Jean Margaret was born at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England. Her father, Thomas Donald, at first a lawyer, was later manager of the Richmond (England) Theatre. Her mother, formerly Miss Danby, was well known in British provincial theatres.
She studied in Europe under private tutors.
Under the name Jean Davenport the child made her first professional appearance at the Richmond Theatre in 1837, in the title part of Shakespeare's King Richard the Third, and next as Little Pickle in The Spoiled Child. Exploited as an infant prodigy, she played these characters in other cities of Great Britain, winning special success in London and Dublin. In 1838 she came to America, making her début at the National Theatre, New York City, on May 21, as Richard the Third and Little Pickle. Afterward she gave performances in all the large Eastern and Southern cities, playing in addition to the two parts mentioned, Sir Peter Teazle, Shylock, Sir Giles Overreach, the Dumb Boy of Manchester, Young Norval, and others, with great success.
She returned to Europe in 1842, traveled in England and France. In 1844 and 1845, in London, she appeared as Shakespeare's Juliet, Julia in The Hunchback, the Countess, in Love, and became a great favorite.
From 1846 to 1848 she won further success in Holland and Germany. On her return to England in 1848, she made her appearance as a public reader. Her Shakespearian readings were especially notable. During her second visit to America in 1849 her professional success on her tour of the country was so great that she decided to make America her home.
In December 1853, during her engagement at the Broadway Theatre, New York City, she appeared in adaptations from the French of Adrienne Lecouvreur and La Dame aux Camélias, having the distinction of introducing these two hapless heroines to the American public.
In 1855 she went to California; in 1856-57 and in 1859 she was again in England. She then served as a hospital nurse, coming out of her retirement from the stage to appear in Mésalliance (her own adaptation from the French) at Niblo's Garden, New York, February 6, 1865. Shortly after this, Jean Margaret added to her repertoire such parts as Queen Elizabeth, Mary Stuart, and Marie Antoinette, with all the success attending her former efforts. With Comte de Najac, she dramatized Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, in which she made her last appearance as Hester Prynne at the Boston Theatre on January 1, 1877. Thereafter she resided in Washington and Lynn, Massachussets. Her death occurred at her summer home in the latter city.
Jean Margaret was undoubtedly an actress of great talent, taste, and intellectual attainment. She was most notable for her Shakespearian readings. She was one of the first women to give readings from Shakespeare since Sarah Siddons. Besides Juliet, the Countess, and Julia, she also played Meeta, in The Maid of Mariendorpt, Horatia, in The Roman Father, Pauline, in The Lady of Lyons, and Peg Woffington in Masks and Faces.
Quotes from others about the person
The critic of the New York Herald (February 7, 1865), writing of her performance in Niblo's Garden said in part: "Mrs. Lander is a small, beautifully formed lady, with a sweet, expressive face, and a voice as clear as a silver bell. Her motions are very graceful. . She carries us back to those old, delightful days when it required brains, not brass, to be a star. "
In October 1860, in San Francisco, Jean Margaret was married to Frederick West Lander. General Lander died in March 1862 from the effects of wounds received in the American Civil War.
