JEFFERSON, JosEeu (1829-1. A distin guished American ma•dian. the fourth of a line of ;tutors, of whom his hither and grandfather bore the Sallie resole. ilia 1110ther had been Mrs. Burke, :t singer of high repute. Ile was born in Philadelphia, February •0, 1;129. and from in fancy was upon the stage, appearing as Cora's child in Pi,:orro When only three years old. and with Rice as a miniature 'Jim Crow' when four years old. In Iti3S his father removed to the West. playing in Western and Southern cities. They Went in to Mobile, where his father died of yellow fever. and for several years atter this Joseph went through the hard training of a strolling actor, play ing minor parts in many cities of the United States and in „Mexico. After his return to the East, in ISO, his eircumstances improved. and the next few years were largely spent in various cities of the South. In 1856 he made his first visit to Europe. Returning again to New York, he became a member of Laura Keene's company, and in her newly opened theatre in 1557 appeared as Dr. Pangloss in 7'hc //cir•ert-Late, and in sev eral less important rules. In I858 he played with E. A. Sothern in Aliss Keene's production of Our American cousin, really ereating the part, of Asa Trenehard. It was while acting in Our A la crieo n Cousin that lie began his search in literature for a character combining both humor and pathos. which he finally found in Irving's
Rip Van Wi n k ; but his dramatization of the sketch was so unsatisfactory to himself that it, afterwards altered and amplified by Bouci cault. and became Jefferson's most famous role. Ile played it for the first time in London. in IS65. and since then this character, Dr. Pangloss. and limb in The fli mi s, which he revived in Philadelphia in 18SO, have been the principal ones in his repertory. He has also acquired a con siderable reputation as a landscape painter in oils. Mr. Jefferson has been twice married—to Miss Alargaret Loekyer in 1550. and. after her death. to Miss Sarah Warren in I867. Ile owns a fine plantation in Louisiana. and when not on the stage spends hi; winters there. II is raphll I New York. 18901. besides being an enter taining account of his own life. is full of inter esting allusions to many vontemporaneous actors and aetres=es. Consult: 7'he e ersons I Boston, 1SS1 ) Carroll. Tire! It .I HIrtieg Their Li rrs and Times (New York, 1SS3) : :Mat thews and Dutton, .1 eiors anal _Icire.vs,s of Great Britain anal the States (New' York. 1SSG).