Donna Darling Collection – Part 59

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Don Taylor

Donna Montran – Vaudeville
Treasure Chest Thursday
By Don Taylor

For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at three clippings from the Donna Darling Collection, all relating to the State Theatre, Beacon, New York.

Article

STATE THEATRE.

D. W. Griffith’s “The Love Flower,” which opened at the State Theatre last night for three days, lives up to the Griffith standard. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

A rattling good vaudeville bill wins the appreciation of all.
….
Dolly Montran, the singing comedienne, with a million dollar personality, gives the patrons a treat in song offerings She more than pleases.

“The Girlie Review,” introducing….

Advertising

With the article was an advertisement for Beacon’s State Theatre. The show “Dolly Montrose” is number 6 on the bill. Also, my grandmother highlighted the item. Beneath that is another ad showing the motion picture “The Love Flower” and Dolly Montran, a Singing Comedienne. The prima donna with a million-dollar personality. My grandmother also highlighted that clipping.

Magazine

The last clipping was a short one:

Donna Montran played Bacon [sic], New York, last week, and is appearing at Red Bank, N. J., and Stroudsburg, PA., this week, breaking on her new single, “As You Like It,” written by Hockey and Green.

The good news is I had seen the short clip before. It ran in The New York Clipper, dated 6 July 1921, on – page 15, column 3. From other documents, I knew that Donna was “breaking in” the new single in 1921.

Key features:

  • The venue is the State Theatre. It is “Beacon’s Pride – Theatre Beautiful.”
  • The show is the “Dolly Montran” A singing comedienne. The prima donna with a million-dollar personality.
  • Also on the bill:
    • David Wark [D.W.] Griffith’s picture, “The Love Flower.”
    • “The Girlie Review” – Vaudeville’s greatest dancing novelty
    • Hall and Fenton – A corking skit
    • Robertio – Novelty contortionist

Analysis

Interestingly, the theatre program called her “Dolly Montrose,” and the theatre’s advertising called her Dolly Montran.  I have not seen her going by the name of “Dolly” before. I suspect that “Montrose” was a typo, but I should look at that closer.

July 3rd was a Sunday and playbills of the period typically ran Monday through Wednesday and Thursday through Sunday, so those shows were probably the dates for Red Bank, NJ, and the Stroudsburg, PA, shows.

Conclusion

I was able to update my previous schedule with the following:

  • June 30 – July 2, 1921 – Beacon, New York, State Theatre, “As You Like It” with Donna Montran.
  • July 4-6, 1921 – Red Bank, New Jersey, _____ Theatre, Donna Montran (probable)
  • July 7-9, 1921 – Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, _____ Theatre, Donna Montran (probable)

Actions

Search for any other examples of “Dolly Montrose” or “Dolly Montran” during 1921.

Sources

Donna Darling Collection – SCAN0080 – Don Taylor’s Private Collection.

Posted in Treasure Chest, As You Like It, Donna Montran, Vaudeville | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Darling DNA – ThruLines – Part 1

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Don Taylor

ThruLines Thursday
Darling
DNA

My Wife’s Darling-Swayze-McAllister-Lamb Line

Introduction

DNA image by Caroline Davis2010 via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

My wife’s mother has had her DNA tested, so rather than using my wife’s matches, I’m going to use her mother’s matches to focus on my wife’s maternal line. It will provide closer and better matches on that like. Consequently, I’m starting with my wife’s great-great-grandparents, my mother-in-law’s great-grandparents.

One of the problems with ThruLines is that it only considers individuals that match genetically AND have a tree at Ancestry where the individual had identified which person is them. So, my wife’s half-aunt who did test with Ancestry doesn’t show up at all because she doesn’t have a tree. Because of that, there were no matches with my wife’s four maternal great-grandparents (other than my wife’s mother).

DNA Relationships

Likewise, there were no ThruLines matches with my wife’s Darling or Swayze 2nd great-grandparents. However, there were three matches on the McAllister/Lamb lines.

There is “CM,” who is a 2nd cousin of my wife’s mother and is well known to us. The 101 cM of DNA shared between them is well within the expected range for 2nd cousins.  No surprise there.

