Mary Euphemia "Effie" Germon (June 13, 1845 – March 6, 1914) was an American stage actress of the late 19th century from Augusta, Georgia, a descendant of the Germons of Baltimore who were an old theatrical family. She excelled as a soubrette.

Early life

One of six siblings born to actors Greenberry Carr "Greene" Germon and Jane (''née'' Anderson) Germon, her father was the first to perform the role of Uncle Tom at the Troy Museum in the

George Aiken George David Aiken (August 20, 1892November 19, 1984) was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, ...

adaptation of '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' produced by

George C. Howard George C. Howard (1818–1887) was a Nova Scotian-born American actor and showman who is credited with staging the first theatrical production of Harriet Beecher Stowe's ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. Early life George Howard Cunnabell was born on Janua ...

. Effie Germon had two brothers. Her mother, Jane, a cousin of actor

Joe Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III, commonly known as Joe Jefferson (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedia ...

, began her career at age 8 and continued for 50 years. Effie Germon's theatrical debut was made at the Holliday Street Theatre in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, during the 1857-58 season. She played "Sally Scraggs" in ''Sketches in India''. Germon acted with both the Baltimore and Philadelphia stock companies."Effie Germon Dead At 68", '' The New York Times'', March 7, 1914, pg. 11.

Marriage, return to the stage

She left the theater to marry, at a very early age, violinist Carlo Patti (brother of Adelina Patti and

Carlotta Patti Carlotta Patti (c. 1840 – 27 June 1889) was a nineteenth-century Italian operatic soprano and older sister to famed soprano Adelina Patti. Various sources list her birth year as 1835, 1840, and 1842. Born Florence, Italy into a musical family, ...

), whom she married at Providence, Rhode Island. Germon returned to prominence at the Chestnut Street Theatre during the theatrical season of 1863-64. She made her first appearance on the New York City stage which opened in 1869 under the management of John Brougham. She appeared with

John Gibbs Gilbert John Gibbs Gilbert (February 27, 1810 – June 17, 1889) was an American stage actor. Biography John Gibbs Gilbert was born in Boston on February 27, 1810, the son of John Neal and Elizabeth Gilbert (née Atkins). He made his first appearance t ...

Wallack's Theatre Three New York City playhouses named Wallack's Theatre played an important part in the history of American theater, as the successive homes of the Repertory theatre, stock company managed by actors James William Wallack, James W. Wallack and hi ...

in a production of ''Brother Sam'' in December 1872. At the same venue she acted with Richard Mansfield in ''Prince Karl'', the original production of '' Little Lord Fauntleroy''. She paired with Francis Wilson in ''

Erminie ''Erminie'' is a comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on Charles Selby's 1834 English translation of the French melodrama, ''Robert Macaire''. The piece first ...

''. During the 1906-07 season, she performed on the road in ''Sunday''. After divorcing Patti, she remarried to comedian Nelse Seymour.

Lincoln assassination

She was performing in ''Aladdin'' at Grover's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the evening when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre. While she was singing "Sherman Has Marched To The Sea", C.D. Hess, manager of Grover's Theatre, learned of the shooting of Lincoln. A week earlier, Germon was present when John Wilkes Booth came into the office of Hess and inquired as to when Lincoln would attend a performance of ''Aladdin''. The President had been invited and had promised to attend."Lincoln's Assassination", '' Palo Alto Reporter'', April 24, 1880, pg. 3. The President's son,

Tad Lincoln Thomas "Tad" Lincoln (April 4, 1853 – July 15, 1871) was the fourth and youngest son of Abraham Lincoln, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Early life and education Thomas Lincoln was born on April 4, 1853, the fourth son of Abraham Lincoln and Ma ...

attended in his place. A photo of Germon was found on Booth when he was shot dead at Richard H. Garrett's farm in 1865.

Death

Germon died at the Actors' Fund Home in Staten Island, New York in 1914, aged 68, and was interred in Evergreens Cemetery in the Actors' Fund Plot.

References

External links

Effie Germon
photos at

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

Digital Gallery; retrieved February 13, 2008. *
Effie Germon; North American Theatre Online
retrieved 7-2-2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Germon, Effie Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state) 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Vaudeville performers 1845 births 1914 deaths Burials at the Cemetery of the Evergreens