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H. J. Sargent: Difference between revisions
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== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
When four years of age, he was taken to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was educated. As a young man he made his professional debut as utility actor at the Boston Theatre during the season 1858. Shortly afterwards he went into the mercantile business and in 1861 went to New York City. At the breaking out of the [[American Civil War]] he enlisted | When four years of age, he was taken to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was educated. As a young man he made his professional debut as utility actor at the Boston Theatre during the season 1858. Shortly afterwards he went into the mercantile business and in 1861 went to New York City. At the breaking out of the [[American Civil War]] he enlisted | ||
in the 14th Regiment and served for three years. It is possible from records of his army pension that his real name was Harry S Jones; the index card shows his ''alias'' as Harry J Sargent. The record also shows his wife's first names as being Hannah and this provides additional verification.<ref> National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.</ref> | in the 14th Regiment and served for three years. It is possible from records of his army pension that his real name was Harry S Jones; the index card shows his ''alias'' as Harry J Sargent. The record also shows his wife's first names as being Hannah and this provides additional verification.<ref> National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.</ref> [[File:Sargent, Harry Jones.jpeg|left|thumb]] | ||
In 1864 he returned to the stage as a magician, and made a tour of the United States. His last engagement as an actor was in 1868, at the Mobile Theatre in Alabama. He then managed a number of traveling troupes and in 1869 he became lessee and manager of the Lyceum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. | In 1864 he returned to the stage as a magician, and made a tour of the United States. His last engagement as an actor was in 1868, at the Mobile Theatre in Alabama. He then managed a number of traveling troupes and in 1869 he became lessee and manager of the Lyceum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. | ||
Revision as of 11:32, 17 January 2015
- See also: John William Sargent (1852-1920), who performed as "Sargent the Merry Wizard".
| H. J. Sargent | |
 | |
| Born | January 1, 1843 Machiasport, Maine |
|---|---|
| Died | February 5, 1896 (age 53) Leeds, England |
| Resting place | Woodhouse Cemetery, Leeds |
H. J. Sargent (1843-1896) was a magician, illusionist, actor and manager known as "Colonel H.J. Sargent, the Wizard of the South."
Biography
When four years of age, he was taken to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was educated. As a young man he made his professional debut as utility actor at the Boston Theatre during the season 1858. Shortly afterwards he went into the mercantile business and in 1861 went to New York City. At the breaking out of the American Civil War he enlisted
in the 14th Regiment and served for three years. It is possible from records of his army pension that his real name was Harry S Jones; the index card shows his alias as Harry J Sargent. The record also shows his wife's first names as being Hannah and this provides additional verification.[1]
In 1864 he returned to the stage as a magician, and made a tour of the United States. His last engagement as an actor was in 1868, at the Mobile Theatre in Alabama. He then managed a number of traveling troupes and in 1869 he became lessee and manager of the Lyceum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.
He next went to Indianapolis, Indiana and afterwards managed the National Theatre, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In October 1873 he married Hannah Bailey, his leading lady at the Athenaeum Theatre, Columbus, Ohio. She was sister of another actress, Josie Bailey, who married actor Walter Eytinge.[2]
In 1875 Sargent was engaged by Robert Heller to accompany him to California, and take the management of his business.
In 1891 he performed a combined show with Hercat called "Cagliostromantheum."[3]
Mr. Sargent also returned to England, where he went from bad to worse, until he died in extreme poverty at an infirmary in Leeds, England.[4]
An obituary in the London newspaper The Era says that he was buried in Woodhouse Cemetery, in Leeds. The cemetery was closed in 1969, and its records are now in the collection of the University of Leeds.[5]
References
- ↑ National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
- ↑ New York Daily Graphic 1873
- ↑ David Price’s Magic
- ↑ AN AMERICAN MAGICIAN WHO DIED IN AN ENGLISH POORHOUSE By HARRY HOUDINI, MUM, Feb 1918
- ↑ http://forums.geniimagazine.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42606