The descendants of Bridget Whelan
Revised Nov. 2, 2002

Table of Contents:

  1. A convict family
  2. Gold!
  3. A bad time and place to be Irish
  4. Children on the stage
  5. 'Festive little Maggie Moore'
  6. 'They were an era'
  7. End of a marriage
  8. Phantom cable cars?
  9. J.C. Williamson
  10. Harry Roberts
  11. Voices of the period
  12. Playbills
  13. Music

'They were an era'

After J.C. and Maggie were married, they booked an engagement in Salt Lake City, of all places, where Struck Oil ran for many months. The father of the Australian theatre, George Seth Coppin, invited the Williamsons to tour Australia. However, many people advised them that a play in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect would never fly in Oz because there were no Germans in Australia at the time. Jimmy was inclined to agree, but then he went to a play where the audience laughed every time a German character exclaimed "Mein Gott in Himmel!" With only a few days left before opening night (perhaps on the eve of opening night), he changed the bill to "Struck Oil."

1874: J.C. Williamson and his wife Maggie Moore tour Australia in the play Struck Oil (opened at Melbourne Theatre Royal 1 August 1874). (WWT) This play ran for 43 straight nights in Melbourne and drew 93,000 spectators. The population of Melbourne at the time was 110,000. (jcwilliamson.com)
"...Also in the company's repertoire were Uncle Tom's Cabin, in which Maggie Moore played Topsy, and J.C. Williamson played Uncle Tom, and The Old Curiosity Shoppe in which Maggie Moore doubled the parts of Little Nell and the Marchioness." (SASS)
"Maggie Moore and her husband, J.C. Williamson, began an era in the Australian theatre; in fact, they were an era. ... In 1873, before their first arrival, Melbourne kept only one theatre steadily and seriously employed besides the Opera House, although Melbourne was regarded as a good school for actors, its audiences critical and its critics caustic." (AT)
"During their five months in Victoria, James and Maggie Williamson had cleared almost 7,000 pounds. James lost no time in investing $10,000 of the money [in February 1875] to provide an income for Maggie's mother, Mrs. Sullivan. ... The generous provision must have gone a long way to dispel any of Mrs. Sullivan's lingering misgivings about Maggie's choice of a husband. At the same time, James made similar arrangements to provide a regular income for his own mother, then living in Chicago." (JCW: ASB)

Williamson soon concluded that it was the novelty of the Pennsylvania Dutch that appealed to the Australian audience, and he was to advise others visiting the continent to offer something unusual if they wanted to be successful.

"Struck Oil" was not great literature; Dicker quotes several critics whose only complaint about the Williamsons is that they are wasting their talents on -- well, they don't call it "this trash," but they do think it was beneath them. But the crowds loved it, and they made enough money to create $10,000 trust funds for each of their widowed mothers and have plenty left over for themselves.


"Struck Oil" was popular elsewhere also.

Oct. 18 1878 Evening took wife to Opera House - we saw Mr and Mrs JC Williamson in 'Struck Oil' - Bully play - crowded house - concluded with their sketch of 'The Chinese Question' - We enjoyed it very much. (Doten)

("The Chinese Question" was another piece calculated to appeal to the masses; however, it did so by playing on their prejudices. The plot revolves around a wealthy man who is disgusted with the dishonesty of his American servants and fires them in favor of a pair of Chinese servants. The Chinese servants proceed to steal everything they can, and the wealthy man finally rehires his American help.)

Oct. 20, 1878 After supper rode to VA and went to the Opera House to see last performance given by Mr. and Mrs. JC Williamson & Company - Variety entertainment - 'Clouds and Sunshine,' olio, and 'Fool of the Family' - very good house - waited & had chat with Maggie Moore, also with her husband, Mr Williamson (Doten)
Oct. 21, 1878 Austin went to Carson tonight to report a Republican meeting, sent a big lump of bonanza ore, about 5 lb., by him to Maggie Moore - sent a note with it as follows: To Mr and Mrs JC Williamson, a piece of $2,000 ore, taken out of the heart of the great Consolidated Virginia and California bonanza - 1650 level - Comstock lode, by Your friend, Alf Doten."
1879: J.C. Williamson and Maggie Moore begin second tour of Australia. (WWT) Among the pieces in their repertoire this time were HMS Pinafore, with Williamson as Sir Joseph Porter and Maggie as Buttercup; Pirates of Penzance and Patience. In order to perform HMS Pinafore, however, they had to first fight in the Australian courts against a company which was performing a pirated version of the play. The ruling in their favor "established the validity of the English Copyright in Australia, a cause for which authors are his debtors." (AT)
1881: J.C. Williamson becomes lessee of Coppin's Theatre Royal Melbourne. (WWT)
1882: J.C. Williamson, Arthur Garner and George Musgrove form a partnership "The Triumvirate") controlling the Theatre Royal and Princess Theatre in Melboune and the Sydney Theatre Royal and Adelaide Theatre Royal. (WWT)
April 15, 1889 Wrote letter from Sam Pidge, (her bro-in-law) to Mrs JC Williamson formerly Maggie Moore ... made item for tomorrows Enterprise regarding it. [The article recalls "festive little Maggie Moore, whom most of us Comstockers remember in the prosperous past of Virginia theatricals... one of the finest and most popular of comedians." A letter from her to Sam Pidge, quoted in the clipping, says: "I am going to pay 'Frisco' a visit [this should kill the myth that only non-San Franciscans call it Frisco]; then, 'God willing and the roads dry,' I am going to see dear old Virginia. I have never forgotten it and the happy times we have had there.'"] (Doten)
May 4, 1890 "Received by mail today from Maggie Moore Williamson SF accompanying three fine cabinet photographs of herself." (Doten)
1893: J.C. Williamson buys out Arthur Garner and assumes full control of "the firm." (WWT)
March 15, 1897 ...Maggie Moore on board [train] - met and kissed her - she is from Europe now, from a visit there to Paris etc - and going back to Australia very soon - Went up to Va [Virginia City] with her brother-in-law Matt Riehm, but will return in the morning... (Doten)


Contents

Surnames

 

Contact

 

First Page

 

Index


Contact

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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~merlaan


Created 20 Feb 1999 by Reunion, from Leister Productions, Inc. Revised January 10, 2003