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The Booth family was an
English American English Americans (also known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.6 million America ...
theatrical family of the 19th century. Its most known members were brothers
Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...
, one of the leading actors of his day, and
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
, also a fellow actor most remembered for assassinating Abraham Lincoln. The patriarch, Junius Brutus Booth, was a
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-born lawyer's son who eventually became an actor after he attended a production of ''Othello'' at the Covent Garden theatre. The prospects of fame, fortune, and freedom were very appealing to young Booth, and he displayed remarkable talent from an early age, deciding on a career in the theatre by the age of 17. He performed roles in several small theaters throughout England and joined a tour of the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
in 1814, returning the following year to make his London debut. Booth abandoned his wife and their young son in 1821 and ran off to the United States with Mary Ann Holmes, a London flower girl. They settled on some 150 acres in Harford County near
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
and started a family; they had 10 children, six of whom survived to adulthood. Junius Sr. and Edwin toured in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
during
the gold rush ''The Gold Rush'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his The Tramp, Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray (actor), Tom Murray, Henry Ber ...
. Edwin bought an interest in the Winter Garden Theatre at 667 Broadway in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
with his brother-in-law John Sleeper Clarke. The brothers John Wilkes, Edwin, and Junius Brutus Jr. performed there in the play ''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
'' at a benefit in 1864, the only time they were seen together on a stage, playing Mark Antony, Brutus, and Cassius, respectively.


Members

* Junius Brutus Booth (1796–1852) brought his mistress Mary Ann Holmes, who bore him 10 children, to the United States. ** He also wrote many letters in fits of drunken anger and madness to President
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
threatening assassination. He requested that two prisoners who had been sentenced to death for piracy, named De Ruiz and De Soto, be pardoned, or else: "I will cut your throat whilst you are sleeping." This letter would later be recanted by Junius, stating, "May god preserve General Jackson and this happy republic." * Junius Brutus Booth Jr. (1821–1883) was married to Agnes Booth. Junius Jr. never achieved the same fame as his brothers, but his third wife Agnes was popular. ** Their son Sydney Barton Booth (1877–1937) was an actor well into the era of modern film * Edwin Thomas Booth (1833–1893) came to be the foremost American Shakespearean actor of his day. He founded The Players, a New York City actors' club which continues to the present day. His second wife, Mary McVicker, was an actress. ** Edwin's grandson Edwin Booth Grossman was a painter of some note. * Asia Frigga Booth (1835–1888) married John Sleeper Clarke, an actor/comedian who was briefly imprisoned in the aftermath of the assassination. They then emigrated to Britain, where he became a successful theatre manager. ** Creston Clarke and Wilfred Clarke, sons of John and Asia, were noted actors in their day. *
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
(1838–1865) was a popular young star in less serious fare than his brothers. ** A Confederate sympathizer during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, during a play attended by
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
, Booth took advantage of his access to the theatre to invade the President's box and assassinate the President. He was killed 12 days later by Union soldier Boston Corbett. * Edwina Booth Grossman (1861–1938) daughter of Edwin Booth, and the author of ''Edwin Booth: Recollections by His Daughter, Edwina Booth Grossman, and Letters to Her and to His Friends'' (1894).


See also

* Booth baronets * Tony Booth (1931–2017), an English actor, was wrongly said to be a descendant of Algernon Booth (1798–1803), brother of Junius Sr.Ancestry
.
* Cherie Blair, daughter of Tony Booth and the wife of former UK
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
, was wrongly said to be a descendant of Algernon Booth (1798–1803). *
List of show business families This is a list of contemporary (20th- and 21st-century) show business families. Families A ;Adams-Beaver *Actor Don Adams was the father of actress Cecily Adams. Cecily Adams was married to actor Jim Beaver. Adams' ''Get Smart'' series co-st ...
*


References


External links


Booth-Grossman family papers, 1840-1953
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

A Brief Description of John Wilkes Booth's Family
from the Surratt House Museum
Ford's Theatre
where Lincoln was assassinated

contemporary account of the assassination

By his killer
Family history at their housethe memory palace podcast episode about Edwin, Junius Sr., and John Wilkes Booth
{{Authority control American families of English ancestry Artist families Theatre in England Theatre in the United States