Chin Chin – Weller Theatre – Zanesville, OH – April, 13 1920

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Don Taylor

“Chin Chin” played at the Weller Theatre in Zanesville, Ohio, on 13 April 1920

Donna Montran
Vaudeville
Chin-Chin

The company of “Chin Chin” played at the 6th Street Theater in Coshocton, Ohio for one night, April 12, 1920. Then the show headed on the train for their next stop, Zanesville, Ohio and the Weller Theater for another one-night show on April 13th.

The “Chin-Chin” show agent arrived in Zanesville about April 7th to begin his promotion of the show.  The Times Recorder of April 9th, reported:

“CHIN CHIN” BREAKING ALL ATTENDANCE RECORDS

Charles A. Goettler, the representative of “Chin Chin” the musical extravaganza, which will appear at the Weller theater, was the guest of Manager Charles Ransbottom Wednesday, and while in the city held an impromptu levee for his many friends at his hotel. He is well known among the theatrical colony having been out with some of the biggest shows on the road in years past. Mr. Goettler said that “Chin Chin” was breaking all attendance records in the prominent theaters of the country this season and was a greater success than when seen here before. Willis and Binder, former stars with “Hitchy Koo,” “Wizard of Oz,” ant the Winter Garden shows, have succeeded Doyle and Dixon in the leading roles.

Times Recorder 4/9/1920

Manager Charles Ransbottom, along with Joseph West Junior began managing the Weller Theatre just three months earlier (January 8).[i] They were then replaced on April 13th with the opening of “Chin Chin” by Caldwell H. Brown and Charles W. Crawley.[ii]

Another article, Saturday, April 10, 1920, in the Times Recorder, page 5, reported:

CHIN CHIN COMING TO THE WELLER TUESDAY

At the Weller theater next Tuesday, the everlasting “Chin Chin” is announced. There is but on company presenting this, the greatest American musical comedy.

Seven gorgeous settings make up one stupendous production of Charles Dillingham’s “Chin Chin.” The principal comedians are Walter Wills and Roy Binder. This riot of fun, feast of music, bevy of feminine beauty with pretty dresses, swift and grotesque dancing and lots of prankish amusement including Tom Brown’s clown band as the famous saxophone Sexted, promises a most enjoyable entertainment with Charles Dillingham’s own company presenting this wonderful spectacle.

In this musically rich show such numbers as violet,” “Good-by Girls, I’m Through,” and the comedy song, “Go Gar Sig Gong-Jue,” always receive spontaneous applause.

The next known showing of “Chin Chin” is on April 20 in Cumberland, Maryland.

Weller Theatre, Zanesville, Ohio

 The Weller Theatre was designed by Frederick Elliot and Harry C. Meyer of Columbus, Ohio. The theatre opened on 27 April 1903 by Samual Weller, with the production of the “comic opera” “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” And as noted before, it was the first show opening when managed by Caldwell H. Brown and Charles W. Crawley.[iii]

Specifications for the Weller Theatre [vi]

Weller Theatre, Zanesville, OH

Seating Capacity – 1427 — L.F. 609; Bal., 362, Gal., 400; Boxes, 56.

Proscenium opening: 35×33 ft
Front to back wall: 39.5 ft
Between side walls: 70 ft
Apron 3.5 ft
Between fly girders: 47 ft
To rigging loft: 69 ft
To fly gallery: 28 ft

Nearby info

Hotels in Zanesville at the time included the Rogge and Clarendon, which were $2.50 & up per night, and the  Palace, and New England hotels which were 50ç & up per night.[iv]

What happened to theater

The theatre was closed[v] and the building demolished in 1963.[vi]

Today

The Weller Theatre stood at 13 N. Third Street. Today it is a vacant area with a small building between Fox Law Offices and the Calvary Chapel.

Further Research

Research the other Zanesville newspapers of the time: Courier, Signal, and News as they become available.

Find any showings for “Chin Chin” between April 14th and April 19th. 

Endnotes:

[i] New York Clipper – January 14, 1920, Page 4, Column 3m “Zanesville Manager Retires.”

[ii]  New York Clipper – April 21, 1920,  Page 31, “Weller Theatre Changes Again.”

[iii]  New York Clipper – April 21, 1920,  Page 31, “Weller Theatre Changes Again.”

[iv] The Julius Cahn – Gus Hill Theatrical Guide – 1913-1914, Page 533.

[v] Internet: Weller Theatre in Zanesville, OH – Cinema Treasures https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/41209 – Accessed 12/30/2018.

[vi] Lynch, Kathryn, and Michael S. Sims. 2005. Zanesville. Charleston, SC: Arcadia.

