufus Henry Hinkley, born on 12 October 1830 in Gorham, Maine, and died on 5 March 1900.
Rufus’ parents were Stephen Hinkley, Jr. (1799-1867) and Sophronia Shedd (1805-1890). He was the oldest of seven children.
Mary Cass Hinkley (1833-1903)
Susan S. Hinkley (1835-1911)
Stephen Hinkley III (1838-1898)
William H. Hinkley (1840-1842)
Charles K. Hinkley (1843-1924)
John Adams Hinkley (1848-1915)
Rufus married Frances Elizabeth Prindle on 5 May 1867 in Portland, Maine. They had ten children.
Helen Hartwell Hinkley (1855-___)
Marion Hinkley (1868-1935)
Alice Hinkley (1869-1953)
Margaret Prindle Hinkley (1871-1940)
Eleanor Tisdale Hinkley (1871-1943)
Rufus Henry Hinkley, Jr. (1873-___)
Frances Elizabeth Prindle Hinkley (1879-1972)
Florence Hinkley (1879-1972)
Philip Edward Hinkley (1881-___)
Helen Hartwell Hinkley (1885-___)
I added this photo to Rufus Henry Hinkley’s memories on FamilySearch and my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry.
The fourth page includes six photos labeled Rufus Henry Hinkley and Rufus H. Hinkley (1830-1900) and is clearly of the same man as the second page. I added these two photos to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry. The additional pictures on this page are on my Flicker Photostream.
Frances Elizabeth (Prindle) Hinkley (1843-1908).
Frances Elizabeth (Prindle) Hinkley (1843-1908).
The fifth and sixth pages of the album are identified as “Frances E Hinkley” and include six photos of the same woman. One image has a small “1907” on the bottom. Frances was 64 years old and must be the woman on the right of the photo. The woman on the left is unidentified.
What I learned while researching this photo:
· Frances was the wife of Rufus Henry Hinkley and was born Frances Elizabeth Prindle.
· FamilySearch has profile M63J-8HN for Frances Elizabeth Prindle Hinkley. She was born on 15 August 1843 in New York. She died on 25 December 1908 and was buried in Portland, Maine.
The third page of the album consists of six photos. Four are of a woman, and two are of a man. Two of the woman’s photos are large (4 x 2.75″), and two are thumbnails (1 x 1.25″). The woman is identified as the “Mother of James Edward Prindle – Eunice W. – 1895.”
What I learned while researching this photo:
As I noted above, Rufus Henry Hinkley married Frances Elizabeth Prindle. Her parents were James L. and Eunice (Welch) Prindle.
FamilySearch has a profile LV6Y-FYM for Eunice Welch Prindle. She was born on 26 March 1810 in New York and died on 3 October 1895 in Cumberland County, Maine.
Eunice married James L. Prindle, and they had four children:
James Edward Prindle (1829-1903)
Edgar I Prindle (1831-___)
E. L. Prindle (1833-___)
Frances Elizabeth Prindle (1843-1908)
Eunice’s husband, James, died in 1851. She moved from New York to Portland, Maine, between 1855 and 1860.
Eunice’s parents were Elisha Welch (1772-1859) and Sarah Station (1771-1843)
I added the two larger photos to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry and to her FamilySearch profile. The two thumbnail photos are available on my Flickr Photostream.
Stephen Hinkley, (1799-1867)
Stephen Hinkley, (1799-1867)
The first photo in this album is unlabeled. However, the same image appears on page three in a smaller form. That page identifies the person as Stephen and gives a death date as 1867. Rufus Henry Hinkley’s father was Stephen Hinkley, Jr. (1799-1867).
Stephen was born on 5 May 1799 in Standish, Maine, and died on 19 April 1867 in Gorham, Maine. I am confident this photo is of him.
I would love to hear your reaction if any of these photos are of your family member. Especially if this photo is of a loved one for whom you hadn’t seen this photograph before.
Due to software limitations, the images uploaded to Ancestry and Flickr have higher quality than uploaded here. Feel free to use these photos in your genealogical activities. Please cite “Photo Courtesy: Scarborough Historical Society.”
Endnotes
[i] Scarborough Historical Society Accession number: 2024.13.43.
Last May, in “Two clippings and three photos,” I reviewed a clipping from my grandmother’s scrapbook showing she played at a Rivoli theatre, probably in either Grant’s Pass or Portland, Oregon. I still haven’t found the same article; however, I encountered new clippings from the Oregon Daily and the Oregonian that show the same movie and vaudeville shows played at the Rivoli in Portland “all week” starting November 6th.
This week from the Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon) dated Nov 7, 1926, I learned that at the Rivoli theater:
On the vaudeville bill, the headline attraction is the Donna Darling Revue, featuring the well-known musical comedy juvenile, Sammy Clark. Miss Darling recently headed an act which lately toured the Keith circuit, while Clark has appeared in many musical shows on Broadway.
Three others in the act are Barring and Lazur and Hal Dixon, this group providing a full house of song, dance and fun.
And from the Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) dated Nov 8, 1926, I learned that:
Headline honors at the Rivoli theater this week go to the Donna Darling revue, which has a nice balance between song and dance, with a good dash of comedy thrown in for seasoning. Miss Darling is a personable young woman, and she has gathered about her a group of youthful talent, with Sammy Clark in the main line of support. Clark has a couple of comic songs that really are funny; Miss Darling sings engagingly, and the dancing members of the company are well equipped for their work.
The Oregon Daily Journal Nov 11, 1926, page 19.
Finally, though only an ad, the Oregon Daily of November 11th indicated Donna and Sammy were still at the Rivoli.
Donna Darling and Boys at the Lyric Theatre, Birmingham, AL, Nov 5-7, 1923.
Donna in the News 101 Years Ago by Don Taylor
“Donna in the News” reports newly found newspaper articles and advertisements regarding my grandmother, Madonna Montran (aka Donna Montran and Donna Darling). I am always excited when I find a new venue for my grandmother’s exciting show business career of the 1910s and 1920s.
This week, from the Birmingham Post (Birmingham, AL) dated Nov 5, 1923, I learned that Donna played at the Lyric Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama, on November 5th, 6th, & 7th, 1923.
The Birmingham (Alabama) Post. Nov 5, 1923.
Lyric
Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday
Musical Comedy Beauty Donna Darling And Boys With Her Dancing Fool Murry Earl and Her Beau Brummel – Tod Watson In a Song and Dance Romance
