Jeffreys Lewis
Mary Jeffreys Lewis (abt. 1852–1926) known professionally as Jeffreys Lewis was a British-born American actress whose career lasted long after her popularity as a leading lady had faded. Early life Mary Jeffreys Lewis was born in London, England, on 25 October to Irish parents of Welsh descent. Some sources give her birth year as 1855 or later, though if correct, early US census indicate she was most likely born around 1852. Lewis attended elocution classes at the Birkbeck Institute (now Birkbeck, University of London) and made her first stage appearance at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was brought to America in 1873, probably with her mother, May, and sisters, Catherine and Constance, with veteran British actor Thomas C. King to perform on the New York stage. Her Broadway debut came on the 11 September 1873, at the New Lyceum Theatre on 14th Street and 6th Ave., playing Esmeralda opposite King's Quasimodo in Notre Dame, a failed dramatic adaption of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Career Lewis’ work in Notre Dame caught the eye of John Lester Wallack and before year's end she was playing Miss Grantham in Samuel Foote's comedy The Liar at Wallack's Theatre on Broom