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Donna Montran – 6th Street Theatre, Coshocton, OH – 4/12/1920

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Don Taylor

Donna Montran and “Chin Chin” played at the 6th Street Theatre in Coshocton, Ohio on 12 April 1920

 The “Chin Chin” production played at the Union Theatre in New Philadelphia, OH, on April 10th. They may have had off on Sunday, April 11th, or they may have played somewhere on that Sunday. But any event the cast traveled the 30 miles to Coshocton to play at the 6th Street Theatre on Monday the 12th for one night.  Advertising began on April 7th with typical written ads and display ads beginning on April 9th. The newspaper the day of the show describes the show and includes some of the characters in the show, including my grandmother, “The Goddess of the Light.”

Reviews

The following day a reviewer in The Coshocton Tribune praised the show. The second paragraph of the review read:

“… Starr Dunham appeared in the role of Aladdin while the part of the cruel Abonazar was well taken by Joseph Robinson. The wealthy American, Cornelius Bond was played by English Cody, while Ethel Lawrence appeared as his charming daughter Violet. The Goddess of the Lamp, an unusually pretty and charming girl, who never failed to delight her audience with her solo numbers, was Donna Montran….“ 

Post Show Info

The cast next headed 30 miles further south to Zanesville, Ohio and the Weller Theatre for the show on Tuesday the 13th.

The 6th Street Theatre

The 6th Street Theatre was built in 1903 by a group of businessmen who called themselves the Coshocton Theater Company. The Julius Cahn Reports for 1913 indicate the Seating capacity was about 1,000. The theater was on the ground floor and had a proscenium opening of 32 x 22 feet.

6th Street Theatre, Coshocton, Ohio in 1959.

Eventually, the theater converted to a movie house and it closed in May 1959. The building was demolished in 1974.

Sources

The Tribune (Coshocton, Ohio) · Sat, Apr 10, 1920, · Page 3, Advertising “Chin Chin” https://www.newspapers.com/image/323058644 – Downloaded on Sep 1, 2017, via Newspapers.Com.

The Tribune (Coshocton, Ohio) · Tue, Apr 13, 1920, · Page 3, Column 4 “6th St. Theatre – Chin Chin Drew Large Audience” – https://www.newspapers.com/image/323057655 – Downloaded on Sep 1, 2017, via Newspapers.Com.

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2018 – Year in Review

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Don Taylor

Don Taylor Genealogy – 2018 Year in Review

I hope you are enjoying my Blog.  I find it really helpful in my understanding of genealogy. It, like diaries and journals of yesteryear, help me to focus on what I know and not become distracted by things I think I know. It also helps me focus on one thing at a time. I would like to remind readers that I do accept guest submissions. If you would like to write something that will be of interest to readers of my six primary topics (Brown, Darling, Howell, and Roberts lines as well DNA discoveries or understanding and Donna Montran’s Vaudeville Career), I’ll be happy to consider your submission as a guest post.

2018 Statistics.

I wrote 122 posts during the year, down slightly from 2017.  My goal is to post, at a minimum, once every three days. So, I met my goal by posting an average of once every 2.99 days.

The number of page views went up nearly 70% in 2018 over 2017 and the average views per day rose from 21 views per day to 36.

I currently have 409 blog subscribers – up from 324 at the beginning of the year. Besides direct subscribers, there are other individuals that follow my blog via Facebook, Twitter, and Google. If you do not subscribe to dontaylorgenealogy.com, please do so.

Referrals to my site are as I would expect, Google by far the greatest referrer, with Facebook a distant 2nd.  Fourth was my old blogspot site, so I guess I still can’t delete it.

Top 10 Postings for 2018

  1. My number one post during 2018 was the same as my #1 post in 2016 and #1 post in 2017, “Why I’ll never do business with MyHeritage Again.” I guess people love reading rants.
  2. My number 2 article for 2018 was the 2017 “OMG – Another Half-Sibling,” which spoke about learning of a half-sibling here-to-fore unknown for my mother. Quite the surprise for my mother and her other half-sister, Barbara.
  3. Was my review of DNA Painter. That surprised me along with my Number 4 (next).
  4. A 2016 Review of the website “Lost Cousins”. I guess reviews are high on the types of posts that are read.
  5. Number 5, a “We’re Related,” posting was a 2017 look at three possible relatives, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, and Blake Lively.
  6. Number 6 was a 2014 Ancestor Biography about Lewis Bryan (1755-1839), who was Mary-Alice’s 4th great-grandfather on her Howell line.
  7. Number 7 was my greatest surprise. I had 134 reads of my 2013 post about using City Directories as a substitute for the 1890 Census. It dealt with the Directories available in Smyrna, GA (where I lived in 2013).  I think it was a good article. I should rewrite the article focusing on Scarborough, ME and possibly South Portland and Portland.
  8. Number 8 was “Follow the ‘X’” about how the “zig-zag” pattern of the X chromosome can provide insight into ancestors that the autosomal along cant. (2018)
  9. Number 9 was another 2017 review, this time for Family Tree Maker for Mac 3.1.
  10. Number 10 was another 2017 DNA Article, “It’s Another First Cousin.” There is no doubt in my mind that Debra is a first cousin on my Roberts line. Sadly, her potential half-siblings want nothing to do with proving (or disproving) the relationship. My father had two brothers, one is fairly unlikely, one is much more likely to be this cousin’s father. That said, his father, Bert Allen Roberts, Sr., could easily have fathered a here-to-fore unknown child which could be the father of Debra. Testing of the children of Bert junior’s children could prove or disprove the relationship.

