1. Jean Haskell Hosmer was an American actress and tragedienne who reached the zenith of her career directly following the American Civil War, and is associated through her career with actor and Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth along his brother Edwin Booth.
Jean Hosmer attended the Genesee and Wyoming Seminary in Alexander, New York, for a short time but remained committed to having a career on the stage.
Jean Hosmer's parents, influenced by her father's failings in business, eventually gave their consent so long as she performed under a stage name.
Under the stage name "Miss Jennie Stanley," Jean Hosmer began her career in Buffalo doing ballet at the age of 15.
In 1860, while a leading actress, the young Jean Hosmer was noticed by McVicker's Theater in Chicago and was recruited by the playhouse for its company.
Jean Hosmer performed with the company there under the name "Miss Jean Stanley" for two years supporting the Booth brothers.
The death of one of her sisters in that same year prompted Jean Hosmer to take a break from acting, but after two years reappeared for her starring tour.
Jean Hosmer came among us unheralded and unpuffed; content, it would seem, to rely on her own intrinsic merits, and stand or fall by the freely-expressed opinion of her auditors and the critical acumen of the press.
At McVicker's, Jean Hosmer appeared in supporting roles to John Wilkes Booth and his brother Edwin.
Jean Hosmer better represented the genius of his father, the first Junius Brutus Booth, and he played with such fire and vigor that he made us in his company actually fear him.