USA > New York > Tioga County > Owego > Early Owego, N.Y.; some account of the early settlement of the village in Tioga County, N.Y., called Ah-wa-ga by the Indians, which name was corrupted by gradual evolution into Owago, Owego, Owegy and finally Owego > Part 32
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"the celebrated Chief, Red Jacket, the most eloquent: Indian, orator liv- ing. "
The show made its first stand at Union, Broome county, where the can- vas was blown down in a storm and a canvasman's arm was broken by a falling guy pole. Thence they went to Great Bend and Montrose, Pa. When they reached Pittston, Washburn was informed that in the Wyoming valley a bitter feeling still existed against all Indians on the part of the descendants of those who perished in the massacre, . and that they had arranged to pick off. the Indians, one at a time, with rifles, knowing that if arrested no jury could be found to conviet for the murder of an Indian, the state of feeling being so high. The show exhibited at Pitts- ton on & Saturday, and Washburn went ahead to . Wilkes-Barre; where he learned that the report was true. He accordingly changed his route, los- ing a week's time and the expense of billing half a dozen towns. . He after- ward came to Owego, exhibiting on the north end of the park, May 10, 1855.
With Washburn's show .were ' Isa- dore and Victoria Barnes, singers and dancers. . They were from Union, where their father was a blacksmith. At the close of the show season they came to Owego and lived about a year . in Bell street. They first came to Owego with Meeker's theatre, danc- ing on the stage between the pieces. Afterward they travelled with Frank Phelps's hall show.
The Indian show was not a success- ful one and soon disappeared from the road. E. S. Washburn was afterward for several years owner of a travelling
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vaudeville and burlesque show known as "Washburn's Last Sensation," in which his wife, who had an excellent. voice, was a singer. He died Nov. 12, 1886, at the Chaffee house at Susque- hanna, Pa.
Washburn's daughter, Lillian Wash- burn, became an actress with her father's company as soon as she was able to talk. She has been continu- ously on the stage ever since. Wash- burn had two adopted sons, Leon W. Washburn and William Washburn. In 1903 Leon Washburn was proprietor of L. W. Washburn's circus and men- agerie, the Washburn minstrels, and four Uncle Tom's Cabin .companies. Frank Phelps died at. Lincoln, Neb., in 1888.
"The Babes in the Woods," the First Travelling Show to Visit Owego, Ex- hibits in the Goodman Coffee House Dining Room-Theatrical Companies. Produce Standard Plays under Dis- advantageous Conditions-The First Theatrical Company Performs at the Court House and Later Arrivals Play in. the Coffee House Dining Room and in a Loft over Jonathan Platt's Store.
The first hall show in Owego of which any account can be obtained was Sickles's "Babes in the Woods." It consisted of paintings of battles of the revolutionary war and the war of 1812, and a combination of panorama and moving figures, delineating the old nursery story of the "Babes in the Woods." It showed the sleeping chil- · dren and the birds covering them with leaves. At the conclusion an angel · descended and carried away the chil-
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dren, and the wicked uncle was seized by a huge snake.
The performance was given in the . dining room of the old Goodman coffee house (afterward the Franklin house), on the northeast corner of Front and Court streets, about the year 1526 .. The admission was twelve and a half. cents. After the show the paintings, ete., were removed and a dance was given, in which all who chose. to pay participated.
Sickles was a violin player and a singer of comic songs. His wife ac- companied him, and assisted him in moving the figures. 'Among her other duties in connection with the show was to imitate the chirping of birds; which she is said to have done to per- fection. Simon Springsteen, afterward proprietor of the Owego foundry and machine shop, which stood on the ground now the northeast corner of McMaster and Delphine streets; travelled with the show as violinist three or four years. They went south to New Orleans, and, visited a large portion of the United States. Richard Manning, of Owego, who died here in . 1832, also travelled about two years as a violinist with Sickles's show .. Sickles's home was at Sherburne, N. Y. He accumulated considerable property and retired from the show business .. After his death his son-in- law, George Cox, visited this county with the same show, and exhibited at Flemingville . and Newark Valley. Yankee Robinson, the circus proprie- tor, began his career as a showman with Sickles's "Babes in the Woods."
The first theatrical exhibition ever given in the village of Owego by pro- fessionals was in the winter of 1833.
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There was at that time, in the minds of many people a narrow prejudice against actors and theatricals, which was common, not only to very small ''villages like Owego of that period, but prevailed to some extent also in the cities. There were, however, many in the community of more liberal ideas, but they were in advance of their age.
