John Augustus Stone (December 15, 1801 – June 1, 1834) was an American actor, dramatist, and playwright, best known as the author of Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags.[1]
He appeared on the New York stage beginning in 1822. He wrote Metamora, as a vehicle for Edwin Forrest, who offered as a prize $500 and half of the proceeds from the third night.[2]William Cullen Bryant headed a committee which chose Stone's play as the best of 14 submitted.[2] The play, first produced in 1829, told the life of King Philip.
Stone suffered periods of insanity and he committed suicide by jumping into the Schuylkill River.[4] He was buried at Machpelah Cemetery in Philadelphia. That cemetery was closed in 1895 and the bodies moved to North Mount Moriah Cemetery (AKA Graceland)in Yeadon PA, which is not affiliated with the nearby Mount Moriah Cemetery, which was later abandoned. His grave at Machpelah was marked by a monument erected by Forrest.[4] The inscription reads: "Erected to the memory of the author of 'Metamora' by his friend, Edwin Forrest". Some sources cite Forrest's success with Stone's plays and his paltry remuneration as causing his suicide.
Worksedit
In addition to Metamora, Stone wrote a number of other plays:
Montrano, or Who's the Traitor, 1822 Philadelphia [5]
Restoration, or the Diamond Cross, 1824 Chatham Garden Theater in New-York.
Tancred, or the Siege of Antioch 1827
La Roque; a Regicide Charleston
Fauntleroy; or, the Fatal Forgery Charleston
Touretoun
Banker of Rouen
Tancred, King of Sicily March 16, 1831
The Demoniac, or the Prophet's Bride April 12, 1831
^"Brief Biographies of Jackson Era Characters (S)".
^ abEhrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 205. ISBN0-19-503186-5
^History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Volume 2, John Thomas Scharf, Thompson Westcott
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2010-06-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
john, augustus, stone, december, 1801, june, 1834, american, actor, dramatist, playwright, best, known, author, metamora, last, wampanoags, john, stone, jacob, eichholtzborn, 1801, december, 1801concord, massachusetts, usdiedjune, 1834, 1834, aged, philadelphi. John Augustus Stone December 15 1801 June 1 1834 was an American actor dramatist and playwright best known as the author of Metamora or The Last of the Wampanoags 1 John Augustus StoneJohn Stone by Jacob EichholtzBorn 1801 12 15 December 15 1801Concord Massachusetts USDiedJune 1 1834 1834 06 01 aged 32 Philadelphia Pennsylvania USResting placeMachpelah Cemetery PhiladelphiaOccupation s Actor Dramatist and PlaywrightKnown forMetamora or The Last of the Wampanoags Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 References 4 External linksBiography editHe appeared on the New York stage beginning in 1822 He wrote Metamora as a vehicle for Edwin Forrest who offered as a prize 500 and half of the proceeds from the third night 2 William Cullen Bryant headed a committee which chose Stone s play as the best of 14 submitted 2 The play first produced in 1829 told the life of King Philip He married Mrs Amelia Greene Legge an actress She later married Nathaniel Harrington Bannister 3 Stone suffered periods of insanity and he committed suicide by jumping into the Schuylkill River 4 He was buried at Machpelah Cemetery in Philadelphia That cemetery was closed in 1895 and the bodies moved to North Mount Moriah Cemetery AKA Graceland in Yeadon PA which is not affiliated with the nearby Mount Moriah Cemetery which was later abandoned His grave at Machpelah was marked by a monument erected by Forrest 4 The inscription reads Erected to the memory of the author of Metamora by his friend Edwin Forrest Some sources cite Forrest s success with Stone s plays and his paltry remuneration as causing his suicide Works editIn addition to Metamora Stone wrote a number of other plays Montrano or Who s the Traitor 1822 Philadelphia 5 Restoration or the Diamond Cross 1824 Chatham Garden Theater in New York Tancred or the Siege of Antioch 1827 La Roque a Regicide Charleston Fauntleroy or the Fatal Forgery Charleston Touretoun Banker of Rouen Tancred King of Sicily March 16 1831 The Demoniac or the Prophet s Bride April 12 1831 The Ancient Briton March 27 1833 6 The Knight of the Golden Fleece or The Yankee in Spain 1834 7 None of them enjoyed Metamora s success References edit Personal recollections of the drama or Theatrical reminiscences Henry Dickinson Stone C Van Benthuysen amp sons 1873 a b Arthur Hobson Quinn 1936 Stone John Augustus Dictionary of American Biography New York Charles Scribner s Sons Brief Biographies of Jackson Era Characters S a b Ehrlich Eugene and Gorton Carruth The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States New York Oxford University Press 1982 205 ISBN 0 19 503186 5 History of Philadelphia 1609 1884 Volume 2 John Thomas Scharf Thompson Westcott Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2011 06 17 Retrieved 2010 06 21 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link The Knickerbocker Volume 4 Peabody amp Co 1834External links edit Stone John Augustus Appletons Cyclopaedia of American Biography 1900 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Augustus Stone amp oldid 1170612308 Works, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
