Jefferson, Joseph

Jefferson, Joseph (1774–1832), comic actor. Although best remembered as the grandfather of the famous Joseph Jefferson, he was one of the most accomplished and beloved comedians of his own day. He was born in Plymouth, England, and given his earliest tutelage by his father, Thomas Jefferson, a minor actor at Drury Lane. Hodgkinson brought him to America in 1795, and he made his American debut appearing in Boston, playing La Gloire in The Surrender of Calais. His New York debut was at the John Street Theatre as Squire Richard in The Provoked Husband in February 1796. He was a small, slender man, with a Grecian nose and blue eyes “full of laughter.” After an argument with Hodgkinson, he left for Philadelphia in 1803. There, with his brother‐in‐law, the first William Warren, he became the mainstay of the Chestnut Street Theatre. His best roles were in then‐popular, if now‐forgotten, light comedies, such as Farmer Ashfield in Speed the Plough, Jeremy Diddler in Raising the Wind, and Jacob Gawky in The Chapter of Accidents. He left Philadelphia during the theatrical depression of 1830, attempting to find work in the hinterlands. But by then his age had begun to tell on him, and he was unsuccessful. His son Joseph Jr. (1804–42) was an actor and scene painter of only modest repute.