Conclusion

So, of the top ten posts in 2018, four of them dealt with reviews, My Heritage, Lost Cousins, DNA Painter, and Family Tree Maker.  Three dealt with DNA, A half-sibling for my mom, Follow the “X” and Another First Cousin.  We’re Related, Howell Research, and General Genealogical Information all had one article each in the top 10. (Although “Follow the “X” could be identified as General Genealogical Info also.)

I understand that articles posted in 2017 were available for reading throughout 2018, so I’m not surprised that 2017 postings comprised 4 out of the top 10. I was very surprised that 2013 and 2014 articles were also in the top 10.

Next Year

I have found that I overextended myself during 2018.  As such, I have decided to reduce my activities in several areas and focus more on family and Scarborough activities. I have quit doing any kind of (paid) genealogical consulting activities during 2019.  I will also greatly reduce my genealogical society volunteerism and will drop memberships in at least six societies and organizations. I plan to work more diligently on my five research areas, Brown, Darling, Howell, Roberts, and Donna’s Vaudeville and less on my other 22 other genealogical projects. I will continue efforts with the Scarborough Historical Society.

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Barnes – Surname Saturday

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Don Taylor

Roberts-Barnes
Surname Saturday

Barnes Name Origin & Meaning

Until we discover an immigrant Barnes ancestor, how the name was derived and its meaning is still elusive. If it is English, it probably relates to someone who lived by or worked at a barn. However, I could also come from “Barnes,” which is on the Thames in London. Likewise, it could refer to the son or the servant of a barne.

If the name derives from Old Norse or Irish the potential meanings are entirely different – ‘young warrior,’ ‘descendant of Bearán’ or possibly ‘spear.’

Once we discover the immigrant ancestor, we will have a better idea of the meaning of the surname in our case.

Geographical

Map showing location of St. Barthélémy.

Map showing St. Barthélémy by I. Hanhil.

Worldwide there are approximately 414,310 people who bear the Barnes surname.

It is most prevalent in the United States where over half of the people with the Barnes surname live. In little Saint-Barthélemy,  in the Caribbean, it is the 27th most common surname with one in 189 people with the surname of Barnes.

My Earliest Barnes Ancestors

I don’t know where or when my third great-grandfather, Joel Barnes, was born. However, my second great-grandfather, Nelson Barnes, was born in 1816, in Broome, Schoharie County, New York. This is in keeping with Barnes migration patterns. In 1840, 19% of the Barnes families in the United States lived in New York. About 1845 Nelson Barnes headed west to Indiana to settle the land there. Nelson had seven children born in Indiana before his death in 1884.

My great-grandfather, Joel Clinton Barnes, had 11 children, all born in Sullivan County, Indiana. I have not traced my Barnes family to any living male Barnes, yet. That said, Joel Clinton Barnes only had one son, Raye Barnes, who lived to adulthood. So, if you know a descendant of Raye, I would love to hear from you.

Joel Clinton Barnes had three brothers that lived to adulthood:

  • Theodore E. Barnes (1847-1919)
  • Abraham Barnes (1852-1921)
  • Cyrus John Barnes (1855-1879)

Any of their male descendants would also carry Nelson Barnes’ Y-DNA.

My Direct Barnes Ancestors

5.    Grandmother: Essie Pansy Barnes (1903-1982) – Family Search
10.  Great-grandfather: Joel Clinton Barnes(1857-1921) – Family Search
20.  2nd Great-grandfather: Nelson Barnes (1816-1884) – Family Search
40.  3rd Great-grandfather: Joel Barnes (____-____) – Family Search[i]

Joel Barnes Descendants

My records include 30 individuals with the Barnes surname and 177 direct-line descendants of Joel Barnes (the elder).

Sources:

Endnotes:

[i] Although Family Search indicates a birthdate and birthplace for Joel Barnes (the elder), I have not confirmed that information, so I am not using it here.

