Isaac Henderson
In The Sketch, October 9, 1901
Born
Isaac Henderson Jr.

(1850-02-13)February 13, 1850
Brooklyn, New York, US
DiedMarch 31, 1909(1909-03-31) (aged 59)
Rome, Italy
NationalityAmerican
Other namesIsaac Austin Henderson
Alma materWilliams College
EmployerNew York Evening Post

Isaac Henderson Jr. or Isaac Austin Henderson (February 13, 1850 – March 31, 1909) was an American newspaper publisher, novelist, and dramatist.[1][2] He was associated with the New York Evening Post for ten years.[2]

Early life

Henderson was born in Brooklyn in 1850.[2][1] He was the son of Margaret (née Johnston) and Isaac Henderson (1814–1884), co-owner of the New York Evening Post with William Cullen Bryant and John Bigelow.[3][2] His father's career at the Post ended in 1878 when an investigation revealed he had defrauded Bryant for thirty years.[4] During Abraham Lincoln's presidency in 1861, his father was appointed Navy Agent, "thereby becoming both a civilian employee of the Navy Department and a disbursing officer of the government subject to Treasury Department supervision."[4] In 1864, his father was arrested and tried for issuing false vouchers when he was Navy Agent.[5] After a well-publicized trial, he was found not guilty on technical grounds.[4][6]

Henderson's early education was at a Quaker academy in Rhode Island and under tutors.[2][7] He attended Williams College, graduating with a bachelor's degree, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Civil Law.[2] While there, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).[8]

Career

Newspaperman

In 1872, Henderson started working for the New York Evening Post, becoming assistant publisher in 1875.[2][1] In 1877 he was a publisher, stockholder, and member of the board of trustees.[2][1] Henderson sold his interest in the Evening Post in 1881.[2] In January 1882, Henderson and former post employee Watson R. Sperry started a morning newspaper in Wilmington, Delaware called the Morning Herald.[9] Sperry had married Henderson's sister.[10]

Novelist and dramatist

In 1886, Henderson published his first novel, The Prelate which was successful story about American ex-patriates in Rome.[2][1] Its cover was designed by Elihu Vedder.[11] The Brooklyn Union called it "an uncommonly clever book."[12] The Boston Traveler raved, "One of the most brilliant and fascinating romances that has been published in many a day."[12]

In 1888, he published another novel set in Italy, Agatha Page: A Parable.[13] Its cover was a painting by English artist Felix Moscheles, who was inspired to create a painting after hearing Henderson's summary of the novel in progress.[14] The Boston Gazette noted, "The book is admirably written, and its heroine, an exceptionally attractive character, is drawn with great skill and force."[13] The Chicago Times wrote, "She is a creature of such perfect individuality, such strength of character and beauty of soul, that her creation must attain importance in American fiction."[15] By 1889, Agatha Page was in its fifth edition.[13]

In 1892, Sir Charles Wyndham produced Agatha Page as the play The Silent Battle at the Criterion Theatre in London, England.[2][1] The Boston Museum also dramatized the named as Agatha in 1892.[2][1]

His next drama was The Mummy and the Humming Bird which was presented at Wyndham's Theatre in 1901.[2][1] In 1902, the play was performed at the Empire Theatre in New York City.[2][1] On November 11, 1915, the silent film version of The Mummy and the Humming Bird was released by Famous Players Film Company/Charles Frohman Co., with distribution by Paramount Pictures Corp.[16]

Despite his successful books and plays, Henderson was not a prolific author. The Washington Herald noted, "If he had been a poor man, Mr. Henderson would doubtless have been a prolific writer, but his modest fortune was abundant for his needs, and he wrote but little."[14]

Publications

  • Agatha Page: A Parable. Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1888.[17]
  • The Prelate: A Novel. Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1886.[18]
  • The Mummy and the Humming Bird. New York: Z and L. Rosenfield, 1902[19]
  • Out Yonder: A Play in Four Acts, 1909.[20]

Personal life

Henderson married Marion Temple Brown on February 13, 1880, at the Madison Square Presbyterian Church.[21][14] She was the daughter of Walter Brown of New York City.[21] Like Henderson, she was musically inclined.[14] They were the parents of two daughters, including Ruth Henderson (d. 1933), who married Hon. Walter Patrick Lindsay (1873–1936), third son of James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford.[22][23][14][7]

in 1881, he went to Europe and lived in London.[2] By 1882, he moved to Rome, Italy where he spent his time writing and studying music.[11] In 1888, he had moved back to London, living South Kensington in an exclusive neighborhood, The Boltons.[24][14]

In 1895, Marion became a Roman Catholic at the hands of Pope Leo XIII.[7] In 1896, Henderson converted to Catholicism, taking the name of Austin at his Confirmation.[2] In 1903 he held the post of honor, private chamberlain to Pope Pius X.[2]

He was a member of the Mendelssohn Glee Club, Union League Club, and the University Club of New York.[2] He promoted The New York Evening Post's Fresh Air Fund for Children.[2] He also donated a playroom and playground for the children of the Trastevere quarter in Rome.[2]

Henderson died in Rome on March 31, 1909.[1][25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Isaac Henderson". The Brooklyn Citizen. April 2, 1909. p. 2. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Robins, Julia Gorham (1910). "Isaac Austin Henderson" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7.
  3. ↑ Dearinger, Kevin Lane (2016). Clyde Fitch and the American Theatre: An Olive in the Cocktail. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-61147-948-5. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Mayer-Sommer, Alan P. (May 2010). "So many controls; so little control: The case of Isaac Henderson, Navy Agent at New York, 1861-4". Accounting History. 15 (2): 173–198. doi:10.1177/1032373209359324. ISSN 1032-3732. S2CID 155059092. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Arrest of the Navy Agent; Isaac Henderson in Custody on Charge of Issuing False Vouchers". The New York Times. June 23, 1864. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Trial of Isaac Henderson". The New York Times. May 27, 1865. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 Ticknor, Caroline (April 10, 1909). "Mr. Isaac Henderson". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. 8. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Catalogue of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi. New York: Fraternity of Delta Psi, 1889 via Google Books
  9. ↑ "Telegraphic Flashes". The San Francisco Inquirer. January 25, 1882. p. 3. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Personal Glints". The Tribune. Scranton, Pennsylvania. February 7, 1886. p. 4. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "The New York Star on Sunday said". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. March 16, 1886. p. 3. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 "New Publications: Published This Day". Boston Evening Transcript. March 20, 1886. p. 10. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 3 "Fiction". The Literary News: A Monthly Journal of Current Literature. F. Leypoldt. X (10): 392. October 1889. Retrieved December 12, 2023 – via Google Books.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Washington Chat". The Washington Herald. Washington, D.C. April 6, 1909. p. 6. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "New Publications 'Agatha Page'". New-York Tribune. June 3, 1888. p. 6. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "The Mummy and the Humming Bird". TCM: Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  17. ↑ Henderson, Isaac (1888). Agatha Page: A Parable. Ticknor and Company. via Hathi Trust.
  18. ↑ Henderson, Isaac (1886). The Prelate: A Novel. Boston: Ticknor and Company. via Hathi Trust.
  19. ↑ Henderson, Isaac. 1902. The mummy and the humming bird. [New York]: [Z. and L. Rosenfield].
  20. ↑ Henderson, Isaac (1909). Out yonder: A play in four acts. Marion Henderson, 1909. via Hathi Trust.
  21. 1 2 "Wedding of an Editor". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 13, 1880. p. 1. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "What Is Doing in Society". The New York Times. December 27, 1902. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Married - Lindsay - Henderson". The New York Times. December 27, 1902. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  24. ↑ "A Veritable Paradise". Pittsburgh Daily Post. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August 25, 1888. p. 12. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Burlington Obit". Burlington Daily News. April 3, 1909. p. 4. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
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