# Ida Vernon

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{{Short description|American actress (1843–1923)}}
{{Infobox person
 |image         = Ida Vernon.png
 |image_upright = 
 |caption       = Ida Vernon c.1880-1885
 |birth_name    = Isabella MacGowan
 |birth_date    = {{Birth date|1843|09|04}}
 |birth_place   = At sea
 |death_date    = {{Death date and age|1923|02|22|1843|09|04}}
 |death_place   = New York City, U.S.
 |other_names   = I. V. Taylor, Isabella Ida Vernon Taylor
 |spouse        = {{ubl
 | {{marriage|A. A. Taylor|1867|1867}}
                  }}
  |known_for     = ''[The Two Orphans](/source/The_Two_Orphans_(play))'', ''[The Man from Home](/source/The_Man_from_Home_(play))'' 
 |occupation    = Stage actress
 |years_active  = 1856-1917
 |signature     = Ida Vernon signature 1917.jpg
}}
'''Ida Vernon''' (September 4, 1843 – February 22, 1923), was the stage name of a naturalized American actress of Scottish-Canadian origin, who began acting at age 12 in 1856, and finished up her career in 1917. During her sixty-one years in the theater she played opposite many of the most famous actors of the American stage, including [Edwin Booth](/source/Edwin_Booth), to whom she was twice engaged. She managed a Richmond theatre during the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), and was twice imprisoned by Union authorities for blockade running during the conflict. Her most enduring character was that of Sister Genevieve, which she created for the 1874 American debut of ''[The Two Orphans](/source/The_Two_Orphans_(play))''. While performing that role on December 5, 1876, she narrowly escaped the [Brooklyn Theatre fire](/source/Brooklyn_Theatre_fire) that killed over 275 people. Vernon was the original Lady Bracknell in the American premiere of ''[The Importance of Being Earnest](/source/The_Importance_of_Being_Earnest)''. Later in her career she played an important supporting part in ''[The Man from Home](/source/The_Man_from_Home_(play))'' (1907), which ran for 500 performances on Broadway.

==Early life==
She was born on September 4, 1843,<ref name="epchconf">New York, U. S., Episcopal Diocese of New York Church Records, 1767-1970, for Isabella Ida Vernon Taylor, Manhattan > Joseph William Sutton Registers, 1916-1926, retrieved from [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com)</ref> to parents from Scotland.<ref name="US1920">1920 United States Federal Census for Ida V. Taylor, New York > New York > Manhattan Assembly District 10> District 0771, retrieved from [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com)</ref> According to Vernon, she was born at sea on a British ship carrying her mother to Canada to join her father, a [British Army](/source/British_Army) officer who was posted there. Vernon said "I lived at home in the Canadian military stations until my sister and I were sent to the convent in Montreal.{{refn|They were sent as students for the convent school, not as [novitiates](/source/novitiates). Vernon was later listed as Presbyterian in a postmortem document<ref name="epchconf" />|group=fn}} There I was expected to recite poems to visitors. That is why the Sisters called me 'the little actress'. Two years later, when I was twelve, I learned what the term meant."<ref name="tmfeb1916">{{cite magazine |last=O'Connor |first=Eileen |title=Sixty Years on the Stage |magazine=Theatre Magazine |location=Chicago, Illinois |publisher=The Story-Press Corporation |date=February 1916 |pages=77, 79}}</ref>

Vernon's parents had moved to New York; while visiting them on Christmas vacation, she was taken to see ''[Uncle Tom's Cabin](/source/Tom_show)'' at the [Chatham Theatre](/source/Chatham_Theatre), and decided to become an actress. She persuaded her father and brother to call upon [actor-manager](/source/actor-manager) Thomas Barry at his hotel, who convinced them the best way to discourage acting ambition was to allow her to try it.<ref name="tmfeb1916" />

==Stage name controversy==
"Ida Vernon" is a stage name; from different sources it is known that her first name was Isabella,<ref name="epchconf" /> and her surname MacGowan.<ref name="bde120676">{{cite news |title=Miss Ida Vernon's Statement |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=December 6, 1876 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> There is no known public statement by either Ida Vernon or the journalists who interviewed and wrote about her, that her name was Isabella MacGowan. Vernon, though she spoke of her parents, an older brother, and a sister in interviews, did not herself mention any personal or family names.<ref name="ct041508" /><ref name="io041508">{{cite news |title=Actresses Gone! Now Naughty, Beautiful Women Gain Applause |work=The Inter Ocean |date=April 15, 1908 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref><ref name="tmfeb1916" /><ref name="pi010517">{{cite news |last=Vernon |first=Ida |title=What Famous Actresses Say |work=The Palladium Item |date=January 5, 1917 |location=Richmond, Indiana |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> However, a brother's name was revealed by a journalist covering the Brooklyn Theatre fire of 1876.<ref name="bde120676" />

Vernon should not be confused with another actress of the same name, who was active in Cleveland theater during 1854-1855. This Cleveland actress was playing parts such as [Ophelia](/source/Ophelia) and [Desdemona](/source/Desdemona) more usual for a young woman than a girl of ten or eleven.<ref name="cl120354">{{cite news |title=Atheneum |work=The Cleveland Leader |date=December 4, 1854 |location=Cleveland, Ohio |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref><ref name="cl120954">{{cite news |title=Atheneum |work=The Cleveland Leader |date=December 9, 1854 |location=Cleveland, Ohio |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

==Early career==
Vernon said her parents agreed to place her with Thomas Barry and his wife, who became her first drama coaches. The Barrys took her to Boston as a member of the [Boston Theatre](/source/The_Boston_Theatre) stock company at $10 per week.<ref name="tmfeb1916" /> According to her later recollection, she made her first appearance on stage at age 12 in Boston on April 15, 1856, playing a blossom fairy in a production of ''[A Midsummer Night's Dream](/source/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream)''.<ref name="ct041508">{{cite news |last=Mantle |first=Burns |title=Fifty-two Years on the Stage |work=Chicago Tribune |date=April 15, 1908 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=12 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Her first known verifiable credit was as Juno in ''[The Tempest](/source/The_Tempest)'' on September 15, 1856, with Thomas Barry as Prospero.<ref name="bet091556">{{cite news |title=Boston Theatre (ad) |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=September 15, 1856 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> When Barry retired from the stage, Vernon continued with the Boston Theatre stock company, supporting [John Gibbs Gilbert](/source/John_Gibbs_Gilbert) in ''The Corsair'' in February 1857.<ref name="bet013157">{{cite news |title=Boston Theatre |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=January 31, 1857 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> In June 1857, she had her first stage triumph, when the new Boston Theatre manager took her to Montreal in ''[She Stoops to Conquer](/source/She_Stoops_to_Conquer)''.<ref name="mg061557">{{cite news |title=Theatre Royal |work=Montreal Gazette |date=June 15, 1857 |location=Montreal, Quebec |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon recalled a half-century later being showered with flowers on the stage by her former schoolmates and friends.<ref name="tmfeb1916" />

