Background
She was born Jessie Fremont Bartlett, one of ten children of farmer and country schoolmaster Elias Lyman Bartlett (b 1821) and his wife Rachael Ann Conklin Bartlett (b 1826).
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Jessie Davis
Edit ProfileEducation
She studied voice in Chicago, singing in the choir of the Church of the Messiah, and her manager next convinced her to join the Chicago Church Choir Company. In 1879, Bartlett made her debut in the opera His Majesty’s Ship Pinafore, in the role of Buttercup, in a troop managed by Colonel Jack H. Haverly.
Career
Belle died shortly after a tour was arranged. Another sister, Josephine Bartlett Perry (1859–1910) also performed in theater, in the Chicago Ideal Opera Company. Bartlett moved to Chicago and went on a one-season tour with Caroline Richings.
The troop was managed on the road by Haverly employee, Will J. Davis, who Bartlett married in 1880.She spent several years with a number of opera companies before joining the Boston Ideal Opera Company.
She remained with this troupe until 1901, serving as its prima donna. On March 16, 1897, she opened on Broadway in The Serenade, playing Dolores, and in 1898 recorded Don Jose of Sevilla, a duet from The Serenade, with West. H. MacDonald.
From October 19 to November 28, 1903, she appeared again on Broadway in a revival of Edward Jakobowski"s operetta Erminie. She appeared briefly in vaudeville, where she reportedly earned $1,000 per week.
Jessie Bartlett Davis released the parlor songs collection lieutenant"s Just Because I Love You So in 1900.
The collection reflects the Gay Nineties attitude of the 1890s Victorian era. She helped Carrie Jacobs-Bond launch her songwriting career by volunteering to pay for the cost to publish Seven Songs: as Unpretentious as the Wild Rose, which included the classic wedding song "I Love You Truly."
She was also an author and wrote Only a Chorus Girl, other stories, and a number of poems.