In 1826, a debating society existed in Owego, known as "The Forum." Its discussions were held at the old court house and were listened to by such ladies and gentlemen of the village as chose to. be present, the invitation be- ing a general one to the public .. On . the 16th of March of that year, as we learn from an old copy of the Gazette, the subject discussed was, "Are the- atrical representations more injurious than beneficial to society ?" . Thé re- sult of the discussion is not known, but it is very probable that the de- cision was one not at all favorable to the advancement of the drama.
At a meeting of the village board of trustees at the store of Gurdon Hewitt on August 1, 1831, the following reso- lution was adopted: :
Resolved by the Trustees of said vil- lage that no circus or other public show or exhibition shall be permitted within the bounds of said village un- der the penalty of ten dollars for each and every offence, and that each and every person acting or assisting in any such show or exhibition shall be deemed an offender within the mean- ing of this ordinance.
James Pumpelly was president and trustee of the village, and the other . trustees present at the time of adopt- ing the resolution were judge Latham A. Burrows, Gurdon Hewitt and Ezra S. Sweet.
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As has been already mentioned, the first performance here by a company of professional actors was 'in 1833. The performance was given at. the ohl court house at the southeast corner of Main and Court streets. .
On this occasion Lyman Covell, of Elmira, then sheriff, of Tioga county as it was previous to its. division into the present counties of Chemung and Tioga, granted. the use of the court room to a theatrical company under the management of Gilbert. & - Trow- bridge, which was well and favorably known in the large towns in various parts of the state. Their perform- ances, which occupied a week, were artistically and pecuniarily a success. The company was composed of Gil -. bert, Trowbridge, Powell, and Archi- bald and their wives, with one or two 'others. They played "Pizarro,". "Lady . of the Lake," "School for Scandal," "Lock and Key," 'Othello" and "George Barnwell." The performance each evening conchided with a farce, a great favorite in those days being Mon- crieff's "Spectre Bridegroom," which was anounced on the. bills as "The. Ghost in Spite of Himself.". The or-, chestra consisted of one violin.
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At this period there were no rail- roads in this part of the state. The scenery and baggage were transported by teams, which were hired at a town where the company had been playing to transport it. to the next village.
The stage was built of rough boards laid ou saw-horses over the bar of the court room. The footlights were tallow candles in tin holders. A strip of board about a foot wide extended the length of the stage between the foot- lights and the actors. It was fastened
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by hinges to the stage and worked with cords. It lay flat on the stage until it became necessary to darken the stage for night and storm effects, when it was raised by means of the cords to hide the light of the candles.
The scenery was hung on long strips of wood and rolled up from the bottom on rollers by means of heavy cords. The entrances to the stage at the side were between the "wings," which were painted on canvas and stretched on frames made of strips of wood. Dressing rooms were made by hanging up a few calico curtains. There were no reserved seats and the admission fee was a shilling-twelve and one-half cents -- children half . price ...
Those of the villagers who were op- posed to the visits of theatrical com- panies to Owego made a vigorous pro- test to the board of supervisors against the court house being used for show purposes, which had the desired effect. The board, at its annual ses- sion in the fall of 1833, adopted a reso- lution prohibiting the use of the court house for theatrical exhibitions. .
The next year, however, Gilbert & Trowbridge's theatrical company again visited Owego, and performed two weeks in a loft in the second story of Jonathan Platt's store on the south - side of Front street. The company consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Trowbridge, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, Mr. and Mrs. Powell, Henry Vaughn, Sam. Lathrop, Charles Benson, Kore and, perhaps, one or two others.
Joseph S. DeWitt, popularly known as "Old Joe" DeWitt, who was for many years proprietor of a restaurant here, travelled with the company
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about a year as business manager. He attended to hiring halls and getting bills printed, and played occasionally in minor parts. : Mr. Platt's hall was about fifty feet deep and twenty feet wide.
Showmen in the early days of Owe- go encountered some rough audiences. One evening during the performance of a travelling show, some young fel- lows provided themselves with small paper bags of flour, and amused them- selves by throwing them on the stage during the performance to see them . break. Occasionally an actor was hit and powdered from head to foot. This kind of humor prevailed in Owego for several years.
At one time, several years later than this, a gentleman delivered a public lecture in the court house. After the lecture he was met by a party of men at the door, one of whom threw a bot- tle of ink upon him, destroying his clothing. The perpetrator of this act was one of Owego's most prominent citizens and business men, and it was looked upon at that time as. rare fun.