Back in Boston, Vernon supported [Agnes Robertson](/source/Agnes_Kelly_Robertson) in ''Jessie Brown; or, The Siege of Lucknow'' during April 1858.<ref name="bet040358">{{cite news |title=Boston Theatre |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=April 3, 1858 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> She then joined [Charlotte Cushman](/source/Charlotte_Cushman) in Manhattan at [Niblo's Garden](/source/Niblo's_Garden) in June 1858 for ''[London Assurance](/source/London_Assurance)''.<ref name="nyh062758">{{cite news |title=Amusements: Niblo's Garden |work=The New York Herald |date=June 27, 1958 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Cushman was stern and abusive with rehearsal errors, a major change in style for Vernon who was used to the considerate and forgiving Barry.<ref name="tmfeb1916" /> Fortunately for Vernon, Cushman left Niblo's Garden in early July 1858,<ref name="nyt070358">{{cite news |title=Niblo's Garden (ad) |work=The New York Times |date=July 3, 1858 |location=New York, New York |page=6 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> and [John Brougham](/source/John_Brougham) took over.<ref name="nyt070758">{{cite news |title=Niblo's Garden (ad) |work=The New York Times |date=July 7, 1858 |location=New York, New York |page=3 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref>

==Louisville==
Vernon, now fifteen, took on a visiting leading lady role at [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky) in September 1858.<ref name="dc092758">{{cite news |title=Louisville Theater (ad) |work=Daily Courier |date=September 27, 1858 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=4 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> She told interviewer Eileen O'Connor in 1916 that it was usual in those days for leading performers to visit stock companies around the country.<ref name="tmfeb1916" /> Vernon worked steadily with this company, with new productions each week, save for a period of illness at the end of 1858,<ref name="dc011059">{{cite news |title=Theater |work=Louisville Daily Courier |date=January 10, 1859 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> and a week's transfer to Cincinnati in March 1859.<ref name="dc032859">{{cite news |title=Theater |work=Louisville Daily Courier |date=March 28, 1859 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

Vernon stayed at the Louisville Theater through May 1859, when it abruptly closed. Vernon wrote open letters to the leading Louisville newspapers that month, telling how the theater management siphoned off profits in Louisville, trying to prop up their failing Cincinnati theater operation. They had gradually reduced the performers wages over the season, and owed her and the other cast members back pay.<ref name="dc050759">{{cite news |title=Editors Louisville Courier |work=Louisville Daily Courier |date=May 7, 1859 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref><ref name="cj050759">{{cite news |title=To The Public |work=The Courier-Journal |date=May 7, 1859 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

==Pre-war stage==
Vernon returned to New York in June 1859, with an engagement at [Laura Keene's Theatre](/source/Laura_Keene's_Theatre).<ref name="nyh060759">{{cite news |title=Laura Keene's Theatre (ad) |work=The New York Herald |date=June 7, 1859 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> She was a supporting player at this point, taking second place to the Sisters Gougenheim (Adelaide and Joey) who played the leading parts, both male and female.<ref name="nyh061559">{{cite news |title=Laura Keene's Theatre (ad) |work=The New York Herald |date=June 15, 1859 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> By October 1859 she was back at Niblo's Garden performing with the stock company, starting with [William Evans Burton](/source/William_Evans_Burton) in ''Dombey and Son''.<ref name="tr100359">{{cite news |title=City Items: Theatrical |work=New-York Daily Tribune |date=October 3, 1859 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon joined with playwright-actor G. L. Aiken in his stage adaptation of ''[The Hidden Hand](/source/The_Hidden_Hand_(novel))'' by [E. D. E. N. Southworth](/source/E._D._E._N._Southworth). They first performed it in [Buffalo, New York](/source/Buffalo%2C_New_York) during December 1859.<ref name="bc121959">{{cite news |title=Theater |work=Buffalo Commercial Advertiser |date=December 19, 1859 |location=Buffalo, New York |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Taking advantage of ''[The Octoroon](/source/The_Octoroon)'', G. L. Aiken wrote ''The Fate of an Octoroon; or the Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin'', adapted from [Harriett Beecher Stowe](/source/Harriett_Beecher_Stowe)'s work, with Vernon in the title role.<ref name="bdr122359">{{cite news |title=Metropolitan Theatre |work=Buffalo Daily Republic |date=December 23, 1859 |location=Buffalo, New York |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

left|thumb|upright=0.60|Richmond Theatre 1858
In April 1860, Vernon took part in the inaugural performance at Mrs. Brougham's Theatre,{{refn|This was located at 444 Broadway, between Grand and Canal Streets.<ref name="nyh040960">{{cite news |title=Mrs. Brougham's Theatre (ad) |work=The New York Herald |date=April 9, 1860 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>|group=fn}} which the ''[New-York Tribune](/source/New-York_Tribune)'' found underwhelming and suggested Mrs. Brougham's tenure "is not likely to be prolonged".<ref name="tr041160">{{cite news |title=Mrs. Brougham's Theater |work=New-York Tribune |date=April 11, 1860 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> A week later Vernon had her first known [trouser role](/source/trouser_role) as Prince Zamna in ''The Bronze Horse'', for J. M. Nixon's Troupe at Niblo's Garden.<ref name="nyt041660">{{cite news |title=Niblo's Garden (ad) |work=The New York Times |date=April 16, 1860 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> Nixon's Troupe was more circus than theater; the spectacle opened with Vernon mounting a real horse on stage and riding it some thirty feet up into canvas "clouds".<ref name="nyh041660">{{cite news |title=Operatic and Dramatic Matters |work=The New York Herald |date=April 16, 1860 |location=New York, New York |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

The remodeled [New Richmond Theatre](/source/Richmond_Theatre_(Richmond%2C_Virginia)) opened on September 8, 1860, with Ida Vernon and [Sallie Partington](/source/Sallie_Partington) listed among eighteen others as the stock company.<ref name="rd090660">{{cite news |title=New Richmond Theatre |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=September 6, 1860 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> For the first five months Vernon supported visiting stars, such as [Emma Waller](/source/Emma_Waller)<ref name="rd122260">{{cite news |title=New Theatre (ad) |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=December 22, 1860 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> and Joey Gougenheim.<ref name="rd010861">{{cite news |title=Richmond Theatre (ad) |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=January 8, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> In February 1861 she finally had her first "benefit",<ref group=fn>In 19th Century American theater, this was an evening where a stock player was rewarded for long service by choosing the plays to be performed, taking the roles they wanted, and collecting a portion of the box office for that night.</ref> selecting a dramatization of ''[The Woman in White](/source/The_Woman_in_White_(novel))'', and ''Andy Blake'' by Dion Boucicault.<ref name="rd022161">{{cite news |title=Richmond Theatre (ad) |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=February 21, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

