Alfred Griffin (or Griffith) Hatfield (November 7, 1848 or 1850 – April 3, 1921) was a performer and minstrel show producer as Al G. Field and sometimes Al G. Fields.

Biography

He was born in Leesburg, Virginia near

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

on November 7, 1848 or 1850, as Alfred Griffin Hatfield or Alfred Griffith Hatfield. He had a brother Joseph E. Hatfield.

Beginning in 1875 he performed with the Sells Brothers Circus that was based out of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. In 1884 he organized the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in Peru, Indiana. He managed them until September 9, 1886. He launched his own namesake minstrel show the same year. His autobiography ''Watch Yourself Go By'' was published in 1912. He changed his name and established his own company in 1886. He eventually retreated to a farm and bred animals. He died on April 3, 1921, in Columbus, Ohio from Bright's Disease. He was buried in Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. His

last will and testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distributio ...

arranged for his minstrel show to be bequeathed to his brother, Joseph E. Hatfield, and to Edward Conard, a relative. His estate was valued at $150,000 () and he requested that the minstrel show continue to be operated. Many printed advertisements for his shows remain in existence, including at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. Some include his image.

Performers

* Bert Swor (1871-1931) from 1911 to 1931. * Billy Church (?-1942). *

Dan White (actor) Dan White (March 25, 1908 – July 7, 1980) was an American actor, well known for appearing in Western films and TV shows. Biography Early life Dan White was born to George and Orpha White in Falmouth, Florida, one of thirteen siblings ...

(1922-1930) Tampa, Florida * John Leipold, music director from circa 1922-1926

Shows

* Darkest America, first staged in 1896

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Al G. 19th-century births 1921 deaths Deaths from kidney failure in the United States Blackface minstrel managers and producers Burials at Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus, Ohio) People from Leesburg, Virginia