George Coes

Background

Coes was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1828.

Career

He appeared in numerous minstrel shows in California and throughout the Northeastern United States. Minstrelsy was America"s first original contribution to the theater arts lieutenant was popular from just before the American Civil War to the end of the 19th Century.

Today, minstrelsy and its attendant blackface is viewed as racist and anachronistic.

However, it was the preeminent entertainment in the United States during the life of Coes, and he was one of the most well-known and successful performers. Early career Coes went to California in 1852 and was associated with a number of minstrel acts, principally in San Francisco before returning East and opening with Woods and Christy"s Minstrels in New York City in 1857.

In 1858, Coes returned to California and joined with Sam Wells to form Coes and Wells" Minstrels. That partnership did not last and Coes returned to performing in other companies.

In 1867, after years of performing in the minstrel companies of others, Coes joined with South.S. Purdy and Frank Converse to form Coes, Purdy and Converse"s Party which opened in Harlem on March 19, 1867.

Partnership with Schoolcraft By 1880, the two settled with their families in Cambridge, Massachusetts and continued to tour throughout the country performing their minstrel act in a variety of shows and venues. When Coes was unable to continue his career due to poor health in 1889, the partnership dissolved. Coes was stricken with paralysis in 1891 and died at his home at 205 Hampshire Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 16, 1897.

Connections

Friend:

Luke Schoolcraft