==American Civil War==
===Nashville and return to Richmond===
With the outbreak of fighting in April 1861, Vernon's connection with the Richmond Theatre was temporarily severed. She appears next at the opening of the Nashville Theatre in September 1861, co-starring with Walter Keeble<ref group=fn>He was the sole lessee and manager of the theatre, as well as leading man.</ref> in ''[The Gamester](/source/The_Gamester_(Moore))''.<ref name="rb092261">{{cite news |title=Nashville Theatre |work=Republican Banner |date=September 22, 1861 |location=Nashville, Tennessee |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon remained in Nashville through October, playing another trouser role as William in ''[Black-Eyed Susan](/source/Black-Eyed_Susan)''.<ref name="rb101961">{{cite news |title=Nashville Theatre |work=Republican Banner |date=October 19, 1861 |location=Nashville, Tennessee |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> The announcement of her impending return to Virginia in ''The Richmond Times-Dispatch'' for the delayed opening of the theatre season,<ref name="rtd101961">{{cite news |title=Richmond Theatre |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=October 19, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> was preceded by a short article on the difficulty British subjects were having in obtaining passports for crossing the battle lines to "Lincolndom".<ref name="rtd101961p">{{cite news |title=Passports |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=October 19, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Just prior to Vernon's departure from Nashville, her fellow actors and city residents gave her a benefit evening.<ref name="tt110161">{{cite news |title=Miss Ida Vernon |work=The Tennessean |date=November 1, 1861 |location=Nashville, Tennessee |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

Vernon did not return to the Richmond Theatre stage until December 2, 1861, when she starred in ''Camille'', a stage adaptation of ''[The Lady of the Camellias](/source/The_Lady_of_the_Camellias)''.<ref name="rd120261">{{cite news |title=Local Matters |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=December 2, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Just four days later she was given a benefit, for the "theatre has been literally crowded each night".<ref name="re120661">{{cite news |title=The Theatre-- Benefit of Miss Ida Vernon |work=Richmond Enquirer |date=December 6, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> A local theatre critic mentioned that she was still new in her profession, but was willing to perform in the South when others were not. They concluded: "Miss Vernon is a Southern actress".<ref name="re121361">{{cite news |title=The Theatre-- Benefit of Miss Ida Vernon |work=Richmond Enquirer |date=December 13, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

During June 1862, Vernon was reunited with Walter Keeble at the Richmond Varieties,{{refn|The Richmond Theatre had burned down in January 1862.<ref name="rd010362">{{cite news |title=Local Matters |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=January 3, 1862 |page= 2}}</ref> This new venue was formerly known as Franklin Hall and was near the [Exchange Hotel](/source/Exchange_Hotel_(Richmond%2C_Virginia)). It was being run by the former Richmond Theatre management.<ref name="rtd061162">{{cite news |title=Richmond Varieties |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=June 11, 1862 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>|group=fn}} playing the leads in ''[Romeo and Juliet](/source/Romeo_and_Juliet)''. The venue had just reopened after a closure due to "the exigencies of the times".<ref name="rd061062">{{cite news |title=Varieties |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=June 10, 1862 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Keeble and Vernon followed ''Romeo and Juliet'' with ''[Richard III](/source/Richard_III_(play))''.<ref name="rd062162">{{cite news |title=Richmond Varieties |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=June 21, 1862 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon placed a reward notice in the ''Richmond Dispatch'' for bracelets stolen from her dressing room on July 8, 1862.<ref name="rd071062">{{cite news |title=Lost, Strayed, etc. |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=July 10, 1862 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> ''[The Merchant of Venice](/source/The_Merchant_of_Venice)'' was Vernon and Keeble's Shakespearean offering for August 1862. These programs usually contained a dance number by one or more of the [Partington sisters](/source/Sallie_Partington) and a one-act closer.<ref name="rd080162">{{cite news |title=Richmond Varieties |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=August 1, 1862 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

===Alabama sojourn and blockade running===
Vernon went from Richmond to Montgomery, Alabama in November 1862.<ref name="dm110962">{{cite news |title=Local Intelligence-- The Montgomery Theatre |work=Montgomery Daily Mail |date=November 9, 1862 |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> It was December before she appeared in a production of ''[The Iron Chest](/source/The_Iron_Chest)''.<ref name="dm120562">{{cite news |title=New Advertisements |work=Montgomery Daily Mail |date=December 5, 1862 |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> For New Year's Day 1863, Vernon played another trouser role as a page in ''[Richelieu](/source/Richelieu_(play))''.<ref name="dm010163">{{cite news |title=New Advertisements-- Theatre |work=Montgomery Daily Mail |date=January 1, 1863 |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> A Philadelphia paper reporting on Southern theatres said "Miss Ida Vernon is playing a successful star engagement" at Montgomery.<ref name="pi011363">{{cite news |title=Theatres at the South |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |date=January 13, 1863 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon finished her Montgomery engagement on January 22, 1863, and was presented onstage with a set of jewelry from the citizens.<ref name="dm012363">{{cite news |title=New Advertisements-- Theatre |work=Montgomery Daily Mail |date=January 23, 1863 |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

From Montgomery, Vernon went to Mobile, Alabama, where she performed in ''Romeo and Juliet'' starting in late March 1863.<ref name="ra032363">{{cite news |title=Theatre |work=Register and Advertiser |date=March 23, 1863 |location=Mobile, Alabama |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> After four plays, a local newspaper said audiences had been "unusually large" for Miss Ida Vernon.<ref name="ra032963">{{cite news |title=Local Intelligence |work=Register and Advertiser |date=March 29, 1863 |location=Mobile, Alabama |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> After a month-long engagement, Vernon was granted a complimentary benefit by popular acclaim, performing as [Peg Woffington](/source/Peg_Woffington) in ''[Masks and Faces](/source/Masks_and_Faces_(play))''.<ref name="ar042163">{{cite news |title=Theatre |work=Advertiser and Register |date=April 21, 1863 |location=Mobile, Alabama |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

