New Britain herald., 1915-12-17
FIRST ACTOR TOPLAY
 JUNGLE TOM" DEAD
Daniel Worcester Passes Away at Bennington, Vt, Soldiers Home

Springfield. Dec. 17.-Daniel Wor- cester, eighty-two, the first actor to play the par tof Uncle Tom in the dra- matization of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel and a veteran of the Civil war. died at o'clock last evening at the Vermont soldiers home, Bennington, Vt He had been feeble for several years.
 Daniel Worcester was born in a log cabin in the little town of Warren, Vt, twenty miles from the nearest rail- way station August 24, 1893. His father was a farmer and the family consisted of ten boys and two girls. When seventeen years of age he went to Lowell, where he apprenticed him. self to learn the trade of a painter. up to this time he had never been inside of theater. One evening he went to the old Lowell museum to zee Sheri- dan Knowles in "The Hunchback". The presentation made such a strong impression upon him that the follow- ing morning he found that he could repeat from memory a large part of the dialog, and his determination to become an actor was irrevocably fixed.
 Joined Aurora Club.
 After considerably difficulty he se
 cured a membership in an amateur theatrical organization called the Au rora club and soon showed so much native talent and enthusiasm that he was almost imm ediately elected pres 1 ident and stage manager. Dcnman l Thompson was a member of the Au- rora club at the time Worcester was | directing the affairs of the organiza- | tion Worcester's first professional en- gagement was at the Howard athenc- um in Lowell where he played minor parts for period of about six months. In the fall of 1851 he became asso- ciated with George Aitkin, who wrote l the first ramatization of Harriet Beecher Stoves novel, Uncle Toms Cabin," and was given the part of Uncle Tom in the company which
 Aitkin collected for the purpose of trying out his new production. Will liam s. Hutchins, the famous light ming mathematical calculator, who made such a reputation with Bar num's circus and who was for many years lecturer at the Austin Stone Museum in Boston, was also mem- Der of this first company and imper- sonated St Clair Hutchins, at the time of his death in Boston in Au- gust, 1911 was the only survivor of the company besides Worcester. Den man Thompson had agreed with Ait kin to become member of the troupe but while the rehearsals were in prog ress obtained what he believed was 9 better engagement and was given release from his contract.
 Produced First at Natic!t.
 The drama was produced for the first time at Natick The two incidents of this opening night that remained in Worcester's memory during his de- clining years was the large attendancC and the presence on one of the iron seats of Henry Wilson, at that time !: member of the Massachusetts senate and just beginning to make himself felt as a factor in the abolitionis' movement. Wilson later represented his state in the upper house of con gress made a brilliant record in the Civil war an was elected vice president on the republican ticket with Grant in the campaign of 1872.
 From Natick the company made a tour of the larger cities of Massachu- setts and eastern New York. At Springfeld, where the play was given in Hampden hall Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was then living in Hart ford Ct, was in the audience. From Springfield the company went to Greenfield. They crossed the Hoosac mountains in coaches and appeared in North Adams and Williamstown. Tn the latter village the play was given in the largest room of the college buildings and in order to accommo- date the audience it was necessary to seat the people on rows of blanks raised at proper distances from the floor. The company did not cross the vermont state line, for its members would have been arrested if they had aone so At that time there was a low on the Vermont statute books which prohibited any travelling com many from appearing within its bor-