Edwin Thomas Booth - Mt. Auburn Cemetery - Watertown, MA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

In Watertown, within Mt. Auburn Cemetery, is this grave marker for Edwin Thomas Booth.

Mt. Auburn Cemetery is located along Mt. Auburn Street, near where Belmont Street intersects. The best thing to do is to stop at the Visitor Center and obtain a map ($1), first.

The grave is nearest Mound Ave, about midway between Spruce Ave. and Walnut Ave., and along Pyrola Path.

The grave is a stone marker, standing about seven feet tall. On the face toward the path is a bronze relief with an image of his face. Above the relief is the word, "BOOTH" and above that is elaborate stone shell-work. Below the relief is the following:

"EDWIN BOOTH
BORN NOVEMBER 13th 1833
DIED JUNE 7th 1893
"I WILL TURN THEIR MOURNING
INTO JOY AND WILL COMFORT THEM
AND MAKE THEM REJOICE FROM
THEIR SORROW" JER XXXI 13"

On the back is the following:

""THE IDEA OF THY LIFE SHALL
SWEETLY CREEP
INTO MY STUDY OF IMAGINATION
AND EVERY LOVELY ORGAN OF
THY LIFE
SHALL COME APPARELLED IN
MORE MOVING DELICATE AND
FULL OF LIFE
INTO THE EYE AND PROSPECT
OF MY SOUL
THAN WHEN THOU LIV'ST INDEED"
SHAKESPEARE"

Edwin Thomas Booth was born in Bell Air, Maryland. He was one of three children to Junius Brutus Booth, who was an English actor. The father and all sons were involved in acting. Yet only once did all three of the sons perform together - in a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in 1864. This production was a fundraiser to obtain funds to erect a statue of Shakespeare in New York's Central Park. After that, he played the role of Hamlet for one hundred nights, setting a record number of performances at the time. After his brother, John Wilkes Booth, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, Edwin withdrew from public appearances for many months. John Booth was a Confederate sympathizer, while Edwin was a Unionist, which created strife between the brothers. He managed a theatre, then started his own, the Booth's Theatre, which ran a production of Romeo and Juliet. The theatre was never profitable, and it went into bankruptcy. Edwin Booth then continued to act and continued to be successful. In late 1864 to 1865, Edwin Booth had prevented President Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, from serious injury or death on a train platform in Jersey City, New Jersey. Booth is buried with his first wife, Mary, whose separate marker is beside his. There is also a marker for a small child.


Other Sources:

Wikipedia (American Theater Hall of Fame):
(visit link)

Description: Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth, was an accomplished actor in his own right in the mid 1800s, considered by many to have been the best Shakespearean actor in the role of Hamlet. He also saved the life of Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of Pres. Abraham Lincoln. He ran his own theatre in New York. Booth has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Date of birth: 11/13/1833 Date of death: 06/07/1893 Area of notoriety: Entertainment Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daylight Hours every day Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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