Vernon appeared in [Wilmington, North Carolina](/source/Wilmington%2C_North_Carolina) in late May 1864, having returned from the North. She had escorted a young niece, who had been living with her, across the lines back to the girl's parents.<ref name="dj060164">{{cite news |title=Theatre- The Stars |work=The Daily Journal |date=June 1, 1864 |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Trying to return, she was caught and detained by Union authorities for a few days. She tried again, was caught once more and imprisoned at [Fortress Monroe](/source/Fortress_Monroe) for six weeks. Eventually she travelled to Canada, where she caught a ship to Bermuda, and another to Wilmington.<ref name="eu030323">{{cite news |title=Ida Vernon, Actress, Dead |work=Springfield Evening Union |date=March 3, 1923 |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> The only contraband she brought back with her were copies of recent European plays that had not yet been seen in the South.<ref name="dj060164" /> At Wilmington her leading man was Theodore Hamilton; they performed in ''The Stranger'' by [August von Kotzebue](/source/August_von_Kotzebue),<ref name="dj060164b">{{cite news |title=Theatre |work=The Daily Journal |date=June 1, 1864 |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> and other stock works, concluding both their engagements with ''[The Taming of the Shrew](/source/The_Taming_of_the_Shrew)''.<ref name="dj060864">{{cite news |title=Theatre |work=The Daily Journal |date=June 8, 1864 |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

Vernon returned to the New Richmond Theatre in August 1864, bearing with her the manuscript for a stage adaptation of ''[East Lynne](/source/East_Lynne)''. It had never been performed in the Confederacy. Her leading man was the New Richmond Theatre's manager, Richard D'Orsay Ogden.<ref name="td081564">{{cite news |title=New Richmond Theatre |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=August 15, 1864 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> A Charleston correspondent wrote that Miss Ida Vernon was attracting large audiences to the theatre for ''East Lynne''.<ref name="cm083164">{{cite news |author=Hermes |title=Letter From Richmond |work=The Charleston Mercury |date=August 31, 1864 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Though she performed in other works, ''East Lynne'' would be her mainstay for the next year. She took it to Wilmington, North Carolina in September and October 1864,<ref name="dj092164">{{cite news |title=Theatre (ad) |work=The Daily Journal |date=September 21, 1864 |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref><ref name="dj101564">{{cite news |title=Theatre (ad) |work=The Daily Journal |date=October 15, 1864 |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> but suffered a severe illness on returning to Richmond in December 1864.<ref name="rd122864">{{cite news |title=Amusements: Richmond Theatre |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=December 28, 1864 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

===The Siege of Richmond===
During January 1865, a correspondent in Richmond wrote to ''[The Charleston Mercury](/source/The_Charleston_Mercury)'' that Ida Vernon was holding a benefit performance of ''East Lynne'' to provide food for Confederate soldiers, with tickets costing 20 dollars.<ref name="cm010465">{{cite news |author=Hermes |title=Letters From Richmond |work=The Charleston Mercury |date=January 4, 1865 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Later that month, a Washington, D.C. newspaper reported that Ida Vernon was managing the [Richmond Theater](/source/Richmond_Theatre_(Richmond%2C_Virginia)) in that besieged city, since the male management were under arms.<ref name="es013165">{{cite news |title=The Southern managers... (no title) |work=Evening Star |date=January 31, 1865 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=4 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

Starting on March 30, 1865, Vernon ran a daily ad in the ''[Richmond Dispatch](/source/Richmond_Times-Dispatch)'' offering her costumes, private wardrobe, furniture, and possessions for sale, to raise money for going abroad for her health.<ref name="rd033065">{{cite news |title=For Sale, Privately |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=March 30, 1865 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> However, from later recounting, Vernon's possessions were either burned in the fires set by retreating Confederates, or confiscated by Union forces. After the [Fall of Richmond](/source/Fall_of_Richmond), Vernon turned up in Montreal at the end of May 1865, starring in ''East Lynne''.<ref name="mg053165">{{cite news |title=Theatre Royal |work=Montreal Gazette |date=May 31, 1865 |location=Montreal, Quebec |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

==Post-war stage==
[[File:Edwin Booth Hamlet 1870.jpg|thumb|upright=0.80|[Edwin Booth](/source/Edwin_Booth) as [Hamlet](/source/Hamlet)]]
Surprisingly, Vernon was listed among a troupe of entertainers performing at [Gold Hill, Nevada](/source/Gold_Hill%2C_Nevada) in July 1865.<ref name="gh071265">{{cite news |title=Inform Yourselves! |work=Gold Hill Daily News |date=July 12, 1865 |location=Gold Hills, Nevada |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> This western mining town was wealthy enough to possess a music hall and the ''[Gold Hill Daily News](/source/Gold_Hill_Daily_News)''. The latter reported Vernon's arrival on July 1, 1865, via the Pioneer Stage Line,<ref name="gh070165a">{{cite news |title=Arrivals and Departures |work=Gold Hill Daily News |date=July 1, 1865 |location=Gold Hills, Nevada |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> which ran from Sacramento to nearby [Virginia City, Nevada](/source/Virginia_City%2C_Nevada).<ref name="gh070165b">{{cite news |title=Change of Time! Pioneer Stage Line |work=Gold Hill Daily News |date=July 1, 1865 |location=Gold Hills, Nevada |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon next reappears in Richmond, Virginia during October 1865, playing in ''East Lynne'',<ref name="rd101765">{{cite news |title=New Richmond Theatre |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=October 17, 1865 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> and the following month in Wilmington, North Carolina with the same work.<ref name="wh111665">{{cite news |title=Theatre (ad) |work=The Wilmington Herald |date=November 16, 1865 |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

Vernon returned to the New York stage in February 1866, after six years away. She starred in ''[The Lady of Lyons](/source/The_Lady_of_Lyons)'' at the [Winter Garden Theatre](/source/Winter_Garden_Theatre), where [Edwin Booth](/source/Edwin_Booth) was performing in ''[Richelieu](/source/Richelieu_(play))''.<ref name="tr021766">{{cite news |title=Winter Garden |work=New-York Tribune |date=February 17, 1866 |location=New York, New York |page=5 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Initially, Vernon performed only on Wednesday evenings, Booth's night off, as he performed in matinees on that day.<ref name="tr030566">{{cite news |title=Winter Garden |work=New-York Tribune |date=March 5, 1866 |location=New York, New York |page=5 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> However, on March 14, 1866, they performed together for the first time in a Wednesday matinee of ''[Ruy Blas](/source/Ruy_Blas)''.<ref name="tr031366">{{cite news |title=Winter Garden |work=New-York Tribune |date=March 13, 1866 |location=New York, New York |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon supported Sidney Frances Bateman at Niblo's Garden in April 1866, taking over the leading lady spot after Bateman became ill in May 1866.<ref name="tr051266">{{cite news |title=The Theaters To-Day |work=New-York Tribune |date=May 12, 1866 |location=New York, New York |page=8 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

