Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1979 The Theatre in Mississippi From 1840 to 1870. Guy Herbert Keeton Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Keeton, Guy Herbert, "The Theatre in Mississippi From 1840 to 1870." (1979). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3399. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3399 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. 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Ml 4811)8 18 Df OHD ROW. LONDON WC !H 4L.J L NOLAND T»27sn TNI THEATIE III MISSISSIPPI FROM 1 9 4 0 TO l»TO. THE LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AARICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COL«» PH.D.* 1979 University Mlcronlrns International 300 N. ZEEB fiOAO. ANN ARBOR. Ml 48106 The Theatre in Mississippi from 1840 to 1870 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech by Guy Herbert Keeton A. B., Howard College, 1962 M. A., University of Tennessee, 1965 August, 1979 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of a work such as this dissertation is never possible without the advice, counsel, and assis­ tance of a great many people. The writer could not possi­ bly recognize everyone who offered encouragement and under­ standing. He especially wishes to thank the following per­ sons and thus acknowledge their very significant roles in the preparation and writing of this study. Clinton W. Bradford, Chairman of my dissertation committee; and Waldo W. Braden, Fabian Gudas, Bill J. Har­ bin, and Mary Frances Hopkins, members of my dissertation committee. Mrs. Blanche Terry and Gordon Cotton, of the Old Court House Museum in Vicksburg, and the entire library staff at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in Jackson were especially helpful in locating materials for this study. Michael B. Minchew, head of my department at Miss­ issippi University for Women, and his wife, Norma, for their advice and support. All the many understanding friends, especially Donna L. Bridges and Sherry Edwards who spent many hours helping proof this final copy. A very special thank you goes to my wife, Sherry, and my sons, Craig, Eric, and Parke, who have had to endure i as much if not more than I. Without your love and patience this work would not have been possible or worthwhile. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT iv INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND 8 CHAPTER TWO THEATRE IN NATCHEZ 29 CHAPTER THREE THEATRE IN VICKSBURG BEFORE THE SIEGE 54 CHAPTER FOUR THEATRE IN VICKSBURG AFTER' THE SIEGE 85 CHAPTER FIVE THEATRE IN JACKSON 115 CHAPTER SIX CONCERTS, EXHIBITIONS, SHOWBOATS AND CIRCUSES 154 CHAPTER SEVEN SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 180 BIBLIOGRAPHY 190 APPENDIX A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THEATRICAL PERSONAGES APPEARING IN MISSISSIPPI BETWEEN 1840 AND 1870 200 APPENDIX B CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE ATTRACTIONS IN NATCHEZ, VICKSBURG AND JACKSON, 1840-1870 242 VITA 333 ili ABSTRACT This study traces the development of Mississippi theatre history from 1840 to 1870, thus filling a gap of thirty years between two existing studies. The study pro­ vides a cumulative record of theatrical activities in Nat­ chez and Vicksburg along the Mississippi River and Jackson, the capital of the state and the major interior city. The focus is on theatre management, the stock company members, stars involved in the plays presented, types of plays pre­ sented, and the type of programming that made up an evening's entertainment. In addition to these activities the study investigates other forms of amusement such as concerts, ex­ hibitions, showboats, and circuses which provided entertain­ ment during the era. The procedure of the study was to examine newspapers of the period, particularly the Natchez Daily Courier, the Vicksburg Daily Whig, and The Mississippian of Jackson; man­ uscripts such as the two notebooks on the ante-bellum the­ atricals of Natchez and Vicksburg kept by James Scott; diaries; county records; family papers; histories and annals of Amer­ ican theatre; and biographies, autobiographies and memoires of actors and actresses of the period. An appendix provides an important chronology listing, by date, every attraction in these three cities between 1840 and 1870. Another appendix iv contains biographical sketches of theatrical personages men­ tioned in the text. Mississippi developed from a remote frontier society at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the full-blown ante-bellum civilization which flourished a generation before the Civil War began. The Mississippi was the highway from the Gulf to the interior of the United States. Therefore, those communities which sprang up had the potential of be­ coming the major centers of growth and development in the country. Natchez and Vicksburg were certainly two of the main candidates for such growth. By 1840 the theatre in both communities had become an accepted and regular part of the social life. Natchez took an early lead as the the­ atrical leader since it was also the chief town and place of commerce. Shortly after a tornado in May of that year destroyed much of the city including the theatre, Natchez’s leadership began to fall by the wayside. It was the infant cities of Vicksburg and Jackson that began to develop the theatrical activities for the state. A succession of managers with experience in theatres in the larger population centers along the Mississippi River — New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis— spent intervals managing the theatres in Natchez, Vicksburg, and Jackson during the period. Among the most prominent ones were James Scott (Natchez and Vicksburg, 1840-42); John S. Potter (Jackson, 1839-1843); Charles S. Porter (Vicksburg, 1847, and Jackson, v 1848); H. P. Grattan (Vicksburg, 1851, and Jackson, 1852); David Ash (Vicksburg, 1865-1866). It was under John Temple­ ton's management (Vicksburg, 1866-1867) that theatre had its most prosperous seasons in Mississippi. There is a record of over two hundred and forty-seven evenings of drama under his leadership alone. Since most acting companies which appeared in Miss­ issippi did so enroute to or from an interior theatre, the theatres in the state provided a location for an apprentice­ ship for a number of performers, many of whom later became outstanding in our national drama. Perhaps the two most outstanding of these were Charlotte Cushman, who was to become America's first great actress; and Joshua Silsbee, the Yankee specialist. Other performers of prominence in­ clude Adah Isaacs Menken, Julia Dean, Dan Marble, Joseph Jefferson II, James Hackett, John Buckstone, the Bateman children, Anna Cora Mowatt, and Charlotte Crampton. Although research into theatrical activity in the South during the last part of the 19th century has been neglected, this study provides other researchers with a basis for comparisons in this connection. It is probably safe to conclude that there were no unique features of the theatre in Mississippi during the period from 1840 to 1870. Its theatre closely resembles that of other American communities during the same period. The ultimate signifi­ cance of the theatre in Mississippi was its provision as a vi source of rational amusement for the people of the state during a period of extreme stress. vii INTRODUCTION Throughout theatrical history the provinces have served vital functions in any nation by providing legiti­ mate drama for the people of the hinterlands and training grounds for the young actors and actresses. Since the Mississippi River served as one of the major highways for travel in the United States during the nineteenth century, it stands to reason that communities along its course would provide good theatrical opportunities.