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OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (ARMSTRONG ATHERTON.) 



he renewed his public advocacy of such a meas- 

 ure and drafted an international copyright bill 

 which contained many of the features embodied 

 in the act adopted in* 1891. His long champion- 

 ship of the cause of honest books was recog- 

 nized by his brother publishers in his election as 

 first president of the American Publishers Copy- 

 right League. Dec. 29, 18S7. Mr. Appleton s part 

 in the conduct of the firm's business continued 

 from his first experience with his father m Ex- 

 change Place, through the successive removals ot 

 the business, until after the linn occupied its 

 present building at No. 72 Fifth Avenue. His 

 business career showed a courage and largeness 

 of view equal to the greatest enterprises, and 

 the fortitude and wisdom necessary when for- 

 tune seemed adverse or results were long de- 

 layed. He was in every way a commanding fig- 

 ure, and his sagacity,' far-sightedness, coolness, 

 grasp of affairs, and singular .executive ability 

 were shown in many fields of effort outside of the 

 business to which his life was primarily devoted. 

 For nearly fifty years he was a trustee of the 

 New York Life* Insurance Company, and the for- 

 tieth anniversary of his election to this office 

 was recognized by the presentation of a hand- 

 some testimonial prepared by his associates. His 

 services as chairman of the Committee on Finance 

 for an extended period form of themselves a re- 

 markable record. For many years he was a di- 

 rector of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western 

 Railroad, and a trustee of the Institution for the 

 Savings of Merchants' Clerks. He had been a 

 director of the Central Trust Company and the 

 New York Security and Trust Company. He was 

 long the senior warden of St. Bartholomew's 

 Church. His loyal interest in his church was 

 illustrated, to cite but one instance, in the erec- 

 tion and endowment of the Appleton Church 

 Home for Orphan Girls at Macon, Ga. Mr. Ap- 

 pleton became one of the first members of the 

 Century Association, and with the exception of 

 Daniel Huntington, whose membership began with 

 the Sketch Club, which preceded the Century, he 

 was the oldest living member. His date of elec- 

 tion was 1847. He became a member of the Union 

 Club in 18G3, and was twice elected vice-president. 

 He was a member of the Riding Club, the Aldine 

 and Players' Clubs, and many other organiza- 

 tions. ?Ie married, April 16, 1844, Mary Worthen, 

 of Lowell, Mass. His children now living are 

 Miss Mary Appleton, William Worthen Appleton, 

 and Henry C. Appleton. One daughter, Kate, 

 who married H. Seymour Geary, died in 1873. 



Armstrong, William, historical character, 

 died in Ashland, Cass County, 111., in May, 1899. 

 In 1857 he and James H. Norton were accused 

 of causing the death of James Metzger, in Menard 

 County. Norton was tried in that county, found 

 guilty, and sentenced to eight years' imprison- 

 ment in the penitentiary. Armstrong secured a 

 change of venue to Cass County, and was tried 

 in Beardstown in 1858. Abraham Lincoln volun- 

 teered to take charge of the case without fee as 

 an obligation of gratitude. During the trial a 

 witness for the prosecution, one Allen, testified 

 that he could see the fatal blow struck by the 

 light of the moon, which at midnight, he swore, 

 was shining brightly. To contradict this appar- 

 ently strong testimony Mr. Lincoln produced an 

 almanac for 1857, and called the attention of the 

 court and jury to its record that the moon did 

 not shine on the night of the murder till several 

 hours after midnight. This presentation was the 

 most potent factor in the acquittal of the ac- 

 cused. Several years afterward Mr. Lincoln was 

 charged with having had the almanac that he 



exhibited in court prepared for the purpose by 

 means of an inserted fictitious page. This alle- 

 gation has been repeated many times, and ap- 

 pears in several published biographies. As the 

 question has been revived by the death of Arm- 

 strong, it may here be noted that in an address 

 before the Kansas Bar Association several years 

 ago Judge Bergen, who lived in Ashland at the 

 time and was in constant attendance at the trial, 

 denied the charge against Mr. Lincoln. 



Atherton, Alice (Mrs. William Edouin), ac- 

 tress, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 25, 1854; 

 died in New York city, Feb. 4, 1899. She was 

 the daughter of an Irishman named Hogan. At 

 the age of three she made her first effort on the 

 stage at the National Theater in her native city 

 as the child Marie in the melodrama The Sea of 

 Ice. For four years she played with the com- 

 'pany of this theater such parts as Eva in Uncle 

 Tom's Cabin, Little Pickle in The Spoiled Child, 

 and The Young Actress in the farce of that name. 

 In 1862 she became a member of the Opera House 

 company in Louisville, where she identified her 

 remarkable talents with the soubrette roles of 

 the regular drama, and in the following season 

 (1863-'64) she occupied the same position at 

 Wood's Theater, Louisville. After the civil war 

 she was engaged for four seasons with the com- 

 pany playing in Mobile, Ala. Her ability as a 

 comedienne brought her into association with the 

 Lydia Thompson burlesque troupe, which she 

 joined at Detroit, Mich., in February, 1869. After 

 traveling with that company for a season she 

 was engaged for Wood's Museum, New York city 

 (now Daly's Theater), where for three years she 

 played all kinds of parts, as she used laughingly 

 to say, " naughty girls, nice girls, rich girls, poor 

 girls, starving mothers, and hungry boys, pages, 

 soldiers, sailors, and saints." She returned to 

 the Lydia Thompson company in 1873, and in 

 December of that year married Willie Edouin, 

 a popular comedian, at that time a principal 

 member of the Thompson troupe. Thereafter Miss 

 Atherton and her husband played together. At 

 the opening of the season of 1877, on Aug. 27, 

 Oxygen; or, Gas in a Burlesque Meter, at Wai- 

 lack's Theater, gave Miss Atherton her first recog- 

 nition as a burlesque actress from a metropolitan 

 audience. She appeared as Queen Ylang-Ylang 

 in Robinson Crusoe on Sept. 12 of the same year 

 with similar success. When The Babes in the 

 Wood was produced at the Eagle Theater, New 

 York, she made a hit as one of the babes. A 

 burlesque company formed by Samuel Colville 

 was headed by Mr. and Mrs. Edouin for two 

 years (1878-79) in successful performances 

 throughout the country. Rice's Surprise Party 

 was organized in 1879, and Miss Atherton and 

 her husband were its principal fun makers until 

 the organization of a company by Mr. Edouin 

 and Mr. Sanger in 1880 to play one of the first 

 of the distinctively original American farce come- 

 dies, called Sparks. With this comedy and 

 Dreams; or, Fun in a Photograph Gallery, Mr. 

 and Mrs. Edouin traveled over the United States 

 and Canada for half a dozen years, making much 

 merriment for others and innumerable friends for 

 themselves and their wholesome play making. 

 The good fortune of their American ventures 

 caused a trip to England, where they were so 

 well received that in 1888 Mr. Edouin took a 

 lease of the Strand Theater, and on Feb. 25 of 

 that year Kate, the Family Help, was produced 

 with Miss Atherton in the title part. The London 

 public took her into great favor at once. On 

 April 4 she appeared as Airey Annie in Burnand's 

 travesty of Ariane. On June 30 she made an- 



