It is always great when you can get a copy of an original record rather than relying upon an index. Thanks to the General Register Office, I was able to receive PDF copies of the actual registries for the Birth and the Death of my wife’s 2nd great-grandfather, Peter McAllister. He was a double emigrant – the only one I’ve found in any of my genealogical research. That is to say, he left his native country of England for the United States. He lived in the States for thirty-five years and became a citizen of the United States. Then he emigrated from the US to England, where he lived the last 20 years of his life.
Anyway, thanks to the General Register Office’s birth records, I learned Peter was born at home, on High Church Street in Workington. The record confirmed the names of his parents and confirmed the occupation of his father, a Mariner.
The death register entry provided an exact date for Peter’s death. I had long known he died during the 1st quarter of 1941, however, the Registry nailed the date of his death to 16 January 1941 and provided a cause of death. He died at 4 Lismore Place, Workington, which I suspect is where he lived at the time. Today that address is a small 2-story flat on a narrow street, just two doors down for what is now a Fish & Chips Take-Away.
If you have ancestors that were born, married, or died in England since 1837 you may find a record there at the General Register Office. https://www.gro.gov.uk/
Donna Montran & “Chin Chin” at the Empire Theatre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on January 12th thru 14th, 1920
Vaudeville – Chin Chin – Donna Montran
It was a hectic week before. The “Chin Chin” company played in Medicine Hat on the 5th and 6th, in Lethbridge on the 7th, and Calgary the 8th through the 10th. After seven days of shows in three cities, I hope the cast received the 11th off, because the crew would do three days at the Empire Theatre in Saskatoon[i] before continuing on to another three days (the 15th thru the 17th) in Regina. Saskatoon was bitter cold that week. When the cast arrived on the 12th the high temperature for that day was a balmy 28 degrees Fahrenheit. That night the temperature dropped to two degrees and continued to drop to five degrees below the night of the 13th. When the cast left on the morning of the 15th, the temperature was still below zero.[ii]
The first newspaper advertising I’ve found was 9 days before the show. On January 3rd, 1920, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, on page 10, column 3, the last article reported that the “Dreams of Arabian Nights Realized in ‘Chin Chin.’”
DREAMS OF ARABIAN NIGHTS REALIZED IN “CHIN CHIN”
Star-Phoenix – Jan 3, 1920
Coming to the Empire theatre on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 12, 13 and 14, is Charles Dillingham’s “Chin Chin” the musical 1920-01-03-Star_Phoenix_Sat__Jan_3__1920_-1-227×300.jpgcomedy which is one of those tales of love and wishing common to the Arabian Nights. All impossibilities are crowded into it, jumbled together like the figures in a dream, and in the end it resolves itself into a vehicle for the display of the clever grotesqueries of the two clever “turn” artist, Walter Wills and Roy Binder. Mr. Binder gives us a rapid succession Chin Hop Low, the widow, a Coolie, and the Ring Master, lightning changes of mood, manner and get-up that provoke the audience to mirth. No more diverting and entertaining “comics” have come this way for many seasons.
In the same paper, on page 3, was a display ad for the coming show. On the 5th was another display ad and on the 7th was another text story about “CHIN CHIN” COMING. The 10th and the 12th had similar articles and displays.
Reviews
On the 13th, the day after the show’s opening, both the Saskatoon Daily Star and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix had articles that included callouts about Donna.
The Daily Star wrote, “Outstand among the other principals were Donna Montran as the goddess of the lamp, Neva Larry….”
The Star Phoenix wrote, “Donna Montran has a nice voice and puts two very pretty songs across to advantage. Star Dunham.…”
Theater
Empire Hotel & Theatre c. 1918.