Edwin Booth starred in ''Hamlet'' at the Winter Garden Theatre in November 1866, with Vernon, at age 23, playing Queen Gertrude.<ref name="nyt112766">{{cite news |title=Amusements |work=The New York Times |date=November 27, 1866 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> She supported him in other Shakespearean tragedies through April 1867, with Methua Scheller playing the lead female roles. In May 1867, Vernon joined [Boothroyd Fairclough](/source/Boothroyd_Fairclough) in ''Hamlet'' at the French Theatre, playing Ophelia. Fairclough suffered from comparison to Booth in reviews, with Vernon's performance judged "conventional but endurable" by ''The New York Times'',<ref name="nyt052167">{{cite news |title=Amusements: The French Theatre |work=The New York Times |date=May 21, 1867 |location=New York, New York |page=5 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> and "good" by the ''New York Herald''.<ref name="nyh052167">{{cite news |title=French Theatre |work=The New York Herald |date=May 21, 1867 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

An engagement at Pittsburgh's Opera House to perform in ''Nobody's Daughter'' in October 1867,<ref name="pp100167">{{cite news |title=Amusements |work=The Pittsburgh Post |date=October 1, 1867 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> was cut short by a personal tragedy.<ref name="pc100267">{{cite news |title=Public Amusements |work=The Daily Commercial |date=October 2, 1867 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> For almost two years there is little reference to Vernon on the stage, until a Manhattan revival of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' in September 1869, wherein she played Eliza.<ref name="nyh090569">{{cite news |title=Olympic Theatre |work=The New York Herald |date=September 5, 1869 |location=New York, New York |page=13 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> She followed this with ''The Last Will'' in November 1869,<ref name="nyh111769">{{cite news |title=Musical and Theatrical Notes |work=The New York Herald |date=November 17, 1869 |location=New York, New York |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> and supported [George L. Fox](/source/George_L._Fox_(clown)) at the Olympic Theatre during early 1870.<ref name="nyh010370">{{cite news |title=Olympic Theatre (ad) |work=The New York Herald |date=January 3, 1870 |location=New York, New York |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref><ref name="nyt020170">{{cite news |title=Amusements |work=The New York Times |date=February 1, 1870 |location=New York, New York |page=5 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref>

==''The Two Orphans''==
left|thumb|upright=0.70|Union Square Theatre
Vernon starred in ''Hand and Glove'' at Hooley's Opera House in Brooklyn during early October 1874.<ref name="bde100174">{{cite news |title=Hooley's Opera House |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=October 1, 1874 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> She then joined the [Union Square](/source/Union_Square%2C_Manhattan) company, which played Washington's [National Theatre](/source/National_Theatre_(Washington%2C_D.C.)) later that month.<ref name="wc102874">{{cite news |title=Jane Eyre at the National |work=The Washington Chronicle |date=October 28, 1874 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=5 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> She was thus positioned to take a role in a new play from France, ''Les Deux orphelines'' by [Adolphe d'Ennery](/source/Adolphe_d'Ennery) and [Eugène Cormon](/source/Eug%C3%A8ne_Cormon). Sheldon Shook, who owned the [Union Square Theatre](/source/Union_Square_Theatre), and [A.M. Palmer](/source/Albert_Marshman_Palmer), who was the lessee-manager, commissioned Hart Jackson to provide an English-language adaptation, ''[The Two Orphans](/source/The_Two_Orphans_(play))''. Jackson's version converted the original five-act melodrama into four acts and seven scenes. The American premiere came on December 21, 1874, with [Kate Claxton](/source/Kate_Claxton) and [Kitty Blanchard](/source/Kitty_Blanchard) in the title roles.<ref name="tr122174">{{cite news |title=Union Square Theatre (ad) |work=New-York Tribune |date=December 21, 1874 |location=New York, New York |page=10 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Vernon created the role of Sister Genevieve, matron of [La Salpêtrière](/source/La_Salp%C3%AAtri%C3%A8re), who befriends the orphan Henriette in the prison-hospital, and which ''The New York Times'' reviewer said "is one of the most perfectly depicted characters of the drama".<ref name="nyt122774">{{cite news |title=Dramatic: Union Square Theatre |work=The New York Times |date=December 27, 1874 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref>

An instant success, by April 1875 seats for ''The Two Orphans'' were still selling a month in advance after over 100 performances had been given.<ref name="nyt040575">{{cite news |title=Amusements: Union Square Theatre (ad) |work=The New York Times |date=April 5, 1875 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> Finally the producers announced the theatre's season would close on June 15, 1875, after 180 performances, a run "which has no equal in the history of the American stage".<ref name="nyt061375">{{cite news |title=Union Square Theatre (ad) |work=The New York Times |date=June 13, 1875 |location=New York, New York |page=11 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref>

===Brooklyn Theatre fire===
thumb|upright=0.70
After supporting [Barry Sullivan](/source/Barry_Sullivan_(English_actor)) in his 1875 engagement at [Booth's Theatre](/source/Booth's_Theatre),<ref name="nyt082275">{{cite news |title=Amusements: Booth's Theatre (ad) |work=The New York Times |date=August 22, 1875 |location=New York, New York |page=11 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> Vernon rejoined the Union Square Theatre Company in December 1876 for a new presentation of ''The Two Orphans''. This would be at the Brooklyn Theatre, with Kate Claxton and Vernon reprising their original roles.<ref name="bu120176">{{cite news |title=Amusements: Brooklyn Theatre (ad) |work=The Brooklyn Union |date=December 1, 1876 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> On Tuesday evening, December 5, 1876, Vernon finished her part and left the theater with the final scene yet to play. She wasn't needed for the finish, so she returned to her rooms at No. 28 Johnson Street, two doors away from the Brooklyn Theatre. She was taking care of her brother, Capt. J. B. MacGowan, who suffered from "pulmonary affectation". He had been near death for several weeks; Vernon employed caretakers to watch him while she performed. Kate Claxton later testified that the [Brooklyn Theatre fire](/source/Brooklyn_Theatre_fire) broke out two minutes into the last scene of the play. Vernon heard the alarm and was able to get her brother out of the house before it too burned. She escaped with him to the nearby Pierrepont House, clad only in her dressing gown.<ref name="bde120676" /> The conflagration killed over 275 people, including some actors and stage hands, with the majority of casualties coming from audience members in the upper galleries. Vernon was once again nearly destitute,<ref name="bde120676" /> as after Richmond in April 1865, but was able to recover her jewels from the wreckage of her dressing room.<ref name="dm121476">{{cite news |title=Brief Chronicle |work=The Daily Messenger |date=December 14, 1876 |location=St. Albans, Vermont |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

