Sara Alexander: Pioneer Actress and Dancer

Sara Alexander: Pioneer Actress and Dancer

BY SANDRA DAWN BRIMHALL

LOVERS OF DRAMATICS AND EARLY THEATRE-GOERS of Salt Lake will be shocked at the news which reached this city Wednesday of the death in New York of Sara Alexander, renowned actress who began her career in Utah and who is said to have been the oldest living American actress."1

The death of Sara Alexander, who was reportedly the last surviving member of the Deseret Dramatic Association, marked the end of an era. She joined the company in 1863, during the Salt Lake Theatre's second season, and associated with famous Utah performers Nellie Colebrook, Phil Margetts, Annie Asenath Adams (mother of Maude Adams), Hiram B. Clawson, and John T. Caine.2

In some ways, her life was an enigma. Sara was a southern belle, fond of parties, music, and the theatre, but she embraced Mormonism and walked across the plains She was a charming, captivating woman with many suitors, but she never married. And last of all, she was an accomplished dancer and actress who reluctantly began her stage career at Brigham Young's request.

Sara was born April 8, 1839, in Wheeling, Virginia, the youngest of six children of William and Sarah Brentlinger Alexander. The family moved several times before William's death in 1844. His widow and young daughters, Mary Ada and Sara, were converted to the Mormon faith byJames Dwyer.3

In 1858, they moved to St Louis, where they affiliated with other members of the church. Isaiah Moses Coombs, a missionary from Utah who labored in Illinois, Arkansas, and Missouri, was very impressed with Sara. He noted in his journal,

Spent the evening with my father's family till bed time. I then called at Br Howes and stayed there till midnight conversing and enjoying myself. Br. T. Hall, Sis. Alexander and her two daughters were there. It was raining when we broke up. Br. Hall and I escorted the ladies home. Sis. Sarah thought I should never forget this evening She has composed a piece of poetry bidding me farewell which she gave me this morning, also a song called "Sweet Woman ."4

Isaiah was an educated and cultured man who had been invited to join the Polysophical Society when he first arrived in Utah. In St. Louis he was a frequent guest at the Alexander home, where he was invited to dine and engage in conversation On one occasion, he administered a blessing to Sara's mother when she was suffering from a severe headache. 5

When he finished his mission and returned to Utah, Isaiah and Sara began corresponding regularly. She wrote him, "His [the Lord's] hand has been extended over us for good ever since we have been in the church and I know he will not withdraw it if we are faithful." In another letter, she told him, "No one is more desirous of gathering with the saints than we," and reassured him that the family remained firm in the faith. Sara also confided the details of her social life, noting that because she enjoyed good company, some church members thought her proud. She patiently endured Isaiah's teasing about her romances and his advice to have better control of her heart.6

On May 18, 1859, Sara, with her mother and sister, left St Louis and traveled to Florence, Nebraska, aboard the steamboat "Isabella." Two weeks later, on June 1, 1859, Mary Ada married James Finlayson, a Scottish convert she had known in St Louis Theyjoined a company of approximately one hundred families and began their westward trek on June 12, 1859, under the leadership of Horace S. Eldredge. 7

Sara was twenty years old at the time, "at an age when everything was interesting and beautiful—sufficient to lighten the privations and hardships." She walked most of the journey, taking pride that she did not burden the company with her extra eighty pounds, and she later wrote of the experience, "My business among the rest of the youngsters was to gather sage and brush and 'buffalo chips' for fires. Each family prepared its own meals and attended to its own affairs. . . . Everything was managed with perfect system. No friction, no interference from each other. It was a perfectly harmonious journey."

Sara seemed to take pleasure in the primitive life and its freedom from responsibilities and conventions She was fascinated by the Indians, noting that "it was interesting to see them riding like the wind, without saddle or bridle, clinging to their horses and looking as if a part of them I have watched with wonder and delight, as far as the eye could reach over the vast plains, seeing them disappear into the horizon. It is one of the grandest sights my memory recalls."

