Joseph Benrimo - Did Joseph Benrimo die in The San Francisco Earthquake?

There were biographical notes that "Benrimo" (one of his stage names) traveled as a youth in Asia. On the other hand, he may have been somewhat inventive on biographical details :):)

I am pretty sure now the Benrimo family originated as Benrimoj in Tetuan, "the Barbary Coast" (that is, northern Morocco). It is possible & interesting to study they had been there since the Expulsion from Spain in 1492.

Ed - a "diamond boodle ringer" ?? What in the world was that?

http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000025333878954

This is the most colorful family ever.

US City Directories for San Francisco has

Residing at 15 Guerrero in 1905:
Benrimo, Harvey S. Portrait artist.
Benrimo, Joseph. Stockbroker.
Benrimo, Thomas. Asst librarian.

Ed

I'm wondering if we will find death records for Joseph & his wife Edith in NY (or even overseas) rather than San Fran?

http://apfineart.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/benrimo-thomasbio.pdf

Tom Benrimo noted that his family lost "everything" in the Earthquake & Fire of the spring of 1906, and they took the train cross country to New York City to start over.

Hello Erica... I found a California death record of a Hannah Benrino. No maiden name that married Joseph Benrimo around 1849.
Did they have children... don't know?
Her death was December, 29th. 1861 in San Francisco.
This should confirm the second marriage to Edith McAlpin in the 1870's and them having j.B, HarveySamuel, Thomas Samuel, and Donah E, Benrimo.

Correction... Thomas Daniel "Duncan" Benrimo.

Can you set Hannah to public? I added an event to Joseph Benrimo - his passport application in Nov 1861 for himself & wife Hannah. Perhaps she died on their honeymoon? How tragic !

But happily - 2nd wife Edith McAlpin was appearing in a film in 1921, 66 year old mother of 5. So she is the mother of all the children, we're still missing one, and I just found her parents.

The story you uploaded referred to Joseph knowing a Levy. He sure did - the same Levy that witnessed his naturalization?

Joseph Benrimo
Immigration:
 New York, USA
Age: [BLANK]
Nationality: [BLANK]
Roll: 019
Court: COMMON PLEAS COURT, NEW YORK COUNTY.
Witness: GEORGE J. LEVY
Publisher: NARA
Publication #: M1674
Publication title: Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906

O.K.... It was mentioned that Joseph Benrimo's First Wife, Hannah Benrimo were married for 21 years before she died in 1861. Where they got married and if they had children is not known for the moment? Perhaps the Voyage/Trip to San Francisco was too much for her?
That "Levy Witness" helps tremendously of His Naturalization.
I will look more into McAlpin, as to how they came together in or before San Francisco?

Thanks;

Al

Ed

I think the birth date for Hannah must be an error. I looked at the Passport app for Joseph dated 1861 and it said his wife was 27 (and he was 22-1/2). I'll try & upload an image of the application - unfortunately no photo with it.

The death date however makes sense in terms of the births of the children with 2nd wife.

There's an 18 year old Edith McAlpin living in San Francisco in 1870. Has a birth place of Ireland which doesn't fit "our" Edith but does in terms of location & age. Census birth places can be highly variable. Later census reports (as wife of Joseph) have her born in Michigan (actually it was Pennsylvania) with father born in Scotland (or England, according to his census report).

Here we go, might be easiest to study from this link

http://media.geni.com/p13/6d/b0/54/ba/5344483bd320b4d2/u_original.p...

Because notice who affirms for Joseph - none other than J. Henry Levy.

How did he come to fisticuffs & libel suits with these people?

Yes.. Perhaps the birth date of Hannah Benrimo is in error, but the San Francisco Date seems correct.
If Edith McAlpin was about 18 years old when she and Joseph met in San Francisco, this looks correct too?

I haven't cited / uploaded the Edith McAlpin 1870 census report because of the Ireland birth place & because I'm not sure she can't be found in another household in 1870. Otherwise it makes sense, they married sometime in the 1870s, and more likely in SF area, just as a NY area wedding for Hannah makes sense. It would be nice to find marriage records. Wonder if Hannah was a Levy!

Ed - glad you made me look again. Edith McAlpin is in household 771, Joseph Benrimo in household 770 in August 1870, living in the 6th Ward of San Francisco

http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000025349476809

Edith McAlpin used her maiden name professionally and of course we don't know when they were actually married as yet. Need to check their oldest child's birth date more closely. Given the housing stock perhaps they were just renting adjacent apartments ... Or perhaps they were neighbors & got to know each other that way.

Yup - "Benrimo" was born 1874, not 1870. So we have a romance between neighbors?

http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000025349984069

In 1920 the widowed Mrs Edith Benrimo is living with her daughter, the former very promising actress, in NYC. They seem down on their luck - their neighbors are servants & other service workers.

Around March 17th., 1909... Donah Benrimo married Walter Reed in Seattle, Washington.
According to the published wedding notice, Donah's Mother, Edith McAlpin-Benrimo is residing in Denver, CO.
In another note... There is no mention of Joseph Benrimo, but there is mention of Joseph's Sister, Donah Benrimo-Lienkauf being in Denver. I don't have the precise year?
Meanwhile... in 1910, Donah Benrimo-Reed Divorces Walter Reed in Oregon (possibly Portland), which is where he originally came from.
I think Donah goes to Denver, to meet with family, and then goes to New York?
The timing of both Edith and Donah show up in New York City, about the time Donah is seen at "The Bronx Theatre", in The Bronx, New York?
Meanwhile... Edith gets involved with Silent Films shortly there after?
The embossed tile piece in the main lobby of "The Bronx Theatre" is possibly of Donah, but I'm not ruling out Edith?
It is very possible, that The McAlpin-Benrimo Family is residing in Brooklyn about 1917?, as J.H. Benrimo Play writes "The Willow Tree", Thomas Daniel Benrimo works at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Dona Benrimo writes an article on "The Myth of Tom Mix", in July 10, 1920/21 for The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and Edith is doing Silent Films in The New York Area?