Garry A. Hough, an early theatrical manager, who visited Owego several times previous to 1854, in a letter to the writer of these papers in January, 1879, wrote:
"Thirty years ago Owego was not considered a first-class theatrical town; it was not even first- class in morals, and that was the cause of end- less difficulties when amusements were offered. The rough and tough element which had their headquarters in your village, were men who for a portion of the year found employment as river men on the Susquehanna. When not employed they were trouble- some, at times uncontrollable. This, I distinctly recollect, was an alleged
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cause for shutting out all kinds of amusements, the morality of the town endorsing the proposition that ignor- ance and rowdyism were the legiti- mate allies of dramatic art. But these were comparatively, primitive days. I hope time has liberalized the ideas and notions which then prevailed."
Archibald, who was with the Trow. bridge & Gilbert troupe on its first visit to Owego, was an Englishman. It was his boast that he had won renown in the "legitimate drama of old Eng- land."
Trowbridge was the leading actor. He was a tall, brawny man, and was born in New Haven, Conn .. He was not only a good tragedian, but an ex- cellent personator of comic old men. He died in Cincinnati in 1838. His wife was an excellent actress, and a great favorite later in Buffalo. After the death of her husband, she became the wife of Josh. Silsbee, the cele- brated · Yankee comedian. Upon his death, in 1858, she married Wm. A. Chapman, the equally celebrated low comedian. She died in San Francisco, Cal., in 1880.
R. T. Gilbert was equally good as a tragic actor and as a low comedian. . He was the pioneer manager of west- ern New York. He died about the year 1849 in one of the eastern states.
Kore was a large, fleshy man, and played third parts, such as Alonzo in "Pizarro." Later he lived on a farm at Hadley, Mich., where he became prominent in public life, serving six- teen years as supervisor of his town and representing Lapeer county in the state legislature.
Old Sam Lathrop, . the celebrated circus clown, acted in some of the pieces, but his specialty was singing
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comic songs, 'in which he was inimi- table. One winter, at the Chatham the- atre, in New York, he did nothing but sing "The Teetotal Society," in which . he was immensely popular, between the farces. He died in a hospital in New York several years ago, consider- ably advanced in years.
Henry Vaughn played old men. He died in the south of cholera.
John H. Powell was a light come- dian. His wife, who was a daughter of Vaughn, played soubrettes. Powell died in Erie, Pa., and his wife subse- quently re-married.
Charles Benson was not an actor. He played the violin, and was the "orchestra."
One reason for the prejudice against strolling actors at this period may have been that they were as a rule dissipated. Trowbridge was no excep- tion to the rule. He was never so in-" toxicated on the stage that his condi- tion could be noticed, but after the performance he was in the habit of drinking hard. He was what is com- monly known as a "night owl"-pass- ing the evening after the performance in convivality, and sleeping during the . day. Sam Lathrop, Vaughn, and all of the company, except Gilbert, were said to be hard drinkers.
Trowbridge & Gilbert were the first managers to take a dramatic company through the New England . states. Trowbridge was at one time associated in management with the celebrated comedian, Sol. Smith:
March 16th, 1840, Powell &. Hoff- .man's theatre made application to the board of trustees for a license to play five nights in Owego. To consider
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this matter a special meeting of the board was held.
It had been rumored about the vil- lage that a theatrical company pro- posed to come to the village and give a series of performances. Prompt upon learning the intention of the mountebanks, as they were charao terized, measures were instituted, by those opposed to theatrical exhibitions to prevent the proposed performance .. The following petition was accordingly submitted to the board of trustees:
To the Trustees of the Corporation of the Vil- lage of Owego :-- The undersigned learn with re- gret that a strolling theatrical company purpose to open a theatre in this village the present week. Believing that such exhibitions are de- moralizing in their tendency and pernicious to good order in any commimity, and also that it will tend to merease the scarcity of money, which now weighs so heavily upon the indus- trious labourer and honest poor, do. request that you will not grant the necessary permit.
