The Humphrey family lived in Oakland c.1890. The 2 children, Ola and Orral, were both actors of note, and Ola famously married an Egyptian prince. Beginning c.1892, the family lived at 145 Athol.
Thomas Marshall ("T.M.") Humphrey was born about 1846. He married Minnie Jane Paschal (Humphrey) in Iowa on June 11, 1873. It's unknown exactly when they moved to Oakland, but they appear in the 1888-1889 directory and T.M.'s obituary gives a similar time frame. T.M. worked in the furniture business, most notably for C.F. Weber of San Francisco, which specialized in furniture for schools and theaters. He was mentioned in regards to getting comfortable chairs for the new MacDonough Theatre. 3 T.M. died at home in 1902 after a lengthy illness, 4 and is buried in the family plot in Mountain View Cemetery. Minnie died in 1928 and is also buried there.
Ola Humphrey, 1906 1
1922 10
• Pearl Ola Humphrey (Mordant) (Hassan) (Broadwood) was born July 16, 1874 or 1875 in Iowa. She graduated from Snell Seminary in 1893, then in 1894 attended the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston. 1
In 1902, she married fellow actor and producer Edwin Mordant of Baltimore, Maryland. 7 They toured together with their own theater company, and appeared at the MacDonough Theatre, with Orral in a supporting role. 8
She appeared on stage in England, and there caught the eye of prince Ibrahim Hassan, who was the cousin of Abbas II, the last Khedive of Egypt (viceroy from the Ottoman Empire). They were married in England in 1911, but the marriage didn't last. She wanted a divorce, but Hassan died in 1918 while they were separated. Her legal troubles related to the marriage lasted for years. 1,9
Finally, in 1920, she married John Henry Broadwood, an English military officer. She was again widowed in 1936. She died in 1948, while living in a cheap apartment in NY surviving on assistance checks. 9
Orral in 1923 2
• Thomas Orral Humphrey was born April 3, 1878. Some sources say he was born in Louisville, Kentucky, 2 but most years of the census list Iowa. Wikipedia also gives 1880 as the year of his birth, but the 1880 census gives his age as 2 years old. In 1901, he married Carrie Adams (Humphrey). The entry for Orral on FindAGrave 6 lists 2 other marriages, Florence Chapman in 1903 and Josephine Edith Severy in 1911, but these haven't yet been verified.
After acting on the stage at Ye Liberty Playhouse and other local theaters, in 1915 he appeared in his first film, The Diamond from the Sky. He went on to appear in numerous films, and directed 7 short films.
In 1919, he married Lois Frances Born (Humphrey). Orral died in 1929, and is buried in the family plot.
Links and References
- Ola Humphrey on Wikipedia
- Orral Humphrey on Wikipedia
- At Last Comfortable Chairs Are Obtained Oakland Tribune November 15, 1892
- Business Man Passes Away Oakland Tribune February 4, 1902
- Pearl Ola Jane Humphrey on FindAGrave.com
- Thomas Orral Humphrey on FindAGrave.com
- Baltimore Actor Married Baltimore Sun February 18, 1902
- Fine Bills Prepared For the Summer Days Oakland Tribune July 4, 1903
- Bitter Brew of Cairo Philadelphia Inquirer August 10, 1947
- Born at Cairo, Ia., Reigned in Cairo, Egypt Des Moines Register June 11, 1922
