Circus History Message & Discussion Board

• Reply: 24 Oct 2016 - Nothing appeared regarding the incident in a simple Google search, New York Clipper, Billboard, Fulton History, etc. Your best chances for discovery would be to search Hull newspapers in the British historical newspapers website. It is accessible at British libraries and at larger city and university libraries in the US. Sometimes the printing on the reverse side of a clipping car serve to date it. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 24 Oct 2016 - The Sparks circus was founded by John H. Wiseman and a man that used the name Charles Sparks. They toured using the name by 1887, though it wasn’t quite a circus until later. They originally were based in East Brady, Pennsylvania. Wiseman and Sparks were married to sisters named Mitchell from East Brady, PA. Perhaps another family member later married someone from Stokes County?
      About 1900 Wiseman acquired property near Vade Mecum Springs, Stokes County, NC that he used as a personal retreat, with the likely intention to build it into a complete resort. He died from the effects of an animal bite in 1903 and the property was sold off in 1908. A gentleman named Steve Shelton has been doing important primary research work on the Wiseman presence in Vade Mecum. A 1990 tertiary summary by others can be read here: https://mbasic.facebook.com/notes/stokes-county-historical-society/history-of-vade-mecum-springs/129082183829825/ I don’t know of any specific connection to New London, NC.
      Sparks and Wiseman’s descendants carried on the circus after Wiseman’s 1903 passing. It was wintered in Salisbury, NC in the winters of 1910 to 1915, and again in 1918.
      Mary was an Asiatic female elephant with the Sparks circus that was put to death in 1916 after she killed someone. Inflammatory stories based on inaccurate information, supplemented by a faked image of her hanging, are periodically revived online and in print. They have obscured the truth surrounding the episode, as well as impugning the good character of Charles Sparks. He is generally regarded as a showman’s showman, one of the most highly regarded circus proprietors of his time.
      The 1946-1947 Sparks Circus was owned by James Edgar. He was unrelated to the Wiseman and Sparks families, leasing the name from the Ringling interests. That show was organized in Arcadia, Florida and wintered in Venice in 1946-1947. A now dated, introductory article about the Sparks name and title, as well as coverage of the 1946 tour can be read here: http://www.circushistory.org/Bandwagon/bw-1964Nov.htm The 1947 season has also been the subject of an article and so has the Venice operation. You can read 1946-1947 coverage of the Sparks show in Billboard magazine, accessible with key word searching on Google Books Advanced Search.
      There are numerous articles about the various Sparks operations and tours in Bandwagon magazine. You can locate these in the article index on this website. There is also coverage in White Tops, journal of the Circus Fans Association. These articles, which include a pictorial feature on the families, can also be found in an index on this website. Back issues are often available for purchase, or copies can be ordered from institutions with holdings of the journals. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - If you look for William Showles, with a “w,” via a simple Google search you will discover an abundance of information about this once famous bareback rider. Start with message 4393 on this board. There’s also an entry here in the CHS virtual library in Slout’s “Olympians of the Sawdust Circle.” An extended biography by John Daniel Draper is in the CHS journal, Bandwagon, Jan-Feb 2001, pages 19-23. His references can be seen here: http://www.ringlingcircus.org/equestrian/ A portion of the Showles wardrobe is preserved at Princeton University. The friendship between Showles and Oakley may have been rooted in their New Jersey origins and intermittent residency, and later visits to Long Branch. Both had been with the Sells Bros. Circus, but at different times.
      Showles was divorced from his first wife, equestrienne Sallie Marks, on July 1, 1887; his second wife rider Daisy Belmont died in 1896; and he was then divorced by his third wife Hilda in 1899. The UK National Archives has a document concerning the last action, viewable on www.ancestry.com.
      Showles was indicted by a grand jury in Monmouth County, NJ for manslaughter as the result of a gun accident on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1896, in Red Bank, NJ, which claimed the life of a friend, Ansel Croft. Showles had a revolver with a patented safety mechanism that failed to work when he slammed it on a bar counter. Before he passed, Croft stated a desire that no action be taken against Showles for the accident, which a majority on a grand jury determined was criminal negligence. He was acquitted in Freehold, NJ on February 20, 1897. The most detailed coverage I found online was in issues of the New York Clipper, but they don’t mention courtroom testimony. It’s possible that Oakley may have used her married name to avoid attention. I searched for reference to Oakley’s testimony on behalf of Showles, as a character witness, but nothing turned up. Further searching in newspapers or a court transcript may yield your desire. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator mof Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - Volumes that cover the history and development of performance include: Thayer’s “The Performers”; Hippisley-Coxe “Seat at the Circus”; Steve Gossard’s book on trapeze history [he’s affiliated with Illinois State University—Milner Library]; Speaight’s and Thetard’s general histories of the circus; and others. Thayer covers act development in the American circus 1793-1860, the above volume supplemented by his “Annals of the American Circus 1793-1860.” You might also check with Dominique Jando at Circopedia, as well as others whose works focus on the circus performance arts. It is exceedingly difficult to rate performances as there was no established criteria to do so, and such presentations have taken place across more than a century of time. At best search for published commentary, in the Spirit of the Times, New York Clipper and period newspapers for reviews and commentary. Also be advised that rope performance wasn’t confined to circus, but was also on the variety stage, etc. Searching for prints and engravings of the act, in newspaper ads, illustrated newspapers, etc., will prove useful. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - The limited number of troupes touring in 1977 might enable you to zero in on one of interest, but in general “people” searches are better answered by posting the person’s name. That is generally how show veterans and others recall people. The show affiliations, and especially specific years can be forgotten. It’s also possible that what one person terms a “circus” is what another knows as a fun fair or carnival. Yes, I’m aware, people who did not want to be identified used aliases, nicknames and other identification to conceal their true identity and thereby avoid discovery. In those instances other “characteristics,” such as appearance, job or tasks, wardrobe, a known pet, an associate or partner, etc., might be the only way to confirm their presence.
      Papers Past, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/, the archive of digitized New Zealand newspapers, goes only as recently as 1949, so you’ll need to seek 1977 holdings by other means. Here are some possibilities that turned up in a simple Google search for “New Zealand newspapers 1977”: http://www.wcl.govt.nz/pathfinders/newspaper.html; http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/heritage/collections/newspapers/Pages/newspapers.aspx. You may need to hire a researcher to scan the newspapers for advertisements of the show. Perhaps various NZ libraries have finding aids, clipping files or other material that can provide a direct route to 1977 show information? Perhaps someone who has done other research in NZ in that time frame can provide insights on useful techniques? Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - The 1924 date for the beguiling Frederick W. Glasier photographs of Zelda Boden (one included in the 2009 book “Circus, The Photographs of Frederick W. Glasier, pages 72-73) was derived from the identifications applied by Glasier to the margins of his negatives. They are not included in published prints. While he is best known for the larger body of circus views made 1900-1910, Glasier was also active in the 1920s. The endlessly repeated 1890s, 1900s and 1910s dates can be dismissed as web-born and perpetuated fiction.
      There’s a genealogical post about the Bodens that provides insights: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comments/54m5t1/zelda_boden_circus_performer/ We derived some of these observations from it. More could be garnered from www.ancestry.com searching.
      1900 data Henry A. Boden, age 12, listed as born July 1887, residing in Montana Township, Jewell County, Kansas, 4th child, 3rd son of Henry C. Boden, 56, born Indiana (Ohio born father, NY born mother) and Mary J. F. Boden, 43, born Iowa (Indiana born parents). [1900 census]
      1917 data---Boden was listed as Henry Arthur Boden, born July 13, 1886 at Webber (Jewell County), KS, when he registered for the draft at Oakland, CA on June 1, 1917. He was then aged 30, single, an “actor” with the Texas Round Up Company working on the Pantages vaudeville circuit. He was described as short and slender, with olive eyes, brown hair and slightly bald. A slight rupture and blood disease may have disqualified him from service. He also had a broken shoulder bone, foot and finger, one or more of which were not properly set [draft registration].
      1928 data---Zelda Boden’s birth was reported as February 22, 1905, Harrison, NJ (Hudson County, suburb of Newark) and Arthur Boden was listed as born July 14, 1888, Webber, KS. Their residence was then at 504 Bowery Street, Iowa City, IA [1928 immigration, ship Majestic from Southampton, England, June 13-19, 1928, arriving NYC].
      The chronology of Boden’s career that follows was abstracted from entries in trade journals and newspapers, some on Fulton History and lacking exact dates. There are more entries but these provide a general representation. More will also be garnered from checking Billboard magazine between 1922 and 1942. Further entries for the Bodens might be found in the name finding aids at Circus World Museum.
      Years?? Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, or Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Great Far East
      Years?? Ringling Bros.??
