On the Other Thomas Jefferson

Today’s post concerns not the esteemed President, but the son of the famous actor Joseph Jefferson, who went on to distinction in his own right, even if he did have a confusing name. This Thomas Jefferson (1856-1932) wasn’t even named after the President. His full name was Thomas Lockyer Jefferson, and he was named after his maternal grandfather, Thomas Lockyer (1805-1891), at whose hotel in the Poconos, the Paradise Inn, Joe Jefferson read Washington Irving’s memoirs and decided to play Rip Van Winkle on stage. Lockyer’s daughter was Jeffersons first wife, Margaret Clements Lockyer (1832-1861), a popular actress herself in her day. And Lockyer’s wife was one Eliza Stewart (1807-1876). It’s all rather maddening to me, for I’m a Stewart with Clements and Lockyers in my family tree, though when and how and if I’m connected to any of these people is farther back than I’ve been able to pinpoint.

At any rate, Tom Jefferson obviously was bred for the family business. Like his father before him, he played Rip Van Winkle on stage for years, including a 1905 Broadway run, and in silent movies in 1914 and 1921. He met his wife Daisy Robinson in one of these productions and she was in many of his stage and screen vehicles thereafter. Jefferson also toured nationally with the play Lightnin’, also associated with such actors as Frank Bacon, Fred Stone, and Will Rogers.

Jefferson appeared in nearly 90 films between 1913 and his death. Some of the other included The Grim Game (1919) with Harry Houdini, Sis Hopkins (1919) with Mabel Normand,Adventures of Tarzan (1921) with Elmo Lincoln,A Tailor Made Man (1922) with Charles Ray, Murnau’s Sunrise (1927), the Will Rogers version of Lightnin’ (1930), and a 1931 version of Ten Nights in a Bar-Room. Most of his screen roles were small supporting parts.

For more on early silent film history please see Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube