Personally, I only know that Mary Ann's father was what we would term a nurseryman in South London. Since her parents were quite upset at her "elopement," I would doubt that she would flee to relatives in the U.S.

Also, the pair did a lot of jumping around over the first year in the U.S. They actually landed in Norfolk, VA, first on June 30, 1821. By December 22 of that year, they had arrived in Charleston in time for young Junius's birth (and while you are counting on your fingers like the town gossips, please consider that Mary Ann would likely be in confinement for the last six weeks to two months of her pregnancy). By that summer, they had arrived in Harford County, Maryland. Booth Senior did have cousins in nearby Baltimore who had married women from Harford County, so I suspect that was the impetus to seek the tranquility of that "suburb."

I'm thinking that the brief exodus to Charleston in 1821/22 might have been because that city was well-known for its very diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds - Protestant, Catholic, and large amounts of Sephardic Jews (i.e. Spain and Portugal backgrounds - remember the theory that the Booths were descended from a Jewish silversmith in Portugal?). And, the city was also famous for its support of arts and culture, with the first theater building in America being constructed there prior to our Revolution. Mr. Booth was already a well-established thespian in England, so head for the gaslights in Charleston. We also know that, at least later in life, he was a devotee of religious studies of all faiths. Charleston could provide him sustenance in both the theater and the fields of religion.

Asia Booth was the family's chronicler. Does anyone remember her ever writing of having a vast maternal family in the U.S.?

(02-24-2018 08:32 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Personally, I only know that Mary Ann's father was what we would term a nurseryman in South London. Since her parents were quite upset at her "elopement," I would doubt that she would flee to relatives in the U.S.

Also, the pair did a lot of jumping around over the first year in the U.S. They actually landed in Norfolk, VA, first on June 30, 1821. By December 22 of that year, they had arrived in Charleston in time for young Junius's birth (and while you are counting on your fingers like the town gossips, please consider that Mary Ann would likely be in confinement for the last six weeks to two months of her pregnancy). By that summer, they had arrived in Harford County, Maryland. Booth Senior did have cousins in nearby Baltimore who had married women from Harford County, so I suspect that was the impetus to seek the tranquility of that "suburb."

I'm thinking that the brief exodus to Charleston in 1821/22 might have been because that city was well-known for its very diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds - Protestant, Catholic, and large amounts of Sephardic Jews (i.e. Spain and Portugal backgrounds - remember the theory that the Booths were descended from a Jewish silversmith in Portugal?). And, the city was also famous for its support of arts and culture, with the first theater building in America being constructed there prior to our Revolution. Mr. Booth was already a well-established thespian in England, so head for the gaslights in Charleston. We also know that, at least later in life, he was a devotee of religious studies of all faiths. Charleston could provide him sustenance in both the theater and the fields of religion.

Asia Booth was the family's chronicler. Does anyone remember her ever writing of having a vast maternal family in the U.S.?

Stephen Archer wrote a little about the background of Mary Ann Holmes and her parents in his book:

https://books.google.com/books?id=xPmrVe...22&f=false