On one occasion, tired and perhaps a little rebellious, Sara sat on the ground and rested until the last wagon passed. She wrote, "I thought I would be missed and they would feel sorry for me for being so tired and let me ride a little way." When no ride was offered and some Indians appeared on the scene, Sara scrambled to her feet and raced to catch up with her family. She was humbled to discover she had not even been missed and noted that, except for that episode, nothing occurred to vary each day's routine.8

The company reached Salt Lake City on August 29, 1859, without delays or mishaps Sara soon found employment as a schoolteacher, and for a short time she and her mother shared a home on North Temple Street with Mary Ada and James. Sara sent a card to Isaiah, informing him of her arrival, although their correspondence was now less frequent than before; on July 28, 1858, he had married Fanny McLean and settled in Parowan to teach school.9

On January 5, 1860, Isaiah had written Sara and again teased her about her love life. "I sometimes fancied that you might have repented of your former rejection of young Morris of St Louis memory and united yourself to him . . . but then I remembered that you had promised to tell me all about your next 'falling in love. . . . '" His letter took on a much more serious nature when he unexpectedly proposed marriage, asking Sara to become his plural wife.10

Sara responded to Isaiah's letter on February 10:

I received your long looked for letter to day, and was truly happy to hear of your prosperity and well doing. .. . Sis was married at Florence to a gentleman by the name of Finlayson, and he like you thinks he has the best woman in the Territory, I hope you will not quarrel when you see each other I was giving music lessons in the fall but the weather became so cold I had to quit until spring, I have been taking French lessons from brother O [or A?] H this winter and am beginning to read tolerably well I have also been practicing on the Guitar and can play some little, one of the songs I play is 'Maggie's by my side' Now I have given you some items of how I spend my time I have also been attending some of the parties of the season, and in all enjoy myself very well. Brother Fredrick has sent me twenty-seven new peices of music from the states, it is Piano music . . .

She then refused his marriage offer with this explanation:

I am not any more p [r] epossessed in favour of becoming a second wife than I was formerly . . . for I have seen so much since I have been here in fact it has almost disgusted from ever getting married, at all. If I should now feel inclined to be a second wife which I think is altogether unlikely it would be to one whom I had not known before they were married and who had a wife older than myself If I had to be in subjection to a woman which is quite contrary to my feelings, it would be much pleasante [r] to be placed under one my senior I never dreamed such a thought entered your head as me becoming your wife, I thought you had only brotherly feeling towards me "

A disappointed Isaiah recorded in his journal, "Received my answer from Sister Alexander. She rejects my offer. She does not wish to marry. I think from the spirit of her letter she does not like Mormonism as well as she used to."12 His pride was later salvaged when Sara's mother told him he was the only man Sara had ever loved and she had refused him only because he already had a wife.13

Sara's disillusionment with matrimony may have been partly founded on the less than blissful relationship between Mary Ada and James Finlayson. The pair seemed incompatible from the start. James was a serious, frugal, and practical man while Mary Ada was artistic, vivacious, and prone to some extravagance. The hardships and isolation of frontier life also put a strain on their marriage.14

Sara's "merry eyes and infectious laugh" and her talents in dancing and drama won her many admirers.15 Her social circle soon expanded to include some of the most prominent men and women of Salt Lake City; in fact, she became a protegee of Brigham Young, who employed her to teach dancing to his daughters She and her mother were invited to move to the Lion House, where Sara was given a room on the second floor. According to Sara, "I was the only one outside a few members of his family who was so favored as to be allowed to breakfast every morning with him for years, at his private table in the Beehive House. I had the joy of knowing all his beautiful and interesting daughters—ten of them, at the time of my advent there . . . they grew to be very dear to me and have always held a special place in my memory and heart."16

One evening, Sara attended a play rehearsal held at the home of Hiram B Clawson When one of the players did not come, Sara was asked to read the part of the absentee. Clawson and the others were so impressed with her performance that they sent her the part, asking her to become a member of the company. She refused the offer three times, doubting her abilities to become a professional actress and having no desire to join the players.17

Brigham Young, "sponsor and best friend" of the Deseret Dramatic Association, learned of Sara's reluctance to perform at the theatre. According to Susa Young Gates, the Mormon prophet approached Sara one day and said, "Why won't you join the company?" "I don't want to," she replied." "But, I want you to!" he said Sara finally complied with his request.18

During her early years at the theatre, Sara, who was small in stature, was given all of the children's parts as well as the roles of Topsy and Ophelia. She performed dual assignments in the company as actress and premiere danseuse, directing a ballet group for the theatre The company "gave three performances a week, a different bill each night and almost always a featured dance by Miss Alexander between plays (if a triple bill) or acts."19

In 1864, Brigham Young sent word to his followers in southern Utah that he was coming with a large excursion party. The group consisted of some of the most notable men and women in the Utah Territory: Brigham Young,John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Eliza R. Snow, Vilate M Kimball, Willard Richards and others—including Sara Alexander.20

The party began their journey on September 1, 1864, as "one of the jolliest crowds that ever left Salt Lake City. . . . " They traveled through Lehi, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Provo, and Payson and on the morning of the third day arrived in Salt Creek, now Nephi. The citizens of that town welcomed them with a brass band and an enthusiastic crowd of men, women, and children dressed in holiday attire.

