Oscar Wegelin

“ Henry James Finn, born in Cape Breton in 1785, died on the steamer Lexington off Eaton's Neck, Long Island Sound, January 13, 1840, was the son of an officer in the English Navy, who retired from that service, and settled with his family in New York when Finn was a mere child. His early education was received at the Academy at Hackensack, and he was for a time a student at Princeton. ”

“ In 1793 they came to America, and first appeared in Annapolis, Maryland. Thence they went to the theatre in Philadelphia, and, after a season there, became members of the Federal Street Theatre in Boston. Mrs. Rowson, who had, in 1790, published in England the celebrated novel Charlotte Temple, had continued writing, and the extraordinary popularity of her story of the unfortunate English girl made it easy for her to follow the cultivation of letters. ”

“ In early life he chose the profession of a printer, and went to Boston, where he bound himself apprentice to Benjamin Russell, editor of The Columbian Sentinel. During this time he employed his leisure in writing poetry for different periodicals in that city over the signature of "Selim." In 1807 he published a weekly paper in New Haven called The Belles-Lettres Repository. The next year he went to Baltimore, where many of his best poems were published. He came to New York in 1810, and during the War of 1812 published a weekly newspaper entitled The War. ”

“ The first dramatic piece published in America.
It is a severe criticism of the clergy, members, and others of Trinity Church, the principal among whom was Dr. Vesey.
The piece is excessively rare, and mentioned by few bibliographers, and then only by the first word of the title. It was published anonymously, and printed by Wm. Bradford in 1714. Only one copy is known, now in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire. A manuscript copy of it is in the collection of Evert Jansen Wendell, Esq., of New York. ”

“ Escaping in woman's apparel, given him by a Miss Daly, whose name he afterwards added to his own, he came to America, settled in Boston, and became editor of a newspaper called The Polar Star and Boston Daily Advertiser. He afterwards settled in New York, and published a paper called The Time-Piece. Arrested on a charge of publishing a libel contrary to the provisions of the Sedition Law of 1798, he left New York and settled at Petersburg, Va. ”

“ The Trust. A Comedy in Five Acts. New York, 1808. 18mo, pp. 82.
BRACKENRIDGE, HUGH HENRY
Hugh Henry Brackenridge, born near Campbelton, Scotland, in 1748, died in Carlyle, Pa., June 25, 1816. He came with his parents to America, when only five years of age, was graduated from Princeton in 1771, and continued as a tutor in that college. He next studied divinity, and took charge of an academy in Maryland; was editor of The United States Magazine in Philadelphia in 1776, and a chaplain in the American army in the war of the Revolution. He afterwards studied law under Samuel Chase. ”

“ They show, however, what was and could be accomplished in this way, at a time when the average citizen had little time for aught but earnest, sober thought.
When looked at from this view-point we must really wonder that as much remains as has been discovered. Can any country besides ours show a better result—at least for quantity, if not for quality? ”

“ Poorly written as many of the plays may be, they still possess to the student of American history an interest which far exceeds that of every other class of writing, the purely historical excepted. The first play written by a resident of what is now the United States was Androboros (the Man-Hater) written by Robert Hunter, Colonial Governor of New York, assisted by Lewis Morris. This play, or rather dramatic satire, was written to ridicule sundry residents of that colony, principally Dr. ”

“ The negroes were sent to Hayti, and Miss Wright spent three years in lecturing on slavery and social topics in the United States, especially upon woman suffrage, of which she was the first considerable advocate. She went again to France, where she married Monsieur d'Arnsmont, with whom, however, she lived but a short time, returning finally to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she made her final home.
Altorf. A Tragedy, first represented in the Theatre of New York, February 19, 1819. ”

“ He had already begun to have some popularity as a writer of stories, and in 1823 he was led to make a trip to England, in consequence of the popularity which his novels had acquired there. While in England he wrote several articles on America for the Quarterly Review, and enjoyed an intimacy with British men of letters, particularly Jeremy Bentham. ”

