Donna Darling Collection – Part 57

The Orpheum and the Majestic

Treasure Chest Thursday
By Don Taylor

For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at a page from the Donna Darling Collection that includes two clippings.

“Leon The Great” Pleases Orpheum

The mystery act of “Leon the Great,” advertised as the headline stunt on the bill current at the Orpheum, went over with a bang, but is forced to share honors with Primrose Semon and the Donna Darling revue.

The former is the snappiest and hardest working redhead to appear here in several months. Shad had a stock of clever songs and with her partner got across some original quips.

Donna’s singing, two comely toe dancers, and a comedian who was actually funny at times constitute the Donna Darling revue.

Stone and Leever get some good stuff across, but should get together with the comedian in Donna’s revue and flip coins for a couple of comic songs that both acts use.

“Leon the Great” is mysterious enough….

Analysis

This clipping comes without any date or location information.

  • Donna played the Orpheum in Clinton, IA on December 9th thru the 11th, 1926.
  • Donna Played the Orpheum in Des Moines on 2nd thru the 5th of January 1927.
  • Donna had a return engagement to the Orpheum in Clinton, IA on January 16th thru 19th, 1927.

According to the advertisement[1], Donna played at the Orpheum in Des Moines with The Great Leon, Miss Primrose Seamon, Stone & Leever, and Hartley and Patterson on January 2nd 1927. I have been unable to find any ads or articles for Donna in Clinton (either date) so far. However, it is unlikely that the same 5 acts played in both Des Moines and Clinton. As such, I’m confident this article relates to Donna’s show in Des Moines.

Majestic Theatre Program

MAJESTIC
THEATRE

IOWA’S FINEST
AND SAFEST
PLAY-HOUSE

Program
Season 1926-1927
Program (Continued)

DONNA DARLING REVUE

—With—
Sammy Clark
Assisted by Hal Dixon & Co.
A Super Song Revue—A Dazzling dance fantasy—A Novel
Comedy Oddity in Five Scenes

Analysis

Handwritten on the clipping are the words “Dubuque Iowa.” From previous work I know that Donna performed the Donna Darling Review at the Majestic Theater in Dubuque, Iowa from December 12th through December 15th. I wrote about some other clippings from that show in the Donna Darling Collection #55. I added DDC-57 to the listing for that show.

Conclusion

December 12-15, 1926 – Dubuque, IA – Majestic Theatre – Donna Darling Revue – Newspaper Archive – DDC-55, DDC-57.

ENDNOTES

[1] “1 Jan 1927, 8 – Des Moines Tribune At Newspapers.Com”. 2019. Newspapers.Com. Accessed October 24 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/324007959/?terms=%22Donna%2BDarling%2BRevue%22.

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Presentation – Sources for Finding Addresses

I developed a 20-30 minute talk about “Sources for Finding Addresses” (for Genealogy) including some links of where to find them. The presentation was given at the Scarborough Public Library Genealogy Group on 28 October 2019 and included the following:

    • Census Records – 1940 Census
    • Other Censuses
    • “Where would you look?”
    • Military Draft Records
    • Public Records
    • Where to Find.

You can download the presentation HERE.

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Donna Darling Collection – Part 56

Majestic (Harrisburg, PA) and York Opera House (York, PA)

Treasure Chest Thursday
Vaudeville
Donna Darling & Boys
By Don Taylor

For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at three clippings from one page (0110) of the Donna Darling Collection.

Majestic Theatre

The first two clippings relate to Donna’s playing at the Majestic Theatre.

The first is a simple ad.

MAJESTIC
The Talk of the Town

Frederick V. Bowers
Popular Musical Comedy
Star and Song Writer,
In His
The first is a simple ad.
With a Bevy of Pretty Girls
— — —
COMING THURSDAY
Another Musical ComedFavorite
DONNA DARLING & BOYS

Sadly, nothing in this ad indicates which of the many Majestic Theatres this was nor does it indicate when. Luckily, an accompanying clipping on the same page provides a likely location and date for the show.

Majestic Theatre,
Harrisburg Pennsylvania
Week of April 3, 1922

MAXINE & BOGGY
The Comedy Dog

STEIFF PIANOS used in this Theatre

Spencer—CASE & MAYNE—Edith
In
“I WOULDN’T DO THAT”

Beautiful Musical Comedy Favorite
MISS DONNA DARLING & CO.
Assisted by Murry Walker and Jack Finney
In a Song and Dance Cocktail
“AS YOU LIKE IT”

MORGAN & MORGAN
“Making you Laugh”

MELODY LAND
In
Abbreviated “VARIETIES”
A Cycle Of
Songs and Dances
With
White and Mills
Juliet Beaumont
Kathleen Harrington
Ethel Cook
Assisted by

Olga Sirlis……………….Pianist
Martha Conwell …… Saxophonist
Charlotte Maloney…Violinist
Verna Dorn …………… Drummer
Scenery by Robert Law Studio
Staged by Douglas Royce

Newspaper articles, found at Genealogy Bank, confirmed that Donna played at the Majestic in Harrisburg on April 6th, 7th, and 8th. Also, in the Harrisburg Patriot on April 4th was the same ad in the clippings.

