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
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
's ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
''.
Early life
George Howard Cunnabell was born on January 6, 1818, at
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, the son of John Henry and Mary Ann (née Nevon) Cunnabell. Howard’s father was originally a carpenter who later operated a successful
tallow
Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...
and
ship chandler
A ship chandler is a retail dealer who specializes in providing supplies or equipment for ships.
Synopsis
For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery
include sail-cloth, rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, ...
business until it was consumed in a devastating fire and his contracts with the
British Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
were lost to competitors.
[The Age and Stage of George L. Fox, 1825-1877–1988][Genealogical memoir of the Cunnabell, Conable or Connable family : John Cunnabell of London, England and Boston, Massachusetts][Pictorial genealogy of the Cunnabell, Connable, Conable family][George C. Howard: An Inventory of His Family Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center]
Career
Howard’s first performances were as a choirboy at Catholic services in Halifax and later in amateur theater. He tried his hand at several trades, the last being tailoring, before leaving for Boston in 1836 to pursue an acting career. He made his professional debut in 1838 as George Cunnabell Howard at the
Chestnut Street Theatre
The Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first theater in the United States built by entrepreneurs solely as a venue for paying audiences.The Chestnut Street Theatre Project
The New Theatre (First Chestnut Street Theatre) ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and within a few years was playing major roles at the
Boston Museum (theatre)
The Boston Museum (1841–1903), also called the Boston Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts, was a theatre, wax museum, natural history museum, zoo, and art museum in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Moses Kimball established the enterprise in 1841 ...
. He was the first there to play Claude Melnotte in
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...
’s ''
The Lady of Lyons
''The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride'', commonly known as ''The Lady of Lyons'', is a five act romantic melodrama written in 1838 by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 Februar ...
''; Sir Thomas Clifford in
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
’s ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...
''; and Romeo and Orlando in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
’s ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' and ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...
''.
In the mid-1840s he formed the company, Howard and Foxes, with the Fox troupe, a family of actors from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and toured throughout the Northeast. Caroline "Caddie" Emily Fox, the talented fifteen-year-old daughter of George and Emily Fox, married Howard on October 31, 1844. At one time or another, her brothers
George L. Fox (1),
James Augustus Fox
James Augustus Fox (August 11, 1827September 1901) was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman.
Personal life
Born in the Massachusetts capital city Boston on August 11, 1827, James Augustus Fox was descended from English and Scottish peopl ...
and Charles K. Fox would perform with Howard over the following years.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
In 1852 Howard hired Caroline's cousin
George L. Aiken to adapt for the stage
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
's anti-slavery novel ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
''. The play debuted on September 27, 1852, at Peale’s Museum in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
, with a cast largely made up of family and friends of Howard's that included his four-year-old daughter, Cordelia. The play was a great success and ran for over three months, an achievement for a small town theater.
Aiken’s original script, which ran over three hours, ended with little Eva's death, Later that year he wrote a sequel that brought the story to a proper end which he soon merged with the original script to create the six-act play known today. The following year the play opened at
Alexander H. Purdy’s National Theatre in the Bowery neighborhood of lower Manhattan and was well received. The play was directed by George L. Fox, who had become a local favorite there, and retained many of the original players from the first production. ''Uncle Tom’s Cabin'' would remain in continuous production somewhere in the United States well into the 1930s, an incredible accomplishment for any time.
Later years
In 1857 George C. Howard became the manager of the Troy Adelphi Theatre, but returned to the road after box office receipts did not meet expectations. In 1861 Howard filled in as manager of Fox's New Bowery Theatre, while his brother-in-law George L. Fox served in the Civil War. After the war Howard would return to the stage only on occasion.
Death
George Cunnabell Howard died at his residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 18, 1887. He was survived by his wife Caroline. The Howards had eight children, of which only three survived their parents. Adelia Ann Howard was born on May 10, 1846, and died five months later on October 24. George Cunnabell Howard Jr. was born on November 9, 1849, and died February 1, 1850. John Green Howard was born on March 18, 1851, and died at age 12 on December 5, 1863. James Fox Howard was born on November 10, 1853, and died on April 7, 1855. Charles Lafayette Howard was born on May 10, 1856, and died at sea on June 12, 1884, while on a cruise to Europe.
Caroline Emily Fox Howard was born on May 10, 1829, at Boston, Massachusetts. She continued to play Topsy in various productions of ''Uncle Tom’s Cabin'' until her husband’s death in 1887. Caroline Fox died in Cambridge on October 8, 1908.
Cordelia Howard was born on February 1, 1848, at Providence, Rhodes Island and after a successful career as a child actor left the stage and married on June 23, 1871, Edmund J. MacDonald, a native of Scotland who worked for MacDonald and Sons as a bookbinder. She died on August 8, 1941, in Bourne, Massachusetts.
Arthur Lincoln Howard was born on October 20, 1865, at New York City and later became a prominent Boston lawyer after graduating from Harvard. He married Emily Stewart in 1895 and became the father of a daughter and two sons. Arthur died in 1929 on January 19 at Cambridge.
Walter Scott Howard was born on June 26, 1868, at New York City and later became an actor with
Joseph 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 ...
’s company before going on to play in a number of Shakespearean productions. He was a member of several New York stock companies and at one time he served as actress
Ada Rehan
Ada Rehan (born Bidelia Crehan; June 12, 1857 – January 8, 1916) was an American actress and comedian who typified the "personality" style of acting in the nineteenth century.
Early life and career
She was born Bidelia Crehan in Limerick cit ...
’s manager. In 1897 Walter married actress Minnie Parker and soon became the father of a son, George P. Howard. In later life Walter passed up an opportunity to direct in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
and returned to Massachusetts where wrote about current events and published children’s books and works of poetry. In the mid-1920s Walter became involved in local government and served for a number of years as chairman of
selectman for the town of
Bourne, Massachusetts
Bourne ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,452 at the 2020 census.
For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Bourne, please see the articles on Bourne (CDP), Bu ...
. Walter Scott Howard died there on November 12, 1954, at the age of 86.
George P. Howard sold the family's papers to the
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
in 1963.
Among the papers were the original manuscripts for stage production of ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
'' by
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, ...
, playbills, scrapbooks, photographs, memoirs, and some of the Howard family script library.
Sources
External links
George C. Howard and Family Papersat the
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
,
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, George C.
19th-century Canadian male actors
American male stage actors
1818 births
1887 deaths
Canadian male stage actors
Male actors from Halifax, Nova Scotia