==Later stage work==
Sister Genevieve marked the start of Vernon's professional transition to character roles. One such later part was as Lady Bracknell in the American and Broadway premiere for ''[The Importance of Being Earnest](/source/The_Importance_of_Being_Earnest)''. This production opened at the [Empire Theatre](/source/Empire_Theatre_(40th_Street)) on April 22, 1895, with an all-star cast that included [William Faversham](/source/William_Faversham) as Algernon, [Henry Miller](/source/Henry_Miller_(actor)) as Jack, [Viola Allen](/source/Viola_Allen) as Gwendolen, and [May Robson](/source/May_Robson) as Miss Prism. Americans weren't yet ready for this work; the critic for ''The New York Times'' pronounced it "laboriously witty" and said half the comedy fell flat with the audience.<ref name="nyt042395">{{cite news |title=New Theatrical Bills |work=The New York Times |date=April 23, 1895 |location=New York, New York |page=5 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> The reviewer for ''[The Sun](/source/The_Sun_(New_York))'' was complimentary towards Vernon, saying she distinguished herself by saving a "tediously talkative character" from being tiresome.<ref name="ts042395">{{cite news |title=Oscar Wilde's New Play |work=The Sun |date=April 23, 1895 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

==William Hodge==
[[File:The Man from Home Act I Ensemble.jpg|thumb|upright=0.80|''[The Man from Home](/source/The_Man_from_Home_(play))'']]
Vernon was associated with star [William Hodge](/source/William_Hodge) for her last ten years on the stage. Beginning with ''[The Man from Home](/source/The_Man_from_Home_(play))'' in 1907, she performed on Broadway and on tour across the nation as a supporting member of Hodge's informal company. In ''The Man from Home'' she played Lady Creech, a dubious character assisting the play's villain. This work ran on Broadway through 1909, for 500 performances, after which it toured four years. Following that, she joined Hodge in his first production as playwright-performer, ''The Road to Happiness''. Opening in 1913, this toured for two years before making a short Broadway run in 1915. Vernon's final performances were in Hodge's ''Fixing Sister'' starting with a three-month Broadway run in 1916. Vernon went on tour with this play until May 1917, when a series of falls<ref name="kg050117">{{cite news |title=Actress Falls And Is Painfully Hurt |work=The Kalamazoo Gazette |date=May 1, 1917 |location=Kalamazoo, Michigan |page=4 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> eventually convinced her it was time to retire.<ref name="pg101417">{{cite news |last=Bregg |first=Charles M. |title=News and Notes of the Theater |work=Pittsburgh Post Gazette |date=October 14, 1917 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=46 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

==Personal life==
left|thumb|upright=0.50|Ida Vernon 1912
Vernon told a Chicago reporter in 1908 she had been engaged to Edwin Booth on two occasions, one of which was broken up by his daughter from an earlier marriage.<ref name="io041508" /> She married a man named A. A. Taylor during September 1867,<ref name="bt042503">{{cite news |title=Were Stage Favorites In Days Long Gone By |work=The Brooklyn Times |date=April 25, 1903 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=5 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> which gave her naturalized citizen status.{{refn|The concept of [coverture](/source/coverture) was enshrined in 19th Century US law, giving women automatic naturalization upon marrying a US citizen.<ref name="US1920" /> For Vernon, this also covered any awkwardness about her Confederate associations, given that she was a British national during the war and had been twice imprisoned for blockade running.<ref name="dn030723">{{cite news |title=Noted Actress is Buried In Sheldon |work=Burlington Daily News |date=March 7, 1923 |location=Burlington, Vermont |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>|group=fn}} A. A. Taylor was her manager in late September 1867,{{refn|For unknown reasons, newspapers in 1867 described Taylor as Vernon's brother-in-law rather than her husband.<ref name="wg100267" /><ref name="et100467" />|group=fn}} when they journeyed by train to Pittsburgh from New York. He suffered from ''mania a potu'' according to early accounts,<ref name="wg100267">{{cite news |title=A Fatal Leap - Shocking Death |work=Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette |date=October 2, 1867 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> "a congestion of the brain" in later ones, and was taken to [Mercy Hospital](/source/UPMC_Mercy), where he jumped out of a third floor window, mortally injuring himself.<ref name="et100467">{{cite news |title=A Sad Affair |work=The Evening Telegraph |date=October 4, 1867 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=8 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

A brief 1911 sketch of the stage actor Jean Clarendon, son of the late actor Hal Clarendon and playwright-performer Helen Mowat, identified Ida Vernon as his aunt.<ref name="tt092511">{{cite news |title=An Actor At Age Of Three Months |work=The Times |date=September 25, 1911 |location=Streator, Illinois |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> An engagement announcement from 1922 said Vernon's niece, actress Anita Clarendon, was also the niece of [Sir Oliver Mowat](/source/Sir_Oliver_Mowat).<ref name="nyh062422">{{cite news |title=Anita Clarendon, Actress, Engaged |work=The New York Herald |date=June 24, 1922 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>

New York legalized female suffrage in 1917;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Recognizing Women's Right to Vote in New York State {{!}} New York Heritage |url=https://nyheritage.org/exhibits/recognizing-womens-right-vote-new-york-state |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=nyheritage.org}}</ref> Vernon registered to vote as a republican in October 1919, giving her age as 76 and her birthplace as "USA".{{refn|This was in contrast to her answers for the New York State census in 1915,<ref name="ny1915">Ida Vernon in the New York, U. S., State Census, 1915, New York > New York > A.D.27E.D.15, retrieved from [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com)</ref> and the US Census of 1920,<ref name="US1920" /> in which she claimed to have been born at sea.|group=fn}} She also claimed to be single, and the box for naturalized status by year of marriage was blank for her registration.<ref name="nyvreg">Ida V. Taylor in the Manhattan, New York, New York, U.S., Voter Registers, 1915-1956, retrieved from [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com)</ref>

==Death==
Ida Vernon was living "on a competency at the Marbury hall hotel", when she died of pneumonia on February 22, 1923, in New York City.<ref name="dm030923">{{cite news |title=Noted Actress Is Buried At Sheldon |work=St. Albans Daily Messenger |date=March 9, 1923 |location=St. Albans, Vermont |page=5 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Her internment was to be in [Sheldon, Vermont](/source/Sheldon%2C_Vermont), though her connection with that town was tenuous. This was the hometown of her late niece's husband, Harry Smith; the couple had been buried there twenty years before. Vernon had spent some summers there in recent years.<ref name="dm030923" /> Another niece, actress Anita Clarendon{{refn|This was Katherine Anita Clarendon, who lived with Ida Vernon from 1915,<ref name="ny1915" /> through 1922.<ref name="nyh062422">{{cite news |title=Anita Clarendon, Actress, Engaged |work=The New York Herald |date=June 24, 1922 |location=New York, New York |page=7 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>|group=fn}} was vacationing with her husband William Trevor in Bermuda. They brought Vernon's body from Manhattan to Sheldon on March 3, 1923; it was buried that evening.<ref name="dm030923" />