      In 1938, “Art” Boden visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Then resident in Hollywood, CA, he related that he’d been with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Ringling Bros., where he was a cowboy in 1907 or 1908. Boden said his family resided in the Cooperstown area until they moved to the far west, he being raised on a ranch. [Otsego Farmer (Cooperstown), October 7, 1938] The comment must pertain to his mother’s family, as he was born in Kansas.
      1909 Gus Hornbrook’s “Broncho Busters” in vaudeville, formerly with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West [Variety 1909] He spent a decade with Hornbrook.
      1910 Art Boden was in vaudeville in 1910, doing exhibition roping, appearing at the American Music Hall in NYC [New York Clipper, May 14, 1910, 341]. He was a member of “Arizona Joe and company,” a quartet that did “A Glimpse of Prairie Life.” It included high school rider Adele Von Ohl, Boden, Broncho Bob on a bucking horse and quartette singing. They were complimented further [Clipper, May 21, 1910, 361].
      1911 Boden was with the Cheyenne Days Company playing the Orpheum circuit [NY Dramatic Mirror, July 19, 1911, 21]. Boden, “Wyoming’s Champion Roping Expert,” appeared in a San Francisco vaudeville house as part of Gus Hornbrook’s Wild West Show doing “Cheyenne Days” [San Francisco Call, September 3, 1911]. Included in the group were Lucille Mulhall and Otto Kline, the tragically-killed spouse of circus aerialist Tiny Kline.
      1912 In Australia with wild west feature with Wirth Bros. Great Australian Circus [Billboard, August 31, 1912, 4] It’s confirmed that by 1917 Boden had been to Australia [Billboard, May 19, 1917, 28]
      1914 Boden and company did an appearance at the Hippodrome, another vaude house, in Los Angeles, CA [Clipper, March 7, 1914, 22.
      1915 Sells-Floto circus, when Buffalo Bill was with it; left to join Cheyenne Days [Billboard, June 19, 1915, 57; August 28, 1915, 62]
      c1915 Gus Hornbrook’s Wild West, rider, at local fair [Richfield Springs (NY) Mercury]
      1917 Gus Hornbrook’s Texas Round-Up [Billboard, June 23, 1917, 28]
      1919 Al G. Barnes Circus “Chief of Cowboys” [Billboard, May 17, 1919, 39]; Gus Hornbrook’s Wild West at fairs [Billboard, November 8, 1919, 62]
      1920 Cy Compton’s “The Passing of the West” in vaudeville [Billboard January 10, 1920, 62]
      1921 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Cy Compton after show [Billboard, June 11, 1921, __?]
      1922 RBBB with Cy Compton’s Wild West concert [Variety, March 31, 1922, 17] Gus Hornbrook’s Wild West, manager of the No. 3 show, on Schubert Time [Billboard, October 14, 1922, 74]
      An article is linked above from 1923 that has Art and Zelda together, with California Frank’s Rodeo Attractions, doing an engagement at a Vermont fair, between track races. They were identified as brother and sister, which is surely in error. California Frank was Charles F. Hafley.
      Zelda was an iron jaw artist with Andrew Downie’s Walter L. Main Circus in 1924 [Clipper, June 14, 1924, page 12 (program)]. She was in display 16, over ring one. She also worked in the after show concert [Clipper, June 21, 1914, 12 (roster)]. Art Boden also was in the concert, duty unspecified, but likely some sort of western activity, like fancy trick roping.
      In the winter of 1925-1925 Art and Zelda were on vaudeville bills as “Art and Zelda Boden presenting ‘A Breeze from the West.’” [Kokomo (IN) Tribune, February 27, 1926] Art and Zelda were with Fred Buchanan’s Robbins Bros. Circus for the 1926 summer season. Zelda was in the opening spec, did iron jaw and trick lariat spinning while Art did a rope act topped by catching four horses with a single throw [Billboard, May 8, 1926, in Bandwagon, Sept-Oct 1981, 8]. They may have established their Iowa residence after completing the Robbins engagement.
      Art and Zelda were on the 1929 Downie Bros. circus, she doing swinging ladders, working a white Eskimo dog act, doing iron jaw and with Janie Walters leading the tournament, or grand entrée, as “the girls that keep you guessing.” Art and Zelda were in the Wild West concert. [Billboard, May 4, 1929 in Bandwagon, Nov-Dec 1975, 16, 18].
      The outdoor show business tanked with the depression, the number of available jobs being greatly diminished as the number of shows dropped precipitously. The same was true of vaudeville, the bookings for which had been decimated by movies. The Bodens may have been forced to seek more conventional employment. Art may have gotten roles in Hollywood productions, given that he was reportedly a resident there in 1938.
      Someone named Arthur Henry Boden passed away in September 1963 in Florida [reported in New York state?]. His birth was then given as July 14, 1887, and his name as Henry Boden. The death index lists a Zelda Burroughs, born February 22, 1905, died September 9, 1996 in Mercer County, NJ (Trenton area). This is not Zelda Boden. Zelda’s passing remains unknown. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - Refer to message 1553 on this board on the Gerrettie family, including a mention of Blanche. Dr. Turner has passed on and I don’t know if his research notes have passed to a public institution. You might try the Circus Fans Association of Great Britain for insights. http://www.circusfriends.co.uk/ The National Fairground Archive at Sheffield University might have relevant holdings. There’s a single entry Gerrettie here: http://members.shaw.ca/pauline777/Misc.html. Searching via different name spellings will likely yield more hits. Searching digitized British newspapers, including The Era, will likely yield many more.
      A quick mention of Jean Seul: https://books.google.com/books?id=AVJNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=jean+seul+circus&source=bl&ots=nylAHx3VEv&sig=Jr596Kz8yNUWvcVxEsNWcQUgV5E&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1poLg5cjPAhUp74MKHdW3D9UQ6AEIKTAB#v=onepage&q=jean%20seul%20circus&f=false If you can access World’s Fair it will likely be helpful for early 20th century activity. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - I tried to locate the names of your grandfather and his wife within the outdoor show business, without success. Many shows that operated through the 1930s left little behind, in terms of surviving business records and personal papers, and photographs. That is the result of the difficult economic times of the depression, not to mention the difficulty of maintaining an archive when a family is constantly traveling and performing.
      If you can determine that they used stage names, or other aliases, and the name of their act[s] and troupe[s], that would be very helpful. Armed with as much knowledge about their names, acts and troupes as possible, contact Pete Shrake at the Circus World Museum library and ask him to check the name finding aid. The other best place to check is Billboard magazine. It’s not readily available online for the bulk of the 1920s and 1930s other than on the paid website ProQuest, Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. The first couple years, to about 1922, are available on Fulton History, free, as is New York Clipper to c1924 at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections. You might have some luck in searching digitized newspapers for references to them. Various states have begun to digitize historical newspaper holdings that can be searched free online. California has started the effort. One Los Angeles newspaper is also available on ProQuest. Discerning the name by which they were advertised would be crucial to locating them in newspaper advertising and elsewhere.
      Spider and web theming was used with various aerial acts, in the past and unto today, given that it presents a “natural” context for climbing and hanging performance. It was used with trapeze, variations on Spanish web, iron jaw [Earles/Errles, 1922-1923] and perhaps cloud swing presentation. Sometimes the man served as the spider, doing the lifting, and the woman as the fly, being lifted and maneuvered [Napier and Yvonne, 1920]. An example of a spider web prop in a “Spanish web-derived” act can be seen with another 1930s act, that of the Leininger Twins. Use this link and find the c1939 image showing them hanging in front of a web prop: http://ameshistory.org/tribunearchives/ames-flying-twins There’s an online video of a spider-themed contortion/web act. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2vV_PhekcQ The acts were presented on the variety and vaudeville stage, before fair grandstands, at street fairs and with tent shows. These acrobatic performers are separate and apart from the Spidora, spider woman and other similar illusions that were presented in side shows.
      I found no entry for a “circus” owned by anyone named DeSoto. It may be a matter of definition. If it was a traditional Mexican/Southwestern “carpa,” conventional circus title compilers may not have included it, generally assigning it an identity as a variety show or tent theater. There’s not a lot of information readily available on the carpas. If their show was a carpa, it likely catered to Spanish-speaking audiences and locales, suggesting the California to Texas area you mentioned. There’s a brief profile here: https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pqmsq
      The Hertzberg Circus Museum started an initiative of their study a couple decades ago, but to the best of my knowledge the collection remains inaccessible, in storage, at San Antonio. Here is a piece based on their work, which includes a good bibliography: http://users.marshall.edu/~brooks/La-Carpa-Garcia.htm You might try searching various volumes, such as Nicolas Kanellos’s works: Hispanic Theatre in the United States (1984); Mexican American Theater: Legacy and Reality (1987); and A History of Hispanic Theatre in the United States: Origins to 1940 (2014). You might on Spanish language resources. You might get lucky and find mention of them, or perhaps a photograph. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringlinbg Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - The combined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Great Far East came apart in 1913 in a dispute about an alleged overdue bill for printing services. The show was attached and sold at auction in a very messy series of legal actions. The enterprise was largely owned by Gordon Lillie, aka Pawnee Bill, and a partner named Tom Smith. The prelude to the Denver debacle was that Cody had signed a contract to leave the "Two Bills" outfit to appear with the Sells-Floto Circus in 1914-1915. He then moved on to the 101 Ranch for 1916, his last active employment. He passed away on January 17, 1917. His name was used with the “Jess Willard (Himself) and the Buffalo Bill Show Inc.” in 1917. It’s likely that your relation was an employee of the Willard outfit. An illustrated article about it was published in the “White Tops,” the journal of the Circus Fans Association, in the March-April 1965 issue, pages 3-8. Also see message 2435 on this board. Further information can be found in online issues of the New York Clipper and Billboard, as per other postings on this message board. Your relation apparently felt that he had a physical condition that disqualified him from service. That criteria can likely be found somewhere online. Posting the name of your relation might lead to the discovery of additional information. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 17 Oct 2016 - Is Jesse Martin any relation of Jesse James Martin (1852-1912), reported as a circus wire walker; buried in Dinuba, Tulare County, California; husband of Jovia; father of a Jesse Martin (born 1887/1947) and also interred in Dinuba? See: https://www.geni.com/people/Jesse-Martin/6000000000924952337 The best resources to find information will be Billboard magazine, searching for the Escalante title, and local newspapers, that may include mention of Martin in circus advertisements. He may have appeared under a stage name. Check the content in message 98 on this board, about Escalante Bros. The family retains their interest in their circus heritage. Perhaps one of them has documentation relating to Jesse Martin? There is also an Escalante Circus page on Facebook with some images and this will link you to a few images: http://www.thecircusblog.com/?paged=52. Milonga Escalante Cline is still with us (seen in July 2016), perhaps along with other Escalante family members, and possibly one of them recalls Jesse Martin? Perhaps another reader can provide contact information? A Billboard reference related that Escalante Bros. wasn’t on tour 1938-late 1943, likely owing to the war [December 11, 1943, p38]. That may narrow his activity to c1936-1938, unless he south other circus employment. Phil Escalante was a wire walker, as was Chatita/Chata Escalante, and another is illustrated in the circusblog link above. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 03 Oct 2016 - Your query has baffled the nation’s authority on Clyde Beatty and his circus. Are you desiring information about a “thin man,” meaning a side show employee with Clyde Beatty in 1949? Billboard, a weekly trade journal with circus news, is accessible on Google Books Advanced Search. Bi-monthly issues of the CHS Bandwagon and Circus Fans Association journal White Tops might also include coverage. A quick Google image search revealed several images of the bannerline of the 1949 side show.
      Billboard, October 29, 1949, page 72 has an ad placed by Marvin E. Smith, manager of the 1949 side show. In it he listed the entire line-up of employees. The only one listed that might be a “thin man” is “Marvin . . . The Anatomical Wonder.” Smith’s identity as the anatomical wonder is confirmed in another roster in the issue of May 1, 1948, page 62. After being there 1948-1949, Smith lost the Beatty contract for the 1950 tour, his ad immediately above one placed by George “Red” White that sought 1950 attractions. Smith went over to Biller Bros. for 1950. He had also been on Beatty in 1945 and Cole Bros. in 1944. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 03 Oct 2016 - If you are seeking a specific individual, you’re better served by posting his or her name, nickname, stage name, alias, etc., rather than asking about resources. Limiting a “person” search by show title can very well exclude the resources that might be most useful. You can do key word searches for people, by name, nickname, variations and stage names in New York Clipper at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections and in Billboard at Fulton History. These cover from the 1900s into about 1922/1923. If you know for a fact that they were solely with Sells-Floto 1915-1928, then a specific search is appropriate. If you know the location and date of a circus visitation, and not the title, it’s also possible to identify the show in question by searching circus routes.
      There is, perhaps, some limited 1920s Sells-Floto employment documentation in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey business records in the Circus World Museum library. These came into RBBB possession via the purchase of the former American Circus Corp. in 1929. Check for an online collection register, or communicate with librarian Pete Shrake about holdings.
      The Buffalo Bill name was a formal part of Sells-Floto for just two seasons, 1914 and 1915, but the name was invoked in advertising a couple times later, in the 1920s. In 1916 Cody was with the 101 Ranch and in 1917 with Jess Willard. That was the end of his show career.
      There have been illustrated articles published about most Sells-Floto tours from the mid-1900s origin into the mid-1920s in the CHS journal Bandwagon and the CFA journal White Tops. You can find these in the article indexes and order back copies. The three major public circus collections have also posted images online, on their websites [Circus World Museum, Illinois State University-Bloomington, Milner Library; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art]. You might also contact the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. There are also many other images online and in various collections across the country. Images can be catalogued by show name, person’s name, or the generic activity illustrated, as well as by the photographer or community. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 03 Oct 2016 - Stuart Thayer’s book “Annals of the American Circus 1793-1860” provides the broadest coverage of the 1855 Howes tour. It is properly spelled “Howes,” not “Howe’s,” as show did so later. His work was based largely on newspaper resources and such business records as survived and were available to him. The Toronto newspapers will have coverage of the fight. Private fire companies, which preceded publicly-funded firefighters, provided “identity” for members and they were well known for battling each other before they fought the fire. You can supplement Annals coverage with information about the show physical plant in Thayer’s “Traveling Showmen” and the ring show content in his book “The Performers.”
      Further information can be found in the anthology of his articles compiled by his close friend and co-author William L. Slout, on the CHS website, in the virtual library. Seth Howes had a long and interesting circus career. You’ll find bio information in the CHS website virtual library, Jeanne Howes book about the Howes family and many other places.
      Thayer wrote about a "clem" on another show and there’s much coverage of such “recreational fighting” in period newspapers, and later magazines and books. Academics and scholars have also written and published on the topic. Usually the locals came out on the short end, battling work-strengthened showmen who had to deal with local toughs nearly every working day. They were also prepared in advance, via strategic placement of tent stakes and other implements of non-lethal hand to hand combat. Some battles turned deadly, especially when liquor and firearms were involved; then people died on both sides. In the majority of cases the locals were the aggressors, though the grift practiced by some shows, or the criminals following in their wake surely sparked numerous confrontations.
      Of late there has been a Canadian researcher doing work on circuses traveling through the country. You might search for his online postings. Another great resource is Al Stencell, who resides in Toronto. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 03 Oct 2016 - The “Old” John Robinson circus was founded in the early 1840s and last toured as a title in the proprietorship of others, the Circus City Zoological Gardens, Inc., in 1930. The Parkinson article you referenced is his version of the founding of the Robinson show, which followed Richard E. Conover’s account in his book, “Give ‘em a John Robinson.” Both of those have since been augmented by Stuart Thayer’s published writings, in his “Annals of the American Circus 1793-1860,” and a Bandwagon article. See: http://www.circushistory.org/Thayer/Thayer3a.htm
      Briefly in the 1860s-1870s, like other traveling circuses, the Robinson show possibly featured a balloon ascension as a free act on the lot, to attract a crowd. Such events took the place of a street parade, if it was a reduced scale railroad circus. You can find two articles in Bandwagon about these ascensions, one by Robert L. “Bob” Parkinson (March-April 1961 http://www.circushistory.org/Bandwagon/bw-1961Mar.htm) and another by William L. Slout (Mar-Apr 1996). There are also a couple past queries on this website about balloon ascensions, on this message board, addressing the topic of circus balloon ascensions. They provide additional references.
      There are partial performer rosters for the John Robinson show from 1857 to 1893 in the back of Gil Robinson’s book, “Old Wagon Show Days.” Goff is not listed therein, nor is anyone listed as an aeronaut. Goff is also not found in Slout’s circus biographical encyclopedia, “Olympians of the Sawdust Circle.”
      Many show aeronauts were not named, or were identified by stage names or aliases. You can try various key word searches with the New York Clipper, available online, free, at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections and search for anyone named Goff along with balloon, ascension, aeronaut, etc.
      The John Robinson circus toured California for the first time in 1882 and played San Francisco, site of the Golden Gate, on August 28-Sept 2. The lot was at Seventh and Mission Streets. The local advertisement made no mention of a balloon ascension, nor was Goff or an aeronaut mentioned. The show returned to California in 1883, with a similar situation concerning Goff and balloon---both lacking. You can peruse some San Francisco newspapers on line about their appearance. http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc
      There were several other Robinson—named circus troupes, including Alex Robinson, James Robinson and Yankee Robinson. “Old John” Robinson, out of the Cincinnati, Ohio area, owned the most famous of these shows and was the longest-enduring of them. You can find bios of these and more showmen on the CHS website.
      There was a famous balloon ascension staged in San Francisco in 1873 that seems to fit the description given in the book quotation. The passengers were a young reporter named Edwin H. Clough and William W. Austin, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. Their misadventure over the bridge-less Golden Gate can be read in the Sacramento Daily Union, October 20, 1873, page 3, column 4, on the above website, and elsewhere. Is Goff actually Clough? I think not. Clough passed in 1923, his papers from 1919-1922 are at the California State Library. Here’s a tertiary 1882 biography: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=simplicity&id=I40236
