Timeline and Newspaper Clippings –Carrolls & Maginley Circus

For a timeline of Benjamin Rush Maginley’s circus and stage career, please click here…

1830               William Barney Carroll joins a small show at age 12, apprenticing to George Sweet (W. B. Carroll Olympians of the Sawdust)
1831                   William Barney Carroll with Yeoman’s
1835                   William Barney Carroll with French, Hobby & Co. (W. B. Carroll Olympians of the Sawdust)
1836                   William Barney Carroll performs with Palmer’s Circus, (W. B. Carroll Olympians of the Sawdust)
1837 – 1838     William Barney Carroll– Winter Season with Waring and Raymond, New Orleans. (W. B. Carroll Olympians of the Sawdust)

1840                 William Barney Carroll –Ludlow & Smith,   American Theatre,   New Orleans. (W. B. Carroll Olympians of the Sawdust)
1842                   William Barney Carroll –Howe’s    (W. B. Carroll Olympians of the Sawdust)
1843                   William Barney Carroll, Equestrian manager, Rockwell & Stone
1843                 William Barney Carroll, Rider, (John Tryon’s, Bowery Amphitheater, NY
1842-1844       William Barney Carroll performs with James Raymond’s Circus (W. B. Carroll Olympians of the Sawdust)
1843-44            Equestrienne debut of Mary Ann Sprague at James Raymond’s Olympic Circus William Barney Biography by Stuart Thayer
1844              William Barney Carroll creates a sensation by riding bareback and carrying a boy on his head, supposedly the first time the feat had been done.
1844- 1846     William Barney Carroll, Dr. Gilbert R. Spalding’s
1845                  Mary Ann Sprague with Dr. Gilbert R. Spalding’s Circus
1846                  William Barney Carroll, Rider, (John Tryon’s,   Bowery Amphitheater, NY
1846                  William Barney Carroll,   Sands, Lent & Co.
1847                  William Barney Carroll, Howes & Co.
1848                  Mary Ann Carroll and Barney Carroll in Equestrian and Zoological Circus and Menagerie   “Rise of the American Circus”, Kotar Gessler

1850-1851      William Barney Carroll,   Sands, Lent & Co.
1853 06 15     Washington Circus “History of NY Stage” p21 William Barney Carroll, Mrs Carroll and Miss Carroll (now Mrs. Ben Maginley)
1855 11 07     Carroll Family & Bailey Circus Contract (transcript from Rhoda-Glenn Collins)
1859                  Mary Ann Sprague and Barney Carroll with Davis & Crosby
1859 05 28     NY Clipper Madame-Carroll, Mdlle Marie and W.B. Carroll

1859 08 Marie Elize, Mary Carroll, Elopes with John J. Brand, at age 15

1861 01 Civil War begins when the south secedes.

1861 08 25     The Daily Milwaukee News Sunday
1862 Fall Season Barney Carroll with Nixon’s, Washington, DC.
1863 08 11       Key Pages here* from “Enroute to The Great Eastern Circus” by William Slout
1863 Fall Season    William Barney Carroll   James M. Nixon’s Alhambra, NYC
1863                    William Barney Carroll   with Madame Macarte’s European Circus (James M. Nixon, proprietor)
1863                    William Barney Carroll   Equestrian director,   Maginley & VanVleck
1864                    Madame Carroll (Mary Ann Sprague) and William Barney Carroll with Old Cary’s, traveling up and down the Mississippi River area by boat and railroad
1864                     William Barney Carroll with Maginley & Bell

1864 06 04         Mary Ann Sprague marries to Benjamin Rush Maginley
1864 05 19         Bryan’s Hall Robinson and Howe’s Circus Chicago
1864 05 19         p 3 Centralia Sentinel
1865-66              William Barney Carroll George W. DeHaven’s, operated by Andrew Haight
1865-66              Winter Season Barney Carroll Thayer & Noyes
1866             William Barney Carroll Haight & Chambers
1866 05 25 Alton Weekly Telegraph Friday

