Ogarita Booth Henderson
Encyclopedia
Ogarita Booth Henderson (October 23, 1859 - April 12, 1892) was an American
actress who was born Ogarita Elizabeth Bellows.
Ogarita first appeared on stage in January 1875 at the Globe Theatre in Boston
in support of the British comedian J. L. Toole. She was 15 at the time and appeared under the stage name Ogarita Wilkes. A few months later Ogarita was on stage as Donalbain in Macbeth
, in the farewell engagement of Charlotte Cushman. From this point and for the rest of her life, Ogarita travelled across the United States and Canada
with various theater companies, except for brief periods away.
Ogarita was the daughter of the actress Martha Lizola Mills (1837–1887). According to the birth certificate, it was Mills' husband, the mariner Charles Still Bellows, who was Ogarita's father. According to Mills herself, though, it was the actor John Wilkes Booth
(who later became infamous for being Lincoln
's assassin) who was the father. Throughout her life, Ogarita believed that Booth was her father. As for Bellows, muster rolls show that he was on board a ship near Montevideo
for a long time period, making it impossible for him to have been the father of Ogarita. It seemed natural for Ogarita to use Wilkes as a stage name when first appearing on stage, and she did so until 1883. In 1884 she began using the stage name Rita Booth, which she did for the last eight years of her life.
Ogarita gave birth to Izola Forrester
in 1878, and was not married to the father. The following year, 19-year-old Ogarita married the 64-year-old mill owner William Ross Wilson who took care of her and little Izola. They lived in Burrillville, Rhode Island
, but after a while Ogarita returned to theater life, causing Wilson in 1882 to file a divorce petition on the grounds that she was a member of the Theatre Comique in Providence
. According to her husband, it was a "disreputable place".
In October 1882, Ogarita was in the W. E. Sterling & Marie Wellesley Company and appeared on stage in such roles as Eliza in Uncle Tom's Cabin
(also Izola's stage debut, as Little Harry). Another play Ogarita was in at this time was The Old Cross! or The Dogs of the Forest. In the same play was Alexander Henderson
(1850–1920), a London-born musical director and actor who grew up in Scotland
and went to the United States
in the 1870s. The two soon became a couple and married around 1884. Henderson appeared on stage with Lillian Russell
and Edward Solomon
in their 1885 winter tour.
In 1885 Ogarita gave birth to Beatrice Rosalie "Booth" Henderson, who followed the family tradition and became an actress, and later in life ran a summer theater in Keene, New Hampshire
and directed plays in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
in the winter time.
An actress of note, Ogarita was interviewed by numerous newspapers throughout her career. On May 29, 1890, while playing at the Globe Theater in Columbus, Ohio
with the Boston Comic Opera Company, she told a reporter of The Columbus Dispatch
that she had been "on the stage more or less for the past fifteen years. She was the leading lady with George C. Milne, the preacher-actor, a few years since, and late with Grace Hawthorn. She made her first appearance on the stage at the Boston Globe Theater, in a minor part. She first appeared in this city at the old Comstock, now Metropolitan Opera House, about seven years ago with Palmer in the "Danites." She appeared later with the Bennett A. Moulton Opera Company, at the Grand, four years ago. ... Mrs. Booth-Henderson has many of the characteristic features so marked in the Booth family and her facial resemblance, as well as her love for the stage, would seem to be strong evidence of the statement she makes. She states that she has a diary containing much important memoranda of her father's life and papers of his, and that at some time not far distant she will make them public."
Ogarita Booth Henderson died from pneumonia at age 32 while on the road with Floy Crowell's Dramatic Company in Binghamton, New York
, and was buried there.
On January 1, 1893 Rita Booth was listed in the Chicago Tribune
's Necrology of 1892 among the "Distinguished Dead" from across the world.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress who was born Ogarita Elizabeth Bellows.
Ogarita first appeared on stage in January 1875 at the Globe Theatre in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in support of the British comedian J. L. Toole. She was 15 at the time and appeared under the stage name Ogarita Wilkes. A few months later Ogarita was on stage as Donalbain in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, in the farewell engagement of Charlotte Cushman. From this point and for the rest of her life, Ogarita travelled across the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with various theater companies, except for brief periods away.
