Isabelle Evesson (c. 1870 – August 9, 1914) was an American actress.

Early life

Isabelle Evesson was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the daughter of Henry Evesson Jr. and Florine Augusta Bassford Evesson. Her sister Estelle Clayton was also an actress, as well as a playwright; she wrote ''A Puritan Romance'' as a vehicle for her sister and herself. In 1907, the sisters formed the Bassford Estate Corporation, hoping to recover compensation for some of their grandfather's extensive land holdings in the New York City area. "So, with the walls of their handsome apartment covered with old maps," explained a newspaper reporter in 1907, "these two Evesson sisters, year in and year out, are making their fight for untold millions."

Career

Isabelle Evesson was performing on stage from her teens, often in touring companies and in Boston and Chicago. She spent two years acting in London. "Every act and gesture is finished," noted a Los Angeles newspaper of Evesson's performance in 1905, "and her voice is sweet and well modulated." Evesson's Broadway credits included roles in ''Mr. Barnes of New York'' (1888), ''Papa's Wife'' (1899–1900), ''Anna Karenina'' (1905), and ''The Charm of Isabel'' (1914). She was in the original 1887 cast of

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was a German-born English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887 play), Dr. Jekyll and Mr ...

's ''

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is an 1886 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series ...

'' at the Boston Museum. Evesson appeared in two silent films, ''A Mother's Atonement'' (1914), and ''The Girl and the Bachelor'' (1915). She was a charter member of the Professional Woman's League at their organizational meeting in 1892.

Personal life

Isabelle Evesson married journalist Almyr Wilder Cooper in 1895; the Mayor of New York performed the civil ceremony in his office. Cooper died suddenly in 1896, from injuries sustained in an assault. Isabel Evesson died in 1914, at home in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, in her forties.

References

External links

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Images of Isabelle Evesson in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File

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 a ...

Digital Collections.
The Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News
Saturday August 9, 1884 {{DEFAULTSORT:Evesson, Isabelle 1870s births 1914 deaths Actresses from New York City 19th-century American actresses