# Louise Pomeroy

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**Louise M. Pomeroy** née Ryder (c. 1853 – 7 January 1893) was an American actress and writer who was popular in Shakespearean roles in Australia.

Pomeroy was born in [Cleveland, Ohio](/source/Cleveland,_Ohio), a daughter of Col. Ryder, a lawyer and judge. Her father's family was of Scottish descent and her mother's of German.[1] At a young age she was married to a Frank Thomas, and after his death she went on the stage.[2] On 15 May 1871 she was married to newspaper owner [Mark M. "Brick" Pomeroy](/source/Marcus_M._Pomeroy), with whom she had a daughter, Louise Rider Pomeroy.[3][4] Under the pen name "Elm Orlou" she edited a section of her husband's *Democrat* and wrote essays which were widely reproduced.[5][6][1] Her husband objected to her stage ambitions and they separated: he remarried in 1876.[7][a] She had been an amateur actor before, as a pupil of J. B. Roberts, and made her professional debut as [Juliet](/source/Juliet) on 16 October 1876 at the [Lyceum Theatre, New York](/source/Lyceum_Theatre_(Broadway)).[8] She developed a reputation for Shakespearean heroines: Rosalind in *[As You Like It](/source/As_You_Like_It)*, Juliet in *[Romeo and Juliet](/source/Romeo_and_Juliet)*, Imogene in *[Cymbeline](/source/Cymbeline)*, and Viola in *[Twelfth Night](/source/Twelfth_Night)*.[9]

She was brought out to Australia by [Alan Hayman](/source/Alan_Hayman) with great expectations, which were fully realised. Her first appearance was at the [Queen's Theatre, Sydney](/source/Queen's_Theatre,_Sydney), from 7 October 1880 playing on successive nights Rosalind, Lady Macbeth and Juliet. She played Juliet in Melbourne's [Theatre Royal](/source/Theatre_Royal,_Melbourne) to [T. C. Appleton](/source/T._C._Appleton)'s middle-aged Romeo, but his distant performance was overlooked by the audience in their appreciation for Pomeroy.[10] Such was her popularity that they flocked to see her in the rarely-played *[Cymbeline](/source/Cymbeline)*[11] and *[A Winter's Tale](/source/A_Winter's_Tale)*.[12] in which she played both Hermione and Perdita to an enthusiastic audience. She also drew rave reviews[13] for her impersonation of the "doleful Dane", [Prince Hamlet](/source/Prince_Hamlet).[b]

In 1882 Pomeroy formed a company to tour country towns in Victoria and Queensland. Members included [W. J. Holloway](/source/W._J._Holloway) and Mrs Holloway, [G. P. Carey](/source/G._P._Carey) and Miss Dolly Forde (Mrs Carey), Arthur Elliott ("an actor of considerable promise")[14] who played Romeo to her Juliet,[15] Edwin Palmer, [R. A. Vernon](/source/R._A._Vernon), Misses Blanche Louis and Florence Louis. From these she organised a small but efficient company to tour India, playing first at the Corinthian Theatre, Calcutta (now [Kolkata](/source/Kolkata)) on 1 December.

Elliott and Pomeroy were married at [Bendigo, Victoria](/source/Bendigo,_Victoria), on July 30, 1833.[16] They moved to the US in 1884, and were soon in high demand. She died of pneumonia in New York City on January 7, 1893, aged 40.[17]

## Notes

1. Mark Pomeroy was married to his third wife in September 1876,[3] but his divorce with Louise was finalized in August 1877.[7]

1. Other actresses who notably played Hamlet were [Sarah Bernhardt](/source/Sarah_Bernhardt), [Charlotte Crampton](/source/Charlotte_Crampton), [Winetta Montague](/source/Winetta_Montague), Rose Edouin (Mrs. [G. B. W. Lewis](/source/G._B._W._Lewis)),[18] [Charlotte Charke](/source/Charlotte_Charke), and more recently [Frances de la Tour](/source/Frances_de_la_Tour).[19]

## References

1. ["Miss Louise Pomeroy"](https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-127622376/view?sectionId=nla.obj-127625062&partId=nla.obj-127624933#page/n2/mode/1up). *[The Bulletin](/source/The_Bulletin_(Sydney))*. Vol. 3, no. 37. 9 October 1880. p. 3.

1. ["Those Who Have Died"](https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INN18930109-01.1.5&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------). *[The Indianapolis News](/source/The_Indianapolis_News)*. 9 January 1893. p. 5.

1. ["Marcus Mills "Brick" Pomeroy"](https://www.americanpomeroys.org/brickpomeroy). *American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association*. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

1. Pomeroy, Albert Alonzo (1912). [*History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family*](http://archive.org/details/historygenealogy02pome). Toledo, OH: Franklin Printing and Engraving Co. pp. 742–743.

1. ["Personal"](https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50390261/?terms=%22Elm%20Orlou%22&match=1). *[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle](/source/The_Brooklyn_Daily_Eagle)*. 31 July 1873. p. 4.

1. Pomeroy, Mark Mills (1890). [*Reminiscences and Recollections of "Brick" Pomeroy*](https://books.google.com/books?id=tapSMUP0YksC&pg=PA247). New York: Advance Thought Company. p. 247.

1. ["Brick Pomeroy Divorced Again"](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1877-08-10/ed-1/?sp=1&q=%22Louise+M.+Pomeroy%22&r=0.749,0.794,0.349,0.165,0). *[The Evening Star](/source/The_Washington_Star)*. 10 August 1877. p. 1.

1. Phelps, Henry P. (1889). [*Addenda to Players of a Century*](https://archive.org/details/cu31924027211576/page/n71/mode/2up). Albany, New York. pp. 34–35.

1. ["News and Notes."](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208862156). *[The Lorgnette](/source/The_Lorgnette)*. Vol. XVIII, no. 1409. 29 September 1880. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Theatre Royal"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5962926). *[The Argus (Melbourne)](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne))*. No. 10,736. 15 November 1880. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. [""Cymbeline""](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113599466). *[The Riverine Herald](/source/The_Riverine_Herald)*. Vol. XVII, no. 2,264. 3 December 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Theatre Royal"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5988447). *[The Argus (Melbourne)](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne))*. No. 10,873. 25 April 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Miss Pomeroy as Hamlet"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150389349). *[Geelong Advertiser](/source/Geelong_Advertiser)*. No. 10,608. 5 August 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Victoria Theatre"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13455503). *[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)*. No. 12,957. 13 October 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["News and Notes"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202126093). *[The Ballarat Star](/source/The_Ballarat_Star)*. Vol. XXVII, no. 185. 7 August 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Marriage of Miss Louise Pomeroy"](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88518723). *[The Bendigo Advertiser](/source/The_Bendigo_Advertiser)*. 31 July 1883. p. 3.

1. ["The Bendigo Advertiser"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88609318). *[Bendigo Advertiser](/source/Bendigo_Advertiser)*. Vol. XLI, no. 11,798. 18 February 1893. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Stage Asides"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61968284). *[Townsville Daily Bulletin](/source/Townsville_Daily_Bulletin)*. Vol. LVI, no. 224. 18 September 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 19 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Thy Name is Woman: Female Hamlets"](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2014/sep/26/female-hamlets-sarah-bernhardt-maxine-peake-in-pictures). *The Guardian*. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2021.

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