Joseph M. Field (1810 – January 28, 1856) was an English-born American actor and dramatist.

Biography

He was born in London, came to America when very young, and for several years traveled through the country writing plays and acting them without attaining much reputation. In 1852 he assumed the management of a theatre in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, where he was also later principal owner and an editor of the ''

Reveille "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), th ...

'', a daily newspaper. At the same time he became widely known for his humorous sketches signed "Straws" in the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Picayune A picayune was a Spanish coin, worth half a real or one sixteenth of a dollar. Its name derives from the French ''picaillon'', which is itself from the Provençal ''picaioun'', the name of an unrelated small copper coin from Savoy. By extension, ...

''. On, November 6, 1837, Field married actress Eliza Riddle, with whom he had co-starred in several performances. Their daughter,

Kate Field Mary Katherine Keemle "Kate" Field ( pen name, Straws, Jr.; October 1, 1838 – May 19, 1896) was an American journalist, correspondent, editor, lecturer, and actress, of eccentric talent. She never married. She seemed ready to give an opinio ...

, was born in 1838, and went on to become a successful journalist and author. From 1841–1842, he traveled in Europe as an international reporter for the ''Picayune''.Fisher, James. ''Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Beginnings''. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015: 169. Field seemingly attended the Boston Lyceum lecture in October 1845 when

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

controversially recited a version of "

Al Aaraaf "Al Aaraaf" is an early poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1829. It tells of the afterlife in a place called Al Aaraaf, inspired by A'raf as described in the Quran. At 422 lines, it is Poe's longest poem. "Al Aaraaf", wh ...

" and later declaimed the incident as an attempted hoax. Poe wrote directly to Field enlisting his help in defense against the Boston "Frogpondians". Among his plays was ''Family Ties'', written for

Dan Marble Danforth Marble (April 27, 1810 – May 13, 1849) was an American comedic actor who gained great popularity playing "Yankee" roles in the 1830s and 1840s. Marble was born in East Windsor, Connecticut and made his stage debut in 1831 at Chatham G ...

for a prize of $500.(July 1879)
The American on the Stage
''

Scribner's Monthly ''Scribner's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People'' was an illustrated American literary periodical published from 1870 until 1881. Following a change in ownership in 1881 of the company that had produced it, the magazine was relaunch ...

'', pp. 324-35. He also wrote a dramatic response to

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 1852 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. ...

'' which he staged in New Orleans. Field established the Grand Opera House in St. Louis in 1852. He died at a hotel in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

on January 28, 1856, and was buried at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

, near where his daughter was studying.Scharnhorst, Gary. ''Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-Century American Journalist''. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2008: 10.

Plays

*''Down South; or, a Militia Training'' (c. 1830) *''Victorian; or, The Lion and the Kiss'' (1839) *''Tourists in America'' (1840) *''Oregon; or, The Disputed Territory'' (1846) *''Family Ties; or, The Will of Uncle Josh'' (1846)

Sources

External links

Joseph M. Field
at Encyclopedia of Alabama

listing for Field English emigrants to the United States 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Male actors from London Male actors from St. Louis 1810 births 1856 deaths 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male journalists 19th-century American newspaper editors American male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American male writers {{US-playwright-stub