Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-04-15
Noted Actor Passes Away
At West sWanzsy, M.
Suffered ReIapseW Recovery
Was Believed Probable.
Made '.srks Old Homestead" Famous
Sketch Of Achievements.

West Swanzey y. H., April la.--Ohe
of the oldest and best known actors in
IAmerica, Denman Thompson, the man
who made The Old Homestead fam
Ious. died at his country estate in West
lSwanzey early today. Mr thompson
HAD been i'll of heart trouble ana
luraemia since last month, and ms
ldeath was not unexpected. Fen days
Jago the actors s condition was extreme
lly critical. the pronounced nraemlc
condition indicating that his constitu-
ton was seriously undermined. he
rallied, however, and for week ms
recovery was thought possible, MS
rugged constitution having carried hih
through serious illness on several oc-
lcasions previous to this year. fester-
day Mr.. Thompson had relapse ana
last evening he became unconscious.
He gradually sank until $50 O'Clock
thi. morning, when The end came.
| Henry Denman Thompson was born
in log cabin in the hamlet of Beech
wood, three miles from Girard, pa, on
oct. Is. 1899. Two years previous his
father, Captain Rufus Thompson, haa
left SwanZey, the New Hampshire town
| of which his great grandfather was
one of the original settlers and whlch
in later years this boy OF the wider
lness was to make a household word as
the setting for his famous "Old Home
Istcad
| At II Denn}an returned u SWanZeN
and for three years worked %lth his
father as carpenter. When Il he set
| out for Boston in search of employ
lment and soon after Joined Tyson :
circus as a property boy and acrobat
The following winter he made his first
stage appearancc as "supe' under
Charlotte Cushman, Who was playing
| in Macbeth" at the Howard Athena
eum Two years later, in Lowell he
| had his first speaking part, and fol-
flowing this ne went about the country
playing Irish and Negro sketches.
| While travelling. Thompson was TAX
en- i'll with rheumatism, and rs he lay
in bed in Pittsburg he thought out
sketch called Joshua Whitcomb." The
sketch was only about 20 minutes long
and was first produced in Pittsburs
III February, 1875. 1t was an immedi-
ate success. During the following year
| it was heightened to three acts and
renamed The Old Homestead"
| At the Boston theater in 1856 The
| Old Homestead was first produced
| and it has had q continual run since
| that time. Until a few years ago MIR.
| Thompson travelled constantly with
| the company. but as the weight OF
years bore more heavily upon him he
was obliged to give up ali but the prin-
cipal cities to an understudy and final
| lt- 10 ,t,if alfn0at bnr TlYJrinp tho vim
| ter of 1910 he created a short sketch
modelled from portion OF the original
| Joshua Whi:comb," which he played
| i'll vaudeville for two months.
This year the old fascination Of the
| footlights returned stronger than ever
and early in the season he started out
with his old Homestead company.
| playing in New York. Philadelphia and
| WASHINGTON. and planning tn close the
season with the COMPANY in Boston.
| but rheumatism and generally failing
! health forced him to abandon the idea,
| In addition to Joshua Whitcomb"
| and The Old Homestead Mr.. Thomp-
son wrote, in conjunction with George
| w, Ryer, "'rhe Sunshine of Paradise
| Alley which had a successful run
| and which Mr.. Thompson presented to
| Mr.. Eyer.
| Mr.. Thompson was married IN 1850
| to Maria Bailou of Niagara. who e,ird
in West Swanzey in 1904. Three chill
dren. Mrs. W. /. fitzpatrick. Mrs. L..
| A. Mcfarland and Franklin TGomp-
son. survive.
| Mr.. Thompsons residence and
grounds in West SWanzey We're long
known as the principal attraction in
| the town, and it was a familiar Signt
| to see him sitting in his favorite arm
| chair in the big door of his barn. with
| a hospitable row of other arm chairs
for neighbors and friends who would
drop in to listen to his never falling
| fund of droll stories. He always took
an active interest in the affairs of the
| town and his benefactions were many;
| how many will never be known be-
cause of his quiet manner of making
them, hut some of the known gifts in
clude a chime of bells to the Catholic
| church. handsome wall about the
cemetery and picnic and recreation
grounds.
Gathered about the bedside of the
venerable actor when the end came
We're Il number of his closest relatives,
including his two daughters, Mrs. w.
I. Fitzpatrick and Mrs. E. A. McF'ar-
land.
The funeral services. which at the
request of Mr.. Thompson. will be
simple and open to the public, will be
held from his late homestead here on
Sunday afternoon at go o'clock. The
officiating clergyman will be Rev. II.
Sumner Mitchell. pastor of the Uni
tartan church at Keene. There will be
a brief burial service in the little ceme-
terry here, where the body will be In
TERED. During his recent Illness MFR.
Thompson made special request that
If he should die. his attorney, Henry
A. Wyman OF Boston, should attend
the funeral services. Arrangements