Frances Alsop
{{short description|English actress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2010}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Frances Alsop
| image = Mrs Frances Allsop.jpg
| caption = Print portraying Mrs. Frances Alsop, engraved by Alais from an original painting by Rose Emma Drummond, published in London on 1 June 1818 by John Bell, for La Belle Assemblee.
| birthname = Frances Daly
| othername = Frances Bettesworth
| birth_date = {{birth date|1782|09|01|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1821|6|2|1782|09|01|df=y}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| spouse = {{marriage|Thomas Alsop|1807}}
| parents = Richard Daly
Dorothea Jordan
}}
Frances Alsop (née Daly; 1 September 1782 – 2 June 1821) was an English actress. She was the illegitimate child of Richard Daly (1758–1813), manager of the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, and the actress Dorothea Jordan née Bland (1761–1816).
Life
Frances was born and raised in England, where her mother – adopting the stage name "Mrs Jordan" – had continued her stage career, which by 1786 led her to be part of London's Drury Lane theatre company. By 1790 Dorothea Jordan was the mistress of the Duke of Clarence (later King William IV).
Frances's story begins in earnest in 1803 at her coming-of-age, when she was settled at her own home in Golden Square, London, all paid for by her mother. In 1806 Frances had changed her name to Frances Bettesworth, in order to receive a financial bequest from an elderly and wealthy gentleman of that name; a deal negotiated by her mother.The Life of Mrs. Jordan: Including Original Private Correspondence ... by James Boaden (Bull: London. 1831), Volume 2, p. 147 On 1 August 1807 Frances married Thomas Alsop at St James's Church, Piccadilly, London.London Metropolitan Archives, Saint James, Piccadilly: Piccadilly, Westminster, Transcript of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1807 Jan-1812 Jan, DL/t Item, 090/004 He was a clerk of the delivery of small arms in the Ordnance Office.The Story of Dorothy Jordan by Claire Jerrold (London: Eveleigh Nash. 1914) p. 272
It seems likely that Frances and Thomas expected a dowry of £10,000, from her mother's connection with the Duke of Clarence, and she and Alsop took up residence at no 11 Park Place (Mayfair).'The Life of Mrs. Jordan', p. 39,The Monthly Review, edited by Ralph Griffiths, George Edward Griffiths. Vol. 16, No 65. January 1831, pp. 28-46. While the precise facts of Frances's dowry are unknown, the marriage was fraught with financial difficulties often caused by Alsop, and debts were usually met by Mrs Jordan. The couple eventually separated, with Alsop having passage arranged to the East Indies, where he died.The Great Illegitimates : public and private life of that celebrated actress Miss Bland, otherwise Mrs. Ford, or Mrs Jordan; the late mistress of H. R. H. the D. of Clarence, now King William IV, founder of the Fitzclarence family ... by a confidential friend of the departed (London: Duncombe. 1832?) p. [https://archive.org/details/bib_fict_4103265_2/page/258/mode/2up 258]
It was not until 18 October 1815 that (as Mrs Alsop) Frances first took to the stage, at Covent Garden, in the role of Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You Like It and she was well received.The Morning Chronicle (London, England), Thursday, 19 October 1815; Issue 14496 She made her debut at the Drury Lane theatre in January 1817 with equal success, as Donna Violenta in The Wonder (1714) by Susanna Centlivre.The Morning Chronicle (London, England), Tuesday, 7 January 1817; Issue 14878
It seems from most of the newspaper reports of her acting that she rarely escaped comparison – generally favourable – with her mother; mention is also made of her skill as a musician (harp and guitar) and the attractiveness of her singing voice. Despite her initial success newspaper reports also show that year on year her roles steadily declined in number, and she increasingly made appearances in provincial theatres from Edinburgh to Exeter.
Her finances seem always to have been shaky, especially after her mother's death in 1816. In 1820 the king paid off her debts for the last time, and she left London for New York, where she found work as an actress, billed – somewhat erroneously – as the granddaughter of the late King of England. She died there from an overdose of laudanum on 2 June 1821.
The news was reported succinctly in the London press:The Morning Post (London, England), Saturday, 21 July 1821; Issue 15709
DEATH of MRS. ALSOP. -- We are sorry to learn,
says the Advocate, that Mrs. Alsop, the celebrated actress, died
suddenly yesterday morning. Her death is attributed to taking
too much laudanum by mistake; she had been sick for several
days previous to this unfortunate occurrence. --New York Paper.The Morning Post (London, England), Saturday, 21 July 1821; Issue 1570
References
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Category:19th-century English actresses