==Stage credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="font-size: 90%"
|+ Selected US and Canadian stage performances by year of Vernon's first involvement.
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Play
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" | Venue
! scope="col" | Notes/Sources 
|-
|rowspan=2|1856
|''[A Midsummer Night's Dream](/source/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream)''
| Fairy
| [Boston Theatre](/source/The_Boston_Theatre)
| Her first stage performance according to her later memory.<ref name="ct041508" />
|-
|''[The Tempest](/source/The_Tempest)''
| Juno
| Boston Theatre
| Her first known credited role came 11 days after her thirteenth birthday.<ref name="bet091556" />
|-
|rowspan=3|1857
|''My Husband's Mirror''
| Margaret
| Boston Theatre
| Vernon was praised for her bit in this one-act comic opener by W. W. Clapp.<ref name="bet010657">{{cite news |title=Boston Theatre |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=January 6, 1857 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>
|-
|''The Corsair''
| 
| Boston Theatre
| <ref name="bet013157" />
|-
|''[She Stoops to Conquer](/source/She_Stoops_to_Conquer)''
| Miss Neville
| [Theatre Royal](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Montr%C3%A9al)
| <ref name="mg061557" />
|-
|rowspan=6|1858
|''Jessie Brown''
| 
| Boston Theatre
| Topical work on the [Siege of Lucknow](/source/Siege_of_Lucknow), written by [Dion Boucicault](/source/Dion_Boucicault).<ref name="bet040358" /> 
|-
|''[London Assurance](/source/London_Assurance)''
| Pert
| [Niblo's Garden](/source/Niblo's_Garden)
| Vernon's first known Broadway credit.<ref name="nyh062758" />
|-
|''[The Rivals](/source/The_Rivals)''
| Lydia Languish
| Niblo's Garden
| Vernon played the leading lady in this [Sheridan](/source/Richard_Brinsley_Sheridan) classic.<ref name="nyt071258">{{cite news |title=Niblo's Garden (ad) |work=The New York Times |date=July 12, 1858 |location=New York, New York |page=6 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref>
|-
|''Gold''
| Susan Merton
| Louisville Theater
| Vernon guest starred in this 1853 four-act drama by [Charles Reade](/source/Charles_Reade).<ref name="dc093058">{{cite news |title=Theater- "Gold" |work=Daily Courier |date=September 30, 1858 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>
|-
|''Honey Moon''
| Juliana
| Louisville Theater
| A benefit for Vernon, a comedy in eight acts in which she starred.<ref name="dc100158">{{cite news |title=Louisville Theater (ad) |work=Daily Courier |date=October 1, 1858 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=4 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>
|-
|''Adrienne the Actress''
| Angelique D'Aumont
| Louisville Theater
| Five-act play had Vernon take a supporting role for a new visiting star.<ref name="dc100458">{{cite news |title=Louisville Theater (ad) |work=Daily Courier |date=October 4, 1858 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=4 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan=4|1859
|''Court and Stage''
| Catherine of Braganza
| [Laura Keene's Theatre](/source/Laura_Keene's_Theatre)
| A comedy by [Tom Taylor](/source/Tom_Taylor) and Charles Reade.<ref name="nyh060759" /> 
|-
|''Dombey and Son''
| 
| Niblo's Garden
| This was John Brougham's 1848 adaptation of the Dickens' novel.<ref name="tr100359" /> 
|-
|''The Hidden Hand''
| Capitola Black
| [Metropolitan Theatre](/source/Academy_of_Music_(Buffalo%2C_New_York))
| Adapted by G. L. Aiken, who also performed the male lead.<ref name="bc121959" />
|-
|''The Fate of an Octoroon''
| Lethe
| Metropolitan Theatre
| Five-act drama by Vernon's co-star, G. L. Aiken.<ref name="bdr122359" />
|-
|rowspan=4|1860
|''The Rivals''
| Lucy
| Mrs. Brougham's Theatre
| Vernon was relegated to a featured role, with Mrs. Brougham playing [Mrs. Malaprop](/source/Mrs._Malaprop).<ref name="nyh040960" /> 
|-
|''The Bronze Horse''
| Prince Zamna
| Niblo's Garden
| Vernon's first-known role as a male character had her on horseback.<ref name="nyt041660" /> 
|-
|''[Othello](/source/Othello)''
| [Desdemona](/source/Desdemona)
| [New Richmond Theatre](/source/Richmond_Theatre_(Richmond%2C_Virginia))
| At age 17, Vernon supported [Emma Waller](/source/Emma_Waller) playing [Iago](/source/Iago) with her husband in the title role.<ref name="rd122260" /> 
|-
|''Guy Mannering''
| Julia Mannering
| Richmond Theatre
| An adaption of ''[Guy Mannering](/source/Guy_Mannering)'' slanted to favor the gypsy Meg Merrilees, played by Emma Waller.<ref name="rd122760">{{cite news |title=Richmond Theatre (ad) |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=December 27, 1860 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> 
|-
|rowspan=5|1861
|''An Unequal Match''
| Mrs. Montressor
| Richmond Theatre
| Vernon supported Miss Joey Gougenheim in this comedy by Tom Taylor.<ref name="rd011261">{{cite news |title=Richmond Theatre (ad) |work=Richmond Dispatch |date=January 12, 1861 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> 
|-
|''The Woman in White''
| Laura Fairlie
| Richmond Theatre
| An adaptation in which Vernon played the title character for her benefit.<ref name="rd022161" /> 
|-
|''[The Gamester](/source/The_Gamester_(Moore))'' 
| Mrs. Beverly
| Nashville Theatre
| <ref name="rb092261" /> 
|-
| ''[Black-Eyed Susan](/source/Black-Eyed_Susan)'' 
| William
| Nashville Theatre
| Vernon plays a heroic [Jack Tar](/source/Jack_Tar) at age 18.<ref name="rb101961" /> 
|-
| ''Camille'' 
| Camille<ref group=fn>American adaptations usually called both the play and the central character "Camille", and dispensed with the change in color for the camellias Margaret Gautier wore.</ref>
| Richmond Theatre
| Vernon returned to Richmond with this adaptation from [Alexandre Dumas fils](/source/Alexandre_Dumas_fils).<ref name="rd120261" /> 
|-
|rowspan=5|1862
|''[Romeo and Juliet](/source/Romeo_and_Juliet)''
| [Juliet](/source/Juliet)
| Richmond Varieties
| Walter Keeble from the Nashville Theatre was Vernon's Romeo.<ref name="rd061062" /> 
|-
