When this photo was taken
Bertha was about age 11-12 years old.
She was the youngest of six children,
with two brothers and three sisters,
so to get any attention she learned to make a big noise.
Which Bertha did very well because,
besides the cymbals and bass drum,
she had a talent to play
many other musical instruments too.
Yet even though she looks very young in this photo
she was already a seasoned entertainer.
As was everyone else
in her Noss family band,
one of the hardest-working families in show business.
On the left, seated at a reed organ with her feet barely able to touch the foot pedals for the instrument's bellows, is Charlotte Noss, or Lottie. She played piano and bass in the family orchestra, alto horn in their band, and was a vocalist too. Next to her was Ferdinand Noss, or Ferd. He played violin (primo) in the orchestra, cornet in the band, and sang tenor in the vocal numbers. Standing behind them was their father. Mr. Henry Noss, the musical director and cornetist in both the band and orchestra. He also sang bass in humorous songs and gave recitations in character sketches.
With his first wife, Mary Anna Noss, they had five children: Flora Jeanette Noss in 1865, Ferdinand P. Noss in 1866, Charlotte E. Noss in 1868, Frank W. Noss in 1870, and Mary "May" Noss in 1872. Sadly their mother Mary died in 1872, possibly at the birth of May.
Over the next few years the Noss family band increased the number of their performances, and the number of different concert venues beyond their home region in western Pennsylvania. By the summer of 1884 the Noss Family Concert Troupe, 7 in Number 7, were on stage at Hancock Hall in Ellsworth, Maine on the Atlantic coast, 800+ miles east of New Brighton. By this time "Baby" Bertha Noss, now age 7, had joined their program, playing triangle in the orchestra and bass drum in the band. She also played piano, organ, and sang solos, duets, and choruses.
Freehold NJ Monmouth Inquirer 25 March 1886 |
The delightful entertainment given in the Opera House, on Saturday evening, by the Noss family, certainly entitles them to more than passing notice. The family consists of seven musicians, a fine band and first-class orchestra, a peculiarity of which seems to be that each member of the family is master of any instrument that is placed in hand. The musical selections were very fine and artistically rendered. As vocalists we may have seen the equals and even the superiors of the elder members of the Noss family, but we do not say too much when we say that there never was placed before an Alliance audience a music entertainment with more variety or which gave the audience more genuine satisfaction than the Noss family.
The singing and acting of little May and "petite" Bertha, the latter only 8 years of age, was marvelous, considering their years. They are really prodigies in their line. The medley overture was a fine selection to test the qualities of the little artist Bertha. She manipulates a canary whistle, cuckoo, fires a pistol, rooster crows, and beats snare drum, bass drum, and cymbals at the same time, police whistle and rattle, castanets, bells, metalaphone, pop gun, imitation clog dance with mallets, imitation thunder on bass drum, eliciting a storm of applause from the large audience.
The Dutch characteristic duet "Charlie and Katrina," by Misses May and Bertha elicited rounds of applause and was decidedly the neatest little piece of acting we have seen for many a day. Mr. Noss' parody on Barbara Freitchie was also a winning card, showing Mr. Noss to be a comedian of superior merit. This was the second visit of the Noss family in Alliance and the appreciation of the public was shown in the large increase of their audience over that in attendance at their former visit. We have no doubt but if the Noss family will favor Alliance with another visit, they will be greeted with a much larger audience than ever before.
Reading the reviews and notices, it is clear that Henry Noss was a creative entrepreneur who knew how to please his audiences. In Indiana, PA the Noss family played to a full house in 1885 and returned again in 1886. Mr. Noss used reviews from previous shows in other towns to pump up the ticket sales. It was also at this time that he engaged an agent to book shows and arrange for advance publicity in the newspapers. Little Bertha was proving to be an attractive draw.
