Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-11-29
Early History of
Negro Minstrelsy

Lawrence Hutton, in his work on
I'Curiosities of the American Stage -
published by Harper Brothers, has the
following to say on the early history
of Ethiopian minstrelsy:
Thomas D. Rice is generally con-
coded to have been the founder of
Ethiopian minstrelsy. Although, as
has been seen, it did not originate
with him, he made it popular on both
sides of the Atlantic, and his image
deserves an honored niche in its ca,
thedral. The history of lin Crow
Rice, as he was affection ately called
for many years, has been written by
many scribes, and in many different
ways the most complete and most
truthful account, perhaps. being that
of Edmon s. Conner, who described
/ in the columns of the New York Times,
/ June ,. 1881, what he saw and remem-
bered of the birth OF Jim Crow. Mr..
Conner was a member of the company
at the Columbia Street theatre Gin
cinnati, in 1892, when he first met
Rice, doing little negro bits" between
the acts at that house, notably a
sketch he had studied from life in
Louisville the preceding summer. Back
Of the Louisville theatre vas a livery
stable kept by a man named Crow.
The actors could look into the stable
yard from the windows of their dress
ing rooms. and were fond of watch |
ing the movements of an cid and de-
crepit slave who was employed by the /
proprietor TO do all sorts of odd jobs /
AS was the custom among the ne
L, -. -
name, and called himself Jim Grow. !
He was very much deformed, the right !
shoulder was drawn up nigh. and the .
left leg was stiff and crooked at the .
knee. which gave him a painful but at /
the same time ludicrous limp. He was /
in the habit of grooming a queer old /
tune, to which he had applied words .
of his own. At the end Of each verse
he gave a peculiar step, rocking de /
heel in the same manner since so
general among the many generations .
CT his imitators, and these were the .
words of his refrain:
Wheel about, turn about,
do jis so,
An cherry time | wheel about
/ jump Jim Grow.
Rice closely watched this uncon-
scious performer, and recognized in
him a character entirely new to the
stage He wrote a number Of verses,
quickened and slightly changed the
air, made up exactly like the original,
and appeared before a Louisville audi
ence, which, as Mr.. Come says, went
mad with delight recalling him on
the first night at least 90 times. And
so Jim Grow jumped into fame and
something that looks almost like i'm
mortality.
Rice was born in the Seventh ward
of New York in 1908. He was super
at the Park theatre. where
Sam Cowell remembered him in Bonn
bastes Furioso,' attracting sc much at
tentiou by his eccentricities that Hill
son and Barnes, the leading charac-
tiers in the cast, made a formal COM
plant and had him dismissed from the
Cowell adding tat this man,
whose name did not even appear in the
Hills. was the only actor on the stage
whom the audience seemed TO notice.
He went to England in 1886, where
be met with great success, laid the
foundation of a very comfortable for
tune, and professionally he was the
Buffalo Bill of the London of half a
century ago. Mr.. Ireland. speaking of
his popularity in this country, says
hat he drew more money to the Bow
Try theatre than any other performer
n the same period OF time.
Rice was the author Of many of his
own farces. notably Bone Squash and
The Virginia Mummy and he was
he veritable originator of the genus
lnown to the stage as the dandy
iarky,' represented articrlarly in his
;reations of Dandy Jim Of Caroline
Ind Spruce Pink.
He died in 1860, never having for
cited the respect of the public nor the
rood will of his fellow mon"
III Aha all thu