Agnes Booth (October 4, 1843 – January 2, 1910), born Marian Agnes Land Rookes, was an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n-born American actress and in-law of

Junius Brutus Booth Junius Brutus Booth (1 May 1796 – 30 November 1852) was an English stage actor. He was the father of actor John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. His other children included Edwin Booth, the foremost tragedian of ...

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatri ...

, and – arguably the most notable –

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

, the assassin of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

.Gerald Bordman & Thomas S. Hischak (1984)''The Oxford Companion to American Theatre'' P.83, Oxford University Press,

Biography

Although there are no records of Agnes Booth's birth or her family's residence in Australia,Pat M. Ryan in Edward T. James, Janet Wilson James, Paul S. Boyer, eds. (1971) ''Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 1'', p. 202-3. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press by her own account she was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. She migrated to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

with her family in 1858, at the age of about 14. She made her US debut in early 1858 as Agnes Land, performing with her sister Belle at Maguire's Opera House, San Francisco, attracting attention and gaining recognition and managing a season of the Metropolitan theatre in Detroit. In 1861 she married actor Harry A. Perry in San Francisco, but was widowed in 1862. Her six-year apprenticeship with Thomas Maguire allowed her to move from shape actress to leading lady. In 1865 she moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

where she appeared at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

. As Agnes Perry, in 1866 she joined the Boston Theatre Company, of which she was a member for several years. In 1867, she was married to

Junius Brutus Booth Jr. Junius Brutus Booth Jr. (December 22, 1821 – September 17, 1883) was an American actor and theatre manager. As a member of the illustrious Booth family of actors, Junius Brutus Booth Jr. was overshadowed by his father Junius Brutus Booth, Juniu ...

and she performed as Agnes Booth thereafter. At the height of her popularity reviews of her performances were effusive. In 1874, the ''News'' described her as "the most finished and effective emotional actress at present on the metropolitan stage." In 1889, ''Belford's Magazine'' wrote of another "great triumph" by Agnes Booth in ''Captain Swift''. "For painstaking attention to detail, nicety of intonation, and powerful expression, Agnes Booth is in the front rank of leading ladies. We have seen her in many society dramas, and in each she has shown a charming appreciation of all the requirements... The mingled expression of shame, suffering and maternal love in Agnes Booth's face during nescene is one not soon to be forgotten. In 1874, she and Junius made a praise-worthy trip to the far west playing San Francisco's California Theater and

Piper's Opera House Piper's Opera House is a historic performing arts venue in Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada in the United States. Piper's served as a training facility in 1897 for heavyweight boxing champion Gentleman Jim Corbett, in preparation for his titl ...

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

. Her repertoire included Romeo and Juliet, Hunchback, and Lady of Lyons. In 1878 she played Madeleine Renaud in the

Union Square Theatre Union Square Theatre was the name of two different theatres near Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. The first was a Broadway theatre that opened in 1870, was converted into a cinema in 1921 and closed in 1936.(8 October 1921)Two landmarks to ...

's production of ''A Celebrated Case'', the program noting that she had "kindly undertaken this part in order to strengthen the cast." From 1881 to 1891, she was with the

Madison Square Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. ...

Company. After 1891, she went to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, then returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where she resided in the artist community of

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

and resumed her work on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in nearby

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Booth gained fame for her role in the melodrama '' The Sporting Duchess'' (''The Derby Winner'' by

Cecil Raleigh Cecil Raleigh was the pseudonym of Abraham Cecil Francis Fothergill Rowlands (27 January 1856 – 10 November 1914, London, England), an English actor and playwright. Personal life Abraham Cecil Francis Fothergill Rowlands was born on 27 Janu ...

) along with fellow actress and New Rochelle neighbor

Cora Tanner Cora Tanner (c. 1861–1945) was an American stage actress who was most popular in the mid-1880s through her retirement from the stage in 1902. Biography Tanner was born in Cleveland, Ohio around 1861. She first appeared on stage at McVicker's T ...

. Junius Booth died in 1883, and in 1885 she married John B. Schoeffel, manager of Boston's Tremont theatre. Her last major performance was in ''L'Arlesienne'' in 1897. She died at her home in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

on January 2, 1910.

References

Sources

Asia Booth Clarke Asia Frigga Booth Clarke (November 19, 1835 – May 16, 1888) was a 19th-century American writer. Early years Asia Frigga Booth was the eighth in the family of ten children born to Junius Brutus Booth and his wife Mary Ann Holmes. Her famous b ...

(1882). ''The Elder and the Younger Booth'', Boston: J.R. Osgood and Co. * McKay and Wingate (1896). ''Famous American Actors of To-day'', New York: T.Y. Crowell. * Clapp and Edgett (1899). "Players of the Present", ''Dunlap Society Publication''. New York. *

Montrose Jonas Moses Montrose Jonas Moses (September 2, 1878 – March 29, 1934) was an American writer, born in New York, where he graduated from the City College in 1899. In the main, his compositions were directed towards children's literature; however, he compos ...

(1906). ''Famous Actor-Families in America'', New York: Greenwood Press.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Agnes 1843 births 1910 deaths Actresses from Sydney Australian emigrants to the United States 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Actresses from New Rochelle, New York Actresses from Boston Agnes Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century