York Opera House

The third clipping is part of a York Opera House show.  No date is provided, but articles at Newspapers.Com confirmed that Donna played at the York Opera House in York, Pennsylvania, on April 3rd to 5th. The clipping shows many of the same acts seen in the Majestic clipping.

In place of Case & Mayne is:

Ralph                 Jim
KITNER AND REANEY
In “An Ocean Episode”

And in place of Morgan & Morgan was:

Lorraine         Verna
HOWARD & SADLER
Presenting their Harmonious
Comedy Songalogue
“Wedding Belles”

Program items A and B are missing in both the clippings, it appears that all other filler films started the two showings. For example, at the York Opera House, instead of “Case & Mayne” and “Morgan and Morgan” was the last chapter of “Breaking Through” and “Aesop’s Fables.”

Conclusion

The “Life of Madonna Montran” was updated with the following:

April 3-5, 1922 – York, PA – York Opera House – Donna Darling & Boys – News May 2019. DDC-56.

April 6-8, 1922 – Harrisburg, PA – Majestic Theatre – Donna Darling & Boys (Murry Walker & Jack Finney) in “As You Like It.” – Genealogy Bank – DDC-56.

Actions

  • Write about Donna playing in York, PA, and the York Opera House.
  • Write about Donna playing in Harrisburg, PA, and the Majestic Theatre.

Sources

  • Clipping: Majestic Theatre – Harrisburg, PA – Coming Thursday – SCAN0110
  • Clipping: Majestic Theatre, Harrisburg, PA – Week of Apr 3, 1922 – SCAN0110
  • Clipping: York Opera House – SCAN0110
  • Genealogy Bank – The Patriot (Harrisburg, PA) dated 4 April 1922, Page 14.
  • Genealogy Bank – The Patriot (Harrisburg, PA) dated 7 April 1922, Page 18.
  • Newspapers.Com – The York Daily Record (York, PA) dated 5 April 1922, Page 9.

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Ancestor Sketch – Edward Lamb

Darling/McAllister/Lambe
By Don Taylor

Howell/Darling – Ancestor #54

List of Grandparents

  • Grandfather: Robert Harry Darling
  • 1st Great-grandmother: Hannah McAllister
  • 2nd Great-grandmother: Margaret Mary Lamb
  • 3rd Great-grandfather: Edward Lamb
  • 4th Great-grandfather: Edward Lamb

Edward Lamb (c. 1831-c. 1893)

Birth

Edward Lamb was christened on 15 January 1832 in Warcop, Westmorland, England[i]. As such, I suppose he was born in late 1831. His parents were Edward and Ann Lamb.  He was born in Warcop, Westmorland, England. It appears that he was the middle of three children. A sister, Isabella, was about two years older and another sister, Mary, about three years younger. All were born in Sanford/Warcop area[ii].

The death certificate for his daughter, Margaret, indicates that her father was born in Sanford, England.[iii]  As there is no Sanford, England and a very small village, Sandford, is next to Warcop, England, so I’m sure that is what was intended.

Childhood

Sandford is a very rural farm area today, and I’m quite certain it was the same then. His father, also named Edward, died when Edward, the child, was only eight years old.

Sir George Hayter’s coronation portrait of the Queen

While little Edward was growing up, slavery was abolished in the British Empire and Victoria ascended to the throne of England.

By the 1841 Census, nine-year-old Edward was living with his mother and his two sisters.[iv] Also, with the family was Dorothy Bradley; I’m not sure who Dorothy is or how she is related. They were enumerated in Soulby, Westmorland, England. (Westmorland is now Cambria, England).  My suspicion is that she is directly related and Ann and the children moved in with her for a short while after Ann was widowed. I need to do more research on Dorothy.

The 1851 Census finds Edward living with his mother, Ann, and his sister, Isabell, in Soulby. Ann has a 13-acre Farm. Both Isabella and Edward are “employed at home.”[v]

Marriage

Edward married Isabella Atkinson on 27 November 1853 in Warcop, Westmorland, England[vi]. They had five children.

