Lotta Crabtree
Encyclopedia
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. She was also a significant philanthropist.
Born Charlotte Mignon Crabtree in New York City to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
immigrants, Lotta Crabtree would go on to become one of the wealthiest and most beloved American entertainers of the late 19th century. From her beginnings as a 6-year-old until her retirement at the age of 45, she entertained and was named "The Nation's Darling".
Early life
Her father, John Ashworth Crabtree, a book seller, left for San Francisco in 1851 to join those seeking fortune in the California Gold Rush. Lotta and her mother followed two years later, joining John in the boomtown of Grass ValleyGrass Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...
. While in Grass Valley, the Crabtrees ran a boarding house. Lotta soon attracted the attention of a neighbor, the dancer and actress Lola Montez
Lola Montez
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
, who encouraged Lotta's enthusiasm for the performance.
The Crabtrees moved again and set up another boarding house, this time in Rabbit Creek, forty miles north of Grass Valley. Soon after, Lotta made her first professional appearance at a tavern owned by Matt Taylor. She began touring throughout California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, making a name for herself as a dancer, singer, and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player in the mining camps. In 1856, the family moved back to San Francisco. By 1859, she had become "Miss Lotta, the San Francisco Favorite".
Lotta's mother served as her manager and collected all of Lotta's earnings in gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, carrying it in a large leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
bag. When this became too heavy, it was transferred to a steamer trunk.
Later career
Having made a name in California, in 1863 Lotta left to tour the east coast where she began acting in playsPlay (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
such as The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London....
, 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....
and Little Nell and the Marchioness. With her petite size, she became a favorite for her portrayals of children. By 1875, Lotta was touring the nation with her own theatrical company.
Mary Ann was still managing Lotta's affairs: booking plays, finding locations, and organizing troupes of actors. When the steamer trunk became too heavy, she invested Lotta's earnings in local real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, race horses and bonds
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
. As well as investing, some of the money was used to support local charities and build fountains. Lotta's Fountain
Lotta's Fountain
Lotta's fountain was dedicated in 1875 at the intersection of Market Street where Geary and Kearny Streets connect in downtown San Francisco, California....
, the most famous of these fountains, still stands at the intersection of Market and Kearny Streets in San Francisco, and is the site of meetings every April 18 marking the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
.
Lotta traveled abroad with Mary Ann and her brothers, where she learned French, visited museums and began painting. After her tour abroad, Lotta returned to San Francisco where she played at the California Theatre
California Theatre (San Francisco)
The California Theatre , was located at 414 Bush Street, San Francisco. It was built in 1869 by William Ralston, at that time the treasurer of the Bank of California. S. C. Bugbee & Son were the architects and the theatre cost $250, 000 to build.Anpther source puts the figure at $150,000...
, reprising her role in Little Nell and the Marchioness by John Bowen. Having missed her while she was away, the city responded warmly to her return and treated her like their very own star.
Lotta's mother had a 22 room summer cottage built in Breslin Park, a wealthy neighborhood at Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, which was called Attol Tryst. Lotta gave parties, drove horses, and pursued her painting. She found life among the elite at Lake Hopatcong rather dull, and the prominent ladies of the time found Lotta rather eccentric. Her trademark black cigars prevented her from becoming a member of Sorosis, the ladies social group, much to her mother's chagrin. After Mary Ann's death in 1905, Lotta never lived at the cottage again.
Retirement
Her career left her little time for romance, and Lotta never married. In 1891, Lotta retired from the stage and settled in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
where she became a virtual hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
. She made one final appearance in 1915 for "Lotta Crabtree Day" in San Francisco at the Panama-Pacific Exposition
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
.
Late in her life, Lotta was owner of acreage in the southern part of the Squantum section of Quincy, immediately south of Boston, Massachusetts. It is said to have been purchased for the benefit and health of her brother (Ashworth) and for their horses. Most of the land was sold as house lots in the 1930's and '40s. Children who walked to school through Lotta's land in those days often passed by two small markers of local granite set into the ground, engraved "Ruby Royal" and "Sonoma Girl" - two of the Crabtrees' horses. Local street names include Ashworth Road, Livesey Road, Sonoma Road, and the shoreline Crabtree Road. Ashworth was a family surname, as was Livesey. A large cylindrical stone tower constructed nearby likely had a farm-related storage purpose. Further information may be available through the Quincy (Massachusetts) Historical Society.
Lotta later purchased the Brewster Hotel in Boston, where she lived until her death in 1924. In her obituary, The New York Times called her the "eternal child". She was described by critics as mischievous, unpredictable, impulsive, rattlebrained, teasing, piquant, rollicking, cheerful and devilish. Lotta Crabtree was interred at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, NY.
Her personal fortune was estimated to $2 million and her estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
, worth about $4 million, was left to many charities, which included veterans, aging actors and animals. The estate ran into complications when a number of people contested the will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
. It was finally settled and a trust remains for humane and educational purposes of the young.
She was the President of the Professional Women's Association in New York
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...
.
Memorials
Crabtree Hall, a dormitory at the University of Massachusetts AmherstUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
, is named for Lotta.