“ He was founder and vice-president of the National Academy of Design. He wrote The Life of George Frederick Cooke and A History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in America—a most valuable work. He also wrote a number of other works on different subjects.
[32]
The Father; or, American Shandyism. A Comedy in Five Acts, as performed at the New York Theatre by the old American Company, September 7, 1789. Written by a citizen of New York. New York, 1789. 8vo, pp. 68.
Dunlap's first published play. ”

“ A Comedy. [London, n. d.] 18mo, pp. 45.
Another edition, Philadelphia, 1829.
First performed in the United States at the Park Theatre, New York, October 25, 1824.
Love in Humble Life. A Petit Comedy. ”

“ At the age of twenty-one he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He was afterwards a senator from his district, was elected a member of the Privy Council of State, and continued in that office up to the time of his death. His chief literary work was a Translation of Homer's Iliad in blank verse, which was not published during his life-time.
Almoran and Hamet. A Tragedy. Published in a volume of Poems and Compositions in Prose on [59] several occasions. Richmond, 1798. 8vo, pp. 189, [1] .
MURDOCK, J.
The Triumphs of Love ”

“ The Manuscript—Comprising "The Fratricide" and Miscellaneous Poems. Boston, 1827. 12mo, pp. 70.
McHENRY, JAMES
Dr. James McHenry, born in Larne, County Antrim, Ireland, December 20, 1785, died there July 20, 1845. He was graduated in medicine at Dublin University and Glasgow, and first located in practice [57] at Larne, whence he removed to Belfast. He came to the United States in 1817 and followed his profession in Baltimore, Md., and Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1824 he settled in Philadelphia, where he practiced medicine and carried on a mercantile business. ”

“ On his return in 1828 he established The Yankee, and was an active journalist for half a century. To his energy is attributed the agitation of woman's suffrage, and the establishment of gymnasiums. He was Poe's first encourager. His Recollections were published in 1869.
Otho. A Tragedy in Five Acts. Boston, 1819. 16mo, pp. 120.
This play was written for Edmond Kean. It was entirely rewritten in The Yankee for 1828.
NOAH, MORDECAI MANUEL
Mordecai Manuel Noah, born in Philadelphia, [60] July 19, 1785, died in New York, May 22, 1851, was a journalist and a lawyer. ”

“ He returned to Charleston, where he was admitted to the bar, and became a leading lawyer and legislator. He was always a ready and convincing speaker. In 1817 he delivered the Phi Beta Kappa address at Harvard. He was a constant contributor to the Charleston Courier. His works were published in Charleston in 1828. He wrote a few volumes of poetry, viz.: The Raciad, Sullivan's Island, and A Monody on the Death of Decatur.
The Sea Serpent; or, Gloucester Hoax. A Dramatic Jeu d'Esprit, in Three Acts. Charleston: A. E. Miller, 1819. 12mo, pp. [5] , 6-34.
CROSWELL, JOSEPH
A New World Planted ”

“ On the "Alarm of Lexington," Noah Frisbie with his two sons Noah and Jonathan, and their kinsmen Asabel, Abiel, David and James, joined the Continental forces. Noah Frisbie, Jr., appears on the army list at the end of the war as a lieutenant. No further information, except the printing of the under-mentioned play, is available.
The History of the Falcos. A Comedy in Four Acts. Part First. Walpole, N. H.: Printed for the author, at the Observatory Press, 1808. 12mo, pp. 137.
[41]
GARDEN, ALEXANDER
Kosciusko ”

“ An Exercise, Containing a Dialogue and Two Odes. Performed at the Public Commencement in the College of Philadelphia, May 20th, 1766. Philadelphia: Printed by W. Dunlap, 1766. Small 4to, pp. 8.
The Pennsylvania Journal of June 5, 1766, is authority for the authorship of this exercise.
HOSMER, W. H. C.
William Henry Cuyler Hosmer was born at Avon, in the valley of the Genesee, New York, May 25, 1814, and died there May 23, 1877. He was graduated from the University of Vermont, and was for many years a well-known lawyer and writer on the subjects of North American Indians, and their lore. ”

