By Molly Thomas

Rosina Shaw was born in Liverpool, England, around 1832.[1] At a young age, she came to America with her father, and sisters Mary and Josephine (later Mrs. John Hooey). Quickly, Mary and Rosina became a sought after soprano and contralto duo, performing throughout the United States as the “Shaw Sisters.” Before long they were widely considered “the best paying
cards before the public.”[2]

Their 1842 debut concert in New York was a resounding success and The Weekly Herald predicted a prosperous career for the sisters, “…endowed as they [were], with such decided talent, modest grace, and loveliness…”[3]

Between 1842 and 1844 Rosina and Mary gave several “Grand Vocal Concerts,” under their brother David T. Shaw’s direction.[4] These consisted of solos and duets from a vast repertoire. [5] Two of Rosina’s popular songs were “Woodman spare that tree,” and “Oh, happy night.”[6] The sisters were met with crowded houses at The Melodeon in Boston,[7] the American Museum, and the Apollo Saloon in New York.[8] Audiences were in awe of the Shaw Sisters’ singing style, described by the New-York Daily Tribune as “new, fresh and charming in the extreme.”[9]

Rosina was described in The Weekly Herald as full of vivacity and spirit, possessing a “fascinating modesty” and a voice of “extraordinary power.”[10] She was also endlessly driven, as her life would come to show.

In 1844, after her father died, Rosina (age twelve) launched her own career at Philadelphia’s Arch Street Theatre, as Harriet Arlington in A Hundred Pound Note.[11] Soon after, she married the comedian Charles Howard, in 1845.[12] She and Charles would perform both separately and together until Charles’ death in 1858.

In 1845, Rosina began touring, drawing crowds in Montreal,[13] Memphis,[14] and Cleveland.[15] In 1846, she was in Baltimore,[16] and in 1848 briefly managed the Howard Atheneum there.[17] In 1849 she played at Niblo’s, with Harry Placide and others in a comedy called The Poor Gentleman,[18] and as Hortense in Charles Dance’s Wonderful Woman.[19]

In 1850 Rosina became leading lady at Placide’s Varieties in New Orleans. [20] She held the position for five years, performing in comedies such as The Serious Family (1850),[21] The School for Scandal (1854),[22] and Striking Likeness (1854).[23] In November 1853 Rosina gave birth to her first daughter.[24] Shortly after she starred at Risley’s Variete in Washington, playing lead roles in numerous popular pieces.[25]

By 1853 Rosina had achieved “a local popularity seldom paralleled” in Louisiana.[26] Her fame is evidenced in a string of worried and sorrowful (false) reports of her death in St. Louis newspapers. All resulting from a New Orleans dispatch stating Rosina was in “precarious health.”[27] Then, again in 1854, newspapers, critics and theatregoers all over America were in “painful uncertainty” over the death of a vocalist named “Mrs. Howard” in Philadelphia, unsure if this meant the death of Mrs. Charles Howard.[28] In both cases, however, the reports were proven false, and the public was relieved of having to grieve their admired actress.

And admired she was. The Washington’s The Daily Union praised her high histrionic talent and “sweet compass of a voice,” remarking, “There is a naiveté about her whilst either acting or singing which imparts to the audience the most pleasurable sensation.”[29] The Daily Dispatch further observed:

…her conceptions of characters are of the highest order…her acting is more life-like, more natural, than ever before seen…Mrs. Howard has no superior…she has found a lodgement in the hearts of the people too deep and too enduring ever to be erased.[30]

Overall, it seems Rosina was popular with audiences not solely because she was talented, but because she was able to create palpable intimacy between herself and her fans. Audiences often bid her public farewells and compliments in their local newspapers.[31]

A reason for this, The Daily Dispatch states, is that, “Her goodness of heart [was] co-extensive with her character as an actress.”[32] She was reportedly generous, and a “good person.” She did charity work, performing in 1855 at a Holiday Street Theatre benefit for Yellow fever sufferers in Virginia.[33] She became a headliner at national events, such as the “centennial anniversary of the establishment of the drama in America” (Baltimore, 1855). [34] She performed internationally, once replacing the retiring “Queen of Comedy,” Mrs. Fitzwilliams, at the Haymarket Theatre in London for a brief period of time.[35]

Rosina was also a busy, and ambitious woman. She managed the Gaiety Theatre in New Orleans from 1856-1858,[36] was married twice, and also mothered three children.[37] Her husband Charles died in New Orleans in June 1858.[38] Undeterred, Rosina was back onstage by August 1858, in Baltimore.[39]

In 1860 she married playwright and actor, Harry Watkins after starring together in January 1859, at Crisp’s Gaiety in Memphis.[40] Among other shows,[41] Rosina and Harry became known throughout the states for performing popular Irish plays in the late 1860s-early 1870s.[42] The most demanded was Trodden Down, or Under Two Flags, a “sensational drama,” set during the close of the 1798 Irish Rebellion.[43]

By 1874 Rose and Harry had given birth to a daughter, Amy Lee, who would also become an actress. The three of them continued to perform new repertoire for five years, now formally known as The Watkins Troupe.[44]

In 1879 Rose left the stage for a decade, but returned in October 1890, at age 58, to play the elderly character, Mrs. Ridlaw, alongside Amy Lee in The Clipper. [45]

After Harry Watkins died in 1894, Rosina joined her daughter in Pawn Ticket 210, which brought the former “queen star of the south” back for one last tour through the cities of her early career.[46] Afterward, it appears she finally retired from the stage and later died. Regrettably, information on her death is unknown.

End Notes

[1] Exact date of birth is uncertain.

[2] Brown, T. Allston, A History of the American Stage, (New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1870), 380, Web, March 23, 2016, Victorian Popular Culture, Adam Matthew, May 4, 2015.

[3] “THE MISSES SHAW’S CONCERT,” The Weekly Herald (New York, NY), March 12, 1842, 19^th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3004492618&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

c:set var=”TI” value=”THE MISSES SHAW’S CONCERT went off on Thursday evening with the greatest eclat, and was attended by an overflowing and fashionable audience”/> <p> <b><i>The Weekly Herald</i></b>. Mar 12, 1842</p

[4] “THE APOLLO CONCERTS,” New-York Daily Tribune (New York, NY), November 1, 1843, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1843-11-01/ed-1/seq-2/

[5] Some of the Shaw Sisters’ most popular duets at the Apollo Saloon were: “The Mountain Eagle” by Hewitt, “The Echo of the Mermaid’s Cave” (a manuscript), “Wilt thou tempt the waves with me,” and Fioravoliti’s Singing Lesson” (a grand comique finale). Rosina’s solos: “A Life on the Ocean Wave” by Russel, “Westward Ho,” a national Western song by Ritcher, and “Largo al Factotum” an Aria Buffo by Rossini. Mary’s solos: “She wore a wreath of Roses,” a ballad by J.P. Knight, “In the days when we went Gypseying,” an “amusing song” also by J.P. Knight and “What can it mean” or “I’m much too young to marry,” a new comic song by G.P. Morris. Ibid.

[6] “THE MISSES SHAW’S CONCERT,” The Weekly Herald, March 12, 1842.

[7] “MUSIC, CONCERT THIS EVENING,” Daily Atlas (Boston, MA), December 10, 1842, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3008240056&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

[8] “American Museum,” New-York Daily Tribune (New York, NY), November 7, 1843, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1843-11-07/ed-1/seq-3/

Popular songs sung by the Shaw Sisters at the American Museum: “Lightly may the boat row,” “When the morning first dawns,” “Westward Ho,” “My love is like the red, red rose,” “A.B.C,” “Come, pretty miss, your lesson rehearse,” “Norah, the pride of kildare,” “I’m too young to marry yet,” “Miserable rose,” and “When a little farm we keep.”

[9] “THE APOLLO CONCERTS,” New-York Daily Tribune, November 1, 1843.

[10] “THE MISSES SHAW’S CONCERT,” The Weekly Herald, March 12, 1842.

