Edna Loftus

Edna Loftus (c. 1891 – 15 June 1916) was a British actress who was briefly married to champion jockey Winnie O'Connor and gained notoriety in the United States for marrying Harry A. Rheinstrom, the heir to a Cincinnati brewing fortune, against the wishes of his family in 1910. While trained for musical theater in her early career in London, she was a cafe singer and hotel operator during her later years in California as a means to support herself during her second husband's illness. She died in poverty in San Francisco in 1916 of tuberculosis after divorcing Rheinstrom in 1914.

Edna Loftus
Edna Loftus in 1906 dressed for a role in the musical comedy The Catch of the Season
Bornc. 1891[lower-alpha 1]
London, England
Died15 June 1916(1916-06-15) (aged 25)
San Francisco, United States
OccupationActress
Years active1906–c. 1911

Acting career

Edna Loftus was born in London and grew up in Southwark.[2] She first appeared at The Palace in a February 1906 revival of the musical comedy The Catch of the Season and as a female attendant in Madame Lingerie.[3][4] She starred in the 1906 adaptation of The New Aladdin in the role of Madge Oliphant for the Gaiety Theater.[5] While not a primary role, she was lauded by the theater publication The Tatler as being "a beauty",[6] her photographs appearing in many of the publicity items for New Aladdin. She continued acting in the New Aladdin for most of 1906, but by December was starring in a production of The Babes in the Wood at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh where she played the role of Molly the miller's daughter.[7][8] By July 1907, she was performing in a revue Tu veux rire (You Want to Laugh) at the Ambassadeurs in Paris with Max Dearly and dancers Gaby Deslys and Vera Barton.[9]

Loftus moved to the United States with her first husband in 1907 and traveled with the vaudeville acting troupe the Rain Dears in 1909.[10][11] While some sources identified Cissie Loftus as her sister, she is not related to the actress.[2]

Personal life

Edna Loftus married twice, first to the jockey Winfield S. "Winnie" O'Connor (1881–1947)[12] in 1907 and second to American brewing fortune heir, Harry A. Rheinstrom (1884–1918),[13] in 1910. Lack of evidence of her divorce from O'Connor was later used as grounds for deportation from the United States in an immigration dispute in 1913.[14]

Marriage to Winnie O'Connor

Edna Loftus reportedly met champion American jockey Winfield Scott "Winnie" O'Connor at Eva Beaumont's Chicago Bar on the rue Taitbout in Paris.[15] They were married on 26 June 1907 in Berlin and again by the American consul in Chantilly on 22 November to incorporate both Roman Catholic and Protestant ceremonies, as they were of different religious faiths.[2][16] On the return voyage to New York, Loftus was almost blown overboard by a strong wind that struck the ship as she walked on the deck.[2] Loftus left O'Connor and their divorce was finalized in September 1909 in Senlis.[17]

Marriage to Harry A. Rheinstrom
Edna Loftus as photographed by Ellis and Walery, c. 1906

Edna Loftus remained in the United States after her divorce from O'Connor was finalized in 1909. She met 25-year-old Harry A. Rheinstrom in a lobster palace in New York City while acting on Broadway, with Rheinstrom spending $10,000 on gifts for Edna.[18] Rheinstrom was heir to a $6 million distillery fortune[19] left by his father Abraham Rheinstrom, a Cincinnati brewer. The couple traveled to Cincinnati in the last week of December 1909 to marry, but Harry's mother greatly disapproved of the marriage and had her son committed to an asylum and Edna arrested for loitering (a charge that was quickly dismissed).[20] Loftus successfully applied for release of Rheinstrom on a habeas corpus writ in January 1910.[21] The couple drove through the deep snow[22] to obtain a marriage license in neighboring Independence, Kentucky and were married by a magistrate in Covington on 7 January 1910.[20] Rheinstrom was exiled to the western U.S. by his mother, who had complete control over distribution of the family fortune, and was given a $3,000 annuity.[21] The young couple settled on a small ranch approximately 40 miles from Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, and attempted to raise chickens and fruit to make a living. The press reported widely on the change in fortune for the actress, from dining on lobsters on the Great White Way to plucking chickens and cleaning house for her husband; the couple was stated as making a "declaration of supreme happiness" to each other.[23]

However, the couple gave up farming in August 1910 and began reconciliation talks with Harry's mother.[24] They moved to Oakland in September 1910, living on a $200 a month allowance given by Mrs. Rheinstrom. Upon moving to town, the Rheinstroms reportedly spent the monthly allowance within three days and borrowed large sums of money.[25] On 21 September, Harry Rheinstrom was taken to a local sanatorium after refusing to eat for several days and telling police that someone was trying to poison him.[26] To cover the cost of her husband's psychiatric treatment, Loftus contracted with a San Francisco cafe to give nightly concerts for a six-week period.[27] Rheinstrom was initially committed to a local asylum in Fruitvale run by Dr. Frank S. Lowell, but was arrested after Loftus organized his escape.[28] In October 1910, Edna Loftus garnered further embarrassment for the Rheinstrom family when she was arrested for failure to pay a $3.60 taxi fare.[29] These excesses led Mrs. Rheinstrom to cut off their allowance and initiate court proceedings in November 1910 that ultimately led to a guardianship for Harry Rheinstrom without Edna's influence and to him being committed to the state asylum in Stockton, where he would remain for the remainder of their marriage.[25][28] After the judgement, Loftus was unable to find work in vaudeville and attempted suicide on 20 December 1910 by throwing herself in Spreckels Lake, where she was rescued by a passing motorist.[30]

