Family History:
Scope and Contents
Arrangement of Materials:
Conditions Governing Access:
Conditions Governing Use:
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation:
Processing Information:
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Edwin Booth Family Collection
Creator:
Booth Family
Identifier/Call Number: SC.EBF
Extent:
8.31 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1865-1962
Abstract: Edwin Booth was a 19th century American
actor from a well-known acting family that also included his thespian brothers Junius Brutus
Jr. and John Wilkes Booth. Booth made his stage debut in 1849, and his great granddaughter
Edwina Booth Waterbury Cutting continued the family vocational tradition by pursuing an
acting career of her own in the 1930s and 1940s. The
Edwin Booth
Family Collection
contains ephemera and photographs related to Edwin Booth's acting
career and the personal and professional lives of his descendants.
Language of Material: English
Family History:
Actor Edwin Booth (1833-1893) was well-known for his work as a tragedian, especially
playing Shakespeare's Hamlet. Booth was son of actor Junius Brutus Booth, and sibling to
actors Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., John Wilkes Booth, and writer Asia Booth Clarke. Edwin made
his stage debut in 1849 with his father Junius. After his father's death in 1852, Edwin
toured Australia and Hawaii, earning stage recognition during his 1856 engagement in
Sacramento, California. He is remembered today for his Shakespeare performances,
particularly his Hamlet in 1864-1865, which he produced with brothers Junius and John.
In 1861, Edwin married Mary Devlin and they had one daughter Edwina (1861-1938). Edwina
married banker Ignatius Grossman in 1885. They had two children, Clarence Edwin Booth
Grossman, an artist, and Mildred Booth Grossman (1886-1960). During World War I, some family
members changed their last name from Grossman to Crossman due to anti-German sentiment.
Mildred had three marriages, with the first to Fordham C. Mahony in 1907. She married
Cleveland Livingston Waterbury in 1916, and they had two children, Booth (1917-1974) and
Edwina (1918-1985). Mildred's third husband was Arthur C. Tilton. Mildred's daughter Edwina
is referred to as "Hope" in early family albums. She married actor Richard H. Cutting in
1951.
Scope and Contents
The
Edwin Booth Family Collection contains photographs,
correspondence, and ephemera related to Edwin Booth and his descendants. The collection is
arranged into two series: Series I:
Edwin Booth (1865-1891),
Series II:
Booth Family (1870-1962).
Series I,
Edwin Booth, consists of correspondence written by
Edwin, theater programs, autographs, and ephemera from Edwin's lifetime, as well as
photographs of Edwin and contemporary actors. Materials are arranged chronologically.
Series II,
Booth Family, contains correspondence written by
Edwin's family members and newspaper clippings collected by family members about Edwin's
career and legacy after his death. It also includes correspondence and ephemera related to
Booth's granddaughter Mildred Booth Grossman Waterbury Tilton, great granddaughter Edwina
Booth Waterbury Cutting, Edwina's stepfather Arthur Colburn Tilton, and other relatives. The
press, photographs, and publications document the installation of the Edwin Booth statue in
Gramercy Park, Mildred's husband Cleveland Livingston Waterbury's World War I training,
family trips on the RMS Lucania in 1894, trips to Jamaica, and Mildred's last husband Arthur
C. Tilton's Harvard College ephemera. There are also a small number of materials related to
the Players Club founded by Edwin in 1888, Edwin's home Boothden built in 1883 in
Middletown, Rhode Island, and the Booth family home Tudor Hall in Bel Air, Maryland.
Materials are arranged chronologically, with female family members described by their maiden
names.
Arrangement of Materials:
Series I: Edwin Booth, 1865-1891
Series II: Booth Family, 1870-1962
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright
status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the
written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Edwina Booth Cutting. 1972.
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Tony Gardner, 2010
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Documents
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Audiovisual materials