Junius Brutus Booth Rescued From a Watery Grave

by Tom Fink

From time to time Junius Brutus Booth displayed signs of brief insanity. At such times those close to him tried to help him. The Charleston Courier for March 12, 1838 reported one of these incidents:

     “Mr. Booth went on board the…packet, in a company with his friend, Mr. Flynn, the well-known Comedian, on Wednesday evening last [7 March], and on the passage showed evident symptoms of insanity, but being carefully watched by his anxious friend, had no opportunity of escaping his vigilant eye, and appeared to improve gradually under Mr. Flynn’s friendly care, until the afternoon of Friday last when 36 miles N.E. of Frying Pan Shoals, during dinner, when Mr. Booth excused himself from the table, took advantage of his friend’s absence, and lowered himself from the promenade deck, which attracted the attention of the men. Capt. Pennoyer, Mr. Flynn, and the rest of the passengers being called from dinner, endeavored to persuade him to return on board, when he not only refused, but immediately plunged into the ocean. Capt. Pennoyer instantly stopped the boat, which was then going at the rate of eleven miles an hour, and by his prompt exertions and presence of mind, a safety buoy was thrown over, and a safety boat immediately launched. The gallant Captain took the helm, and Mr. Booth, though then half a mile from the boat, was rescued from a watery grave.”

     Junius had asked Mr. Flynn to alert him when they approached the area where William Augustus Conway, a failed tragedian, had drowned himself. William Conway came to America in 1823 from England and had been a favorite actor at the Covent Garden Theatre in London. Because of the extremely fast popularity he gained in London, some of his jealous professional contemporaries ridiculed him publicly and conspired to drive him from his position on the stage. Because of his sensitive nature he chose to pursue his profession in America. In 1826, William decided to quit the stage and study Divinity. After three years he met with some personal opposition from the then Bishop of New York “from the fact of his having been an actor.”  During his voyage to Savannah to visit Bishop White “to take orders in the church,” Conway suddenly had a fit of despondency and jumped from the deck of the ship and drowned himself.

     When Junius reached the spot where Conway had drowned, he jumped overboard with a “message” for Conway. As Flynn pulled Junius into the safety boat, Booth warned, “I say Tom, look out: you’re a heavy man, be steady; if the boat upsets we’ll all be drowned.”

Share Your Love of History—Become a Volunteer

The historic Tudor Hall is a fascinating piece of Maryland and our nation’s history. Visitors to Tudor Hall explore the story of the Maryland Booths who left their mark on America forever. By volunteering with Spirits of Tudor Hall, you become a part of sharing this part of history. Spirits of Tudor Hall is the Junius B. Booth Society volunteer organization created to establishing a docent program at Tudor Hall and opening the house for public tours on a regular basis.  As a volunteer, it doesn’t require a lot of time—just a love of history, and a desire to share in keeping the story of Tudor Hall alive.

We need you. There’s a place for everyone who volunteers—whether you want to lead tours, greet visitors, or do odd jobs—we will gladly match you up with your interests and skills. From time to time there are also opportunities to help with special events at Tudor Hall.

 If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact

Jill Redding, Volunteer Coordinator

reddingj43@comcast.net 

410-274-8633

Spirits of Tudor Hall Invites You to Join Us in the Adventure and Romance at Tudor Hall

Ever since we first organized in 2008, Spirits of Tudor Hall has been in the business of taking something old (Tudor Hall) and creating something new (our tours and our growing sense of team spirit). Not only do we work hard but we have fun as we work together to explore and share the history of Tudor Hall and the Booth family.If you enjoy “pitching in” and using your skills and knowledge to make things happen, Tudor Hall just might be the place for you. A few of the “jobs” currently available are described below. Take a look at the list. If you don't find anything that fits your skills and interests, feel free to write and contact us with your own job description.

If you wish to volunteer, please contact us with information about your skills, experience, and qualifications and explain how you can put them to work on behalf of Tudor Hall.

Storytellers
We invite anyone with a talent for storytelling to audition to bring to life the story of Tudor Hall and those who have lived there while guiding visitors through the house.

Oral Historians
There are many people in the community who have been associated with Tudor Hall over the years. It is important to collect and record the memories of these individuals. If you enjoy interviewing and photographing people and/or if you are skilled with a tape recorder or video camera and would like to help capture the oral history of Tudor Hall, please let us know.

Tudor Hall Speakers Bureau
To meet requests from community organizations and schools, Spirits of Tudor Hall needs people with a talent for public speaking to tell the story of Tudor Hall at local meetings and events and in local classrooms. Actors, re-enactors, and storytellers with experience at Tudor Hall may be interested in participating in community outreach of this kind.

There are no membership requirements or dues at the current time beyond participating in whatever way suits you best. However, we are proud to introduce the organizations that support Spirits of Tudor Hall. Memberships are available at: The Center for the Arts, The Historical Society of Harford County, and The Junius B. Booth Society. For more information about becoming a volunteer or member of any of these organizations, please call us at 443-619-0008 or spiritsoftudorhall@gmail.com.

The Gift of the Skull

Junius Brutus Booth was known for his acts of kindness. In "Booth Memorials. Passages, Incidents, and Anecdotes in the life of Junius Brutus Booth (the elder)" by Asia Booth Clarke, are a few examples:

Junius Sr. indulged his philanthropic desire unrestrainedly, and the particulars of some charitable visit or donation would frequently be disclosed to the family by the recipient.
My earliest recollection of my father is seeing him upon his knees, before a rough sailor, who had asked alms at the door. The poor fellow had a bad wound on his leg, which was suffering neglect, and my father brought him into the house and washed and bandaged the wound for him with the tenderest care.

These little deeds of kindness were almost daily occurrences. He thus sought to impress upon our minds these lessons of humanity to man and beast, more by his own acts than by precept. He delighted to seek out the destitute and unfortunate, and aid by his sympathy as well as his bounty.

It was on one of these errands of mercy that the horse thief, Fontainne, alias Lovett, was pointed out to him. Lovett was then confined in the Louisville jail, and it was remarked that he had no means of obtaining counsel, and my father, although being assured that his case was hopeless, sent him a lawyer and defrayed the expenses; for which kindness, when Lovett heard of it, he bequeathed him his head, desiring "that it should be given, after his execution, to the actor Booth, with the request that he would use it on the stage in Hamlet, and think when he held it in his hands of the gratitude his kindness had awakened."
The skull was accordingly sent to my father’s residence while he was absent from the city; and my mother, finding what a horrible thing had been left in her house, immediately returned it to the doctor to whom it had been entrusted for preparation and delivery. In 1857, the doctor, who had retained the skull, sent it to Edwin Booth, who used it in the grave-yard scene in "Hamlet" on several occasions, and afterward had it buried.