Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Conway, William A.

CONWAY, William A., actor, b. in London; drowned himself off Charleston bar in 1828. He was educated for the bar, but appeared on the stage at the Haymarket theatre, in London, terminated a three years' engagement in 1816, starred till 1821, and came to the United States in 1823. He appeared as Hamlet and other tragic parts in New York and Philadelphia, visited the western and southern cities, took passage early in 1828 for Savannah, and threw himself into the sea while on the voyage. He won the affections of Mrs. Piozzi, whose letters to him were published in 1843. As Coriolanus he was excelled by Kemble alone. — His son, Frederick B., actor, b. in Clifton, England, 10 Feb., 1819; d. in Manchester, Mass., 6 Sept., 1874. He early developed a taste for the stage, and had won a fair position in his profession in England, when he came to the United States in August, 1850. Here he formed an association with Edwin Forrest, and played Iago to his Othello, De Mauprat to his Richelieu, and other companion parts. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Conway married, in May, 1852, Miss Crocker, a leading actress, and the two thenceforward acted together. In 1859 they opened Pike's opera-house in Cincinnati with a first-class company, but the engagement was not profitable, and they returned to the east. In 1861 they visited England, and filled a short engagement at Sadler's Wells theatre, London. After their return they became star-actors, and made an extensive and profitable tour. Though somewhat pompous in manner, Mr. Conway was a good actor, with a fine personal appearance and a commanding delivery. — Sarah Crocker, wife of Frederick, b. in Ridgefield, Conn., in 1834; d. in Brooklyn, N. Y., in April, 1875, was a sister of Mrs. D. P. Bowers. (See Bowers). She made her début in Baltimore in 1849, playing Parthenia and other leading parts. She possessed a tall and graceful figure and an expressive countenance, and was a versatile actress and a popular manager. In 1864 she leased the Park theatre in Brooklyn, and subsequently the new Brooklyn theatre, in which for nine years Mr. Conway played leading parts.