“ Philadelphia: Printed by Andrew Stewart, 1763. 8vo, pp. 8.
The Ode was written by Dr. Paul Jackson, of Chester, Pennsylvania.
Also published in Evans's Poems. Phila., 1772.
EVERETT, DAVID
David Everett, born in Princeton, Mass., March 29, 1770, died in Marietta, Ohio, December 21, 1813, was graduated from Dartmouth in 1795. Before entering college he taught school at New Ipswich, studied law in Boston, and wrote for Russell's Gazette and Farmer's Museum, in which his prose papers, Common Sense in Deshabille, became quite popular. They were published in a volume in 1799. ”

“ He was afterwards Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
The Battle of Bunker Hill. A Dramatic Piece of Five Acts, in heroic measure; by a Gentleman of Maryland.
Pulchrumque mori succurrit in armis.—Virgil.
'Tis glorious to die in battle.
Philadelphia: Printed and sold by Robert Bell, in Third Street, 1776. Frontispiece. 8vo, pp. [8] , 5-49, [1] .
This play was recited by Brackenridge's pupils in 1776. It was dedicated to Robt. Stockton. The principal characters are well-known officers in the American and British Armies. ”

“ An adaptation of Scott's Marmion. When it was played at the Park Theatre, New York, from the prejudice then existing against American plays, it was announced as the production of an English author, Thomas Morton, "received with unbounded applause in London." It was enthusiastically received, and had a long lease of popularity.
How to Try a Lover. A Comedy. New York, 1817. 16mo, pp. 67.
Superstition. A Tragedy. Philadelphia, [1823] .
Played in Philadelphia, Pa., 1824.
The Travellers. Philadelphia, 1809.
BARRYMORE, WILLIAM
The Snow Storm ”

“ Another edition with the title: Americans Aroused in a Cure for the Spleen, etc., New York: Reprinted by James Rivington, n. d. [1775] . 8vo, pp. 32.
[71]
SIMMONS, JAMES WRIGHT
James Wright Simmons, born at Charleston, S. C., studied at Harvard and made an extensive tour of Europe, whence he came to New York and was for a time a writer for the New York Mirror. He was also connected with other New York papers. He afterward held the office of Comptroller General and Treasurer of the Republic of Texas. Died at Memphis, Tenn., aged 68 years. ”

“ The Prince and the Patriot. A Poem in Three Dialogues.
Published in Poems, Moral and Divine, by an American Gentleman. London, 1756. pp. 79-105. One of the earliest plays written by an American.
Sans Souci, Alias Free and Easy; or, An Evening's Peep into a Polite Circle. An Intire New Entertainment, in Three Acts. Boston: Printed by Warden and Russell, 1785. 8vo, pp. 24.
Second edition. 8vo, Boston, 1785.
Saul. A Dramatic Sketch.
This piece is probably by N. P. Willis. It was published in the American Monthly Magazine for June, 1829.
[17]
A Scene in the First Act of the New Farce. ”

“ A Drama, altered from a Tale of Ancient Times. Providence, 1824. 16mo, pp. 68.
LINDSLEY, A. B.
Love and Friendship; or, Yankee Notions. A Comedy in Three Acts. New York, 1809. 18mo, pp. 58.
LOW, SAMUEL
The Politician Out-Witted. A Comedy in Five [56] Acts, written in 1788, by an American. New York: Printed by W. Ross, 1789. 8vo, pp. 71.
MACPHERSON, J.
A Pennsylvania Sailor's Letters, alias, The Farmer's Fall ”

“ The Mercenary Match. A Tragedy. New Haven, Meigs, Bowen & Dana. [1785] . 12mo, pp. 57.
This piece was performed by students of Yale College.
BOTSFORD, MRS.
The Reign of Reform; or, Yankee Doodle Court. By a Lady. Baltimore: Printed for the Authoress, 1830. 18mo, pp. 146.
A dialogue, the Characters personating distinguished individuals of the day.
A Continuation of the above. Baltimore, 1830. 18mo, pp. 79, [1] .
[21]
BRAY, JOHN
The Toothache ”

“ A School for Soldiers; or, The Deserter. A [44] Dramatic Poem. Printed at Kingston in Jamaica [W. I.] 1783. 8vo.
This piece was first played in Kingston.
Played at the John Street Theatre, New York, April 24, 1788. ”