1867-68              William Barney Carroll Teamed with Ben Maginley in a circus venture, Maginley, Carroll & Co.
1867                    Book of Songs issued of favorite songs “A Collection of Favorite Songs as Sung By Ben Maginley, the Clown and Jester of Great Consolidation”. (See also 1870)
1867          Circusnews.com-Circus_Songsters
1867                    Circus Songster located in San Antonio TX
1867                    Benjamin Maginley Song Book at Brown University
1867                    A collection of Songs as sung by Ben Maginley circusnews.com-Circus_Songster
1867 03 23    Semi-Weekly Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI) Maginley, Carroll & Co.
1867 05 08       Sparta Eagle (WI) Great Consolidation Circus!
1867 06 13       Cedar Valley Times Marie Carroll & Ben Maginley
1867 06 22 Maginley Carroll & Co. at Clinton (Indiana?) newspaper advertisement is from “Circus World”
1867 07 31      Daily OHIO Statesman Columbus, Ohio Maginley and Carroll Circus Announcement
1867 10 09      Ben Maginley in Brownsville
1867 10 10 Maginley and Carroll
1867 10 10      Nashville Union Nashville TN Maginley Carroll Circus Advert
1867 10 18    Nashville Union & Dispatch Nashville TN Maginley Carroll Circus Advert Ben Maginley, Manager
1867 10 29   Public Ledger Memphis TN Maginley and Carroll Circus
1867 Madame Carroll with “Maginley, Carroll & Co.” –during the latter year, was thrown from her horse and injured to the extent that her career was considered finished.
1867-1868 Maginley teamed with father-in-law Barney Carroll– “Maginley, Carroll & Co.”

1868 Maginley Leaves Circus Business for the stage (but it didn’t stick)

1869                        Barney Carroll Equestrian director, George W. DeHaven’s
1869                        Fall Season Barney Carroll Mike Lipman’s
1869                       Ben Maginley is Ringmaster “Bailey’s Circus”, gave up stage after 1 season
1869-70                 Winter Season Barney Carroll H. W. Smith’s

1870                      Ben Maginley is Equestrian Manager/Director George F. Bailey’s Circus commenced in Danbury, CT – Bailey & Co.
1870                       Barney Carroll Equestrian director, James W. Robinson’s
1870                       Published by Turkey Bros Printers New York: 1870 Ben Maginley’s Songster (An original located at Brown University) possibly aka “Another songster, entitled “A Collection of Favorite Songs as Sung by Ben Maginley, the clown and jester of the Great Consolidation,” also contained advertisements of a score of patent medicine companies, and was 64 pages in size, with words of 40 to 60 songs included.

1871-1872 (Winter) Barney Carroll Haight & Co.

1872 01 28             Haight & Co’s   Columbia, S. C. The Daily Phoenix                       “The Great Carroll Family”
1872 02 02             Haight & Co’s    Unionville, S. C. The Daily Phoenix
1872 02 03             Haight & Co’s    Spartanburg, S. C. The Daily Phoenix
1872 02 05 Haight & Co’s    Greenville, S. C. The Daily Phoenix
1872 02 06             Haight & Co’s    Anderson, S. C. The Daily Phoenix
1872 02 07             Haight & Co’s    Newberry, S. C. The Daily Phoenix
1872 02 08 Haight & Co’s    Camden, S. C.    The Daily Phoenix
1872 02 09            Haight & Co’s    Orangeburg, S. C. The Daily Phoenix

1873                       Ben Maginley is Manager, “Great Eastern Circus”
1873 10 18          NY Clipper Great Western Circus under Manager Ben Maginley
1873 11 08         NY Clipper Great Western Circus at Foot of Houston Street in New York City, Ben Maginley manager
1873 12 13      NY Clipper Maginley & Co.’s Circus, Menagerie, Museum and Trained Animal Show- name of new venture for the 1874 Season