The other two are descendants of my mother-in-law’s great-uncle Joseph McAllister.  “CK” and my mother-in-law share 176 cM of DNA across 11 segments and “IG” and my mother-in-law share 99 cM of DNA across 4 segments. Both within the range expected for second cousins to share. Both “CK” and “IG” were unknown cousins before the DNA test match results, however, both their parents were known.

Conclusion

If you are a descendant of Rufus Holton Darling (1815-1857), Elizabeth Jane Swayze (1818-1896), Peter McAllister (1852-1941), or Margaret Mary Lamb (1850-1929),  please consider testing with Ancestry DNA; it is an excellent genealogical resource and can help you broaden your tree too. I’d love to learn how you and my wife are related.

Disclaimer

The ads and some of the links on this website are “affiliate links.” If you purchase after clicking on them, I will receive a small commission which will help me pay for this site. Please see my Disclaimer Page for more information.

All of my ThruLines posts are listed under the ThruLines Thursday category

Posted in ThruLines Thursday, Darling-Huber | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Vincent-Vinson – Surname Saturday

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Don Taylor

By Don Taylor

Name Origin Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.

It seems that the surname “Vinson” has two separate origins. First is that it comes from the “son of Vin or Vincent.” The second is that it is a corruption or variant of “Vincent.” It does not appear that my wife’s ancestors were from a patronymic society, so Vinson is more likely  a corruption of “Vincent.”

When in doubt, I’ll now use Vincent as the preferred surname, unless there is some uncontroversial reason for using Vinson. That plan suggests I need to relook carefully at my wife’s great-grandmother, Susan R Vinson, whose parents were John and Lenora Vincent.

Geographical

Worldwide there are approximately 283,936 people who bear the Vincent surname.

It is most prevalent in France, with the United States having the second-highest incidence, with over 67,000 Vincent’s in the US.

My Wife’s Earliest Vincent Ancestors

All of my wife’s Vincent ancestors lived in North Carolina. Her earliest known Vincent ancestor was Philip Vincent. It is not clear where he was born, but during the 1800 Census, he was over 45, suggesting he was born before 1755. He lived in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, in 1790. In 1840, Philip’s son, Burkett Vincent, was living in Halifax County with a household consisting of 5 people. His was one of only 22 Vincent families living in North Carolina during 1840. Burkett’s son, John Vincent was born about 1816 in Halifax County and died sometime before 1870. His daughter, Susan R. Vincent (aka Susan Vinson) was born on 22 August 1848. She married Peter Fletcher Howell shortly after the Civil War, on 10 December 1866.

Direct Vincent (Vinson) Ancestors

      1. Great-grandmother: Susan R Vinson (aka Vincent) (1848-1910) Family Search
      2. 2nd Great-grandfather: John Vincent (1816-1870) Family Search
      3. 3nd Great-grandfather: Burkett Vincent (1779-1850) Family Search
      4. 4rd Great-grandfather: Philip Vincent (bef. 1755-c.1807) Family Search

Known relatives.

My records have 155 direct-line descendants of Philip Vincent identified, which is almost 5% of my Howell-Darling Research.

Sources:

Posted in Surname Saturday, Howell-Hobbs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Donna at Family Theatre, Mahanoy City, PA – 30 Apr 1920

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Don Taylor

Donna Montran and “Chin Chin” play at the Family Theatre in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania on 30 April 1920.

Vaudeville
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.It is not clear where Donna and “Chin Chin” played in the days before they played in Mahanoy City. We know they played at the Hippodrome in Pottsville, PA on April 26 & 27. It is unlikely the cast would have off two days in a row, particularly a Wednesday and Thursday.

Preshow Advertising

Advertising for the show began on April 24th with a page 1 announcement that the show was coming, on page 3 there was a official notification to “The General Public,” and on page 5 was a typical “Chin Chin” advertisement.

CHIN CHIN” COMING TO MAHANOY CITY FRIDAY, APRIL 30

Rich in color, pretty girls, artistic settings and the playfulness that goes with good musical comedy is “Chin Chin,” which comes to the Family Theatre, Mahanoy City, Pa., on Fricay, April 30th, night only.