[11] Brown, A History, 380.

[12] “Theatricals & c.,” New York Herald (New York, NY), June 20, 1845, 19^th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003557353&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

 

[13] “Theatricals,” New York Herald (New York, NY), August 15, 1845, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016,

http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003551064&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

 

[14] “THEATRICAL,” The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), June 23, 1854, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016 http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024738/1854-06-23/ed-1/seq-4/

[15] “The Devries Opera Troupe…” The New Orleans Daily Crescent (New Orleans, LA), August 8, 1854, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015753/1854-08-08/ed-1/seq-3/

[16] “THE MUSEUM,” American Republican and Baltimore Daily Clipper (Baltimore, MD), February 19, 1846, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83009567/1846-02-19/ed-1/seq-2/

[17] “Theatrical and Musical,” New York Herald (New York, NY), June 16, 1848, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003570783&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

[18] Pittsburg Post, “Theatrical and Musical,” Weekly Herald (New York, NY), September 1, 1849: 275, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3004500718&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

c:set var=”TI” value=”Theatrical and Musical”/> <p> <b><i>The Weekly Herald</i></b>. Sep 1, 1849</p

[19] “Theatrical and Musical,” Weekly Herald (New York, NY), August 25, 1849, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3004497681&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

Wonderful Woman was also called The Marquis and Cobbler.

[20] Brown, History, 380.

[21] “AMUSEMENTS,” The Daily Crescent (New Orleans, LA), February 27, 1850, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015378/1850-02-27/ed-1/seq-3/

[22] “Amusements, MRS. CHARLES HOWARD’S BENEFIT,” New Orleans Daily Crescent (New Orleans, LA), February 15, 1854, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015753/1854-02-15/ed-1/seq-2/

[23] “PLACIDES VARIETIES,” New Orleans Daily Crescent (New Orleans, LA), February 25, 1854, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016548/1854-02-25/ed-1/seq-2/

[24] “PRESENT AS IS A PRESENT,” The Daily Comet (Baton Rouge, LA), September 16, 1853, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016548/1853-09-16/ed-1/seq-2/

[25] These included: Paul the Pet in The Pet of Petticoats. Jenny Leatherlungs in the burletta Jenny Lind, Madeleine in a musical drama called Daughter of Regiment, Sally Scraggs in the farce Stage Struck, and Donna Francesca alongside her husband Charles as Don Manuel in Where There’s a Will There’s a Way! Or,The Queen’s Husband. “MR. RISLEY,” The Daily Union (Washington, DC), November 27, 1853. “RISLEY’S VARIETE,” The Daily Union (Washington, DC), November 24, 1853.

[26] Brown, History, 380.

[27] “Theatrical and Musical, DEATH OF MRS. HOWARD,” Weekly Herald (New York, NY), February 19, 1853, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 23, 2016,http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3004504541&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

 

[28] “PHILADELPHIA,” New Orleans Daily Crescent, August 10, 1854.

[29] “RIsley’s Variete,–Mrs. Howard,” The Daily Union (New Orleans, LA), December 3, 1853, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 24, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015753/1854-08-10/ed-1/seq-2/

[30] “MRS. CHARLES HOWARD,” The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), December 10, 1853, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 24, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024738/1853-12-10/ed-1/seq-1

[31] Ibid.

[32] Ibid.

[33] “CHARACTERISTIC GENEROSITY,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (Wheeling, VA), August 21, 1855, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 24, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092535/1855-08-21/ed-1/seq-3/

[34] “National Theatre,” The Daily Union (Washington, DC), November 27, 1855, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress. Web, March 24, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82003410/1855-11-27/ed-1/seq-3/

Co-starred with Mr. and Mrs. Barney Williams, known for their Irish and Yankee characters, Mr. Charles Bass, a Shakespearean comedian and an impersonator, and Mr. Joseph Dawson, a comedian from Baltimore.