Loftus considered suing for divorce from Rheinstrom in early 1911 and hired an attorney, the former Olympic athlete Ralph Rose to represent her interests.[18][31] On hearing the news, her mother-in-law replied, "We never wanted Harry to marry her, and I only hope that she does get a divorce because he can get out of the sanatorium into which she was the cause of his going."[32] While traveling with Rose by train from San Jose to Oakland on 24 October 1911 to reach a possible settlement with the Rheinstroms, Loftus suffered a mental breakdown ("hysteria" as indicated by the press) at the Oakland train depot and was committed to the Oakland Receiving Hospital for treatment. The cause of the illness was presumed to be related to continued legal difficulties with Mrs. Rheinstrom,[31] with her sudden "elation" over a possible settlement with the Rheinstroms giving way to depression on release from hospital.[33]

I'm through. Millions are stronger than maids. Especially merry, merry maids.

— Edna Loftus, 1911[18]

Still married to Rheinstrom, Loftus was arrested on 9 April 1913 by Deputy U.S. Marshal J. A. Robinson, acting for Bureau of Immigration Captain Frank Ainsworth, on the grounds that she was an "undesirable alien,"[19][34] with some sources reporting that she had interests in a "resort" of ill repute in the Barbary Coast section of the city where she lived under the alias Ethel O'Connor.[35] Taken to Angel Island, she countered that she could not be deported to Britain because she was lawfully married to Rheinstrom and was a citizen.[35] The legality of her marriage to Rheinstrom was questioned on the grounds that she had not obtained a divorce from O'Connor.[14][19] Ultimately, her marriage was declared valid and she was not deported.[35] Frustrated with the situation, she declared that she would like to return to England[35] but ultimately traveled to Cincinnati a few months later in September 1913 to begin divorce proceedings against Rheinstrom.[36]

Loftus was involved in several scandals in the early 1910s apart from her dealings with the Rheinstroms. In 1912, Loftus was named in the divorce suit of Dr. Wade Stone in San Rafael, California. On 8 March 1912, Loftus was thrown from Dr. Stone's car into a creek during a nighttime drive through Ross Valley. Dr. Stone was reportedly helping Loftus seek a cure for her nerves when the accident occurred,[37][38] but his wife suspected the doctor was in a relationship with Loftus and won her suit for divorce.[38] Due to negative publicity from the court case and rumors of other dalliances with local men, Loftus was given one hour to leave San Rafael by the city marshal, Edward J. Daly, on 4 August 1912. Loftus complied within the time frame and relocated to San Francisco.[11] She was questioned by the San Francisco police in the disappearance of a gold watch in February 1913, but was not charged with a crime. Angry at the suspicion, she claimed she wanted to leave California and move to Honolulu, stating, "They don't know how to treat a lady in this town."[39]

Death

After the divorce from Rheinstrom was finalized in 1914, Loftus supported herself by managing a low-rent hotel, The Art,[40] on Kearney St. in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco.[41] The hotel was frequently raided by the police, with Loftus being arrested on one occasion for "vagrancy" shortly after attempting suicide for a second time.[40][42] Loftus was taken to the City Hospital in San Francisco in early June 1916 due to worsening symptoms of tuberculosis. She died in hospital on 15 June 1916. At that time, she was so impoverished that plans were initially made to bury her in a potter's field in the local cemetery. After anonymous friends intervened,[41][lower-alpha 2] she was buried in Cypress Lawn Cemetery. Harry Rheinstrom was released from the state hospital in February 1914 shortly after the divorce was finalized.[44] He never remarried and was killed on 14 October 1918 after he fell at a Philadelphia shipyard while working for the government (predeceasing his mother).[13] Her first husband, Winnie O'Connor, married the actress Neva Aymar (d. 1932) and died on 6 March 1947 after losing his fortune in the stock market crash of 1929.[12]

Notes
  1. Her death certificate approximates her age at 25 years.[1]
  2. Her funeral was ordered by Lee Earl of 731 Commercial St., at the time a notorious brothel on the Barbary Coast.[1][43]