According to Solomon F. Kimball, a member of the party, "By this time the excursionists were becoming better acquainted, and a spirit of mirthfulness began to crop out in various forms After dinner, they kidnapped the Salt Creek brass band, body and breeches, taking it right along with them."21

When the group arrived at Fillmore, they were treated to a sumptuous banquet and grand ball, which was held in the Capitol.

After a late supper, it was hard to tell which division of the party was getting the best of the situation, as all seemed to be enjoying themselves to the very limit Highland Flings, Pigeon Wings, and other fancy steps taken by the Fillmoreites surely demonstrated that they were more than equal to the occasion. Phil Margetts, Harry Bowring, Sarah Alexander [emphasis added], and a dozen other fun-makers, in the way of innocent amusement, captured the best corner of the Capitol, and such capers as they cut were never before dreamed of by unsuspecting citizens of southern Utah.22

The excursionists traveled on to St. George, where Brigham Young counseled his people and attempted to cheer their hearts The younger members of the party did some sightseeing, visiting Sugarloaf Mountain and what is now Zion National Park.

Returning to Salt Lake City, they again stopped at nearly every settlement of consequence, arriving at Mt Pleasant in time for a public supper. This event

caused more merriment than any one thing that had happened during the whole trip After the company was comfortably seated at the table, and a blessing had been asked, a concealed string band began playing the 'Highland Fling' with considerable vim This undreamed-of occurrence caused quite a stir among the hungry excursionists. However, they soon caught the spirit of the joke, and began to keep time with the music, as they partook of the good things before them. To add fuel to the fire of the fun that was already raging, that wide-awake Scandinavian Band turned loose on the 'Sailor's Hornpipe' with full head on. This was crowding things beyond human endurance, and giving vent to the occasion, Sarah Alexander, the noted ballet dancer, scarcely through her dinner, lightly tripped into the middle of the floor and danced as graceful a hornpipe as was ever witnessed in Sanpete Country.23

During the next few years, Sara branched out into comedy and dramatic roles Her big "break" came when T A Lyne arrived in Salt Lake City from Denver Lyne, who was employed to coach the players and was later cast in leading roles, was a famous actor from the East. He had joined the Mormon church twenty years earlier in Nauvoo, when he performed with the Nauvoo Company. Lyne chose Sara to play prominent roles in productions of Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, William Tell, Pizarro, Richelieu, Othello, and Damon and Pythias.24

Brigham Young had dreamed of establishing a theatre that would have a significant influence for good upon the lives of his people and bring culture to the West. The Salt Lake Theatre and its performers soon acquired a national reputation for excellence. According to Lyne, who was well acquainted with eastern theatres of the period, "No where outside of houses of the great popular cities was there such completeness of stage appointments, scenery and accessories as in Brigham Young's theatre."25

Renowned actors and actresses from all over the country, such as George Pauncefort, Joseph Jefferson, Julia Deane Hayne, and Lawrence Barrett, were engaged to play leading roles with the local players. When E. L. Davenport came to Salt Lake City to play in Black Eyed Susan, he and Sara "danced the Sailor's Hornpipe with such grace that it was a credit to them and a delight to their audience He often complimented the Salt Lake dancer upon her grace."26

Sara became very popular with Salt Lake audiences and was reputed to be Brigham Young's favorite actress. According to one newspaper, "Even when too tired for anything else, the noted prophet of the Mormon church used to go to the theatre, if Sara Alexander was going to act or dance He always sat in the upper left-hand box, with his favorite wife, Amelia, who was also a friend of Miss Alexander's."27

An actor from the East who performed at the Salt Lake Theatre for some time wished to marry Sara. He called on Brigham Young and during the course of their conversation expressed his desires. "Young man," the President replied, "I have seen you attempt Richard III and Julius Caesar with fair success, but I advise you not to aspire to Alexander."28