      An extended account of the 1873 ascension event penned and published by Austin is “Up in the clouds; down in the Pacific,” in The Scrap Book, v.5 (Jan-June 1908), pages 93-99, in Google Books. Austin recalled a mysterious “Professor” Duret, a no-show. No one named Goff was mentioned. https://books.google.com/books?id=ApVRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=%22edwin+h.+clough%22+balloon+ascension&source=bl&ots=ceN6y1hIJU&sig=dNsYk5H-xzQqF8yf-GFp4DgfShY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk68HzoavPAhVo3IMKHZuaBsIQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=%22edwin%20h.%20clough%22%20balloon%20ascension&f=false
      A deadly San Francisco ascension took place on October 11, 1874, an account given in the Clippers of October 24 and 31, 1874. The deceased aeronaut was Jos. Gruet, billed as Buislay. Another episode was reported on in the Sacramento Daily Union, July 29, 1877, but with different people involved.
      An Allen G. Goff, wife Laura E., is in the 1910 census for Guthrie, Oklahoma. He was age 52 (birth c1858, making him a teenager until 1877 and therefore an unlikely aeronaut), born in Ohio of Ohio parents, employed as a deputy marshal. Perhaps he’s the same fellow listed in the Cherokee Strip Cowpunchers’ Association roster? If this is your man, you need to trace Goff back from that entry. Insofar as the quotation from the 2011 Cherokee Strip book, I recommend that you contact the authors and ask them for the references to their text. Seeing the remainder of the Goff biography might suggest other courses of research. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 02 Sep 2016 - "Jungle" shows enjoyed a specific era of popularity, but were also part of a long tradition of animal presentation and education in the United States. Residents of the hinterlands, with limited access to zoos and even traveling circus menageries found them of great interest. They provided real experience exposure to animals that were often seen and aggrandized on movie screens of the time, whether "King Kong" or the exploits of Clyde Beatty. Exploration in distant lands, the discovery of new species, etc., all fueled the interest in the natural world. The recent flurry of television shows focusing on “wild” animals is the most recent derivative of the enduring human interest in beasts.
      The jungle shows trace an origin back to the exhibition of imported foreign and domestic animals in the late 18th century, followed by the organization of itinerant menageries having three or more beasts that start in the early 19th century. Stuart Thayer chronicled the majority of the early animal caravans in two Bandwagon articles. They reached a zenith with the organization of the Zoological Institute in the 1830s, which collapsed in the Panic of 1837. By then animals were becoming an adjunct of the circus, and eventually the independent beast shows either became an adjunct of the circus, as an accompanying menagerie, or took on aspects of circus activity, like ring demonstrations, while retaining the menagerie title to escape circus-banning laws and anti-ring show rhetoric.
      Darwin’s theories and the controversy they provoked gave renewal to animal interest, with a special focus on primates and related species, their exhibition being among the rarest experienced in North America. Chimpanzees, bona fide gorillas and other such animals were often the top attractions in the jungle shows.
      The giant 90-car Royal American Shows railroad carnival had a gorilla show in some seasons and the big and enduring James E. Strates Shows also featured a wild animal menagerie in some seasons. Their origins date back to the early 20th century, when wild animal shows were the biggest and best of the carnival back end shows. There were other landed animal shows in larger communities, also on world’s fair midways and in amusement zones and parks, like Coney Island.
      There were many small animal outfits framed in the post-WWII era. Some just pulled into a community, secured a license, and opened for business. Others may have signed onto a midway playing a route of still dates and fairs, providing a larger audience. They took many forms, from small motorized outfits, in a car, truck and/or trailer, to others occupying several railroad cars. The animals featured also varied. Most were comprised of smaller beasts, but some had elephants. Proprietors and namesakes included personalities like Frank Buck and Howard Y. Bary, and many more that are unknown to everyone but specialists.
      In addition to traveling outfits, there were many roadside animal attractions. These date back to the early 20th century and perhaps somewhat before, when there were alligator and ostrich farms in warmer climate states like Florida and California. Some collections, like those at the Selig zoo and World Jungle Compound in Los Angeles, furnished animals for film production. A few circuses opened their winter quarters to guests as early as the 1880s, facilitating winter time viewing of their menageries. Ringling-Barnum had the best such facility when they opened their Sarasota quarters to the public in the late 1920s.
      The Eagleson jungle operation seems to be part of traveling carnival history more than anything else. The 1939 engagement was on the Roger Bros. carnival midway. In 1940 they may have been with the Florida Exposition [more below]. There was an Eagleson’s Monkey Circus out of Allendale, SC mentioned in 1943. It had been part of the Crescent Amusement Company midway out of Gastonia, NC. [Billboard, November 27, 1943, 44.] During a 1944 engagement on Crescent the Eagleson’s Side Show was destroyed by a hurricane at Union, SC and returned to Allendale quarters to recover. [Billboard, November 11, 1944, 36.] Crescent Shows again had "Eagleson’s Jungle Circus" in 1945. [Clipper, May 19, 1945, 41.] Eagleson’s Jungleland Show joined the W. C. Kaus Show, a carnival midway, at the McHenry County Fair in Martinsville, WV in September 16-21, 1946. The proprietor was named as George S. Eagleson, with the initials G. S. appearing in some ads. [Billboard, October 5, 1946, 58.] Troy E. Williams, proprietor of Williams Southern Shows of Morganton, NC, sought to gain a response from "Eagleson Jungle Circus" in early 1947, likely wanting to book them for the season. [Billboard, February 8, 1947, 64.] The Eaglesons, quartered in Allendale, SC, visited the Hoxie Bros. circus in 1949, which had the Noells of gorilla fame with them. [Billboard, April 23, 1949, 69.] Eagleson offered to sell a complete monkey, chimpanzee and bird show, in all or part, with a plan to retire from the business in early 1949 and pursue other opportunities. [Billboard, February 5, 1949, 78.] There was a second offering of a dozen monkeys, including two nursing babies, Ringtails, Java and Rhesus for $450. [Billboard, September 10, 1949, 82.] A profile of the new Eagleson Ape Show in the spring of 1951 originated from their quarters in Allendale, SC. The tour was to start May 1 in New England and then take off for the west coast. He had new equipment, a semi-trailer truck that contained all of the cages, along with a working cage space. Featured were four chimpanzees worked by Eagleson and his wife, with a pair of mandrills being added. [Billboard, May 5, 1951, 65.] John Keeler, or Modernistic Shows, sought to hear from Eagleson’s Jungle Circus in 1952. [Billboard, June 2, 1959, 59.] Identifying himself as Eagleson’s Ape Show, he had a snake, reptile and "Big Rat" show framed on a bus, with living quarters in the aft portion in late 1953. [Billboard, November 14, 1953, 67.] A 4-1/2 year old well-trained male chimpanzee, with a large repertoire of acts and capable of being handled by anyone was for sale in early 1956. [Billboard, February 18, 1956, 98.] It appears that the Eaglesons retired from the road sometime in the early 1950s, perhaps retaining or keeping a few animals at their residence thereafter.
      Edith Eagleson, of the "Eagleson Ape Show," was identified as the daughter of W. S. M[e?]yers and his wife, the latter who passed away at age 76 in 1959 and was buried in Stoneboro, PA. [Billboard, November 23, 1959, 70.] Edith was the spouse of "George S." Eagleson. The 1940 census gives her age as 27, born about 1913 in Statsboro [presumably Stoneboro], Pennsylvania. Her husband was given as Glomer Sparks Eagleson, age 39. Her gravestone in the Swallow Savannah Cemetery, Allendale, SC provides a birth date of September 28, 1914 and a date of death of May 29, 1981. Her parents were cited as William and Catheryn Meyers.
      Glomer Sparks Eagleson, the apparent real name of George S., is interred in the same cemetery. Date of birth is given as April 25, 1900, and death as August 10, 1992. He’s given as the son of Charles Bertie Eagleson (1877-1962) and Lillie Jane Sparks Eagleson (1881-1945). An old newspaper was quoted as saying: "In his younger day, Glomer managed to outrun the Feds whenever they found the moonshine still that he and some of his friends had operated in North Carolina. But he can feel proud - as it was the same type of thing that got NASCAR started." The 1940 census gives his name as Glenn G. Eagleson, age as 39, born about 1901 in Gray, Ohio. They were resident in Allendale, in the Allendale Hotel. His occupation was given as merchant, but the entries for he and Edith were initially made as part of the canvas of the Florida Exposition, a carnival that may have been their employer and was apparently wintering in the community.
      How early he may have picked up in the animal trade is unknown. 1930s and early 1940s issues of Billboard magazine can be key-word checked at ProQuest’s Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive, for a fee. It’s possible that residents of Allendale remember him, or there may be clippings in the local Regional and County Libraries, in Allendale. A Glomer Eagleson is listed as a motorcycle racer at Piedmont Park in 1919. [Western Sentinel (Winston-Salem, NC) June 13, 1919) There’s no immediate way to confirm it is the animal man. Some further searching of census records might yield 1920 and 1930 entries for him and/or Edith.
      Unless the Eaglesons were bonafide gypsies, the casual pejorative use of “Gypsy” is inappropriate. You can see from the above that they were part of a long heritage of animal exhibition that educated many Americans in the ways and wonders of animal existence and life. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 31 Aug 2016 - Working on the Blue Unit, you would have been talking about the tigers in Charly Baumann's act. Yes, there were some animals that were retired in different years. As to this one particular tiger, I contacted Gary Hill, who worked there taking care of the animals for Charly and Jewell New both to see if he has any ideas. But he had gone to Circus World by 1980 so he doesn't know either. Bob Cline

