Page:One of a thousand.djvu/78

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64 BOOTH. BORDEN. manager. Mrs. Booth died in New York in 1881, leaving no children. In 1862 Mr. Booth made a trip to Eng- land, appearing in London, Liverpool, and Manchester, and on returning to America became the manager of Winter Garden Theatre, New York, remaining associated with the house until its destruction by fire in 1867. Here he produced, on a magni- ficent scale, "Hamlet," "Othello," "Mer- chant of Venice," "Richelieu," and other plays, and was the recipient of a gold medal presented by the leading citizens of New York, in commemoration of the, at that time, remarkable achievement of run- ning " Hamlet" for one hundred consecu- tive nights. He was afterwards associated with the Walnut Street Theatre in Phila- delphia. In April, 1865, the appalling tragedy at Washington compelled Mr. Booth to leave the stage, and it was then his wish and purpose never to return to it. In 1866, however, persuaded by his friends, he re- appeared as " Hamlet " in the Winter Garden Theatre in New York, and was once more welcomed to professional life by a EDWIN T. BOOTH. most enthusiastic and sympathetic greet- ing. In 1869 he opened the new Booth Theatre, which had been built for him the previous year in New York City. This he managed until 1874, when it passed out of his possession. In 1876 he made a tour of the South; in 1880, and again in 1882, he visited Great Britain and Germany, and was there received with extraordinary enthusiasm. In 1883 he returned home and resumed his starring tours in America. He has published an edition of his prin- cipal plays in fifteen volumes, the text cut and adapted by himself for stage use, with introductions and notes by William Winter, the well-known dramatic critic of the " New York Tribune." Mr. Booth is still in the zenith of his strength. He lives to lead the American stage of to-day with the same power as of old, and the glory of having given a series of the grandest pageants, graced by the pres- ence of some of the most celebrated actors that have ever been seen in this country, will be linked inseparably with the renown of Edwin Booth, when his biographer shall come to write the true story of his career. BORDEN, PHILIP D., son of Thomas and Lydia (Durfee) Borden, was born in Tiverton, Newport county, R. I., May 11, 1816. His early education was obtained in the common schools of those days, by three months' attendance in the winter, and he was employed in the summer as cabin-boy, cook, and deck-hand, with his father until April, 1830, when he entered the service of the Annawan Manufacturing Company, and remained there until November, 1X32. He attended school three months during the winter of i832-'33. In the spring of 1833 he went to work for C. M. Coggeshall, cash- ier of the Union Bank, R. I., and divided his time between the bank, and the lum- ber yard of Cook, Borden & Co., of which Mr. Coggeshall was a partner. There he remained until the fall of 1834. January 1, 1835, he entered the employ of Holder Borden, to go to the American Print Works, whose property at that time belonged to the Fall River Iron Works Company, but is now a separate corporation. Later he changed from the Print Works to the Fall River Iron Works Company Rolling and Nail Mill as superintendent, and remained there until December 31, 1S74, as superin- tendent, assistant treasurer, and treasurer — a term of just forty years. From January, 1875, to August, 1879, he spent his time in comparative leisure, though much time was spent in connection with the water board, of which he was chairman, and other occupations. He was appointed as a member of the water board in the spring of 187 1, and served in that