J. Platt,. W. A. Ely,
0. Gregory, Chas. F. Johnson,
James Wright,
A. P. Storrs,
Francis Truman,
Elihu Parmenter,
David Goodrich,
A. C. Greenleaf,
1 .. H1. Allen,
Jas. Ely,
John C. Laning, P. Ransom,
George Truman,
Chas. Ranson,
John B. Wood, J. L. Pinney,
W. P. Stune, H. D. Pinney,
Asa HI. Truman, B. B. Curry,
Silas Totten,
C. Talcott, .
. E.' Raynsford, W. Pumpelly,
D. G. Taylor,
W'm. Il. Platt,
W. C. Taylor,
D. O. Macomber.
The trustees present were John J. "Taylor, Isaac B. Ogden, Col. N. W. Davis, and Jared Huntington, the lat- ter being president of the village. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Ogden voted in favor of granting the license, and the others voted against it. This action, how- ever, was not final. Another meeting was held in the evening, when the same trustees were present. The mat- ter was reconsidered, and a license to exhibit five evenings was granted to Powell & Hoffman upon payment of $12.
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The theatre was managed by J. H. Powell, who had been here with the Trowbridge & Gilbert company, and Garry A. Hough, an excellent come- dian, whose stage name then was Hoff- man. The performances were given in the dining room of the oru Goodman coffee house in Front street. As a curiosity a copy of one of the adver- tisements is here given :
THEATRE AT. MRS. GOODMAN'S HOTEL March 20, 1840. T HIS EVENING will be presented the splendid Melo-Drama, entitled . HUNTER OF THE ALPS; or, the Forest of Savoy.
Felix Mr. Powell
Ferdinand Mr. Clifford
Marco Mr. Freeland .
Jeronymo Mr. Hastings
Helena
Powell
Genevieve
Mrs. Hastings
To conclude with
MY AUNT
Fred Vincent . Mr. Clifford
Rattle Mr. Hoffman
Dick Dashall
. Mr. Powell
Soberlove Mr. Hastings
Mrs. Corbetta .. Mrs. Powell
Emma .Mrs. Hoffman
Bà- Tickets to be bad at the Bar-at L. Man- ning & Son, and at the Tioga County House. Curtain will rise. at 7 o'clock P. M.
The next theatrical company to visit Owego was one under the manage- ment of W. P. Hastings. It was known as the New York Vaudeville . company, and the performances were . given at the Goodman coffee house. Mr. Hastings paid a village license of. $2 a night, and commenced his per- formances on the 14th of June, 1841. The following is a copy of one of the company's advertisements:
THEATRE.
This evening (Friday, June 18th) will be pre- sented for the first time in this place, the cele- brated Drama in 3 acts; entitled the
LADY OF THE LAKE.
Roderick Dhn Mr. Hastings
Lord Douglas . Mr. Reynobis
Malcolm . . Mr. Arthur
Fitz James Mr. Bowman
Red Murdoch Mr. Ileydon
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Malise . Mr. Maddison
Blanche of Deyon
Mrs. Hastings
Ellen Douglas
i. . Mrs. Heydon
Comic Song
Jastings
Negro Extravaganza by
Master Pierce
Highland Fling by
Mr. Arthur
The evening's entertainment to conclude with the last act of
WENLOCK OF WENLOCK.
Wenlock Bowman
Wolf Hastings
Osric Heydon
Herbert , Lyle . Arthur
Nicholas Purle
Wittol Wattol Master Pierce
Hugh Reynolds
Hathaway
Eva Mrs. Hastings
Rose Mrs. Heydon
Doors open at 7 o'clock-Curtain rises at 71/2. Tickets, 25 cents, to be had at the Bar.
The versatility of the manager, who played the leading characters, was somewhat remarkable. . It is not every one who can successfully sus- tain the leading character in a roman- . tic drama and five minutes afterward appear and sing a comic song with any marked degree of success.
Tickets, it may be noticed were "to be had at the bar"-a convenient re- sort, doubtless, between the acts for the thirsty ones of the audience-and it should be remembered that the average theatre-goer at this period was not accustomed to refuse any in- vitation to drink ..
An application was next made for a theatrical license by J. H. Powell, on the 31st day of December of the same year, which was refused by the trus- tees. In May, 1842, however, he suc- ceeded in obtaining the necessary li- cense, and showed in the Franklin house dining room four nights. Mr. Muzzy, the landlord, became. security for the village license of $8. The party „had bad houses and could not pay the license. The trustees subse-
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quently released Mr. Muzzzy from all responsibility in the matter.
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This ended theatrical performances in Owego until October, 1845, when the Washingtonian temperance excite- ment was at its height. On the 17th of that month Garry A. Hough, with a party known as the Western Temper- ance company, played in Washington hall, a building owned by Jehiel Og- den, and situated at the northwest cor- ner of Main and Liberty streets, where St. Paul's Episcopal church now stands.