• Reply: 02 Sep 2016 - Hi Bob, Thanks for the reply. Ralph

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• Reply: 26 Aug 2016 - Brown & Werner wasn’t a circus, but another form of tented entertainment that traveled overland by horse and wagon. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” was dramatized on stage and also under the tent. There were dozens of such itinerant companies under canvas during the heyday. Harry Birdoff wrote the best general book about UTC shows, “World’s Greatest Hit.” Some were very modest, others moved by a small set of railroad cars. Many just rolled into town with their wagon train, to announce their presence, others staged a complete street parade like a circus, or had a steam calliope. The proprietor names were important; they signified the quality of the enterprise, as all were generally telling the same well-known story. The names of the leading actors were usually announced, another harbinger of status. In general, their operational methodologies were cloned from the overland and later the railroad circus. There was interchange between the two forms of entertainment. A knowing look at the train of wagons might indicate the possible origin of the vehicles.
      Brown & Werner’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin Co. is mentioned in the New York Clipper, July 13, 1901, 425, as being at South Norwalk, CT. That’s between 15 and 20 miles from where they played on June 14, so they were likely perambulating around the area. If you go to fultonhistory.com, it holds issues of the Port Chester Journal. The issue of June 20 carried a brief article stating Brown & Werner’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin Shows United had been playing to big audiences since they opened the week prior. On the prior Friday night it was claimed that 1200 to 1500 people crowded their tent. The owners were identified as C. C. Brown, of Port Chester and John Werner of Rye. Brown & Werner were still at Port Chester per the June 27 newspaper. The Port Chester Journal of June 20 reported that the Brown & Werner Novelty Co. staged the UTC performance in a tent erected on W. D. Palmer’s open lot located adjacent to the paper factory. UTC may have been just one play in their repertoire.
      The name of only one member of the troupe was published. T. F. Kenney left Haney’s UTC at Clinton OH and joined Brown & Werner at Rye, NY, per Clipper, June 29, 1901, 379. He then departed them in favor of another UTC operated by J. L. Warner, spelled with an “at” then at Rye, NY. The July 27, 1901 issue, 463, advised that Kenney closed with Werner and moved on to the Goodrich circus at Nyack, NY.
      Local newspapers may provide advertisements and other information about their appearances. Searching in Port Chester and Rye may reveal more about the lives of the two owners. Other than the coming and going of Kenney, Brown & Werner garnered no attention, it was below the national reporting system. Partnerships were often short lived and the owners may have moved into a more remunerative show activity, such as a pavilion theater, variety show, side show, etc., or returned to enterprises outside of “show business.” Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 27 Aug 2016 - Veliko Kvitashvili is identified as a Georgian, as were most of the riders aggrandized as “Cossacks” with American circuses, Wild West operations and other shows and exhibitions. He is named as such in an online hit [http://www.georgianjournal.ge/society/29870-proud-and-graceful-georgian-riders-in-the-west.html] as well as in Richard Alexis Georgian’s book “Cossacks, Indians and Buffalo Bill,” the story line of which ends with WWI. You may also find Irakli Makharadze, “Georgian Trick Riders in American Wild West Shows, 1890s-1920s” (McFarland, 2015) of interest. Here’s one review: http://www.lrgaf.org/articles/horsemen_daredevils.htm
      Seline’s 1926 arrival perhaps connects with his presence (as Stephene Seline) on Miller Bros. 101 Ranch in 1927, as a Cossack. [http://www.kaycounty.info/101_Ranch/1927roster.htm]. He may have remained with it until the Ranch show folded in August 1931. The railroad shows that were home for many Georgian Cossacks evaporated 1930-1932 and many were out of jobs, with few prospects. That circumstance may have suggested to Seline the possibility of forming his own touring act, which could be booked with various venues and activities, rodeos, agricultural and world’s fairs, indoor circuses and more. Constant employment was almost impossible.
      He was on Cole Bros. as early as 1942, named as Steve and Evelyn Seline, members of the Wild West concert. [Billboard, June 13, 1942, 39, Google Books] By 1947 he was identified as the head of the operation. [Billboard, April 26, 1947, 362]
      59 East Van Buren Street was the address of the Athenaeum Club, an athletic club. The Mullini Sisters, a vaude act, used a suite in it for contacts in 1920, so they may have been renting out rooms for income. The same address was published for others in public trades. There were no hits associating Ingraham with the address in New York Clipper, which ran out about 1923, or Billboard through 1922. In 1929 the structure was replaced by the Buckingham Building, an office structure still standing in downtown Chicago, familiarly known as The Loop. In March 1930 Ingraham was noted as being in advance of a Passion Play show in Florida, but had been working on behalf of the Chicago Stadium, which had opened in 1929. As I recall, the opening operation was the Miller Bros. 101 Ranch. He could have met Seline at that time. In mid-1930 Ingraham and Rutherford took title to the defunct Cole. Bros. Circus and moved it to Peoria, IL, where it failed to come together as a viable traveling show and was sold off to Rutherford’s frequent employer, George Christy.
      H. C. Ingraham is a known and documented circus staffer. Given the Ranch show’s employment of Seline and their 1931 closure, along with Ingraham’s Chicago location in 1930. I’d recommend looking in 1931 to 1942 Chicago city directories and also searching Billboard issues via ProQuest’s paid website for entertainment journals [Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive http://www.proquest.com/products-services/eima.html]. There’s a good chance that you’ll find Ingraham working out of a Van Buren street address, which would date the event. You can also search therein for Seline’s name and the Imperial Russian Cossacks name and fill other gaps in his career chronology.
      If you haven’t contacted Pete Shrake at the Circus World Museum library, you might do so and ask him to check their name finding aid for Seline, including all spelling variations on his name, nicknames, as well as for his wife and associates. H. C. Ingraham should not be confused with Howard Ingram, a one-time show trainmaster, who remained active into the 1950s. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 24 Aug 2016 - A Google Books Advanced Search revealed one possible entry for “Leo Banks.” He was identified in the Billboard issue of July 20, 1946, page 54 as a “boy wonder” in the 10-in-1 side show with the combined Nos. 1 and 2 units of the J. E. Casey Shows. They played the Dauphin, Manitoba Fair the first three days of the week of July 7. When it was a motorized carnival, having several units, it traveled the highways on trucks and trailers. For a period, 1943-1944, it also moved by train. It wintered near Winnipeg, the address given as 567 St. Mary’s Road, St. Vital. There are photos of the show online. A profile of the outfit can be read here: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000843&sl=9375&pos=1. You placed the Banks name in quotation marks; are you aware if that was his real name, or an alias? Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 27 Aug 2016 - I’m not sure if “Leo” was his given name or short for something else! Debbie

• Reply: 28 Aug 2016 - Banks could still be living today; if age 20 in 1946 he’d be about age 90 or greater today. But, that’s the lower limit and it’s beyond average male life expectancy, so odds are against it. Leo could be a nickname, or shortened first or middle name, you’re right, it could be almost anything. You might try searching for full given names with which it’s associated, Leonard and so on. You might search Canadian, provincial and American death records, as well as Nova Scotia directories and census documents. Build out from the one fact that you have, his Nova Scotia location, assuming it’s accurate. A circa 1926 or earlier birth suggests inclusion in 1920 or perhaps 1910 censuses. You might find an obituary, which can name next of kin and other relevant data; a death certificate that mentions relations; internment records (which can reference next of kin) and so on. You might consult with a professional genealogist familiar with Canadian documentation if nothing turns up. Al Stencell, a Canadian in Toronto with a wealth of knowledge about the Casey operation and Canadian showmen in general, may also have some helpful tips. He would know the occupation of a “boy wonder.” Also seek out ProQuest’s entertainment archive, as related in message 4667 and search for Banks; maybe he was active in the 1930s and 1920s. F. D.

• Reply: 31 Aug 2016 - In regard to message 4666 what was Leo Banks aka Boy Wonder famous for doing in the carnival? Debbie

• Reply: 03 Sep 2016 - I searched without clarifying success for the phrase “boy wonder” as employed by carnival personnel. In an offline exchange with Al Stencell, who has studied the topic for years and knows many people that were in the trade, he suggested, but was unable to confirm that the identification might relate to a “walk on” person, someone seeking a meal[s], lodging, employment or transportation, and who was willing to perform most any task or job in the side show to be retained. It speaks to an enthusiasm to participate and join in. The component word “boy” might suggest a youthful person, or a somewhat denigrating naming of an older individual; and “wonder” presumably relates to the willingness and perhaps ability to attempt or accomplish any task or assignment given to them, with or without competency and success. It seems to parallel other societal use of the phrase to some regard. Other veterans of the carnival world are certainly invited to offer their insights on the interpretation. Word and phrase usage varies from show to show, circus to carnival, regionally and across time. F. D.

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• Reply: 31 Aug 2016 - Hello Pam, I know you and I have spoken as well as you and Shirley at the Miami Co. Museum talking to each other. This answer is just to put the same responses on this forum. To answer your question, There is no website dedicated to the wood carvers of these circus wagons. By far the best coverage comes in the form of Frederick Fried's book "Artist's in Wood" but it doesn't cover the Sullivan and Eagle crafters.
      The greatest treasure we could ever hope to find would be the Sullivan and Eagle Company records. Sadly, they were destroyed along with all the wagon blueprints in the devastating 1913 floods in and around Peru, Indiana. A few historical articles have mentioned that this wagon was built by or an order for wagons was placed with Sullivan and Eagle but they don't go into detail as to who the designers, craftsman, wheelwrights or carvers were.
      Keep in touch with Shirley Griffin. If anything can be found out about the Miami County history, she is in the right place to see it. Bob Cline