In the autumn of 1868, John McCullough, the "prince of the American stage," came to Salt Lake City to star in a series of Shakespeare plays With another famous actor, Lawrence Barrett, McCullough was a partner in the theatre company Barrett and

McCullough, which frequently performed at the California Theatre in San Francisco It was at this time that Sara, whose fame had spread throughout the country, decided to leave Utah for a broader field. After a farewell performance at the Salt Lake Theatre on October 15, 1868, she joined McCullough's company and moved to San Francisco.29

Sara's mother and sister, Mary Ada, remained in Utah. When Sara left, her mother, Sarah Brentlinger Alexander, moved in with Mary Ada's family, which had moved to Payson in 1862 to pursue business opportunities. James Finlayson was often away on work and church matters, leaving Mary Ada, who was expecting her fourth child, home alone to care for her three young sons and ailing mother.

In July 1869, she gave birth to a daughter whom she named Lisle Sarah after the child's grandmother and aunt. Mary Ada never completely regained her strength, developing a severe and persistent cough. The burden of nursing her senile mother, who had to be watched around the clock, also took a heavy toll Then, on March 17, 1870, at the age of sixty-three, Sarah Brentlinger Alexander died.

When Mary Ada's condition continued to deteriorate, her physician suggested a change in climate. Sara had often urged her to visit California, and in August 1870 Mary Ada left for San Francisco with two of her children. During her short stay, she attended the theatre several times to see Sara perform

In the summer of 1871, Mary Ada made a visit to Salt Lake City, where she visited with Sara's friends at the Lion House. One of Brigham Young's wives, Clara Decker Young, was shocked when she saw Mary Ada, worn and wasted from the ravages of consumption.

Lonely for Sara after visiting her former residence, Mary Ada wrote a letter imploring her to return to Utah.

Mary Ada's letter initiated a family drama that rivaled any of Sara's stage performances. Sara came at once and, after assessing her sister's condition, insisted Mary Ada be allowed to return with her to San Francisco. A tug of war ensued between the headstrong Sara and the equally obstinate James Finlayson, who was unwilling to relinquish his wife. The in-laws had never been close, and now irreversible enmity developed between them. Sara enlisted the aid of Clara Decker Young, who eventually persuaded Finlayson to allow Mary Ada to go with Sara in a last effort to reclaim her health.

The trio—Sara, Mary Ada, and two-year-old Lisle—left in August 1871. The journey was almost more than Mary Ada could bear, and after they arrived in San Francisco her health steadily declined. She died a few weeks later, at the age of thirty-five. Sara believed Mary Ada's husband had neglected her and was partly responsible for her death. Heartsick and bitter, she arranged an elaborate funeral and burial for her sister at the San Francisco Cemetery. Sara did not notify Finlayson of his wife's death until after the funeral, when she sent him a fistful of doctor and mortuary bills. She also informed him she was keeping his daughter, Lisle, as a comfort and companion.30

Shortly after this episode, Sara and Lisle left San Francisco, possibly to prevent Finlayson from reclaiming his child. They went to Chicago, where, among other starring and featured engagements, Sara played with actor Robert McWade in Rip Van Winkle. She later traveled throughout the country with stock companies, performing in many of the major cities. Sara trained Lisle for the stage, and the little girl performed her first role at the age of four at the McCauley Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky.31

Sara achieved the pinnacle of her profession during what has been classified by theatre historians as the "golden age of theatre." During the latter part of the nineteenth century, an estimated 392 dramatic and musical comedy companies toured the nation's 3,000 theatres. During the 1899-1900 season, eighty-nine new productions opened on Broadway.32

Sara and Lisle were eventually drawn to New York, where they found plentiful employment. Sara was cast in supporting roles with theatre greats Kyrie Bellew, Edwin Booth (brother of the infamous John Wilkes Booth), Cora Urquhart Potter, Joseph Jefferson, and Katie Putnam Lisle, who went by the stage name Lisle Leigh, also became prominent in juvenile roles.33

In May 1880,James Finlayson, who had been called on a mission to Great Britain, visited New York and attempted to meet with his daughter He recorded in his journal, "Spent most of the day trying to find Miss Sara Alexander, who has my daughter Lisle S. Finlayson changed to Lisle Leigh. On May 4th found Miss A. (who is sister to my deceased wife Mary Ada Alexander who died Sept. 18th , 1871 in San Francisco). She is living at 140 High Street, Brooklyn. Did not see my daughter She has not been told of her father and brothers by her aunt, but she has agreed to make her acquaintance with her family relations before my return to America."