The Empire Theatre opened in 1910 as a live stage venue. It was built as an addition to the existing Empire Hotel. In 1914, the theatre was equipped with screen films, keeping it current. In 1930, the theater was sold, converted to full-time motion pictures, and renamed the Victory Theatre.[iii]
Specifications for the Empire Theatre
Seating Capacity: 1,154 Total — 442 on the floor, 276 in the balcony, 400 in the gallery, and 36 in boxes.[iv]
Proscenium opening: 27×32 ft Front to back wall: 22 ft
Nearby info
Map of Saskatoon from “Vaudeville Trails” (c) 1919 by Herbert Lloyd
Nearby, the Elite Café (#2 on map), which was a block from the theatre, advertised that they catered to performers. About two blocks away was the Hub Café (#1 on map) which touted Yankee Coffee and that “All the Acts Ate Here Last Week.” The Canadian National Railway station was about two blocks from the venue and the Canadian Pacific Railway station was another block or so further.[v]
What happened to theater
During the 1960s the brick exterior was clad in marble. Today, the theatre building is part of “The Lighthouse,” which provides long-term housing for 68 people.[vi]
Empire Hotel & Theatre building is now the Dubé Lighthouse
Endnotes
[i] I learned that Donna played Saskatoon last January and wrote about that in a “Donna in the News” post.
[vi] Internet: The Lighthouse Supported Living – The History of The Lighthouse. https://www.lighthousesaskatoon.org/about/history/ – Accessed 14 May 2019.
In previous articles, I’ve considered Ancestry’s new ThruLinestm feature. In Part 1, I looked atThruLinestm in a general manner. In Part 2, I developed a process and decided on some caveats I would use with it. Here in Part 3, I proof my process/procedure by using it and verify the process holds true in use. Briefly, the process is:
Confirm the shared DNA amount matches expectations for the relationship.
Confirm the cousin’s descendants from the common ancestor and a known child of the common ancestor.
Analyze the remaining path to the cousin, assuring things make sense.
I used the process focusing on my 2nd great-grandfather’s (Asa Ellis Robert) descendants.
All of the descendants of Asa are 3rd cousins. Asa was married twice, so descendants of Asa and Patience Anna Marshall should be 3rd cousins. Descendants of Asa and Cynthia Minerva Toney would be half third cousins to me. DNA Painter’s Shared cM Project 3.0 tool v4 indicates that a 3rd cousin should share between 0 and 217 cM of DNA and half 3rd cousins should share between 0 and 178 cM of DNA.
ThruLinestm indicates I have 18 Cousins that have tested with AncestryDNA.
In all cases, the DNA amount matched matches expectations as suggested in DNAPainter.
In all cases, the individuals are descended from individuals that I had independently identified as children of Asa.
In all cases, the individuals have a pedigree chart that makes sense.
Thanks to ThruLinestm I added 37 new cousins to my chart all descended from Asa Ellis Roberts.
17 new cousins descended from Rosa Della Roberts.
2 New cousins descended from Charles W. Roberts.
10 New half-cousins descended from Sarah A. Roberts.
8 New half-cousins descended from William T. Roberts.
The process is much faster than any methods I ever used before to verify a person’s relationship to my tree. I’m happy with the process and feel confident that I’m adding valuable information to my tree to better the likelihood of connecting ancestors. ThruLinestm is great for widening your tree to include individuals that are descendants of a known family unit.
If you are a descendant of Asa Ellis Roberts, consider testing with Ancestry DNA; it is a great genealogical resource and can help you broaden your tree too.
When I took a look at William Hunt Scott (1834-1903) last February, I knew that I wanted to take a closer look at his household. Not only did I want to understand his family, but I also wanted to broaden my tree so that cousins discovered through DNA matches could be understood and incorporated into my research more efficiently.
Roberts Research 2019 – Ancestor #36 – Update!
William Hunt Scott (c.1834-1903) – Update!
Marriage to Emily Hendricks.
Further research indicated that William Hunt Scott married Emily Hendricks on 24 May 1879 in Goode township in Washington County, Illinois, on 12 September 1856.
William had five children; four with Emily and one with Matilda Cooper.
[i] William Hunt Scott’s first wife, Emily Maples (Hendricks) Scott died in 1878. He then married Matilda Tennessee Cooper on 16 Dec 1885. They had one child, Vallie Cleveland Scott, together.
For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at a page from the Donna Darling Collection. The page includes two photos, one ad for the Bijou, one non-descript ad, and two articles about Donna and Sammy playing at Lowe’s.
Lowe’s Theatre – “Seven Sinners”
The only item identified with a date is the clipping for Loew’s Theatre – “Seven Sinners”. It indicates June 24, 25, 26 and “Ont.) IMDB indicates that the movie was released on 7 November 1925 in the USA. That would suggest the film played at Loew’s in June 1926.
Donna and Sammy played at the Capitol Theater in Kitchener on June 21, 22, & 23, so it fits that after Kitchener they went the 110km (68 miles) to London to play at the Loew’s Theatre there.