Children of Edward and Isabella (Atkinson) Lamb[vii]

Child Birth Marriage Death
Jane Lamb Abt. 1852
Ann Lamb Bef. 26 Mar 1859
Margaret Mary Lamb 28 Apr 1860
Appleby in Westmorland
22 Aug 1878

Peter McAllister

14 Jan 1929
Mount Oliver, PA
James Cooper Lamb Bef 18 May 1862
Edward Lamb (3rd) Apr-May 1864
Kendal, Westmorland

Censuses

The 1861 Census finds Edward working as a Victualer. A victualer is the keeper of a restaurant or tavern.[viii] With him are Isabella and Margaret. Dorothy Bradley, who Edward was living with during 1841, is visiting them.[ix]

The 1871 Census finds Edward again living with his mother and two sisters.  Ann is listed as widowed and is the owner of the house and land they are on. Edward is listed as a laborer.[x]

Edward’s daughter Margaret moved to Maryport (50 miles westward on the coast) where she met and then married Peter McAllister. Margaret’s 1878 marriage registry entry indicates her father, Edward, was an Inn Keeper.[xi]

In 1881, the Census record indicates that Edward was back in Sandford and was the proprietor of a house and land and was an annuitant[xii]. He is listed as married, however, neither his wife nor his children were with him. Something to note is that in England, the Census records indicate where a person was on a particular date, not where they live. So, Edward’s wife and children could have been visiting someone on April 3rd, and the census records would have put them at that location.

The 1891 Census finds Edward living in Warcop again. There he is living “on his own means.” He is listed as married, but again, his wife does not appear with him.[xiii]

Death

Edward died on 1 November 1893 in Sandford of Cirrhosis of Liver and Pulmonary Congestion. His sister, Mary Lamb, was present at his death.

Locations

Edward Lamb (1831-1893) spent his entire life in Westmorland, England. All of his known life events took place within five miles of each other – Sandford, Warcop, Soulby, and Kirkby Stephen.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IHUy2KEXd_5c9r4MkDhJ0eG5PlT_Cg0n&usp=sharing

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ThruLines – William Henry Brown – Part 4

ThruLines Thursday
Brown
DNA
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.

In Part 4 of my ThruLinestm analysis of my 2nd great-grandfather, William Henry Brown, I’m looking closely at the matches descended from Edward Waberton Brown. Ed was born in Dakota Territory in 1884 shortly after his parents moved from Saline, Michigan to the Dakota Territory. North Dakota became a state five years later, in 1889. Edward married Dertha Merkel on 3 November 1901. The two had 13 (or 14) children. Five of those children have descendants that have tested with Ancestry. I was surprised to learn that all five were females. Three of the individuals are 2nd cousins once removed (105, 97, & 70 cM shared), one is a 3rd cousin (37 cM shared), and one is a 3rd cousin once removed (18 cM shared). All five share an amount of DNA with me that I would expect based upon the relationship.[i]

Cousin via Lenora B. Brown

“CJ” has minimal tree on Ancestry. It does provide his/her parents names and his or her maternal grandmother’s name which links him to Edward Warberton Brown. There were no new facts regarding “CJ’s” ancestors nor sources for the facts held. As such, I was only able to add him to my list of cousins (with a note of the amount of DNA we share).

Cousin via Edna Winnifred Brown

“JC” has a very minimal tree on Ancestry. It does provide his/her parents names and his maternal grandfather’s name. There were no sources for any of his/her facts. As such, I was only able to add him to my list of cousins.

Cousin via Virginia M. Brown

“BP” has a nice tree that clearly connected to Virginia Marion Brown to Edward Waberton Brown, and to Henry William Brown. Thanks to the tree of “BP” I was able to identify three new cousins, including “BP.”

Cousin via Ada Brown

“GH” is a 3rd cousin, with whom I share 37 cM across 4 segments, is a double cousin.  We share William Henry and Marion (Sanford) Brown; we also share Enoch and Minerva Ann (Tolliver) Mannin (my 2nd great-grandparents). These lines are not related to each other, but many of their descendants are related to both. “GH” was the only cousin I was able to add to my tree.

Cousin via Emma Cecelia Brown

“AD” is a 3rd cousin, once removed, with whom I share 18 cM on one segment of DNA. I had much of this person’s tree already as I had researched some of this line previously. It is another case where two brothers (Harry and Floyd) married two sisters (Emma and Ruth Brown) and I had reviewed Floyd and Ruth previously. I was able to follow this line down to “AD” and add 12 new cousins to my tree, including “AD.”

Conclusion

If you are a descendant of Edward Warberton Brown (ca. 1884-1965) 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 we are related.

All of my ThruLines posts are listed under the ThruLines Thursday category. Continue reading

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