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Schools I’ve Attended – Work Schools

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Don Taylor

My Life
Those Places Thursday
By Don Taylor

In my final article about schools I’ve attended, I decided to write about work-based schools and training I’ve had. Over the years I’ve had dozens and dozens of classes that lasted a day or two that I’m not mentioning here. Rather, these are the classes and training that I’ve had that changed my life.

TRW – Docuteller Cash Machines

A woman at a Docuteller 300 – Photo courtesy Wells Fargo Archives

After I got out of the service, I went back to Minnesota. There I began looking for a job. My best friend, Doug, worked for TRW, Customer Service Division. He worked servicing those new, cutting-edge technology, of cash machines.  He suggested I apply there and sure enough, I got the job. This was the third time Doug and I worked for the same place. (Holiday gas station and Marty’s Grill, both in Crystal were the first two.) Anyway, TRW sent me to school in Dallas, Texas, for a month of training to work on Docutel cash machines – the Docuteller 300. It was a good school, besides learning how to do the mechanical repairs they taught us some of the basics in programming in machine language. On occasion, we would install a part, like a solenoid, and need to exercise it to assure it was working correctly. We’d program the solenoid to activate for a time, then release and remain released for a time then repeat. Simple things, but it taught me more about programming and understanding the differences between machine language, assembly, and higher level languages. The automated teller machines communicated to a central office using a modem, so the training also included synchronous and asynchronous communications.

The machines required the user to make deposits using an envelope and withdraws were in $25 and $50 packets that were put into a small drawer in the front of the machine. The drawer would open up for the customer to take the money or a receipt that said why the money wasn’t disbursed. I recall one customer who wasn’t happy and decided to get back at the bank. The person “tickled the machine” that is to say they put their bank card into the machine and then held the card so it wouldn’t go into the machine to be read. The ATM printed a receipt that indicated the card couldn’t be read, put the receipt into the drawer, then opened the drawer. The person took his receipt then filled the drawer with feces giving subsequent customers a surprise when they used the machine.

I also learned about (bank) teller terminals and terminal processors, which used 8” floppy diskettes. I worked for TRW for about nine months and then was laid off.

Defense Logistics Agency – Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC)

I went to work for DCMC at the Twin Cities Arsenal (TCA) inspecting bomblets. Mostly, I inspected the solder work to assure work to weapons specifications standards. I went to training for a week or so to learn soldering standards. After the TCA, I worked at the Honeywell plant on Stinson Blvd in Minneapolis. While there I learned NASA soldering requirements and inspected the work for various gyroscopes and accelerometers used in aircraft and missiles. I even inspected the hand controllers for the Space Shuttle.

Naval Plant Representative Office, Fridley (NavPRO)

I started working for NavPRO in the Quality Engineering Department and made a major career shift from Quality to Computers (See: Schools I’ve Attended – Metropolitan State University) While with the NavPro I attended training many times, including training about cc:Mail. cc:Mail was a product by Lotus, who was a big name in spreadsheet software back in the day. That training served me well when I transferred to the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA).

Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA)

I continued working with computers with DCMA. I became one of the eMail specialists for the Command. Later, I went to Microsoft Exchange classes to learn Microsoft Exchange (the back end) and Outlook (the user interface). Eventually, I transferred from Minnesota to Los Angeles and became “Mr. E-Mail” for the Western District. Of course, DCMC being a government organization there were many short training experiences, particularly in leadership and personnel management. With DCMA training I developed a style of leadership. I also believe I developed a quotation I used the rest of my working life, “You lead people and manage things; when you manage people, you treat them like things.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

After 9/11, I transferred to the FBI. While with them, I took classes in project management, tested, and became a certified “Project Management Profession (PMP)” through the Project Management Institute. Eventually, my project management skills allowed me to became the lead for a large test group (NCIC, IAFIS, NICS) at the Bureau.

Information Innovators, Inc. & Gray Lion Consulting

After my retirement from federal service, I went to work for Information Innovators, Inc. (aka “Triple-I) for a short time. Then, I created my own company, Gray Lion Consulting, with a contract to provide project management services to Information Innovators. Maintaining my PMP required regular “professional development” classes. To enrich my knowledge about IT Security, I went to a week-long “boot camp” and studied some more to test and become a “Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Being both a PMP and a CISSP allowed me to manage a Network Operations and Security Center (NOSC) until my second retirement.

Don Taylor Genealogy

After my second retirement, I got very involved in Genealogy. I attend genealogical conferences regularly and plan for at least one hour of genealogical training every week, usually through a webinar or other online event. Throughout my life, I’ve learned the power of education and the importance of being a specialist in something.

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