The first article reads:
LOEW’S THEATRE
“SEVEN SINNERS”
Dona Darling, former Zeifield Follies girl, heads an all-star vaudeville cast at Loew’s Theatre the last half of this week, and together with the famous crook story, “Seven Sinners,” as the feature picture, London theatregoers are treated to a perfectly balanced theatre bill. Mary Prevost makes a crook really too pleasant to be natural, and Clive Brook, the hero, is an excellent parallel.
The story is interesting in its novelty; everybody in it is a crook, but everybody manages to enlist the sympathies of the audience before the picture ends. The settinsg [sic] show careful choosing and the plot development is well worked out. The story consists of the efforts of seven crooks to steal jewels from a deserted mansion, and then, when the house is quarantined with them inside it, the owner returns. Situations develop which are in turn funny and tense, until, at the end, crooks are probed to be sometimes nearly human, after all.
The vaudeville bill is exceptionally fine. It is seldom that London audiences have the pleasure of seeing such smooth aerial performancers as the Aerial Smiths on the same bill as the act given by Dave Fox and Jane Allyn. This is a comedy skit of unusual merit entitled, “To Let.” The last act on the bill, the Darling and Clark Revue, has five very capable performers. The dancing in the first part is especially good.
The second clipping appears to have been clipped without the information about the motion picture. The clipping says:
AT THE THEATERS
LOEW’S
The trapeze work of the vaudeville program is carried out by the Aerial Smiths. It is said of them that they have been a long time at it, and it can be said for them that they haven’t wasted their time. They make other acts of their kind look like the last rose of summer, especially when the climax is reached and the woman shoots out on a trapeze that suddenly lengthens as she swings in mid-air.
Fox and Allen entertain with songs and patter based upon an unsatisfactory search for an apartment in a big town. They seem to please and draw to themselves a generous amount of the applause.
The Darling and Clark Revue is not the kind that deals exclusively in dancing. It has that, too, but it also has other features equally as entertaining, including songs, whistling, a clever recitation and a darkened-stage novelty. The whole is permeated with the personality of Miss Darling, there are five persons.
The third item is a simple ad for Donna and Sammy and “Their New Revue.” There is no theatre mentioned but it reminds us that Donna was “The Scintillating Beauty” and Sammy was the “Juvenile Komik.”
Next, are two photos that appear to shoe the entire cast of the Darling and Clark Revue. It looks like one photo was taken by Donna and includes Sammy as the third person from the left. The second one looks like it was taken by Sammy and has Donna as the third person from the left. I am quite certain the other three people in these photos are the other members of the show. I will need to do a little more research to determine what their names were.
The Darling & Clark Revue Cast – 1926 (Including Donna)
The Darling & Clark Revue Cast – 1926 (Including Sammy)
Finally, there is an ad for “Decatur’s Favorite – The Bijou” It mentions three vaudeville acts: Donna Darling and Sammy Clare [sic] Revue “A Modern Vaudeville Frolic” Donna & Sammy’s show is playing with Paul & Darling “Two Broadway Rounders” and Billy De Armo doing a comedy novelty show. It wouldn’t be clear why this clipping would be on the same page with the Loew’s Theatre clippings unless you knew that Donna and Sammy played at the Bijou Theatre in Decatur, IL only eight days later.
Conclusion
I was able to add a new venue to Donna’s Career. She and Sammy played June 24 to 26, 1924, in their “Darling and Clark Revue” at Loew’s Theatre in London, Ontario, Canada.
I was also able to add images I suspect are the three other performers in the show.
Finally, I was able to add another advertising clipping to Donna and Sammy’s show at the Bijou Theatre in Decatur, IL.
Actions
Research the other three individuals who play in the Darling and Clark Revue.
When I took a look at 
Finally, there is an ad for “Decatur’s Favorite – The Bijou” It mentions three vaudeville acts: Donna Darling and Sammy Clare [sic] Revue “A Modern Vaudeville Frolic” Donna & Sammy’s show is playing with Paul & Darling “Two Broadway Rounders” and Billy De Armo doing a comedy novelty show. It wouldn’t be clear why this clipping would be on the same page with the Loew’s Theatre clippings unless you knew that Donna and Sammy played at the Bijou Theatre in Decatur, IL only eight days later.