Some of Finlayson's descendants believe Sara temporarily removed Lisle from her residence when she learned of his impending visit. There is no doubt she taught the child to loathe her father and brothers, and when Finlayson finally saw her a year later, "she wanted nothing to do with him."34

Sara's feelings for other former Utah acquaintances were more amiable. She often praised Brigham Young, writing to the Deseret News, "Brigham Young knew more about the needs of a large stage than any manager now living." She also had fond memories of the Salt Lake Theatre and its players. "I recall that playhouse with tenderness and affection. All the dear associate players who composed the company when I joined it, have passed away. . . . There was an atmosphere about that house unlike any other playhouse in the world that I ever heard of. . . . It was one of President Young's prides to have it a perfectly high class place of amusement. No detail was too small for him to supervise and he wasjustly proud of the results."35

As the years passed, Sara tried her hand in vaudeville and even silent movies. In 1916 she received from William Fox of Twentieth Century Fox an offer to perform in motion pictures as a character actress. Sara appeared in Passion Flower, starring Norma Talmadge; Custard Cup, with Mary Carr; Little Miss Happiness and Caprice of the Mountains, both starring June Caprice; and The Cavel Case, with Julia Arthur

She occasionally accompanied Lisle, who belonged to the Grand Theater Stock Company, on tour In 1921, during a visit to Toledo, she was interviewed by a local newspaper, which noted, ".. . Sara Alexander is a dear little old lady of 83. But she is bright and merry and seems to have lost little of the 'pep' of her earlier years." Sara had never married, and she often said, "I guess I saw too much of it in Utah." Her first love was always the stage, where she continuously performed until 1923, when she made a final appearance on Broadway in Rust.36

A year or two prior to her death in 1926, Sara moved to the Percy Williams Home in New York City. She passed away on Christmas Eve, survived by Lisle, who died one year later of heart disease. At her request, Sara was cremated through arrangements made by the Actor's Fund of America. Her death made headlines in Utah newspapers and was noted in The New York Times, all of which eulogized her as a remarkable woman and veteran actress.37

NOTES

Sandra Dawn Brimhall is a writer living in Salt Lake City.

1 Deseret News, December 30, 1926 Sources differ on the correct spelling of Alexander's name In her correspondence with Isaiah Moses Coombs, she signed her name "Sarah" or "Sallie," but later, on playbills especially, it appears as "Sara."

2 New York Times, December 28, 1926; Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter JH), April 10, 1921, microfilm copy in LDS Church Historical Department, Salt Lake City; Ila Fisher Maughan, PioneerTheatrein theDesert (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1961), p 151; Rhea Coombs Hone, "Biography of Sara Ann Alexander," undated typescript, Daughters of Utah Pioneers. The Deseret Dramatic Association, which is often confused with the Home Dramatic Club, was organized in Salt Lake City on February 20, 1852 The Home Dramatic Club was organized almost thirty years later, in 1880.

3 Margaret Finlayson Maxwell, 'James Finlayson, Man of Destiny" (privately published, 1962, copy in author's possession), pp 5-12; George D Pyper, The Romance of an Old Playhouse (Salt Lake City: Seaerull Press, 1928), p 164.

4 Isaiah Moses Coombs diary, Jun e 12, 1858, MS 1198, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City Coombs had married Sarah Agnes Turk on November 30, 1854, but she, not a member of the LDS church, refused to emigrate with him to Utah in 1855 In 1856, Brigham Young sent Coombs on a mission to the East, hoping he could persuade his wife to return to Utah with him The couple were unable to resolve their differences and were later divorced.

5 Coombs diary, April 1, April 4, 1858.

6 Coombs diary, April 19, 1858; Sarah Alexander to Isaiah Moses Coombs, May 10, 1858, May 18, 1858, September 1858, February 23, 1860, Isaiah Moses Coombs Collection, MS 1198, box 3, folder 2, LDS Church Archives.

7 Rhea Coombs Hone , "Biography of Sara Ann Alexander," undated typescript, Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum, Salt Lake City.

8 Sara Alexander, "A Little Story of the Experiences of Sara Alexander When Crossing the Plains in 1859," typescript copy, MS A22, Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City.

