William De Levante

[DrMaggs]

Hello Joyce / Warkworth,

Did you ever establish if “your” William and Jane Macarthy were one and the same couple as the one who established the theatre in Todmorden in 1851? Or are there two William Macarthys knocking around the same time and place, one married to Jane Delevante/Deville and one to Jane Somethingelse? Doesn’t always help certainty when Macarthy is sometimes (mis)spelled as McCarthy or indeed Macarte (which I suspect was an actorly affectation possibly inspired by the Macarte dynasty of circus entertainers?!).

Like your husband, I’m a direct descendant of Emily Florence (Macarthy) Wareing, and have followed her and her parents William Macarthy (born Bristol) and Jane Delevante (born Hoxton, London) through the censuses up to Yorkshire and Lancashire - and finally for Jane to Northumberland with a second husband Noble. I thought I’d found the death certificate for “my” William in St. Helens, but am now wondering if this might be the “other William” who established the Todmorden theatre? Hence me asking about your research. Details on the death certificate I have are: 27th Nov 1864 Cross Street St. Helens, William McCarthy, 53 years, stagemanager at theatre, enteritis 3 days certified. At that time, the Theatre Royal in St. Helens (now the Citadel) was on Cross street, so seems like this William died at work (the show must put go on!)??

Anyway, perhaps after I’ve made 3 posts and can then PM people, we could be in touch - I must be some sort of cousin of your husband (my grandmother was Emily’s daughter Beatrice) - I have some certificates that may be of interest unless you got them yourself, as well as some old family portraits of Emily Florence and the Wareings, including the grand old dame Jane (Delevante) Macarthy herself.

Margaret

[DrMaggs]

Massive thanks to Erica CliftonDelevante and Valda for all the information about Masahod and his descendants, it’s helped me greatly on a few places I was really stuck - or very doubtful of Ancestry hints - in my family tree.

Margaret

[cajundancer]

Re: Masahod Delevante  (Morroccan Name: Chriqui -pronounced shreeky Delevante) was the son of  a Rabbi named Josef Delevante and his wife Dinah.  Prosper Delevante, another son, was a brother of Masahod. Masahod lived in Bethnal Green, London and was the Gabay (treasurer, or Tessoureiro In Portuguese) at the Bevis Marks Synagogue, where all records were kept in Portuguese. Masahod would have been fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish, and very likely French not to mention English.  He was a West india merchant. There is quite a population of Delevantes in Jamaica, although I have yet to go there to research. I will add that I am Masahod's 5xgreat grandaughter, through his son William and William's daughter Emily then her son Harry Horatio Deville (born Clifton). As far as I know, Masahod was born in Safi, Morocco, although one genealogy site has him born in Gibraltar.  Any knowlegeable additions to my post would be welcome. 

[cajundancer]

William Delevante was the son of a Jewish Moroccan West India Merchant, Masahod Delevante and his English partner Jane Fitzwater. He was born in Hackney/Bethnal Green, London. Just a day or two before his 20th birthday, he married Jane Caroline Freeman (not Truman as one or two people have put here). They married at the church of St.James, Picadilly.                                                                                   William was something of a wheeler-dealer, and had several professions from Undertaker, Estate Agent, solicitor and Actor, and at one time, he was,unfortunately, jailed for the crime of debt. Having taken the surname Deville, when he went into acting, its likely he "borrowed" the name from an actor contemporary known as Mr. Deville, in the hope he would draw in the audiences and the money. Theatrical performers in his day were almost always known by their surname. As his 4x great-grandaughter I have to admit to inheriting acting and singing, being trained in both.