Uncle Mack (Mac) Broadstairs Entertainer

Hi Friends - in the course of this thread, .Chimp wrote "
There is this marriage in St John, Deansgate, Lancashire, in 1869"
Although it does not actually state same but I believe the word Manchester is missed out - Deansgate is a main road at the "bottom" of Manchester city centre running north to south - which is now a main road but in yesteryear may not have been so. .Also, it is almost the border with Salford!
Jack Richards

 

Just popped in and saw this

The only thing I've found, so far, is from the Dover Express 11th February 1949
Uncle Mack, leader of the Minstrel Troupe at Broadstairs for nearly 50 years, has died, aged 73.

I'll have proper look tomorrow.

Ann

 

I've had a bit more of a rummage and found a couple of bits which may be of interest

In the Dundee Evening Telegraph for the 2nd July 1938 as part of a longer article about the music halls it says -
Minstrels - There are, Mr Rubens thinks, no more than two minstrel troupes surviving, one at Broadstairs and another in the Isle of Man. "Uncle Mac" of the Broadstairs troupe, whose real name is Harry Summerson, has been on the sands for nearly 40 years.

In fact, the minstrels are described as a certain kind, but I don't think I should copy that description - suffice it to say, think if the Black and White Minstrels

The other thing is a bit of scandal about Harry's father. In the Sheffield Daily Telegraph for the 28th March 1868 is this
The Charge of Bigamy against an Actress.— Dernia Elizabeth Whittle, formerly of the Music Hall, Rotherham, was brought up on remand, charged with bigamy. The case for the prosecution was proved by James Henry Summerson, comedian, the second husband, and a further remand was asked for by Mr A. Roberts, in order that important witnesses, including the first husband, Peter Whittle, might be called to give evidence. The application was opposed Mr Whitfield, appeared on behalf of the prisoner. He severely cross-examined the prosecutor, for the purpose of showing that he was well aware at the time he married the woman that her first husband was still alive. Mr Summerson, however, denied all knowledge of the circumstance. He said he did not hear of it two years afterwards, and when he charged the prisoner with it she always indignantly denied the imputation. For several months previous to the marriage they had cohabited together, and subsisted on their joint earnings. At that time he was only twenty-one years of age, was a young and inexperienced actor......

Dernia (wonder if that was her real name) in the end was discharged as they couldn't find witnesses to help with the prosecution.

Moggy, will converse with you......

Ann

 

My maternal grandfather was in one such troupe, I've got a photo somewhere, so I'll find it and put it in my album.

 

Good afternoon. I am rather late to this party but found your site whilst researching a woman - Lilian Donaldson - whose parents were music hall comedians. I'm still working on that but in trying to establish more about her parents' backgrounds, I think I have established that her mother was born as Margaret Summerson in around 1873. This, I believe, is the Margaret Summerson (elder sister of James Henry Summerson) mentioned on the 1891 census earlier in this thread although she was in fact described as a Music Hall Artiste, rather than Music Hall Assistant. I hope you will not object if I use your superb findings in my own research? These are very impressive discoveries and they create a very vivid picture of the lives of Victorian entertainers! I'm so glad to have stumbles across this site and I will enjoy looking further. I'll also be happy to share with you anything else I may unearth which might be of interest.

Google is a wonderful tool!

 

If it's of interest, I have done a bit more digging in order to find out about Maggie Summerson (the elder sister of J.H. Summerson), as she was the link which led me here in the first place.

Maggie Summerson was married to a man called Will Donaldson but when he and his wife performed together, they used Summerson as their professional surname. Although I have yet to prove it, it looks as if they may have ended up using the name Summerson all the time and not just professionally. On the 1911 Census (using the name Summerson), they were living in Bangor in Wales, where they owned and ran an early cinema or “picture theatre”, as it was described. Prior to that they had a troupe of entertainers who performed on Bangor pier. I discovered a very small amount of information about them online.

Originally called the “Bangor Operatic Pierrots”, they later became known as “Will Summerson’s Musical Middies”. Their act included comic songs, dances, sketches, piano and violin solos and duets, as well as mandolin and banjo performances. The act was supplemented by guest acts, such as jugglers, ventriloquists, jugglers and magicians etc. The Summersons ended the pier shows in 1910 when they opened their theatre, first known as the “Cosy Corner Pavilion” (I kid you not!) . The name was later changed to “The Electric Pavilion” and then “Summerson’s Pavilion”.

Not sure what happens after 1913... I've not found that out yet but I think they may have moved back to London. I have also unearthed an old photo of "Will Summerson's Musical Middies" but I'm not sure if there is an issue with copyright in posting it here...?

 

If you are interested in newspaper reports of the Summersons in Bangor, you will find quite a lot in the Welsh newspapers at
http://newspapers.library.wales/
You may, of course, have already seen them......

 

No Ann, I haven't... but I shall take a look. Thank you.

 

A

Ah OK then. This is the link. I opened the image in a new tab for myself and I've saved it to my PC but wasn't sure if it was OK to show the picture here. The site has it the image as a postcard. Hope this works OK.

Code:

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/bangor-pier-summersons-musical-286213284

 

Not working for me Carol. Is it a link which may have been removed?

Ok Got it, left off the http & www bit altogether. Nice pic.