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    Hello all

    I was just wondering if anyone knows of a site that may be able to shed some light on a character that im trying to connect with my family.
    The man is named James Byrne and he was a Ballet master at Drury lane theatre during the latter part of the 18th century and then with Saddlers wells in the early 19th century.
    It states on many Google book searches that he came from a well known dancing family but for the life of me i cant find any reference of them.

    I was hoping there might be a site someone knows of that may be helpful.

    Thanks in advance

    Danny
    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=528974734

  • #2
    The only reference I've found so far is



    "In 1763 Signor Grimaldi, Joe Grimaldi's father, first appeared as chief dancer and ballet-master. He continued there till the close of 1767. In 1775 James Byrne, the famous harlequin of Drury Lane, and the father of Oscar Byrne, was employed at Sadler's Wells as a dancer, and a Signor Rossignol gave imitations of birds, like Herr Joel, and accompanied the orchestra on a fiddle without strings. About this time, too, Charles Dibdin the elder wrote some clever and fanciful pieces for this theatre, entitled "Intelligence from Sadler's Wells."

    So he had a son that was a dancer named Oscar.

    ... and an obituary for Oscar



    Oscar Byrne

    5th September 1867 Write a few lines about Oscar Byrne, who died yesterday, aged seventy-one.
    Appeared at a very early age in a ballet called Oscar, arranged by his father, a well-known dancer, a contemporary of Garrick, at Drury Lane, where for some years he remained the stock "Cupid." He then travelled in the United Kingdom and on the Continent. In 1850 joined the Princess's, under Charles Kean's management, for whom he arranged all the ballets and dances introduced into the Shakespearean revivals and the pantomimes. Subsequently was at Drury Lane under Falconer and Chatterton, and his last engagement was at Her Majesty's, November 1866.
    Last edited by Guest; 14-01-10, 20:22.

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    • #3
      This rings a bell did I get you some stuff from JStor at some point in the past?
      The theatre museum in London is now closed but they do still have an archive and study centre in London http://www.theatremuseumguardians.org.uk/ I would contact them. but having a google there seems to be more on line now than when I last had a look.

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      • #4
        Thankyou maggie

        That will do very nicely indeed.

        Danny
        http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=528974734

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        • #5
          Thankyou Peppie

          I think you may have done some searching for me in the past, another stab at it me thinks.

          Danny
          http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=528974734

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          • #6
            Hi - James Byrne - "the Harlequin and Inventor of".... is mentioned in this e book http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenb...3469/13469.htm - not sure what he was the Inventor of as I didn't read through the book!;-) - just saw that he invented the modern Harlequin's dress in another book..
            and there's a bit about him on this http://books.google.com.au/books?id=...0byrne&f=false
            to summarise some personal info - he was 44 in 1800 and had returned from the US with his new wife..and had performed at Drury Lane thirty years before with his sister..
            This book says that he died 4th December 1845 in his 89th year...Mrs Byrne pre-deceased her husband by a few months in her
            74th year..she was also a dancer http://books.google.com.au/books?id=...0byrne&f=false - so looks like he was born around 1756
            Perhaps if you apply for Oscar's death cert as per the info that maggie_4_7 found, that will give some more clues -
            Deaths Sep 1867 Byrne Oscar 71 Pancras 1b 113 likewise the death cert for James..
            Last edited by naomiatt; 15-01-10, 07:08.

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            • #7
              I've sent you a Pm.
              WendyP

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              • #8
                In addition to what I've sent by pm there is this on google books it mentions James wife Lucy/Lucia and her will. You will have to go back a few pages to page 113 bottom right hand corner to find her maiden name and that of her a parents


                Like the works already published, these latest volumes of the Biographical Dictionary deal with theatre people of every ilk, ranging from dressers and one-performance actors to trumpeter John Shore (inventor of the tuning fork) and the incomparable Sarah Siddons.Also prominent is Susanna Rowson, a novelist, actress, and early female playwright. Although born into a British military family, Rowson often wrote plays that dealt with patriotic American themes and spent much of her career on the American stage.The theatrical jewel of these volumes is the "divine Sarah" Siddons: "She raised the tragedy to the skies," wrote William Hazlitt, and "embodied to our imagination the fables of mythology, of the heroic and dignified mortals of elder time." She endured much tragedy herself, including a crippling debilitating illness and the deaths of five of her seven children. Siddons played major roles in both comedy and tragedy, not the least of which was a performance as Hamlet.
                WendyP

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                • #9
                  This site looks great. My family and I are looking to find out more about our Gt. Grandad John Wade Clinton who was an actor. We have some info from 1827 onwards re his acting career, but would like to find out more about his earlier years. Thanks for the web address.

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                  • #10
                    Thankyou Naomi and Wendy

                    The info you have provided has given me alot more to go on.
                    Much appreciated, Ive been trawling google books for ages trying to locate any info on James Byrne and his previous family.

                    Danny
                    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=528974734

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                    • #11
                      Danny

                      You may find more info if you drop the e of the surname. Incase you haven't seen them James and his wife Lucy are in Jersey on the 1841 census.
                      WendyP

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