1. John Whitfield was born in 1752 in Clifford's Inn or Lincoln's Inn Fields, England. He died on 27 Jan 1814 in Clifford's Inn, London, London, England. He was buried on 4 Feb 1814 in St. Paul's, Covent Garden, London, England.
JOHN WHITFIELD, ACTOR (12 Si 30).- This actor made his first appearance Sept. 26, 1774, at Covent Garden Theatre, as Truman in ' George Barnwell,' and his wife (Mary) appeared there four night3 later as Harriet in 'The Miser.' She died Dec. 19, 1795, and was buried at St. Paul's, Covent Garden. Whitfield's cast of characters was mostly serious , and included Claudio, ' Much Ado about Nothing'; Pylades,' Distrest Mother'; Garcia, ' Mourning Bride'; Dauphin, ' Henry V.'; Altamont, ' Fair Penitent'; Oraino, 'Twelfth Night.' About 1788 he went over to Drury Lane, where he continued several years. War. DOUGLAS. 125 Helix Road, Brixton Hill. ' The Thespian Dictionary,' 1802, has, respecting the above:--"He made his theatrical essay in tho country, and, having acquired some reputation at Norwich, Was engaged at Covent Garden, where he camo out in Trucman (' George Barnwell') about tho year 1770....Mr. Whitfield's wife w'as formerly an actress at Covent Garden, and performed for several seasons at the summer theatre." by William John Thomas, (John) Doran, Henry Frederick Turle, Joseph Knight, Vernon Horace Rendall, Florence Hayllar - 1850
Whitfield, John (1752-1814), Don Garcia in A Bold Stroke for a Husband, was possibly the son of Covent Garden tailor and wardrobe keeper Robert Whitfield. There is much speculation surrounding just how John Whitfield came to be an actor. Although it seems likely that he acted prior to the occasion, the 26 September 1774 Covent Garden playbill listing "Mr. Whitefield" as Trueman in George Barnwell is Whitfield's earliest recorded performance. The Broadview anthology of Romantic drama By Jeffrey N. Cox, Michael GamerWhitfield Family Genealogy Forum
Re: John Whitfield Royal Drury Lane Theater
Posted by: Brian Whitfield Date: April 30, 2003
John Frederick Whitfield, of Clifford's Inn or Lincoln's Inn Fields was born about 1750, died in 1819 in London. He was a younger son of the house of Surrey. The house had been granted a coat of arms and John had been the recipient of the title "Esquire". John became, in early life, a leading comedian actor in the Royal Drury Lane Theatre, and the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. where he attracted the attention of the Prince Regent (afterward George IV.) who became his patron. He was a first cousin of George Whitfield, the celebrated evangelist. He appears on the playbills at Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in All In The Wrong, February 20th 1784; Robin Hood, May 13, 1784; The Belle's Strategem, May 15th, 1784 He also appeared on the Royal Drury Lane playbills for 2 April 1788 in School of Scandal; 25 April 1788 in Twelfth Night; 10 March 1795 in Merchant of Venice; 29 Sept.1795 in MacBeth; and 20-23 April 1796 in Almeda, Queen of Granada. In his first marriage to an actress (Mary Lane) John had born five sons. Not much is known about his first wife and their marriage, however the eldest of the sons is believed to have been the Lord Forester of the Royal Windsor Estates. John then married Maria Ann Healy in the late 1790's, a lady of some family means, who was descended from ancient English aristocracy having come from an old English family of high social standing and of some considerable wealth. This was John's second marriage and it ended in divorce a while later. John Whitfield and Maria Ann Healy had two sons. Thomas Chapman Healy Whitfield was born in London, England on Jan 6, 1799. His brother Frederick John Whitfield was born 9th of May 1800 in Woolwich (London) England. After the divorce, Anna Healy took the two sons to live in Bath where she lived until her death in 1847 or 1848. John had died in London in 1819 I believe John's Father was a Frederick Whitfield{geni:location_name} birthplace
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{geni:about_me} John Whitfield
1752-1814
