Theatre Royal West Bromwich - RAINBOW

[rainbowfamily]

I'm stuck and wondering if anyone can help me out.

J.G. Rainbow was the manager of the Theatre Royal in West Bromwich from 1884 until his death in 1893.  I have a book: West Bromwich Theatre Royal by Fred Bennett that devotes a chapter to Joseph's time at the theatre and there are numerous mentions of his daughter, Emma who was an actress.

I'm stuck on Emma.  I can't find her in any census or any BMD's.  In the 1881 & 1891 census I can only find sign of one daughter, Lillie Blanch who was 8 and 18 respectively.  I did consider that maybe she used Emma as a stage name but the dates don't work out.  According to the book Emma Rainbow already had her own travelling theatre company in 1884 when Lillie would only have been 11.

I'm thinking that Emma might have been the child of a previous relationship as Joseph's wife was only 34 in 1884 and probably too young to have a daughter who was managing her own theatre company at that time?

Any ideas or suggestions of where to look next would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Paula 

[PaulineJ]

If Emma is old enough to have her own Travelling company in 1884 (and presumably 1881) then isn't she old enough to also be married?
On census, I would expect her to use a married name rather than the family name of Rainbow.


Pauline

[rainbowfamily]

Hi Pauline

Yes, good point!  I have searched for a marriage for her but I am hampered by not knowing what area to look in and how old she is.  The Emma Rainbow marriages that look likely all seem to end up, on the next census, with her being married to a boiler maker, or similar, with a couple of kids and no sign of 'actressing'

As far as using the family name on the census, this was also her stage name and I believe that some entertainers used their stage names on census returns.  I have found an Emma Rainbow, actress, on the 1901 census but her age is given as 30, too young unless its a transcription error or she was lying about her age! 

Curiouser and curiouser!!

Paula

[Udall]

Hi.
My gt gt gt grand father was Charles Udall, who built the Theatre Royal West Bromwich. I have a picture of the Theatre that you may be interested in. contact me Via www.tribalpages.com/tribes/gaze
Cheers
Gay

[sandral]

I have a friend who has done a lot of research on this Rainbow family including a lot of show biz articles and reviews, etc.   If you are still interested, let me know.

[Udall]

I would be very interested in any information about the Theatre Royal, apart from Fred Bennets book, and a picture of the Theatre, at lot remains family folk lore!
Gay

[emgee]

Sandral

My grandfather, Michael Walsh, appeared at a number of theatres around the Black Country between 1890 and 1910 - as an  Irish clog dancer and singer but I have no details.

If your friend has any information in his reviews it would be very much appreciated

[elagill]

Hi, i have just come across this old forum of yous when googling theatre royal, Do you happen to have any information on Albert Franks, who was the musical director of the theatre royal and a great violinist. He came from West Bromwich and was married in 1902 so I have no idea what dates this would include. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers,Elaine

[skaterigg]

I expect you know this already, but 19th Century British Library [Gale] Newspapers {accessible with many library cards] has lots of reviews and ads about Emma Rainbow from "The Era". It appears she was in Wolverhampton on 03 April 1881 so that may narrow your search a bit.  Not immediately apparent where she was on 05 April 1991 but it might come to light if you have time to read all the cuttings.

Good luck.