In regards to "The Diamond Boodle Ringer"... Out of a pile (Boodle) of diamonds, only 1% are of first quarlity, the rest are not!
Calling him "A Ringer" is an insult toward his professionalism in the diamond business.

Ed

The tile image does to me resemble Edith McAlpin more than Donah although I would think the ingenue is more likely to have been memorialized?

http://www.geni.com/documents/view/named_event-6000000025349782774?...

Edith was appearing in silent films also, these 3 are known:

Joan of Plattsburg (1918), The Rise of Jenny Cushing (1917), The Spreading Dawn (1917), His Greatest Sacrifice (1921)

In 1905 Donah is living in Manhattan with her cousin Annie (also an actress) and Annie's widowed mother. This would be before her brothers & parents moved East in 1906.

In 1908 Donah is living in Seattle, so is Thomas Benrimo.

In 1920 Donah & Edith are living in Manhattan, Donah is a Mrs D B R Matthews, the census has M for married obscured so it is unclear whether she is married, widowed, divorced from Matthews: he is not in the household. Her career in theatre seems over, she is working as a clerk.

In 1922 Edith is publicizing her film.

Re households

"In 1914 he (J Harry) became general director for the Shuberts, and staged several succesful shows, including his own ..."

J Harry was married several times, no kids, and scandalously to a woman whose divorce was not actually finalized - oops. :). Since he had consistent work & by 1914 a well paying job I would think he lived in the theatre district of mid town Manhattan.

Yes, Thomas more likely lived near to Pratt in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

Donah seems to have been a member of a household even as late as 1920. That would be consistent with the traveling nature of her work?

This quickie marriage/divorce between Donah and Walter Reed up in Seattle/(Portland) Oregon seems interesting? I am looking deeper that this Mr. Reed might be Walter Lawrence Reed (aka: Maj. Gen. Walter Reed) 1877-1951,The Son of Col./Dr.Walter Reed, who died around 1908???

I will look deeper to when those tiles were placed in "The Bronx Theatre"?

Thanks

Al

According to The Museum of The City of New York... "The Bronx Theatre" was built around 1907 and opened it's doors on November 1st. 1909.

The tiles were made by The Trent Tile Company of Trenton New Jersey. The were Three seperate tile instilations in The New York Area, which included "The Bronx Theatre".
I have another tile done by Trent of an other actress during the same time period?
I think perhaps that tile is of Edith McAlpin.
Regarging Lawrencce Walter Reed... is that him?

Thanks

No, it doesn't look like Donah's Reed husband was

Maj. Gen. Walter Lawrence Reed

In the 1910 census he's stationed in Fort Benjamin, Lawrence, Indiana, with wife Lucy, married 8 years (therefore about 1902), 2 children aged 5 & 3.

O.K., then we have a different Walter Reed.

Thanks.

I can't copy & paste this too well but it says Walter Reed, a well known Portlander, now connected with the Baker Theatre management

http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1909-03-17/ed-1/seq-1...

Also that Donah is the daughter of Mrs. Joseph Benrimo of Denver.

So we've narrowed down Joseph's death date to after 1905 & before 1910.

I expect we'll find the Matthews 2nd husband was in the theater world also.

According to the article... Edith McAlpin (aka: Mrs. Joseph Benrimo) is an actress of high reputation. So... I assume there would be more about her on The Stage.Theatres?
Being that they are mostly Stage performers... their movements would seem.sporatic. Perhaps they stayed at some Hotel and/or Boarding House Lodging. Some Boarding Houses did cater to showbiz people. Depending on their high reputations...for the sake of exposure and publicity, The Principle and/or Aspiring Performers would stay at a Swanky Hotel and hobnob with the High Society circles as celebrities. It all depended on who was The Talk of The Town.

Ed

From The Daily Dispatch: February 11, 1861

Suicide caused by spiritualism.

--Harvey McAlpin, a lawyer of Port Huron, Michigan, committed suicide a few days since, by shooting himself with a pistol. He had, for some time past, been a firm believer in the doctrines of spiritualism, and had frequently betrayed symptoms of insanity.

Edith would have been only about 9 years old.

Screenwriter-Producer, June Mathis... who rewrote "The Willow Tree" from J. H. Benrimo's play for the screen and discovered Actor-Performer, Rudolph Valentino, was heavy into Spiritualism. Edith was aware that there was an intimate relationship between Jane and Rudolph. After Valentino's untimely death, even Donah made comments about Valentino.
During filming... Rudolph Valentino was very particular about how his image looked on the screen and requested a particular lighting director named, Florence Lowe-Barnes (aka: Pancho Barnes), because she was able to capture 'His Profile'... like no other.
By way of My Great-Great Grandfather Dexter Mason, he knew Clovis Lowe and Prof. Thadeus Lowe... Cousin Flo's Grandfather and Great Grandfather.

I found Edith & her younger brothers living with a widow in Needham, Massachusetts in 1865 - no older sister, no mother.

But happily, Joseph provided the brothers a home, and they're all living on Market Street in 1880:

http://www.geni.com/documents/view/named_event-6000000025377312647?...

I'm next entering what I can find out about the brothers but already there's something interesting: Arthur went to Portland, Oregon ....