The back of this photo has a long presentation of the Noss Family Musical Novelty Co., Musical, Character and Sketch Entertainment, Brass Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Each member of the ensemble is described, from "Petite" Bertha to Mrs. H. Noss – stage manager. Two new instruments have been added: slide trombone, and clarionet (sic). Cabinet Photographs were available for purchase from Mr. Noss at 25 cents apiece, or $1.00 for a set of six. This suggests that five other different photos were produced at the same time as this group shot.
There are other family bands in my photo collection whose stories I've not yet told. Several were much larger ensembles than the Noss family of seven, and played just as many different instruments. In general the family bands/orchestras of this time only played arrangements of poplar music and nothing that resembled formal compositions from composers like Mozart or Beethoven. Since the performers were children, even if talented, the shows were designed around short pieces with no complex parts. Essentially family friendly fare.
Green Bay WS Press-Gazette 25 October 1889 |
In 1889, Mr. Noss took his family band on a breathtaking concert tour of the United States. Just using the newspapers that published notices of their shows in 1890 from January to December, the Noss Family appeared in at least 85 towns. Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana again, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri again for New Years Eve.
By 1892, the Noss Family Band had been performing for 10 years. Hundreds of concerts, maybe a couple of thousand if we count matinees. How the children got a proper education is not known. At least they had seen more our country than most Americans. How long could Mr. Noss sustain a band like this? Something had to give.
But the theater rule is that the show must always go on. So it was reported that a "New York lady" would replace Flora in the Noss family company.
The Mandolin Troubadours
The Fairy Bells
The Saxaphone (sic) Quintette
Harry B. Roche
The Musical Donkey
The Rooster Dance.
Fresno CA Morning Republican 18 November 1900 |
On the 1900 census records for New Brighton, Henry and Mary Noss are listed with all their children except Flora who was now married with children of her own. All the children were single and listed their occupation as Theatrical Performer.
But there was a new name, Helen L. Noss, a daughter born in 1889, age 11, ten years younger than Bertha. She was "at School", but surely this was "Baby Helen" listed in the Noss programs of 1895. In the next census of 1910, Helen was the only child left at home with Henry and Mary. She was then age 21, single and listed no occupation. Curiously, the census records asked women the number of their children and how many still lived. Mary Noss listed 2 children, but with only one living. These were the same numbers recorded in the 1900 census too, and the living child was surely Bertha Noss.
After looking at various family trees, not always an accurate source of family history, I believe Helen L. Noss may have been an adopted child of Henry and Mary Noss. She is not listed in the Noss family's cemetery where all the other children are buried. It's a mystery relationship that will have to remain unresolved until I learn more.
Over the next few years the family band evolved once again. Even though the Noss siblings pursued individual careers in theater, they still toured together on the vaudeville theater circuit as the Five Nosses. The Fresno, CA Morning Republican ran a clever vertical engraving of them promoting a concert. I believe Bertha Noss is at the top with Frank, May, Ferd, and Lottie Noss below her.
Detroit Free Press 08 June 1902 |
In June 1902, shortly after the Five Nosses played in Detroit, Bertha Noss married George Donn Russell, an attorney in New York City. Like her sister Flora, the wedding was in New Brighton. But unlike Flora, Bertha was soon back on stage, both as a saxophone soloist and an actress in musical comedy. Evidently her independent career still allowed her to schedule work with her brothers and sisters.
Buffalo NY Times 16 September 1906 |
In 1906 the Five Nosses were in Buffalo and the paper ran a vertical photo of the siblings that matches the engraving used in Fresno in 1900. There is one subtle difference though. Can you spot it?
The Nosses were playing in a "comic opera" entitled "Captain Careless". It had a very large cast and they were not the headliners only a supporting act. The operetta had 24 singing and speaking parts and the full ensemble with chorus numbered 80 people. The Nosses contributed the instrumental numbers.
Allentown PA Democrat 15 September 1908 |
In 1908, the Five Nosses became the Six Nosses. Lottie, Ferd, and Frank Noss remained from the original Noss family band, but the new members were not kin. As far as I can tell, Bertha and May may have continued to participate in some shows, but not Flora or Helen. The act was part of a typical vaudeville variety show with something for everyone. There was a short play called "The Dude Detective"; a pantomime hoop act; a character study from life, "The Little immigrant"; a double trapeze act; a singing comedian; an acrobatic comedian; a couple of Kinetograph silent films entitled "Purchasing and Automobile" and "Gypsy's Warning." The Six Nosses got headline billing with a musical act called "In Old Seville."
