Jane Quirk

Jane Quirk was born Patsy Jane Holcomb, around 1878 in Keytesville, Missouri, the daughter of Ethan Holcomb and Martha Price.{{Cite web |date=26 January 1903 |title=Marriage Certificate for William A Quirk and Patsy J Holcomb |url=https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/11851789 |access-date=26 May 2023 |website=Historical Vital Records: The New York City Municipal Archives}} She was raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,{{Cite news |date=13 October 1900 |title="Theatrical News" |pages=7 |work=The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/551581132/?terms=Patsy%20Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} where from a young age she performed as a singer, dancer and cornetist, along with her brother and sister at social occasions and church events.{{Cite news |date=26 April 1886 |title=Easter Services |pages=4 |work=Evening Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/547808761/?terms=Patsy%20Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}}{{Cite news |date=2 September 1891 |title=An Enjoyable Evening |pages=4 |work=Evening Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/550897997/?terms=Patsy%20Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} During her teens she lost most of her family, with her sister,{{Cite news |date=15 July 1893 |title=End of a Beautiful Life |pages=5 |work=The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/550932681/?terms=Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} brother{{Cite news |date=18 December 1896 |title=Orin Holcomb Dead |pages=2 |work=The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/551867801/?terms=Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} and mother{{Cite news |date=4 April 1898 |title=Died on the Way Home |pages=2 |work=The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/551694693/?terms=Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} dying within a five year period. Jane's father died in 1901.{{Cite news |date=2 April 1901 |title=Pioneer Lawyer Gone |pages=4 |work=The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/551703570/?terms=Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}}

File:Patsy Jane Holcomb Drawing.jpg

After the death of her mother in 1898, Jane went on the road performing as a cornet player for traveling orchestras, including the Kirchner's Famous Lady Orchestra,{{Cite news |date=24 March 1898 |title=Exhibition Week |pages=5 |work=The San Francisco Call |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/80999252/?terms=Holcomb%20Kirchner&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} and the Boston Ladies' Symphony Orchestra.{{Cite news |date=17 October 1900 |title=An Artistic Success |pages=5 |work=The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/551584151/?terms=Holcomb&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} In 1903 Jane married fellow performer Billy Quirk in New York. Jane and her husband bred and showed champion French bulldogs.{{Cite news |date=18 October 1908 |title=Chorus Girls Come From All Stations and All Localities |pages=8 |work=The Denver Post |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A12C7581AC4BD0728%40GB3NEWS-1366DCA2A8358C70%402418233-13666BA50E14A128%4031-13666BA50E14A128%40?h=3&fname=Jane&lname=Quirk&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=1908&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=date&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=ckxhsmstjgbfciavvwfmvfkmtsxwyprt_wma-gateway003_1687640293161}} In 1907 Jane appeared on Broadway in "The Top O' Th' World," {{Cite journal |date=2 November 1907 |title=Additional Greater New York |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1907-11-02_19_45/page/16/mode/2up?view=theater&q=%22Jane+Quirk%22+ |journal=The Billboard |volume=19 |issue=45 |pages=17 |via=Internet Archive}} a musical extravaganza in which Jane and five other dancers appeared in a "collie ballet," dancing with six collie dogs.{{Cite news |date=9 December 1908 |title=Plays and Players |pages=5 |work=The Rockford Morning Star |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A12B97C4B94C955B8%40GB3NEWS-12C8A872A5509380%402418285-12C8A0A0108D63DC%404-12C8A0A0108D63DC%40?h=4&fname=Jane&lname=Quirk&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=1908&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=date&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=ckxhsmstjgbfciavvwfmvfkmtsxwyprt_wma-gateway003_1687640293161}}

Around 1909, Jane stopped going by "Patsy" and became professionally known as Jane Quirk.{{Cite journal |date=16 October 1909 |title=Correspondence |url=https://archive.org/details/variety16-1909-10/page/n75/mode/2up?q=%22Jane+Quirk%22 |journal=Variety |volume=XVI |issue=6 |pages=27 |via=Internet Archive}} She kept working and traveling, appearing in various plays, and eventually moved to conducting the orchestra for musical plays, including Jesse Lasky productions The Trained Nurses in 1912,{{Cite news |date=24 November 1912 |title=The Trained Nurses |pages=9 |work=The Sunday Star|location=Washington D.C.|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1912-11-24/ed-1/seq-29/#date1=1912&index=1&rows=20&words=Jane+Quirk&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=District+of+Columbia&date2=1912&proxtext=%22Jane+Quirk%22&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} and Red Heads in 1913.{{Cite news |date=1 October 1913 |title=Cedar Rapids Girl Pleases |pages=10 |work=The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/547492184/?terms=%22Jane%20Quirk%22%20Red%20heads&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} During the next few years, Jane continued to play the cornet, and was the conductor or musical director for various productions.{{Cite news |date=8 February 1918 |title=Keith Vaudeville |pages=10 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/26959634/?terms=%22Jane%20Quirk%22%20&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}}{{Cite news |date=5 December 1918 |title=Lady Minstrels Give Delightful Show at Grand |pages=3 |work=The Evening News (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/176176039/?terms=Jane%20Quirk&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} In 1916 Jane appeared in a stage act with her husband Billy Quirk.{{Cite news |date=7 October 1916 |title=Quirk Returns to Stage |pages=6 |work=New York Clipper |url=https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=NYC19161007.2.40&srpos=2&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN-Billy+Quirk--------- |access-date=25 June 2023}}

Around 1921 (possibly after her divorce from husband Billy Quirk), Jane's professional name became "Jane Frayne".{{Cite news |date=22 September 1921 |title=This Orchestra Director Quite Charms Audience at the Brandeis |pages=10 |work=Evening World-Herald (Omaha, Nebraska) |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A1106B5BBD4B623A8%40GB3NEWS-1346D4F5351EC5DE%402422955-1342E4BF2E3F85DD%409-1342E4BF2E3F85DD%40?h=1&fname=jane&lname=frayne&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=1921&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=date&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=ztobgfqyeqdgmudqdofbeusqlchajbze_wma-gateway019_1685056346925 |access-date=25 June 2023}}{{Cite news |date=1 April 1926 |title=In Averill Home |pages=2 |work=Cedar Rapids Republican |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/66831749/?terms=%22Jane%20Frayne%22&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} In 1924 she was the director of a jazz band, the "Knights of Harmony",{{Cite news |date=23 August 1924 |title=Humphreys and Good Orchestra for the Palace: Musical Comedy Pair Here Sunday |pages=12 |work=The Rockford Daily Register-Gazette |location=Rockford, Illinois |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A12B97CA7BA852BB0%40GB3NEWS-1359A618122E1EBF%402424021-13594A016F7EB6E4%4011-13594A016F7EB6E4%40?h=1&fname=jane&lname=frayne&fullname=&kwinc=&kwexc=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=1924&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=date&state%5B0%5D=illinois&state%5B1%5D=nebraska&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&sid=arcglezfyunivzinywhahyurxbwawqkr_wma-gateway015_1685056635793 |access-date=26 May 2023}} following which she presented "Jane Frayne's Toyland"{{Cite news |date=28 November 1925 |title=Toylands and Feature Vaudeville Saturday |pages=6 |work=The Olympian |location=Olympia, Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/801476535/?terms=%22Jane%20Frayne%22%20&match=1 |access-date=26 May 2023}} with the Shand family.

According to Billy Quirk's death certificate,{{Cite web |date=21 April 1926 |title=California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9SJ-1PXF?i=1904&cc=2001287&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQGZ2-NZL1 |access-date=25 June 2023 |website=FamilySearch}} the couple were divorced at the time of his death in 1926. In 1928, Jane married musician William Greene,{{Cite web |date=21 June 1928 |title=Michigan US Marriage Records 1867-1952 |url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5263446:9093 |access-date=26 May 2023 |website=Ancestry}} and retired from the stage in 1930.{{Cite news |date=14 July 1949 |title=Vaudeville Veteran Succumbs Here at 60 |pages=10 |work=Battle Creek Enquirer |location=Battle Creek, Michigan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/197192633/?terms=%22Jane%20H%20Greene%22%20&match=1 |access-date=26 May 2023}} Jane and William settled in Battle Creek, Michigan, where she ran a tea-room for a time,{{Cite news |date=8 July 1932 |title=Two Women Can Now Carry Guns |pages=2 |work=Battle Creek Enquirer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/203987237/?terms=William%20Greene&match=1 |access-date=25 June 2023}} and then for several years worked for Kellogg's. Jane died on 13 July 1949 after a long illness.

• {{IBDB name|384884|Jane Quirk}}
• [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6803088/patsy-jane-greene Jane Quirk] at Find a Grave

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Category:American cornetists

Category:American vaudeville performers

Category:American women conductors (music)

Category:20th-century American conductors (music)

Category:1870s births

Category:1949 deaths

Category:Year of birth uncertain