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• Reply: 10 Aug 2016 - Go to the Virtual Library on this website, select the “people” portion and then go to Slout’s Olympians of the Sawdust Circle. There are a number of gymnasts [also known as acrobats, tumblers, to some degree leapers] named Leon that might be the people you seek. There’s also an entry for a family that used Leon as a stage name. There are a number of first names that could be checked further in digitized newspapers, the online New York Clipper, census and genealogical documentation, etc. One is a Willie Leon, a leaper. They possibly had brief careers that included both circus and stage work. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 31 Jul 2016 - I searched in a variety of ways for clowns or performers named Hedesa and Milian and had absolutely no hits. That’s pretty unusual. Did they use stage names or aliases; different spelling; or is there another explanation for the absence from documentation? Do you have any other information, textual or image, that could serve as a search initiation point? You might try contacting knowledgeable people on circus clowns including Pat Cashin, Bruce Johnson and Greg DeSanto. Once an accurate identity is established some information ought to be available. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 31 Jul 2016 - You can find circus routes in local newspapers, or those printed in nearby communities (check Markham and Oshawa), and also in the weekly trade magazine New York Clipper, which is online free with key word searching at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections. Try searching years other than 1889 as family legends are often unreliable. Beyond Kirkland and Eldon, also try other local community names, Ontario, etc. There were any number of itinerant overland troupes, showmen, etc., seeking an audience. “Ontario” alone had 33 hits.
      You might consider having family DNA tested to learn more about your heritage. Have you checked Canadian census records or consulted any genealogical websites? Traveling circuses and gypsies are “lumped” together by some, but they are two entirely different lines of development.
      There are some online circus photos taken in Oshawa, but they are from a later visitation by the Pan American Shows, a railroad circus. Other railers, including Norris & Rowe and Sanger also visited Oshawa, so they were in the area - but in the larger communities. The railroad was in Kirkland by 1888, and also at Eldon, perhaps before, but a circus visit was determined by population and possible audience, not solely access. Overland outfits, moving by horse and wagon, usually played the hinterlands communities. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 28 Jul 2016 - Bona fide gorillas were a rarity and thus anything bearing the name, including known animal frauds, provoked interest. Other beasts were billed as gorillas, such was the interest to observe one outside the natural habitat. The only true gorilla brought to Europe during Grauwitch’s time reportedly died at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris in the spring of 1884. This was in Clipper, May 24, 1884, page 150. At an estimated age of less than four years, he was exhibited during the time frame when Grauwitch was active.
      The first true gorilla didn’t arrive in North America until 1897; it was preceded by fraudulent presentations. The 1897 example and other aspects of the species here are covered in “The Ringling-Barnum Gorillas and Their Cages” in Bandwagon, Nov-Dec 2006. There are surely numerous zoological papers on the topic.
      Rudolph Grauwitch, the “Gorilla Man,” was possibly an example of an extremely hirsute man, enduring hypertrichosis, akin to JoJo (The Dog-Faced Man/Boy), Lionel (Lion-faced Boy) and others who appeared with side shows, dime museums and the like. The February 18, 1882 New York Clipper, page 791, stated: “Two features of Forepaugh’s sideshow imported to this country, we are informed, will be a man with the head of a horse, and a gorilla man entirely covered with hair from head to foot.” So, Grauwitch was presumably from abroad, European given his name, and was with Forepaugh for the first time in 1882 - unless his true origin was aggrandized for publicity purposes as was common practice. You’ve already found his listing in the 1883 Forepaugh route book, on this website: http://www.circushistory.org/History/Forepaugh1883.htm. In that entry, arrivals from Europe are noted as such, giving rise to questions about his origin. The Forepaugh sideshow roster published in the Clipper, May 3, 1884, page 105, fails to include Grauwitch. So, he may have done a typical two-year turn and moved on, perhaps shaving or dropping his disguise.
      Neither “gorilla man” nor “Rudolph Grauwitch” garnered many search hits, which might reflect limitations of OCR, spelling variations, or little interest in his presentation. His two-year stint stands in contrast to JoJo’s career. Being back-to-back, the comparison may be revealing. Forepaugh white-washed an elephant for the 1884 “white elephant war” season and had previously tried to pass off a very young imported elephant named “Chicago” as a domestic birth. Perhaps his “gorilla man” was an equal ruse; not a really hairy man, but one in a suit that portrayed a gorilla. This fit in with portrayals of “wild men,” “missing links” and the like, all popular in the wake of Darwin’s publication.
      JoJo, reportedly born Fedor Jeftichew, is alleged to have been signed by Barnum in 1884, but during 1883-1886 the sideshow privilege was contracted out to others. “Discovered by Barnum” may be a meaningless assertion generated later and needing confirmation. The sideshow attractions would have been contracted by the sideshow concessionaires. It could be argued that JoJo first garnered national attention while touring with Barnum & London in 1885. His arrival in the US, on October 12, 1884, accompanied by a personal manager, is documented in newspaper accounts in late 1884 (Sacramento Daily Record-Union, October 14, 1884; Morrisville (VT) News and Citizen, November 6, 1884). It was announced “He will be exhibited.” The earliest booking located was for the dime museum in Indianapolis in January 1885 (Indianapolis Daily Sentinel, January 5, 1885, “dog face man”). This preceded any affiliation with the Barnum outfit. JoJo’s name is first listed as a Barnum & London attraction in an advertisement in the New York Sun, April 14, 1885. He’s listed as a show museum attraction in the 1885 route book, his manager identified as Nicholas Foster. The museum had an ethnological character, more so than the sideshow, and may have been a presentation controlled by the circus. His whereabouts during the summer of 1886 are unknown, he was not with the Barnum show, but findable bookings before and after the touring season place him in dime museums. In 1887 he traveled with the S. H. Barrett show. The remainder of his career can be documented elsewhere.
      Other “gorilla men” donned hairy suits and another was a mummy (1891). In 1898 there was a “clever chimpanzee” named Sally accompanied by her consort, “Congo, the gorilla man.” The true nature of Sally was ambiguous in reviews, but Congo seems to be of the “missing link” sort of attraction generated by Darwinian interpretations. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 18 Jul 2016 - The Horton and Demers operation appears to have been that of a married couple and wasn’t a circus. They were affiliated with a traveling, motorized carnival. Check: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/DEMERS/2004-09/1095784499 and http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=204&p=surnames.demers. They state in part: “It is my understanding that while Fred was married to Louis[e?] they have [had] a show called D & H (Demers & Horton and performed ab [at] the Old Man of the Mountain shows.” Also: “Joseph Fred Horton who was born to Marie Louis Demer (do not have her maiden name but looks like it could well be Francoeur) as she was born in Canada. After the death of his mother Joe and his father Fred Horton left and have been told they were in the circus. Marie's children from her first marriage were Eunice, Noella, Lillian, Norman & Leo.” Please refer to Query number 996 for an earlier and related response, from one of the principal’s descendants. For further information you’ll want to review period issues of Billboard that are available via ProQuest, a paid website. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - Barbette is reported to have performed for the last time in 1938, some 78 years ago. With an adult aged 20, that would make any companion performer or associate a centenarian. Chances of finding such a person aren’t totally impossible, but very, very, very limited. Perhaps you can find someone that knew him between 1938 and when he passed in 1973? If you look at his career between those landmarks it suggests possibilities for tracking down work associates. You might also explore the possibilities of people that were resident near him in Texas in his final days. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 15 Jul 2016 - Barbette worked as Aerial Director on circuses long after 1938, Cole Bros and Polack Bros to name two. Whitey

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• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - Mr. Galloway spoke the enticing language out front of the side show tent, as part of the “bally,” which convinced local gawkers to part with some of their money and buy a ticket for admittance. It was a fee separate and apart from the ticket that provided entrance to the menagerie [zoo] and big top [ring performance]. Though many have termed them “barkers,” a term suited to “man’s best friend,” the more correct period terms for the job are talker, orator, lecturer and “blower.” There are fine line differences, changing between shows, across time, and between circuses, carnivals and amusement parks, where one or more of the job terms might not mean the outside person, but the personality inside the tent who made a discourse about the special personalities who were seen inside. People sometimes talked inside and out, blurring the placement differentiation.
      By all means, also start your search with basic Google searches for the names, aliases and variants thereon.
      A modicum of employment data survives for circus employment in the late 19th century. Mostly it’s for larger railroad shows, not more modest operations. The best prospects for finding something about Gallaway’s employer are to use key word searching for the names, aliases and variants thereon, in issues of the New York Clipper. It has been digitized and is available free online at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections. There are also Clipper issues at the online Fulton History and perhaps elsewhere. Each has a different search engine and OCR service and may yield complementing results, so check both. In your Clipper searches, you might also search for mention of the geographic locations with which your subject was associated. The local newspapers in those communities may have reported on him at one time or another. Locals often looked down upon showmen, but enlightened folks realized that they simply led lives that caused them to be on tour, as travelers.
      Another search tool would be the name finding aids at the Circus World Museum library. They include rosters from route books and elsewhere. Contact Pete Shrake at the facility and ask him for assistance.
      “Small circuses” likely means overland troupes, moving by horse and wagon, through the hinterlands, though it might mean a modest railroad show of from one to five cars. Mention of Gallaway in the Jay Marshall collection compilation as the possible binder of the Erdnase books makes sense. It would not be unusual for a talker to present acts of his own in the side show, magic, playing cards and the like. As a possible consumer of “how to” books and such it may have connected Gallaway to that realm of activity. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 11 Jul 2016 - What is the context and presentation of the Christy & Lapham title? Is it in a photograph from history, a piece of ephemera, upon an artifact or something else? The answer is sometimes provoked by the nature of the item. The name came up in a single, basic, confined Google search, “Christy & Lapham,” upon a 5-cent token, which appears to be of the type utilized in many trades. This one is labeled “concession,” which could mean an arcade piece. Concession per se isn’t confined to traveling shows; it’s a more generic term with at least two interpretations.
      There are any number of circus tokens, mostly shell cards, and this token is not one I’ve seen associated with traveling shows. You’ll have seen entries for George W. Christy in the Parkinson reference, but Lapham bears no significance in his story. The carnival list in McKennon also has no relevant title entry. Some carnivals had arcade operations that possibly used such tokens. C. W. Parker mounted token-operated machines upon flat bed wagons and placed them in arcade tents. Various concessionaires would have operated these devices, perhaps under contract with Parker. There may have been others; check Al Stencell’s books on carnival operations.
      You can search further for the title names in weekly issues of New York Clipper [at Illinois Digital Newspaper Archives] and Billboard [Google Books, Fulton History, Proquest], but there’s an equally good chance it’s from a landed enterprise; on a city street; in an amusement park; and elsewhere. There may also be trade magazines that catered to the coin-op industry. There’s also guides to tokens, etc. There were thousands of such storefront enterprises from the 1890s well into the 20th century. An authority on such pieces might be able to refine the period when such items were used and thereby limit the search period. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 27 Jul 2016 - If you are asking about the Christy & Lapham tokens that recently were in an on line auction, you should ask the person who has this website, http://freakmuseum.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_13.html
  He has an extensive collection of carnival and circus store cards, tokens, and medals, both 19 and 20th century. He has helped me many times identifying examples in my collection. Hope this helps, William