This was a long building, one story and a half high at the front, with an extension back one story high. The highest part had originally been a . gunshop, to which the extension was added and the whole converted into a hall. The "Washingtonian Total Ab- stinence . Association, which was or- ganized in Owego in 1844 and of which David C. Burdick was president, held its meetings in this hall, and political meetings were also held there. A large portion of the building was torn down three or four years afterward and the remainder converted into a dwelling house, which stood there. un- til St. Paul's church was built in 1894.
Although Mr. Hough came to Owego during a hot political campaign his . company drew good houses. At Wash- ington hall tickets could not "be pur- chased at the bar."
The next company to visit Owego. was the Western Temperance com- pany, under the management of Allen & Bridges. They played one week in Concert hall, commencing January 10, 1847.
It is not known who the members of the Western Temperance company
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were. They played, among other pieces, "The Drunkard's Warning" and a piece with the cheering melo-dra- inatic title of "The Goblet of Death; or, the Road to Ruin."
Concert hall was in the second story of Rollin block, which stood at the northwest corner of Front and Lake streets and was owned by judge Drake. North of and adjoining this block, Joseph S. DeWitt kept "The Shades" restaurant in. a building which occupied the ground on which the stores of J. C. Kenyon and the Misses Rowe now stand. About the year 1846 Mr. DeWitt removed the partitions between Rollin block and his restaurant and converted the whole into a public hall, which he called Concert hall. The main en- trance was a stairway on the Front street side, and there was a private entrance from Lake street through the "Shades" building. This hall was burned in the great fire of 1849.
P. T. Barnum's first exhibition in Owego was in Concert hall. He came with Tom Thunib, the dwarf, in the summer of 1849, and stayed several days. The show was poorly patron- ized, and Barnum swore roundly that he would never visit Owego again- but he did.
Potter & Co's theatre was the next dramatic company to come to Owego. It played three nights at Concert hall, beginning Aug. 26, 1847. Potter's partner was Gilbert, of the old firm of Gilbert & Trowbridge. The leading man was William M. Fleming, an ex- cellent tragedian, who was then thirty years of age and in the prime of his reputation. In 1860 he entered the
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army as paymaster and was with Sherman in the march to the sea, and was brevetted a colonel in the regu- lar army. He died of heart disease in New York city May 6, 1866. The. company was composed of Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Mehan, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, Fleming, Gilbert, and Pemberton. Between the pieces Potter and Mrs. Donovan danced the polka. .
Potter was a somewhat remarkable character. Between 1850 and 1860.he was one of the- pioneers to establish theatres throughout California, Ore- gon, Nevada, Utah, and in the Chero- kee nation. He built and fitted up more theatres and travelled a greater number of miles with large companies than any other manager of those days ever thought of travelling. He built the first theatre in Chicago about the year 1841. At one . time he took a company of twenty-two actors from Cleveland, Ohio, to Rich- mond, Va., with but seventy-five cents in his pocket to start with. His per- suasive powers and his ability to weep on the slightest provocation were such that could always borrow money, for which he gave his notes, such notes never being paid. He died at Morris, Ill., in 1869, while playing there with a theatrical company.
During the company's sojourn here the play one evening was Shakes- peare's "King Richard III.". At this time Junius Brutus Booth was at the height of his reputation as one of the . great tragic actors of the world. Rob- ert Chambers, a carpenter, who lived on the west side of what is now Cen- tral avenue, a little south of Fox street, was one of the audience. Flem-
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ing was playing the character of "the crook-backed tyrant" and his acting so impressed and delighted Chambers that in his enthusiasm he yelled, "Go in Booth."
At that time a slang phrase, "Go in boots,"was in vogue,and the tragedian misunderstanding the significance of the words of Chambers, was highly in- dignant. To be addressed as "boots" was just a trifle too much, and Flem- ing angrily retorted "Shut up yourd-d noise." He refused to proceed further. Col. N. W. Davis arose and explained the matter, saying that what Fleming had considered an insult was in fact a' high compliment to his power as an actor. The tragedian was mollified by. Col. Davis's. words, and the play went on.
Powell's next visit to Owego was in November, 1847. His last visit was in 1848, when he opened in Concert hall on the 17th of January, and remained one week.
At about this time the opposition to theatrical exhibitions again began to be manifested. In January, 1851, Garry A, Hough made application to the trustees for a license to give a- series of theatrical performances. A special meeting of the trustees was held on the 28th of that month, to consider the matter, when license was refused. A paper, signed by forty-seven of the prominent business men of the village, was handed to the trustees at their next meeting, approving of their course, and promising their influence in sustaining them in the same.
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