|''[Richard III](/source/Richard_III_(play))''
| [Queen Elizabeth](/source/Elizabeth_Woodville)
| Richmond Varieties
| Walter Keeble played the title role.<ref name="rd062162" /> 
|-
|''[The Merchant of Venice](/source/The_Merchant_of_Venice)''
| [Portia](/source/Portia_(The_Merchant_of_Venice))
| Richmond Varieties
| Walter Keeble played Antonio.<ref name="rd080162" /> 
|-
|''[The Iron Chest](/source/The_Iron_Chest)''
| 
| Montgomery Theatre
| <ref name="dm120562" /> 
|-
|''[The Hunchback](/source/The_Hunchback_(play))''
| Julia
| Montgomery Theatre
| E. R. Dalton played Master Waller in this production.<ref name="dm121762">{{cite news |title=New Advertisements-- Theatre |work=Montgomery Daily Mail |date=December 17, 1862 |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> 
|-
|rowspan=4|1863
|''[Richelieu](/source/Richelieu_(play))''
| François
| Montgomery Theatre
| <ref name="dm010163" /> 
|-
|''Ye Gentle Savage''
| [Pocahontas](/source/Pocahontas)
| Montgomery Theatre
| <ref name="dm012363" /> 
|-
|''[The Lady of Lyons](/source/The_Lady_of_Lyons)''
| Pauline Deschapelles
| Mobile Theatre
| <ref name="ra032663">{{cite news |title=Theatre |work=Register and Advertiser |date=March 26, 1863 |location=Mobile, Alabama |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> 
|-
|''[Masks and Faces](/source/Masks_and_Faces_(play))''
| [Peg Woffington](/source/Peg_Woffington)
| Mobile Theatre
| <ref name="ar042163"/> 
|-
|rowspan=3|1864
|''The Stranger''
| Mrs. Haller
| Wilmington Theatre
| The original German work was called ''Menschenhass und Reue'' (''Misanthropy and Repentance'').<ref name="dj060164b" /> 
|-
|''[The Taming of the Shrew](/source/The_Taming_of_the_Shrew)''
| Katherine
| Wilmington Theatre
| <ref name="dj060864" /> 
|-
|''East Lynne''
| Lady Isabel Vane
| Richmond Theatre<br />Theatre Royal
| Vernon played this five-act favorite in both Richmond and Montreal.<ref name="td081564" /><ref name="cm010465" /><ref name="mg053165" /> 
|-
|1865
|''Kathleen Mavourneen''
| Kathleen
| Wilmington Theatre
| An original work adapted from the popular song of the [same name](/source/Kathleen_Mavourneen).<ref name="wh113065">{{cite news |title=Theatre |work=Wilmington Herald |date=November 30, 1865 |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> 
|-
|1866
|''[Ruy Blas](/source/Ruy_Blas)''
| Princess
| [Winter Garden Theatre](/source/Winter_Garden_Theatre)
| Vernon's first performance with [Edwin Booth](/source/Edwin_Booth).<ref name="tr031366" /> 
|-
|1867
|''Nobody's Daughter''
| 
| Pittsburgh Opera House
| "Sensation piece", adapted from a novel of the same name by [Mary Elizabeth Braddon](/source/Mary_Elizabeth_Braddon).<ref name="pp100167" /> 
|-
|rowspan=2|1869
|''[Uncle Tom's Cabin](/source/Tom_show)''
| Eliza
| [Olympic Theatre](/source/Olympic_Theatre_(New_York_City))
| <ref name="nyh090569" />
|-
|''The Last Will''
| 
| Olympic Theatre
| A "domestic drama" in three acts, by Charles Dibdin Pitt.<ref name="nyh111769" /> 
|-
|rowspan=2|1870
|''The Writing on the Wall''
| Margaret Elton
| Olympic Theatre
| Four-act drama by Morton starred [George L. Fox](/source/George_L._Fox_(clown)) as a "model farmer".<ref name="nyh010370" /> 
|-
|''The Serious Family''
| Mrs. Ormsby Delmaine
| Olympic Theatre
| ''The New York Times'' said Vernon performed with "vivacity and effect".<ref name="nyt020170" /> 
|-
|rowspan=3|1874
|''Hand and Glove''
| Lady Luxboro
| Hooley's Opera House
| <ref name="bde100174" /> 
|-
|''Jane Eyre''
| Mrs. Sarah Reed
| [National Theatre](/source/National_Theatre_(Washington%2C_D.C.))
| This was the adaptation by [Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer](/source/Charlotte_Birch-Pfeiffer) starring [Charlotte Thompson](/source/Charlotte_Thompson_(actress)).<ref name="wc102874" /> 
|-
|''[The Two Orphans](/source/The_Two_Orphans_(play))''
| Sister Genevieve
| [Union Square Theatre](/source/Union_Square_Theatre)
| Hart Jackson's American adaptation of the French play had four acts and seven tableaux.<ref name="tr122174"/> 
|-
|1876
|''The Two Orphans''
| Sister Genevieve
| Brooklyn Theatre
| Revival in December 1876 halted abruptly by the [Brooklyn Theatre fire](/source/Brooklyn_Theatre_fire). 
|-
|1895
|''[The Importance of Being Earnest](/source/The_Importance_of_Being_Earnest)''
| Lady Bracknell
| [Empire Theatre](/source/Empire_Theatre_(40th_Street))
| The Broadway and American premiere of Oscar Wilde's comedy lasted only two weeks.<ref name="nyt042395" /> 
|-
|1907
|''[The Man from Home](/source/The_Man_from_Home_(play))''
| Lady Creech
| Touring company<br />[Astor Theatre](/source/Astor_Theatre_(New_York_City))
| After the Broadway run finished in 1909, Vernon spent four years touring with this play. 
|-
|1913
|''The Road to Happiness''
| Mrs. Whitman
| Touring company<br />[Shubert Theatre](/source/Shubert_Theatre_(Broadway))
| Vernon had a featured part as the protagonist's crippled mother.<ref name="bde083115">{{cite news |title=William Hodge In A Bucolic Comedy |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=August 31, 1915 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=6 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> 
|-
|1916
|''Fixing Sister''
| Lady Wafton
| Touring company<br />[Maxine Elliott's Theatre](/source/Maxine_Elliott's_Theatre)
| ''The New York Times'' said William Hodge was the whole play.<ref name="nyt100516">{{cite news |title=William Hodge In 'Fixing Sister' |work=The New York Times |date=October 5, 1916 |location=New York, New York |page=9 |via = [NYTimes.com](/source/NYTimes.com)}}</ref> 
|-
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=fn}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Ida}}
Category:1843 births
Category:1923 deaths
Category:People born at sea
Category:Broadway theatre people
Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States
Category:American stage actresses

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ida Vernon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Vernon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Vernon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.