Bryan TX Eagle 20 January 1913 |
Dayton OH Daily News 27 July 1916 |
Salt Lake City Tribune 03 July 1918 |
In 1918 the Six Musical Nosses were at the Pantages theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah to celebrate July 4th. The newspaper ran a picture of them, four women and two men dressed in clown costumes, playing long fanfare trumpets.
The age of vaudeville was not totally finished yet, but the Great War of 1914-18 was changing the nature of theaters and music. The word "Jazz" started to appear in theater advertising, and many groups like the Nosses struggled to keep up with the change in musical fashions. Somehow they managed. The Six Nosses returned to Five Nosses in 1919, promoting an act with "Class, Ginger, and Jazz." They continued for another 5 years, returning to The Six Nosses in 1923, presumably with Ferd and Frank, and four women, some of whom might have been related to them. In their instrumental act, "Melodies of 1923, a Revue that is different", they played trombones, saxophones, and string instruments on popular tunes like "the Song of Love", "Roses of Picardy", "Marchita", and the jazzy "Your Lips Tell Me, No, No."
By 1925 all the members of the Noss Family Band seemed to have retired from the stage as their names were no longer in the newspapers. Their mother, Mary Noss, had died in 1911, at age 69. Their father, Henry Noss, passed away in 1925, age 87. Bertha Noss Lingwood died in 1941. Flora Noss Autenreith died in 1948. Frank W. Noss died in 1951. Mary Noss McDonald died in 1952. Charlotte E. Noss died in 1956. And "Ferd" - Ferdinand P. Noss died in 1965 at age 99.
The musical family of Henry Noss enjoyed an amazingly long career of nearly 45 years as entertainers during the golden age of American theater. Only someone with fine musicianship and real programing talent could have trained children to perform so consistently well. I can't help but imagine the constant sound emanating from their home as the Noss children practiced their many different musical instruments. But how he and his wife managed those long tours with 6 children and dozens of trunks filled with costume and instruments will have to be left to our imagination.
7 comments:
Wow. That is quite a story and quite the research. As you said, it is hard to imagine such a life with all of those children. And amazing to read how long they continued to perform. I caught the difference in the photo (with your helpful clue). I wonder if it was just easier to make the engraving that way. Thank you for the great story.
Thanks Mike...a great story about a family held together by musical performances. The majority of the members seemed to be satisfied with that life...which as you mentioned, must have had some unique challenges while they performed on the road for so many years. Not many families can say that!
Good music and humorous skits make for a well balanced performance and the Nosses seem to have done it all just right! What a family. :)
You have done a tremendous genealogical service to the descendants of the Noss family by tracing the family's details through census and newspaper research. Indeed, it must have been quite a challenge to travel with all those children -- but no doubt they pitched in to help with the suitcase packing, etc. And when did they have time for musical practice in addition to their many performances? Also, kudos to Bertha for not letting her husband make her leave the stage. Given her theatrical talent, and her ability to shoot a pistol, he never stood a chance of winning that argument.
Also enjoyed your post about the 1920 U.S. Presidential Election -- and was particularly moved by the story of Mrs. Halstead, who was able to vote for the first time at age 91.
Thank you for filling out my interest in our local music history here in Western Pennsylvania. I have pieced together a lot of what you expose here and am glad to share this blog on a local Beaver County basis. One interesting fact you may have missed is the group's contract with the Gibson Mandolin and Guitar Company located at that time in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Top of the line instruments for that period. Thank you again for your time and effort, have a great day!
Don't know if you can reach this link for photo.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4335039203206059&id=100001000672814
My Grandfather was married to Bertha Noss at one time but divorced her.
His name was George D. Russell.
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