References
  1. "California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1835-1979". FamilySearch. Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  2. Staff (30 November 1907). "Rough voyage for liner". Evening Star. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  3. "Miss Edna Loftus in "The Catch of the Season"". The Tatler and Bystander. No. v. 19 (242). 14 February 1906.
  4. Staff (8 March 1906). "Variety Stage". The Stage.
  5. Caryll, Ivan (1906). The New Aladdin. London: Chappell. p. 9. hdl:2027/hvd.32044040381899.
  6. Staff (3 October 1906). "A Beauty in "The New Aladdin": At the Gaiety". The Tatler and Bystander. 22 (275): 4.
  7. Staff (14 December 1906). "A merry pantomime for young and old". The Scotsman.
  8. Staff (12 February 1907). "An address". Berwickshire News and General Advertiser.
  9. Staff (13 July 1907). "Paris Letter". The Billboard. 19 (28): 11.
  10. The Critic (2 September 1916). "Stage and pictures". Wairarapa Daily Times. No. LXX. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  11. Staff. "Beauty Flees Wrath of Town Marshal". Los Angeles Times. No. 5 August 1912.
  12. Staff (7 March 1947). "WINNIE O'CONNOR, ONCE TOP JOCKEY: Leader in Early Days of the Century, Who Rode 2,500 Winners, Is Dead at 66". New York Times.
  13. Staff (26 October 1918). "Obituaries". The Billboard. No. 43.
  14. Staff (1 April 1913). "Tips Off Wilson's Policy: New Administration Pledged to Efficient and Powerful Navy to Maintain the Nation's Prestige". Los Angeles Times.
  15. Staff (19 June 1915). "Music, wine, and women". Sporting Times.
  16. Staff (1 December 1907). "Bride is in peril at sea". The Washington Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  17. Staff (24 September 1909). "Un divorce". Le Journal. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  18. Young, Susan (1911). "Why no chorus girl can afford to wed a millionaire's son" (PDF). American Examiner. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  19. Staff (10 April 1913). "Edna Loftus may now be deported". San Francisco Call. Vol. 113, no. 131. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  20. Staff (8 January 1910). "YOUNG MILLIONAIRE WEDS DIVORCED WIFE OF JOCKEY". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 2.
  21. Staff (9 February 1910). "Youth is exiled for marriage to actress". San Francisco Call. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  22. Staff (8 January 1910). "Woman fights for man". Chicago Daily Tribune.
  23. Staff. "From lobster palace to the farm". La correspondencia de Puerto Rico. No. 5 June 1910. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  24. Staff (9 August 1910). "Leave their chicken ranch". New York Times.
  25. Staff (23 November 1910). "DEAF TO PLEA OF ACTRESS WIFE: "HARRY'S NOT CRAZY IF HE DID MARRY ME," SAYS MATE;San Francisco Judge Decides Edna Loftus's Husband, Sort of Cincinnati Millionaire, Needs Guardian and Appoints Man Brewer Sends to Look After His Interests". Los Angeles Times.
  26. Staff (22 September 1910). "Possessed by delusion that his life is sought". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  27. Staff (6 November 1910). "Theatrical". The Salt Lake Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  28. Staff (25 October 1910). "Harry Rheinstrom sent to asylum". San Francisco Call. Vol. 108, no. 147. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  29. Staff (5 November 1910). "Vaudeville and Motion Pictures: Edna Loftus Imprisoned". The Billboard.
  30. Staff (21 December 1910). "Edna Loftus tries to take her life". Sacramento Union. No. 121. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  31. Staff (25 October 1911). "EDNA LOFTUS HYSTERICAL.: Actress Wife of Wealthy Cincinnatian in an Oakland Hospital; Settlement With Mother-in-Law". Los Angeles Times.
  32. Staff (21 March 1911). "Family hopes for divorce: Mother of Henry Rheinstrom Pleased at News That Edna Loftus Wants Separation". Los Angeles Times.
  33. Staff (25 October 1911). "Edna Loftus is freed from cell". San Francisco Call. Vol. 110, no. 147. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  34. Staff (1913). "Edna Loftus arrested". The Billboard. 25 (16): 7.
  35. Staff (16 May 1913). "Correspondence: San Francisco". Variety. 30 (11): 24.
  36. Staff (3 October 1913). "Correspondence: San Francisco". Variety. 32 (5): 25.
  37. Staff (8 March 1912). "Edna Loftus, seeking nerve cure, hurled in creek on auto ride". Los Angeles Herald. No. 141. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  38. Staff (25 July 1912). "Edna Loftus as soul mate". Los Angeles Times.
  39. Staff (25 February 1913). "ACTRESS SCORES SAN FRANCISCO.: "DON'T KNOW HOW TO TREAT A LADY." SHE SAYS; Edna Loftus, One-Time London Dance Hall Celebrity, Who Recently Wed Son of Cincinnati Millionaire, When Questioned AboutMissing Watch Becomes Peeved". Los Angeles Times.
  40. Staff (9 November 1914). "Edna Loftus robbed by clerk, she says". Oakland Tribune.
  41. Staff (17 June 1916). "Edna Loftus buried at friends' expense". Sacramento Union. No. 48. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  42. Staff (18 October 1914). "Once star, is taken in raid". Oakland Tribune.
  43. Richards, Rand (2002). Historic Walks in San Francisco: 18 Trails Through the City's Past. Heritage House Publishers. p. 38. ISBN 9781879367036. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  44. Staff (26 February 1914). "Rheimstrom restored". San Francisco Chronicle. No. pg. 18.
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