A testimony of its worth is supplied by its past record of a solid two-year run at the Globe Theatre in New York City, and the summing up of the box office receipts in both the Metropolis and on tourr [sic] are convincing proofs of public estimation.

Ivan Caryll, composer of the music, is also responsible for the music of “The Pink Lady” and “The Little Café.” Anne Caldwell and R. H. Burnside wrote the libretto; Walter Wills and Roy Binder will be seen in the leading roles.

In this gigantic production of “Chin Chin” Charles Dillingham, the producer, offers more for the admission price than any other dozen musical shows ever seen. Seats on sale Tuesday.

On April 26th, the following article ran in the Republican and Herald.

“CHIN CHIN” AT MAHANOY NEXT FRIDAY

Charles Dillingham’s sumptuous and only production of “Chin Chin,” as seen for two years in New York, comes to the Family Theatre, Mahanoy City, Friday, April 30th.

This delightful and famous entertainment will be presented in its original entirety with Walter Wills nd Roy Binder in the lead. In this musically rich show such numbers as “Violets,” “The Grey Moon,” “Love Moon,” “Goodbye Girls, I’m Through” and the comedy song, “Go Gar Sig Gong-Jue” always receive hearty applause.

The book is by Anne Calddwell and H. H. Burnside, the lyrics by Anne Cldwell and James O’Dea and the music by Ivan Caryll, so well remembered for his ingratiating melodies in “The Pink Lady” and “The Little Café.”

Seven gorgeous settings make up this stupendous production—dresses, swift and grotesque dancing and lots of prankish amusement, including Tom Brown’s Clown Band as the famous Saxophone Sextette. Seats on sale Tuesday.

The newspaper on the 27th carried the exact same article.

On the 28th, a new article was presented. Much of it the same as the 26th and 27th. And on the 29, the exact same articles as what ran on the 28th ran again.

Finally, on April 30th, the “Republican and Herald” ran an abbreviated article which contained the same information as previous articles.

Family Theatre

Photo courtesy the Mahanoy Area Historical Society.

The theater was originally built in 1895 by John Hersker (Schone Horsker) and named the Hersker Opera House.  It also went by the name of Hersker’s Family Theatre and had a seating capacity of 1,250. In 1909 the theater was renamed the Family Theater. Later it was renamed the “State Theater.”[i]

Specifications for the Family Theatre

Proscenium opening: 34 ft
Footlights to back wall: 83 ft
Between side walls: 48 ft
Apron 5 ft
Between fly girders: 42 ft
To rigging loft: 63 ft

Nearby info

Nearby hotels included the Mansion House, Pennsylvania Hotel, and the City Hotel.

Today

After the building stopped being used as a theatre, it was a furniture store for several years. Today it is a gas station and mini-mart.

Disclaimer

The ads and some of the links on this website are “affiliate links.” If you purchase after clicking on them, I will receive a small commission which will help me pay for this site. Please see my <a href=”http://dontaylorgenealogy.com/disclaimer/”>Disclaimer Page</a> for more information.

Endnotes

[i] “Mahanoy Area Historical Society”. 2020. Mahanoyhistory.Org. Accessed January 15, 2020. https://www.mahanoyhistory.org/charter.html.

Posted in 1919-20 - Chin Chin, Donna Montran, Vaudeville | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Britt’s of New Brunswick, Canada

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Don Taylor

Photo Friday

It was a good week for my photos. I was able to scan and identify 40 new images and was able to begin to analyze them.  I had eight photos that related to the Britt family of Pearl, New Brunswick, Canada. I was unable to find “Pearl,” but I did find the individuals in Canada Census records as living in Perth, New Brunswick. Near Perth, I found a “Pearl Road,” so I’m sure I have the correct family and people. There were photos of Philip J. Britt, his wife Florence (Leighton) Britt, and his sister, Maude (or Maud) Britt.  Also, there were two photos of the house. I was able to find the individuals in Family Search’s Family Tree and posted the photos to the Memory sections for them. I posted the images to my Flickr Account.  I also contacted the Perth Historical Society (via Facebook) and shared the posting with them.

Photos of the Britt Family of Perth, New Brunswick, Canada

If you are related to this family, I’d love to hear from you and learn if you had seen these photos before.

 

Posted in Faces from the Past | 1 Comment