Week 34--Character—McFall Daughters Both Actresses

Last week I wrote about the tragic death of Joseph McFall (1836-1908). At the end of the newspaper article was a paragraph about his two daughters, both who were actresses: Sue McFall, known as Julia Gray, and May McFall, known as May Noble. These ladies were my husband’s first cousin twice removed. Their mother was my husband’s great-grandfather, Frederick H. Davey’s sister.

May McFall, was born about 1869 in Indiana, likely Jeffersonville. I have not found much about her, but did find a connection with her birth name and her stage name.

“The Dramatic News says that Miss May Noble, of the John Dillon comedy Company, now playing in the Northwest, has made a great hit and has won justly deserved promotion. “May Noble” is known in Indianapolis, which is her home, as May McFall.”[1]

I found a few articles of her with the Dillon company, and then no more. There are articles about a May Noble with the Leonard Grover Company, starting in Los Angeles in 1894.[2] From there, the company traveled to San Francisco, did gigs in Stockton and other surrounding towns, and then headed up north to Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, and Montana. While in San Francisco, the San Francisco Amusement Company was formed for theatrical purposes and May Noble along with the Grovers (father Leonard & son Leonard Jr.) were directors of the corporation. The Stockton Daily Evening Record had an image of May Noble.[3]

In 1897, there were articles about May having heart trouble in Anaconda.[4] However, she appeared in later articles, still acting.

Finally, in 1901, there was a snippet about her joining the company in Dayton, Ohio, where she would play the lead in “At Scotland Yard,” and also that she was in private life, the wife of Leonard Grover, the comedian.[5]

I have found no reference to their marriage. The 1900 census in the Borough of Brooklyn, shows the Grovers, Leonard Jr. and father, Leonard, and Junior’s wife as May N.[6] They had been married seven years. She is listed as being born in Indiana, which is consistent with earlier census records with her parents. However, when I did some research on Leonard Grover, biographies list another wife, Ida May Oliver (aka actress Kitty O’Neill), having married to him since 6 Mar 1884 until his death.[7] Conflicting information, for sure!

I searched in Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank.com and it is possible that there were more than one May Noble who was an actress. Some articles mentioned her as May Noble, some as Miss May Noble, and there was also a midget named May Noble who did readings. I found that Kitty O’Neill acted with Leonard Grover, Jr. in many cities in 1916. But there were also a lot of Kitty O’Neills in newspapers. I have no conclusion about May Noble and do not yet know what became of her after 1901.

The other daughter, Sue Edith McFall, was born in 1880 in Indianapolis. Her stage name was Julia Gray, and began acting in the early 20th century. The first articles I found were in the Lincoln J. Carter play “Her Only Sin” with the Criterion Players.[8] She played the lead part in this play all over the east and mid-west during 1903-1906. After that she was in a few more plays before spending some years changing theater companies.

She ended up with Edward Dowell, where they performed comedy routines. They married sometime around 1913.[9] After Edward retired, they settled in San Diego, California, where she performed at the Lyceum Theater for several years. After retirement, Edward was a movie projectionist and later a city councilman. They had no children.

She was active in the Troupers Club and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.[10] In World War II, she organized the Women’s Ambulance and Transport Corps of California and held the rank of Colonel. It was an independent organization to train its members in regulation infantry drill, ambulance driving, motor mechanics and first aid. Each member bought their own uniforms, first-aid kits, and paid their own transportation costs.[11] San Diego newspapers are filled with articles about Julia’s volunteer activities.

They moved to Santa Barbara and she died 11 February 1958 and is buried in the Santa Barbara Cemetery.[12]

So the McFall family ended up with two actresses.

This is my fourth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] “Amusement,” Indianapolis Journal, 28 Dec 1892, p. 3.

[2] “Los Angeles Theater,” ad, The Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan 1894, p. 1.

[3] “May Noble,” image, Stockton Daily Evening Record, 8 Nov 1896, p. 1

[4] “At the Theaters,” Anaconda Standard, 31 Mar 1897, p. 5. Also “Our Boarding House,” The Butte (Montana) Daily Post, 29 Mar 1897, p. 8.

[5] “Theatrical Paragraphs,” The Brooklyn (NY) Citizen, 6 Oct 1901, p. 10.

[6] 1900 U.S. census, Kings Co, New York, Brooklyn, ED 23, p. 77 (stamped), dwelling 27, family 29, Josephine Muller household. The Grovers were listed as lodgers at 50 Hanover Place.

[7] “Leonard Grover Biography,” IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0344029/bio : accessed 27 Aug 2021).

[8] “Grand Opera House,” ad, Muscatine (Iowa) News-Tribune, 8 Sep 1903, p 4. And “Gennett Theatre,” ad, The Richmond (Indiana) Item, 8 Feb 1905, p. 7. Also, “York Opera House,” ad, The York (Pennsylvania) Daily, 21 Nov 1906, p. 7.

[9] 1930 U.S. census, San Diego Co, California, San Diego, ED 37-135, sht 4b, 98/142, Edward H Dowell. She gave she was married at 16, with her current age at 49.

[10] "Mrs. Julia Dowell, Ex-Vaudeville Performer, Dies," San Diego Union, 14 February 1958, p. b3.

[11] W.B. France, “S.D. Women Prepare in Time of Peace,” San Diego Union, 23 Feb 1941, p. 55, col. 4.

[12] Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com), Memorial# 88148348, Santa Barbara Cemetery, Santa Barbara, CA, Julia Gray Dowell.

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