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• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - By the 1920s there were few “high diving” acts on traveling circuses. Sometimes such an act was billed as an extra for a spring indoor opener, but they generally weren’t on the daily changing outdoor route through the summer. They would be more commonly seen with traveling carnivals, at amusement parks and perhaps county and state fairs, where they served a free attractions. Residency, per se , plays no major role in itinerancy; a show from Iowa could have traveled anywhere the route took it. Your best bet will be to search for female divers in the trade journals New York Clipper and Billboard, as per information given in other responses. Use the names you have for her, single and married, and variations thereon, and any and all spouses. Also, expect that she won’t have been billed as “Lillian Fish,” but by another name, an alias, with perceived greater publicity appeal. That will make the search more complex. The more information that you can find about her life off the shows, the better the chances that you’ll find her in a show chronicle. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows didn’t relocate to Sarasota, Florida until the winter of 1927-1928. There is thereby a conflict with the 1924 birth year for your father and your grandfather’s employment by the circus - they cannot be concurrent as you wrote in the query. Likely, there is an explainable resolution. The first thing would be to obtain a copy of your father’s birth certificate from Sarasota or Manatee Counties, Florida, if he was born in one of them. The unusual birth circumstances suggest that it may have been reported in one of the local newspapers. With an accurate birth month, day and year from the birth certificate you can then search the local newspapers. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - The Pete Mardo photographs of RBBB provide some photographic coverage of early 1920s acts. You can peruse them at the CWM library in Baraboo. Bookings as Hollywood film doubles were sometimes reported in New York Clipper and Billboard. Clipper is online at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections; Billboard is only at ProQuest’s paid site for your time frame, though take a look on Fulton History’s website - it might reach 1922. The Sons of the Desert seem to know just about everything about Laurel & Hardy; if you haven’t accessed that membership, it may be worth an attempt. You might also try perusing magazines that catered to the film trade; perhaps some published comprehensive cast lists, including stunt doubles. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - Do you know if Brooks was married, or had any children? Siblings? Your best bet is to do some online directory and residence searching for people named Brooks in the vicinity of Medford, OR, where Brooks expired - and ascertain if that was his residence or where he just happened to be when he expired. Unfortunately, that was 33 years ago, nearly two generations have passed since then. With a mobile population people are always on the move.
      You might seek a copy of the newspaper obituary. It may provide the name of his next of kin and the name of the cemetery where he was interred. The cemetery internment record may also name next of kin, or those that provided for his burial. If you can find his 1983 street address, sometimes current occupants or neighbors have a recollection of a past resident. Being a circus man and a clown would have imbued him with a special and memorable personality.
      Here’s an image of Brooks, date unknown. http://clownalley.blogspot.com/2009/08/leslie-brooks-undated.html. Perhaps members of the clowning world can assist you with further information? Check with Greg DeSanto of the Clown Hall of Fame in Baraboo, WI; also Pat Cashin [clownalley website link]; and Bruce Johnson at http://www.charliethejugglingclown.com/clown_history.htm. A simple Google search of “Leslie Brooks” brought forth a number of relevant hits that may be worthwhile to pursue. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - Sells Bros. Circus existed 1872-1895 and became Forepaugh-Sells for 1896-1907 and 1910-1911, out of Columbus ,OH [and Baraboo, WI 1910-1911]. It was a big operation. There’s much documentation about them. Be aware, there’s also Sells & Rentfrow; Sells & Downs; Sells-Floto; all of which had a name originating with an adopted nephew of the Sells brothers, Willie Sells. Usually, but not always, the “Sells show” meant the Columbus organization, which was in the top five outfits through the 1880s and into the 1900s. You’ll find routes in the virtual library on this website.
      Your ancestor may have been recruited to come to the US as a member of an acrobatic troupe. If you do some searching you’ll find posters and perhaps photos of Middle Eastern men doing acrobatic acts with traveling shows. You can also check for him, by name and with acrobatic troupes, in pages of the New York Clipper, free and online with key word searching at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections.
      Daily life rituals on shows can be ascertained by perusing material in the virtual library on this website. I’d recommend Thompson’s “On the Road with a Circus.” It provide s a general overview. You can locate many other period articles in magazines published in the period in question. I would recommend that you read George A. Hamid Sr.’s autobiography, “Circus,” (1950). He came from the Middle East, was an acrobat with shows, etc., at the turn of the century. It will provide you with some insights on challenges and opportunities facing anyone arriving in the US at the time. Travelers picked up needed language very quickly; old ways were maintained, but assimilation was pretty much inevitable. Some troupes may have been accompanied by a manager, who was bilingual; or perhaps one member was able to speak English.
      The name finding aid at Circus World Museum might list him, but the variations in spellings may prove challenging. Check with Pete Shrake at the library and ask about conducting a search. I would encourage you to explore his life record, including his arrival in the USA. That would provide a specific anchor for his earliest employment with a circus. Perhaps his brother Solomon’s arrival would provide some clues in ascertaining it?
      It’s not part of circus history, but there was a George Jabour who was the owner and operator of a large traveling carnival. He also had Middle Eastern heritage, as I recall. The DeKrekos may have shared a similar heritage. You might into their story. Joe McKennon’s “Pictorial History of the American Carnival” has a tertiary biography of Jabour and perhaps others. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - The Bedini family of riders was covered in an article by John Daniel Draper in Bandwagon, Sept-Oct 1991, pages 28-33. The Davenports were surveyed in another Draper piece in November-December 1990, pages 22-29. These can probably be purchased as back issues. Many of Draper’s research notes can be accessed here: http://www.ringlingcircus.org/equestrian/ - Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - Yes, it was acquired by a learned and valued member of the CHS who may utilize it in a future article in the society journal, Bandwagon. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 14 Jul 2016 - Your best chance of finding information about Oral C. Marsh would be to search for his name, and variations thereon, in pages of the weekly theatrical journal Billboard. There is some coverage up to about 1922 in Google Books and Fulton History, but the 1920s-1930s are largely available only on the paid ProQuest website. They provide key word searching. Perhaps you can visit a local metropolitan or college library that subscribes to the service? I would also encourage checking Kansas newspapers of the period that have been digitized and are available with key word searching.
      In addition to the circus, tents were also employed to house “back end shows” with traveling carnivals and also repertoire tent theaters. The Midwest and Great Plains states were filled with such operations. Kansas City, Missouri was the regional hub for traveling shows. Showmen gravitated to the Coates House hotel, where they would meet.
      His obituary stated he was born c1896 (c1894 in 1910 and 1920 censuses) in Indiana (Brown, IN in 1910, 1920 censuses; Google ref to an April 1916 land deal in Brownsburg, Hendricks County, IN with an Oral C. Marsh); resided in Belton 22 years (1946-1968?) and passed in Harrisonville. He was in the equipment rental business. There were and are tent rental outfits spaced across the US; perhaps that was part of his trade? “Oral” doesn’t come up in census searches, which seems unusual; yet, secondary sites do make listings of it, suggesting different qualities of OCR capability.
      You can look at the actual circuses that were in operation in the 1930s on this website, in the virtual library, the Sturtevant list. You might also look at winter quarters lists, to determine those that originated or wintered in Kansas and connected states, like Missouri. It seems somewhat unusual that he would simply leave the Indianapolis area and venture west to join a show; it suggests some connective element that remains to be discovered; a friend; possible past employment; some other circumstance.
      I would also recommend contacting Pete Shrake at the CWM library and ask him to check the name finding aids for your great uncle’s name. There is a collection of issues of the Opera House Reporter, a journal that catered to Midwest tent shows, at the repertoire theater museum at Old Threshers in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. You might also contact the good people there and ask about your great uncle. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

• Reply: 29 Jun 2016 - A basic biography of John Hayes Murray, giving his spouse’s name and wedding date, and mentioning two sons and two daughters, can be found on this page, on this website: http://www.circushistory.org/Olympians/OlympiansM2.htm It appears that his life (birth, death, etc.) focused around New York City. Further details of his family can probably be found in census and other genealogical-type resources. He had a long and varied career (performer and proprietor) in the circus business and you can search for data entries via Google, digitized newspapers, New York Clipper (Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections), other digitized collections, etc. There are multiple illustrations that exist of him, mostly engravings, as well as ephemera produced for his shows. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 29 Jun 2016 - If you Google “Merritt Belew” + Hawaii, you will get an entry in Billboard, 1947, connecting him with Hawaii. You can also access it through Google Books Advanced Search. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 29 Jun 2016 - A key word search of Billboard magazine, searchable on Google Books Advanced Search, using Toni Hayden (also Tony and Hayden+circus) failed to deliver any hits. A general Google search for the name was also fruitless. Is a different name or an alias possible? More information is needed to go further. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 25 May 2016 - It would be helpful if you provided the titles of the shows, as well as the dates and locations of the engagements, as listed in your three newspaper articles. If the articles are not period pieces, in the time of the shows, but later flashbacks, that would also be helpful to learn. This is important because Slout’s “Olympians of the Sawdust Circle,” on this website, a fairly comprehensive biographical encyclopedia of 19th century American circus activity, fails to list any owner named John Green or Horn brothers. Similarly, Stuart Thayer’s “Annals of the American Circus 1793-1860” fails to list the requisite Green and Horn-named proprietors. If they owned a hitherto undocumented circus, or menagerie, it must be quite obscure. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, Johan and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 25 May 2016 - The Leonard Bros. Circus played some Ohio dates but not the one you were looking for. Opened Apr. 21 London, Ohio; Sunday off; Apr. 23 Mt. Sterling, Ohio; Apr. 24 Sabina, Ohio; Apr. 25 Loveland, Ohio; April 26 & 27 Hamilton, Ohio; Apr. 28 Middletown, Ohio; Apr. 29 Oxford, Ohio; Apr. 30 Centerville, Ind; May 1 Lewisburg, Ohio; May 2 West Milton, Ohio; May 3 Arcanum, Ohio; May 4 Union CIty, Ind. Then Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Ted Bowman Circus Route Collection.

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• Reply: 14 Apr 2016 - While a number of circus routes for wagon and rail circuses are listed on this website they do not include the railroad used nor the miles between stops. The main place you can find this specific information is on circus route cards which not only list the date, city and state, but usually the railroad and miles. Some circus route books also include the railroad used in and out of a date. Search for the Cole Bros 1916 Circus on this website and you will see where the show went that year and the route cards in my collection for the show note the railroads used. Cole Bros. World Toured Shows – April 17 Ft. Smith, Ark – I.M. R.R. – 22 miles; April 24 Vinita, Ok. Frisco – 63 miles; May 15 Staunton, Ill. – Wabash – 20 miles; May 20 Harvey,Ill. – Ill. Central – 34 miles; May 26 Niles, Mich. – Mich. Cen. – 36 miles; June 7 Newberry, Mich. – D.S.S. & A. – 90 miles; June 15 Escanaba, Mich. – Soo Line – 38 miles; Aug. 20 – Miami, Ariz. – Ariz. & East – 25 miles; Aug. 24 Tombstone, Ariz. – South. Pac. - 140 miles; Aug 29 El Paso, Tx. – Texas, El Paso & SW – 72 miles; Sept. 5 Amarillo, Tx. – Rock Island – 115 miles; Sept 8 Alva, Ok. – Santa Fe, - 88 miles; Sept 11 Forgan, Ok – MK&T – 84 miles; Sept 19 Snyder, Ok - Frisco – 45 miles; Sept 23 Memphis, Tx –Ft. W & Den – 27 miles. The Circus World Museum holds a large collection of circus route cards. Ted Bowman Circus Route Collection.

