Alfreda "Alfy" Chippendale (1842 – November 9, 1887) was an American stage actress who appeared on the stage in the United States and England.

Early life

Born Alfreda Schoolcraft in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 into a family of actors and artists. She was reportedly the grandniece of President Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

 through her mother, Mathilda Schoolcraft.

Her father, Henry R. Schoolcraft was an actor who appeared in shows in Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

 and at Crisp's Gaiety Theater in New Orleans and who despite his death in 1854, saw to it that his son Luke Schoolcraft

Luke Schoolcraft

Luke Schoolcraft was an American minstrel music composer and performer. He appeared in numerous minstrel shows throughout the North after the American Civil War.-Early life:...

 and his daughters Jane and Alfreda all pursued careers in theater. Alfreda and Jane performed sketches as a pair in local variety theater.

Alfreda married William B. Chippendale, scion of a famous English acting family headed by William Henry Chippendale

William Henry Chippendale

William Henry Chippendale was an English actor, known in particular for his portrayal of old men. Following his acting debut in Scotland in 1819, he performed in Scottish theatres until he moved to New York on the invitation of theatre manager Steven Price in 1836...

 about 1860. Her husband joined the Confederate Army

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 as Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 of the Louisiana 30th Infantry. He died in 1864 at the Battle of Ezra Church near Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

.

Acting career

Even as her husband was serving in the Confederate Army, Alfreda was appearing on the Northern stage. She appeared at the Winter Garden

Winter Garden

Winter Garden may refer to:* A winter garden, winter-hardy plants grown for winter interest and decoration, or to be harvested for food between winter and early spring.-Places:* Winter Garden, California, former community in Kern County...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 as Nanette in the burlesque

Burlesque

Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...

 Camille in June 1863. She also appeared as Sally in The Eton Boy that same season before appearing at the Griswold Opera House in Troy, New York

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

 in 1864-65. Chippendale appeared in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 in 1865 before returning to New Orleans in 1866.

In the early 1870s, Chippendale was traveling with the Irwin Selden Combination when she married its proprieter William Calder on December 8, 1872 in St. Charles County, Missouri. She went on to appear as Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....

in New York City and such was the acclaim that she and her husband were engaged to appear on stage in England in the same roles. They sailed on August 3, 1878 and subsequently they appeared in London in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle

"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving published in 1819, as well as the name of the story's fictional protagonist. Written while Irving was living in Birmingham, England, it was part of a collection entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon...

. Later, Chippendale and Calder performed in The White Slave and The Shadows of a Great City.