Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-04-07
MINISTRIES OF
THE SOS
BURNT CORK" STARS SURVIVE
MiNsTRELsYs FIRST SUCCESS.
NOT YET
GONE
AL L
First Troupe Organized Through an
Accidental Meeting in 1843-one
Member, Dan Emmett, Author of
Dixie, Still on Earth-Heavy Nor
taity of Late.

Billy Emerson, Neil Bryant,
Billy Rice and John Queen, favorite
minstrel men of thirty years ago have
died--leaving alive but few of the
''blackface comedians" who won fame
in the troupes which toured the cOun-
try in the period following the civil
war But more than a score of the
old line MINISTRIES who made names
for themselves before 1860 are still
alive. Dan Emmett, one Of the men
who organized the first minstrel
| troupe in America in 1843, and the au-
thor of Dixie, is still living in Mount
Vernon, Ohio.
"Dave" Reed of New York is the
only performer of that time who is
still on the stage. With his family Of
Reed birds" he occasionally appears
in other cities Others of that time
still alive are Lew" Benedict of Bos-
! ton, John B. Douniker of Penn Yam n
Y, S. S. Sanford, Add Weaver, Tony
Pastor, Frank Kent and A. j. Talbot
| of New York, Leon, of Kelly and Leon,
| Chicago Sam Devere and Eugene of
| Unsworth and Eugene, Brooklyn,
Charles A. Morris, who, with his
brother, first put on the burnt cork in
1914. of Boston, Tony Moore and John
r. Kemble of London Charles r. Du-
| PREF, of Lowell, Mass, William Porter
an original Christy minstrel" of
| 1916, of Spring Valley, n Y, Edwin
Kelly, who has theater in Australia,
| Sam Price of Toms River, N. j., and
j. L. Carncross, the great singer,
whose home is in Philadelphia.
! Negro minstrelsy is of American or
! igin and had it's greatest popularity in
this country. although many compa-
MES made successful trips to England
and Europe Purely of American
growth in it's first development it
dealt with southern plantation life, de
plotting in song and story it's scenes
and incidents. In the early years Of
the nineteenth century performers
with blackened faces appeared in the
theaters between the acts of the regu-
| lar shows, These men sang negro
| songs and told stories in the negro di
alect. Perhaps the first record of
such an appearance is program of
the Federal Street theater, Boston, for
| December 80, 1893, on which appears
Song of the Negro Boy Tin character)
Mr.. Grampner. In the circus compa-
MES which toured the country the
/ principal and most popular clowns
were blackface comedians.
First Troupe Organized.
| Not until 1843, however, was a
| troupe organized solely to give min
strel show This was the result Of an
accidental meeting in New York of
four minstrel performers, Dan En-
NETT the author of Dixey; Frank
Brewer of Philadelphia; Dick Pelham
and BILLY" Whitlock This meeting
| is best described by Emmett himself
| in letter to Frank Dumont of Phila-
| delphia, dated March 10, 1896. He
writes:
"In the old times each circus com
| pany had one or more performers who
we're called Ethiopian Delineators. in
| OCuGI WOlOS, 0luSIlAS5 vi nCSlO SOl1S5o LII
| character. In the summer of 1912
| located in New York and played the
| violin and also the banjo, and thus be-
came acquainted with others, who
| like, myself, performed here and there
throughout the city. In the spring of
| 1843 | was residing at No 81 Catha-
rine street and one day, while playing
upon my violin, and accompanied by
| Billy Whitlock on the banjo the door
opened and Frank Brown entered.
| For awhile he listened and then joined
| in with the bones. We were delighted
with the idea and the music and were
again through our performance when
Dick Pelham entered, and with his
| tambourine the fourth man Joined in
! this imprOmptu rehearsal Struck by
! the idea we four began a series of re-
! hearsals which ended in forming a
partnership. We performed in sever
al places, but the first appearance in
| public was made at the Chatham the
alter, and for the benefit of Dick Pei
ham.
eve gave concerts in the fremont
Temple, Boston, for six weeks, the
new amusement, minstrels,' going
! like wildfre at all times We then
! sailed for England, giving concerts in
Liverpool, Birmingham and Manches-
ter to immense business. We opened
! in the Adelphi theater, London, in
| connection with Professor Anderson,
the wizard. Then we performed
throughout the United Kingdom and
disbanded in Glasgow. Upon our
first appearance in London, and just
! as we came upon the stage, a person
| rose in the audience and shouted to
us: Go home! go home and pay your
| honest debts. We don't want you
! here Let me explain that Pennsy[
vania had repudiated some debt and
we. as Americans, were being held to
account for it. This person was put
out of the theater and the minstrels
proceeded