Ogarita was the daughter of the actress Martha Lizola Mills (1837–1887). According to the birth certificate, it was Mills' husband, the mariner Charles Still Bellows, who was Ogarita's father. According to Mills herself, though, it was the actor John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
(who later became infamous for being Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's assassin) who was the father. Throughout her life, Ogarita believed that Booth was her father. As for Bellows, muster rolls show that he was on board a ship near Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
for a long time period, making it impossible for him to have been the father of Ogarita. It seemed natural for Ogarita to use Wilkes as a stage name when first appearing on stage, and she did so until 1883. In 1884 she began using the stage name Rita Booth, which she did for the last eight years of her life.
Ogarita gave birth to Izola Forrester
Izola forrester
Izola Forrester was an American author who was born Izola Louise Wallingford.Forrester was a pioneer journalist in the heyday of magazine and newspaper publishing in the early part of the 20th century...
in 1878, and was not married to the father. The following year, 19-year-old Ogarita married the 64-year-old mill owner William Ross Wilson who took care of her and little Izola. They lived in Burrillville, Rhode Island
Burrillville, Rhode Island
Burrillville is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It was incorporated as an independent municipality on November 17, 1806 when the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized the residents of then North Glocester to elect its own officers. The population was 15,955 at the 2010...
, but after a while Ogarita returned to theater life, causing Wilson in 1882 to file a divorce petition on the grounds that she was a member of the Theatre Comique in Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. According to her husband, it was a "disreputable place".
In October 1882, Ogarita was in the W. E. Sterling & Marie Wellesley Company and appeared on stage in such roles as Eliza in Uncle Tom's Cabin
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 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
(also Izola's stage debut, as Little Harry). Another play Ogarita was in at this time was The Old Cross! or The Dogs of the Forest. In the same play was Alexander Henderson
Alexander Henderson
Alexander Henderson may refer to:* Alexander Henderson , Scottish theologian* Alexander Henderson , Scots-Quebecer merchant and photographer...
(1850–1920), a London-born musical director and actor who grew up in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1870s. The two soon became a couple and married around 1884. Henderson appeared on stage with Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.Russell was born in Iowa but raised in Chicago...
and Edward Solomon
Edward Solomon
Edward Solomon was a prolific English composer, as well as a conductor, orchestrator and pianist. Though he died before his fortieth birthday, he wrote dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, such as The Nautch Girl, among others.-Early...
in their 1885 winter tour.
In 1885 Ogarita gave birth to Beatrice Rosalie "Booth" Henderson, who followed the family tradition and became an actress, and later in life ran a summer theater in Keene, New Hampshire
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...
and directed plays in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
in the winter time.
An actress of note, Ogarita was interviewed by numerous newspapers throughout her career. On May 29, 1890, while playing at the Globe Theater in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
with the Boston Comic Opera Company, she told a reporter of The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since The Columbus Citizen-Journal stopped printing in 1985....
that she had been "on the stage more or less for the past fifteen years. She was the leading lady with George C. Milne, the preacher-actor, a few years since, and late with Grace Hawthorn. She made her first appearance on the stage at the Boston Globe Theater, in a minor part. She first appeared in this city at the old Comstock, now Metropolitan Opera House, about seven years ago with Palmer in the "Danites." She appeared later with the Bennett A. Moulton Opera Company, at the Grand, four years ago. ... Mrs. Booth-Henderson has many of the characteristic features so marked in the Booth family and her facial resemblance, as well as her love for the stage, would seem to be strong evidence of the statement she makes. She states that she has a diary containing much important memoranda of her father's life and papers of his, and that at some time not far distant she will make them public."
Ogarita Booth Henderson died from pneumonia at age 32 while on the road with Floy Crowell's Dramatic Company in Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, and was buried there.
On January 1, 1893 Rita Booth was listed in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
's Necrology of 1892 among the "Distinguished Dead" from across the world.
External links
- Izola L. Forrester Papers, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. Contains a collection of letters written by Ogarita Booth Henderson and other documents regarding her and the family.
- Izola Forrester Family Papers Website. Free access to the digitalized version of the Izola Forrester Family Papers, identical to that at the Schlesinger Library, Harvard University.
Sources
- This One Mad Act, 1937, by Izola Forrester
- The Elusive Booths of Burrillville, 1991, by Patrichia Mehrtens and Joyce Knibb
- "The Macabre Saga of Ogarita Booth Henderson", by J.T. Colfax