Dolman family & EJ Phillips

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Dolman family

The Dolmans were friends of EJP's long before Hattie married John, and seem to have known John Nickinson as well.
John Dolman Sr. (1824/30?-1895) was Hattie's father- in- law once John Dolman Jr. married her in 1887..

New York Clipper, Notable Players of the Past and Present, No. 79, 1911

According to his NY Clipper obituary (July 20, 1895) he'd enlisted in the Marines at 16, served in the Mexican War and went on the stage at Mitchell's Olympic Theatre, New York in 1849, Mitchell's last season as manager. This must be when he met John Nickinson.

Afterwards he went to the Holliday Theatre, Baltimore and to Philadelphia (the old National Theatre) and then in 1853 to "the notable Arch Street Theatre under Wheatley and Drew, and Wheatley & Clarke, where he remained until admitted to the bar in 1860. (His wife's family didn't want her to marry an actor.)

He played "nearly all the heavy parts in the Shakespearian plays and old English comedies. In "Hamlet" he usually played the Ghost" and he played Macbeth to Charlotte Cushman's Lady Macbeth Notable Players of the Past and Present, New York Clipper, July 1, 1911] His funeral was in Philadelphia July 18, 1895

John Dolman Sr. married Ellen Shoch (1837-1907) "Mrs. Dolman in most of these letters.

Their oldest child was John Dolman (1857-1939) who married Hattie Nickinson Christine Harriet Melanie Nickinson (Aug. 24, 1860- Oct. 9, 1946)

Their first child was
            John Dolman " Jack" (May 21, 1888- July 9, 1952)
                  who married Ethel Schatte (1890-1937). They were the parents of
                 John Phillips Dolman (1915- )
                  Robert Effingham Dolman (1917- )
                  Geoffrey Dolman (1919- 199?), father of
                             Kathy Dolman Newkirk, who has another EJP quilt.
                  and Barbara Dolman Spencer (1913-1988),
                  who received EJ Phillips's quilt for her high school graduation.
                  She and husband John Spencer were the parents of Susan Spencer [Misciewicz]
                                               Peggy Spencer

Sue Spencer, Hattie Nickinson Dolman, Barbie Dolman Spencer c. 1943
Hattie and Jack c. 1889
Entrekin1313-1315 Columbia Ave, Philadelphia Pa

Players Club of Swarthmore Between 1915 and 1952, [John] Dolman [Jr] directed nearly 30 productions — including our first Shakespeare, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He served continuously as a governor, was several times vice-president, and was president from 1940 to 1942 ." Effingham Dolman organized memorial plaques including one for EJ Phillips when the Players Club seating was renovated in the 1990s, and Charlie Seymour has also been active there. . http://www.pcstheater.org/pastseasons/1950s.htm#

Hattie and Johns' second child was Elizabeth Ellen Dolman (May 28, 1891- June 12, 1892) who died of complications of measles in June 1892, described in poignant letters from Hattie and her mother,

and third Melanie Nickinson Dolman (1897- 1978)
who married Charles Floyd Seymour (1874-1927). They were the parents of
Charles F. Seymour (1921- ) who married Isabel Robinson

Charlie Seymour, Jr. http://charliethemarketer.com/who-am-i/ with his daughter Liz Seymour are the fourth and fifth generations to direct theater in Delaware County Pennsylvania. Charles Seymour Jr is a fourth generation director at the Players Club of Swarthmore " Our family has been involved with theater for many generations. Professional Theatre in the United States and England, Community Theatre throughout the United States, University Theater, local school district theatre, and two extraordinary theatre organizations for children: Young People's Theatre Workshop and Upper Darby Summer Stage For generations theater has been in the Seymour Family.

Our grandfathers
First cousins Jack Dolman (b. May 1888) and Ted Nickinson (b. Oct. 1890) were grandfathers to the Dolman (Sue, Peggy, Kathy, Charlie and others) cousins and Nickinson (Mary Glen, Marjorie, Beth, Em, Pat and Merritt and others) cousins. The Dolman and Nickinson cousins are third cousins.

Jack Dolman and Ted Nickinson c. 1893

Dolman siblings and siblings -in-law
John Dolman Jr.'s siblings (and Hattie's brothers- and sisters-in-laws) were

Nellie Carpenter Dolman Law (1861-1946) lived to be 85, but it isn't clear if she and her husband Will ever worked out their differences.
Philadelphia, May 5, 1895 Nellie to go back to Will, I am told but do not know any particulars. [From an undated 1895 letter, prior to John Dolman Senior's death: Nellie and Will are reconciled and begin housekeeping again next week]. The house is taken from the 15th (Saturday). I hope the past may prove a wholesome lesson to them. My opinion is that Will has behaved most manfully and well and done all he could to make things pleasant.]

Josephine Gertrude Dolman "Josie" (1863-1934) lived to be 71, wrote stories and taught school.

Nellie [or is this Josie?] Dolman

Naegeli, 46 East 14th. Street, Union Square N.Y.

Walter Scott Dolman (1873-1927) acted in another Lady Windermere's Fan company in his early twenties, before becoming a Philadelphia lawyer, like his father and brother.

James Perkins Dolman (1859-1891) died at 32 leaving a pregnant widow (whose child died at birth).
Charles Shoch Dolman (1866-1885) died at 17. He wrote to Albert from Florida where he'd been taken to try to convalesce.
Edward Coke Dolman (1870-1889) died at 18, and
Mary Allison Dolman "Petsie" (1868-1886) also died at 18. It is hard to imagine middle-class families now losing 3 teenagers and a 30 year old in the space of 7 years.

Dolman plot, West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia

Hattie Nickinson Dolman, EJ Phillips and Jack Dolman circa 1894

Albert Nickinson in Pensacola with Kathy Dolman c.1946

Bibliography
Dolman Jr., John, The Art of Acting, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1949.
https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.18332/2015.18332.The-Art-Of-Acting_djvu.txt Dolman Jr., John, The Art of Play Production, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1928. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060416823/qid=1076907928/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-7351289-1775216?v=glance&s=books
Dolman, John Jr. The Art of Public Speaking, Harper & Brothers, 1922
Dolman, John Jr. Handbook of Public Speaking Harcourt Brace1922
Dolman, John Jr. The Art of Reading Aloud, Harper & Brothers, 1956

Last updated August 17, 2019

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