Miriam O'Leary Collins
B&W portrait photo of a seated young woman in a reclining position, wearing a white dress.
"A Woman of the Century"
Born
Miriam O'Leary

July 2, 1861
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJune 2, 1936
Marblehead, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeOld Calvary Cemetery, West Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupationstage actor
EmployerBoston Museum theatre stock company
Spouse
David Aloysius Collins
​
​
(m. 1892; died 1907)​
Children6

Miriam O'Leary Collins (July 2, 1861 – June 2, 1936) was an American stage actor associated with Boston Museum theatre.[1] After marriage, she staged plays, several times for the benefit of the Home for Destitute Catholic Children. She also worked as a elocution and dramatic action coach.

Early life and education

Miriam O'Leary was born in Boston, Massachusetts, July 2, 1861.[2][lower-alpha 1] Her father, William Curran O'Leary, of London, England, was an artist and designer by profession. Her mother's maiden name was Miriam Keating, and at the time of her marriage she was on a visit to Boston from Halifax, her native place, Their daughter, Miriam, was their first child.[1] Her siblings were William, Teresa and Agnes.[2] Teresa

Collins received her education in the public schools of Boston, and attended the Franklin grammar school, the Winthrop Grammar School and the Girls' High School.[3] Her aim throughout her years of preparation was to fit herself as a teacher.[1]

Career

The Boston Museum Stock Company, 1889-1890. O'Leary is seated, third from the right.
Miriam O'Leary and Kate Ryan

After her father's death, encouraged by her cousin, Joseph Haworth, and by other friends, she chose stage acting as her profession and began at once to pursue that goal. Her first success was as Rosalie in Rosedale by Lester Wallack during the playwright's engagement in the Boston Museum theatre. She spent one season in the company of Edwin Booth and Lawrence Barrett, after which she returned to the Boston Museum. In 1892, she was a member of the stock company of that theater. She appeared in many widely different roles, ranging from Snake in Nicholas Nickleby, Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Sophia in The Road to Ruin, to Jess in Lady Jess.[1] She appeared in The Shaughraun at the Boston Museum in January 1883.[4]

In 1895, O'Leary-Collins put on the play Cricket on the Hearth at Boston College hall for the benefit of the Home for Destitute Catholic Children; she was also a cast member.[5] Later in the same year, with Prof. George W. Blish, she read she trial scene of Bardell vs. Pickwick at the All-Around-Dickens club.[6]

In February 1896, in aid of the Home for Destitute Catholic Children and under the patronage of the Ladies' Aide Society, O'Leary-Collins staged the play, Rosedale.[7] She appeared in Dr Deborah in 1898 at the Hollis Street Theater for the benefit of the same Home.[8]

By 1907, Collins had shifted her career to coaching elocution and dramatic action.[9] She also directed The Shaughraun at Potter Hall in January 1908.[10]

Personal life

On January 25, 1892, she married David Aloysius Collins (1862-1907),[2] a prominent physician of Boston.[1] They had six children: David, Miriam, William, Lucius, Frederick, and Leon.[2]

Miriam O'Leary Collins died in Marblehead, Massachusetts, June 2, 1936,[3] and was buried at Old Calvary Cemetery, West Roxbury.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Willard & Livermore, Miriam O'Leary was born in 1864.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). "COLLINS, Mrs. Miriam O'Leary". A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Charles Wells Moulton. pp. 194–95. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Miriam Catherine O'Leary Female2 July 1861 – 2 June 1936". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 "MIRIAM COLLINS FUNERAL TOMORROW. Former boston Museum Actress Star in '90s". The Boston Globe. 4 June 1936. p. 15. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Boucicault's Return -- "The Shaughraun."". The Boston Globe. 2 January 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ ""Cricket on the Hearth."". The Boston Globe. 24 February 1895. p. 14. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ↑ "Bardell Vs Pickwick". The Boston Globe. 14 November 1895. p. 7. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ↑ ""Rosedale" for Charity". The Boston Globe. 16 February 1896. p. 18. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ↑ "Charity Matinee at the Hollis". The Boston Globe. 24 April 1898. p. 18. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ "DRAMATIC". The Boston Globe. 20 October 1907. p. 15. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ↑ "MUSIC". The Boston Globe. 25 January 1908. p. 14. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ↑ "Services in Roxbury for Mrs. Miriam Collins". The Boston Globe. 5 June 1936. p. 19. Retrieved 25 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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