9 Kate B Carter, ed., Our Pioneer Heritage, 20 vols (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1958-77), 1:321-408; Maughan, Pioneer Theatre, p. 118; Alexander to Coombs, February 10, 1860, Isaiah Moses Coombs Collection, MS 1198, box 3, folder 2, LDS Church Archives.

10 Coombs to Alexander, January 5, 1860, Isaiah Moses Coombs Collection, MS 1198, box 3, folder 2.

11 Alexander to Coombs, February 10, 1860, Isaiah Moses Coombs Collection, MS 1198, box 3, folder 2.

12 Coombs diary, February 23, 1860.

13 Coombs diary, October 6, 1861.

14 Maxwell, 'James Finlayson, Man of Destiny," p 164.

15 Alfred Lambourne, "Reminiscences of the Salt Lake Theatre," Improvement Era 15 (1912): 696.

16 JH, January 11, 1916.

17 Pyper, The Romance of an Old Playhouse, p 164.

18 Susa Young Gates, "Actress—By Command of Brigham Young," Susa Young Gates Collection, MS B95, box 14, folder 2; box 17, folder 9, Utah State Historical Society See also JH, April 10, 1921 Sara's "call" to the stage was not an isolated event Brigham Young had sent a letter to the parents of Nellie Colebrook stating, 'Would you allow your daughter Nellie to act upon the stage? It would please me very much." There were other players at the Salt Lake Theatre who were serving "missions," where every actor was a "brother" and every actress was a "sister." The performers' salaries were partly paid from tithing funds See Pyper, The Romance of an Old Playhouse, p 164 See also Horace G Whitney, "The Story of the Salt Lake Theatre" (Salt Lake City: Deseret News pamphlet, 1915), Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah.

19 Gates, "Actress—By Command of Brigham Young."

20 Jean S Greenwood, comp., "Brigham Young's Excursions to the Settlements" in Chronicles of Courage, 8 vols (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1990-97), 6:95-110 The group also included Robert T Burton, John R Winder, Theresa Burton, Amelia F Young, David O Calder, Anna H Calder, John T Caine, David McKenzie, Philip Margetts, Henry Bowring, George D Watts, Hamilton J Park, Agnes Park, A Milton Musser, Peter Horrocks, Catherine D Horrocks, Joh n Squires, Lewis Robinson, Seymour B Young, Fannie Young, Thomas Jenkins, Jenette Young, Louis S Hills, Ella Young, Emily Young, James T Little, Leonard Rice, William VanNetta, Theodore Calkins, Mary E Kimball, Elvira F Kimball, Richard J Taylor, Bryon Richards, Chariton Jacobs, Oscar S Young, Hyrum S Young, and Solomon F. Kimball. According to Greenwood, "During the 1860s, the Saints of southern Utah had grown so prosperous that they urged Brigham Young to bring along more younger people than usual in his visits as they would be in a position to entertain them."

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 Ibid.

24 JH, April 10, 1921.

25 Whitney, "The Story of the Salt Lake Theatre."

26 Kate B Carter, ed., Treasures ofPioneerHistory, 6 vols (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1952-57), 1:94-95; George D Pyper, The Romance of an Old Playhouse (Salt Lake City: Seagull Press, 1928), p 164

27 Lambourne, "Reminiscences of the Salt Lake Theatre," 696 See also Toledo Blade, May 6, 1921

28 Carter, ed., Treasures ofPioneer History, pp 94—95

Maughan, Pioneer Theatre in theDesert, p 139; JH, April 10, 1921

30 Maxwell, 'James Finlayson, Man of Destiny," pp 5-12

31 Gates, "Actress—By Command of Brigham Young." See also Maxwell, 'James Finlayson, Man of Destiny."

32 See Albert Auster, Actresses and Suffragists: Women in the American Theatre, 1890-1920 (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1984), pp 4-5.

33 New York Times, December 28, 1926 See also Carter, Treasures of PioneerHistory, 1:94-95.

34 Maxwell, 'James Finlayson, Man of Destiny."

35 Pyper, The Romance of an Old Playhouse, p 225.

36 Toledo Blade, May 6, 1921; JH, April 10, 1921; Gates, "Actress—By Command of Brigham Young."

37 Gates, "Actress—By Command of Brigham Young"; New York Times, December 28, 1926.