Found Laura Keene's Naturalization papers, circa 1856. Of particular interest - she had to "particularly renounce the crown and British Queen!" Sort of an insult, really - but I guess that 1856 was so close to the American Revolution that they felt compelled to include that.


   

Very cool find. Never thought to look for them. I wonder if the papers from the several legal suits over the rights to Our American Cousin are available.

I assume that is not her signature?

Here's a link to Laura Keene's signature:

http://autographmagazine.com/wp-content/...eneSig.jpg

They do not look alike.

(10-18-2015 07:11 PM)Dennis Urban Wrote:  Very cool find. Never thought to look for them. I wonder if the papers from the several legal suits over the rights to Our American Cousin are available.

Dennis, they are. Some are in her papers at the Library of Congress and some in the Harvard Theatre Collection. Copies of them are also in the (late) Ben Graf Henneke (Keene's biographer) Papers at the University of Tulsa.

(10-18-2015 06:10 PM)BettyO Wrote:  Found Laura Keene's Naturalization papers, circa 1856. Of particular interest - she had to "particularly renounce the crown and British Queen!" Sort of an insult, really - but I guess that 1856 was so close to the American Revolution that they felt compelled to include that.

The language was still being used in 1880. John Brophy's naturalization that year contains it.