[35] “MRS. CHARLES HOWARD,” The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), August 6, 1855, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 24, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024738/1855-08-06/ed-1/seq-1/

[36] “Mrs. Charles Howard…” The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), February 19, 1856, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 26, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024738/1856-02-19/ed-1/seq-1/

[37] “Mrs. Charles Howard…” The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), May 18, 1857, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 26, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024738/1857-05-18/ed-1/seq-1/

[38] “DEATH OF MR. CHARLES HOWARD,” New Orleans Daily Crescent (New Orleans, LA), June 2, 1858, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 26, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015753/1858-06-02/ed-1/seq-1/

[39] “Mrs. Charles Howard…,” The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), August 12, 1858, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 26, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024738/1858-08-12/ed-1/seq-2/

[40] “Mr. and Mrs. Florence…,” Nashville Union and American (Nashville, TN), January 20, 1859, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 26, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038518/1859-01-20/ed-1/seq-1/

[41] Some of their early performances together were in The Hidden Hand (Broadway Boudoir, 1860), Olympiana, Out on a Raid (Olympic Theater, New Orleans, 1866), and famously, True to the Last (Wallack’s, 1863), which boasted the first ever “ghost” on an American stage. “BROADWAY BOUDOIR,” New York Herald (New York, NY), February 29, 1860. “OLYMPIC THEATER-74 ST. CHARLES ST,” New Orleans Daily Crescent (Charleston, SC), September 27, 1866. “WALLACK’S,” The New York Herald (New York, NY), August 3, 1863.

 

[42] Other Irish dramas included: Kathleen Mavourneen, in which Rosina played the title role, and Harry played Terence O’Moore, The Rose of Killarney, or, Mollie Bawn, in which Rose played the heroine and sang several “exquisite ballads,” a romantic, Irish drama called Set in Gold, or, The One Bright Spot, which featured Rose as Una O’Brien (with songs), and Harry as Fardorcugha, a miser character, and Katie Darling, or Put Yourself in Her Place. “AMUSEMENTS.ROSE AND HARRY WATKINS’ DRAMATIC COMPANY,” Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, AR), January 15, 1873. “AMUSEMENTS,” Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, AR), January 24, 1873. “AMUSEMENTS,” The Evening Telegraph (Philadelphia, PA), February 28, 1870. “ACADEMY OF MUSIC,” The Charleston Daily News (Charleston, SC), February 1, 1871.

 

[43] “AMUSEMENTS. THE NATIONAL THEATRE-ROSE AND HARRY WATKINS,” National Republican (Washington, DC), December 23, 1874, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Web, March 26, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053573/1874-12-23/ed-1/seq-2/

 

[44] New repertoire included: Rip Van Winkle,[44] His Worst Enemy, or, The Angel Child, featuring young Amy,[44] Mercy Merrick in Magdalen, or The Red Cross of Geneva, an “intensely emotional society drama,”[44] and Pioneer of America, or, The Maid of the Warpath.[44] “AMUSEMENTS. ‘RIP VAN WINKLE’ BY THE ROSE AND HARRY WATKINS TROUPE,” Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, AR), January 21, 1873. “ODD FELLOWS’ HALL—ROSE AND HARRY WATKINS,” National Republican (Washington, DC), January 2, 1875. “Varieties Theatre,” New Orleans Daily Republican (New Orleans, LA), December 18, 1873. “VARIETIES,” New Orleans Republican (New Orleans, LA), December 25, 1873.

[45] “AMUSEMENTS. The Clipper at the Avenue,” The Daily Picayune (New Orleans, LA), October 27, 1890, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 26, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3014315757&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

c:set var=”TI” value=”Amusements”/> <p>Geo. Wilson’s Minstrels at the Grand Opera House <b><i>The Daily Picayune</i></b>. Oct 27, 1890</p

 

[46] “AMUSEMENTS. St. Charles Theatre,” The Daily Picayune (New Orleans, LA), December 2, 1894, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Web, March 26, 2016, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3014434675&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0

c:set var=”TI” value=”Amusements”/> <p>Grand Opera House <b><i>The Daily Picayune</i></b>. Dec 2, 1894</p