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• Reply: 29 Mar 2016 - Cole Bros. wintered in Louisville in the 40's. That might be the show he was with. Whitey

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• Reply: 29 Mar 2016 - John Robinson’s 10 Big Shows Combined 4 Circuses, 3 Menageries, Roman Hippodrome, Grand Spectacle of King Solomon & Queen of Sheba and 2 Elevated Stages played Chillicothe in 1906. There was a double herd of elephants, 1500 rare and costly wild animals, the Battle of Wounded Knee with Indians, Cowboys, Scouts and Soldiers, The Leavensworth Zouaves, Ellsworth Female Zouaves, Robinson’s Female Cadets, and Captain Winston and his talented educated seals. The show played June 22 - Atchison, Kansas, 23 – Cameron, Mo., 24 – Sunday, 25 – Chillicothe, Mo., 26 – Brookfield, Mo., 27 – Macon, Mo., 28 – Monroe City, Mo., and 29 - Hannibal, Mo. You might want to check these papers for possible references to the Chillicothe date. Ted Bowman Circus Route Collection.

• Reply: 25 Mar 2016 - Listed in Robert L. Parkinson's "Directory of American Circuses": The Will Hill Society Circus (1930-1943), Will H. Hill and Alf. T. Wilton, proprietors. Parkinson also lists Hill's Hippodrome Circus, 1918, Will H. Hill, proprietor, 1918. See also W. H. Hill's on this website:
  http://www.circushistory.org/History/BriefF.htm (scroll down or use find) - J. Griffin

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• Reply: 15 Jul 2016 - The last three decades of the 19th century and first three decades were an era of daredevil activity as humans challenged the governance of gravity and resistance to motion with mechanical devices and their own physical agility, ingenuity and strength. There were human cannonballs and arrows, leaping and somersaulting automobiles, high dives, ascensions and all sorts of presentations to place observers at the edge of their seat. Human fly activity, along with flag pole sitting and balancing at the edge of a building cornice were among the acts staged in city settings, where high places could be observed by crowds gathered below. Much of this activity is considered “circus,” but traveling shows featured only those acts that could be moved on a daily basis and performed twice a day, under the big top or as a free attraction on the lot. Non-show daredevil activity was not commonly reported in the weekly amusement trade journals; more frequently you’ll see it in newspapers.
      Louis D. Bartlett was aged 31 when he died in 1924. That would suggest his performing would have started not much earlier than 1911, when he was 18. I searched New York Clipper at Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections for the name and variations. The only hit was in the September 21, 1923 issue, page 30, for a L. D. Bartlett, clown with Boyd & Linderman, a traveling carnival. Carnival and circus identities are often incorrectly confused. Some carnivals featured a back end show, in a tent, that presented a circus-style performance. There’s no way of ascertaining he’s your uncle. You can read the column of news online. You might also conduct further key word searching for his name, with Boyd & Linderman and elsewhere. You can also check issues of Billboard on Google Books, Fulton History and ProQuest. There is always the chance that he performed under an alias, a stage name, or anonymously. An associate named in the 1924 mishap was Walter Allen, and you might also seek his career to learn more.
      There was a showman named L. A. [Leslie/Les] Bartlett, unrelated, who was active from c1909 to 1959. Be aware you may encounter postings for him in your search and do not confuse him with your uncle. There weer also other “human fly” performers, but I don’t recall others that suspended their body from a stretched inner tube. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 15 Jul 2016 - Your best resources for information on John W. “Jack” Wilson will be: Bob Goldsack’s book “A Pictorial History of Cetlin & Wilson” [check abebooks and other second hand sellers, or interlibrary loan]; checking entries in Billboard, available on Google Books, for Wilson entries; and local newspapers at the time of his death. Wilson sold the show in 1960, when Billboard coverage ends, and Goldsack didn’t report on his demise. See query 2521 for information about partner Izzy Cetlin. There was an article penned by Bob Cline about C&W later, by 2008, in the journal Carnival Midway, but I don’t have it to access. Perhaps Cline can post any information he found about Jack Wilson? There’s an online obituary for Thelma B. Wilson, his wife, who passed in Petersburg, VA on July 15, 2007. Here’s a video of still shots documenting C&W: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmhO0puuIkg. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 19 Mar 2016 - The successive Barnum, Barnum & London and Barnum & Bailey circus played engagements in Montreal on these dates before 1900:
  1877 May 28-30 Barnum
  1883 July 16-17 Barnum & London
  1885 Sept 3-5 cancelled in favor of Ottawa
  1887 Aug 31-Sept 1
  1889 Aug 23-24 Barnum & Bailey
  1895 July 22-23
      I searched for references to J. Emile Bouchard and also King Cole, without success. There are no references to him in the weekly trade journal, New York Clipper, nor in the readily available route books of the circus. Employment records from before 1900 do not survive. I also tried a large newspaper archive, Fulton History, which had many references to a hockey player named Emile Bouchard, but nothing relevant. Searching for "King Cole" is problematical because of the nursery rhyme, Nat King Cole and so on, all in great abundance.
      Most elephant trainers in North America are pretty well known. I do not recall seeing the names Emile Bouchard or King Cole mentioned; but there's always the possibility he worked behind the scenes, or with a known trainer, as an assistant. Perhaps he was known by another nickname on the circus, before he attained some standing and reputation?
      I found only a brief reference to "King Cole": Cancie Brothers' United Shows signed the agreement with the Alliance. Their advance department will employ about fifteen billposters, divided in two brigades. Frank E. Tracy will be general agent, Mike Shone, press agent, and John E. Garvey, special agent. In the side show will be featured King Cole, the Great Hall, Gavin, physical culture; Margie, transparent girl; Braggs, singing monkey; Madam Cameron's den of reptiles, and others. For the big show is the Les Troupe Zaritski, eight lady and gentlemen acrobats, including Little Alexis. Billboard, March 30, 1907, p. 32. You can read other entries about the Cancie show here: http://www.circushistory.org/History/BriefC.htm simply scroll down to them.
      Two listings for the Cancie circus, for 1907 and 1911, can be found on this website at: http://www.circushistory.org/History/BriefC.htm. Simply scroll down to the name Cancie. The same 1907 information is in Variety, February 2, 1907. The Cancie Bros. are illustrated on page 29 of Billboard, October 19, 1907, viewable on Google Books. Cancie Bros. Union Shows, 490 Reservoir Avenue, Providence, RI, is in the winter quarters list in New York Clipper, March 20, 1909, 138. There is a listing of Cancie & Murray Shows, a 1910 traveling carnival, in the show listings in Joe McKennon’s book Pictorial History of the American Circus. Variety, March 7, 1914, lists Cancie Bros. Shows as wintering in Latrobe, PA. Such lists were often not updated frequently and need to be verified by other means. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, “The Ringling,” John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 19 Mar 2016 - I had hoped someone more knowledgeable than I would have responded to this. I believe Walter McClain had the herd on the Sparks Circus from at least 1923 through 1931 (the show's last year on the road). Then he went to the Al G Barnes Circus where he was in charge through 1938 (by which time the show was called Barnes-Sells-Floto). In that year Ringling-Barnum closed in June after some union problems; they later took some of their best acts and some animals to Redfield, SD where they became part of Barnes-Sells-Floto. That fall this enlarged show came back to Sarasota rather than the Barnes quarters in California. The Barnes show never went out again and thereafter McClain was Ringling-Barnum herd boss until his death November 25, 1942, when he was crushed by a runaway wagon at the "runs" or train unloading site. Years ago I knew a man Joe Shields in San Diego, formerly of Kansas, who was a cousin of McClain's. That is all I know. Whitey

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• Reply: 19 Mar 2016 - Circus laborers came and went, often with no retained record of their employment when wages were paid in cash and there were no government programs to track their presence and working life. Few circus business records survive from the late 19th century. Many laborers also were known only by a nickname. He might have been “Frenchie.” You can try searching for “Henry French” in New York Clipper, the weekly show trade journal at the online Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections, using that and also last name, first name, and maybe variants. There was a theatrical manager of the same name and between all of those of the same name a quick look revealed dozens and dozens of hits. You’ll need to poke through them for anything relevant. The Circus World Museum library has a name finding aid, the “yellow tickets,” that might be consulted. Establishing across thirty years the names of circuses passing through communities likely won’t make it any easier to learn which one he joined. Show existence was ephemeral and he may have been there with two different outfits. There are advertisements in local newspapers and the Clipper sometimes published routes that shows submitted. Finding him in the circus trade may be difficult, but if you can establish his residency at any time that could be a key to gaining insight on his traveling life. Have you tried census records, local directories, www.ancestry.com or other conventional genealogical resources? I’d recommend getting a handle on his “landed” life and use that as a springboard to research his traveling existence. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, “The Ringling,” John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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• Reply: 19 Mar 2016 - Alice was a vert popular name for an elephant so much so, that I have found 17 different elephants in the circus named Alice. I have not found one on a Black Bros. Circus. There was one on Barnett Bros. Circus. Barnett and Black are as close as I can come in trying to help with the circus title. While looking in Bob Parkinson's book "Directory of American Circueses, 1793-2000," there is a Black's Circus listed in 1933. There is no other information found about that show. As you can see, we are bouncing around your information but not hitting it exactly. I would suggest that you contact the Circus World's Robert Parkinson Research Library in Baraboo, WI. to see if they have any notes on Ruth and H. F. Boyte. Best wishes, Bob Cline

• Reply: 10 Feb 2016 - Posters and other advertisements for professional entertainment have always been generally printed by professional poster companies. The Central Show Printing Company of Mason City, Iowa was one of these companies. They advertised in Billboard and other Show Business Magazine. You may find them useful in your research. Billie

• Reply: 19 Mar 2016 - As for Europe a leading provider is an Italian Company: Roberto Fazzini. However, several circuses use providers in their own country. Ole Simonsen, www.circus-dk.dk

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