This actor, manager and playwright was probably the son of the Covent Garden tailor and wardrobe keeper Robert Whitfield and his wife, a dresser at that theatre. Both parents are noticed in the BDA. Whitfield spent some seasons acting at Norwich and Canterbury before he appeared at Covent Garden on 26 September 1774 as Trueman in “George Barnwell”. His wife Mary made her debut there as Harriet in “The Miser” on 30 September. The Whitfields remained at Covent Garden, off and on, through 1802-3 and were for some seasons engaged at Drury Lane. John developed a repertoire of over 200 roles, usually of the supporting variety but sometimes leading parts like Horatio in “The Fair Penitent” and George Barnwell in “The London Merchant”. His Shakespearean roles included Benvolio, Paris, Laertes, Salanio in “The Merchant of Venice” and Fenton in “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, among others. He was a mature and useful professional actor, and some critics believed he was not being used to advantage by the managers. Whitfield died on 27 January 1814 and was buried at St Paul, Covent Garden, beside his wife Mary, who had died in December 1795. In addition to the portrait by Harding in the Garrick Club (G0840), Whitfield was pictured by James Roberts (engraving by Thornthwaite) as Captain Dormer in “A Word to the Wise” (1795) and by W. Loftis as Sir George Wealthy in the “Minor” (watercolour at the Folger Library). (BDA)
Reference:
BD or BDA: Philip H. Highfill, Jr, Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans, A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel on the London Stage 1660-1800. Southern IllinoisUniversity Press (1973-1993), 16 vols.John Whitfield (1752-1814), debut age 16 in strolling company. At Norwich 1770 "the Roscius of that place" (Authentic Memoirs of Green Room,1806 ed.). Married 1771. At Norwich 1772-73. Went to Covent Garden and Drury
John married Mary Lane, daughter of Lane, in 1771 in Flanders, France. Mary was born about 1753 in Canterbury, Kent, England. She died on 19 Dec 1795 in Covent Garden, London, England. She was buried on 24 Dec 1795 in St. Paul's, Covent Garden, London, England.
"December 19th, death after a lingering illness, at her husbands apartments in Covent-garden, Mrs. Mary Whitheld, a native of Canterbury, and wife of Mr. Whitheld of Drury Lane theatre." The Gentlemen's Magazine 1795
Mrs. Whitfield's brother, Mr. Lane, was visiting her in London, and on Sunday Mrs. Inchbald, Mrs. Whitfield, and Mr. Lane went to dinner and tea at Mr. ... did not act again in either Covent Garden or Drury Lane; instead,
They had the following children.
2 M i Robert "Bob" Whitfield. 3 M ii John Humphrey Whitfield was christened on 18 Jul 1775 in Saint Martin in The Fields, Westminster, London, England. 4 F iii Harriott Whitfield was christened on 11 Jul 1776 in Saint Paul Covent Garden, Westminster, London, England. 5 M iv John Thomas Whitfield was christened on 15 Feb 1778 in Saint Martin in The Fields, Westminster, London, England. 6 F v Anna Maria Emilia Whitfield was christened on 21 Mar 1779 in Saint Martin in The Fields, Westminster, London, England. + 7 M vi William Lancaster Whitfield was christened on 21 Jan 1781. He died on 17 Oct 1824. 8 F vii Belinda Whitfield was christened on 24 Feb 1782 in Saint Martin in The Fields, Westminster, London, England. She died about Oct 1827 in South Africa.
Belinda was baptized.
{geni:county} Saint Martin in The Fields
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{geni:location_name} baptismplace9 F viii Carolina Whitfield was christened on 10 Mar 1787 in Saint Paul Covent Garden, Westminster, London, England. + 10 F ix Charlotta "Charlotte" Whitfield was born in Feb 1789. She died on 21 Jun 1875. 11 M x Warren Charles Whitfield was christened on 24 Mar 1790 in Saint Paul Covent Garden, Westminster, London, England.
John also married Maria Elizabeth Healy in England. The marriage ended in divorce. Maria was born in England. She died in 1847/1848 in Bath, Somerset, England.
When son Frederick John Whifield married a second time in 1863 her name is listed as Maria E. on the marriage record.
They had the following children.
+ 12 M xi Thomas Chapman Healy Whitfield was born on 6 Jan 1799. He died on 17 Mar 1859. + 13 M xii Frederick John Whitfield was born on 9 Mar 1800. He died on 22 Oct 1865.