1873-1874 Barney Carroll Rider, Haight’s Great Eastern

1874    “Maginley & Co. with John O’Brien and G.R. Spalding, “Maginley Circus and Managerie” often the clown “Maginley and Carroll’s Circus” and “Maginley Royal Circus”
1874 01 17           NY Clipper Ben Maginley & Co.’s
1874                       Barney Carroll Establishes a circus performing school on his farm in Westchester, NY enrolling pupils during the winter seasons, specializing in training bareback riders.
1874 01                Mary Carroll gives birth to a daughter– Viola Alberta Maginley
1874 01 31         Ben Maginley & Co.’s Circus, Museum, Menagerie and Trained Animals is the be the title of the show owned by Ben Maginley, Dr. Spaulding and John O’Brien, which will be put on the road during the tenting season of 1874
1874 02 28            NY Clipper Prince Sadi d’Jalma, the “Man of Mystery,” is engaged for the coming season with Ben Maginley & Co.’s circus and menagerie.
1874 04 04            NY Clipper- Maginley & Co. have purchased, during the past week, a golden leopard, a tapir, and a collection of monkeys, birds….
1874 04 18            NY Clipper Maginley & Co.’s Circus, Museum, Menagerie and Trained Animals
1874 03 14          Mary Carroll and Ben Maginley’s Viola Alberta Maginley dies in infancy at 2 months old
1874 06 10            Newport Daily News Maginley & Co.’s Circus, Museum, Menagerie and Trained Animals
1874 06 13           NY Clipper Ben Maginley & Co.’s Circus in Boston

1874 06 16            Boston Post Maginley & Co.’s Museum, Circus, Menagerie and Trained Animals
1874 08 18           Ben Maginley’s wife, Equestrienne M’lle Mary Carroll Maginley, dies at 29 in Westchester, NY (1844-1874)
1874 11 07          NY Clipper Ben Maginley & Co.’s Circus Closed for Season
1874                      Benjamin Maginley in “Circus History”
1874                      NY Clipper Exerpts

1875 William Barney Carroll Equestrian director, Cameron’s

1875 08 14 Melville Maginley & Cook Rockland County Journal
1875 08 21 Melville Maginley & Cook Rockland County Journal Advert
1875 08 21    Melville Maginley & Cook Rockland County Journal Article
1875 08 21       Melville Maginley & Cook Rockland County Journal
1875 08 21       Melville Maginley & Cook Rockland County Journal Article
1875 08 21    Melville Maginley & Cook Rockland County Journal Advert
1875 08 14       Melville Maginley & Cook Rockland County Journal
1875                   “Melville, Maginley & Cooke’s Continental Circus and Thespian Company”. Co-Proprietor and manager with John O’Brien and Dr. Gilbert R. Spalding.
1875 01 16       NY Clipper- Benjamin Maginley withdraws from the Circus and Menagerie which bore his name last season p. 335

1876                   William Barney Carroll VanAmburgh’s
1876 02 05    NY Clipper Ben Maginley’s circus property for sale
1876 07 16      Brunswick newspaper circus: The Carroll Family
1876                   Barnum’s Circus –Equestrian Director, Ben Maginley
1876                   “Howes’ Great London” — Equestrian Director, Ben Maginley
1876    Benjamin Maginley Circus Advisor to “Bailey Circus” promoter, Circus Owner
1876                  “Maginley and Co. Circus”

1877 William Barney Carroll John H. Murray’s
1877 07 11 Rockland County Journal- The Peerless Equestrienne Annie Carroll

1879                     William Barney Carroll   Adam Forepaugh’s
1879 04 08        Marion Star Ohio “What Became of Circus Men?” Page 1
1879 04 10         Elyria Republican Ohio “What Became of Circus Men?”    Page 5

1882 William Barney Carroll VanAmburgh’s

1883 PT Barnum’s Annie Carroll performs

1884 03 Annie Carroll

1887 10 08 Saturday, Sherman Daily Register (Sherman, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 273, Ed. 1 Saturday, October 8, 1887, Sequence: 5 | Annie Carroll

1888 03 16         NY Times PT Barnum’s Show Attended by Delighted Crowds (Annie Carroll)
1888                     Barney Carroll Equestrian director, Frank A. Robbins’
1888 06 03      Benjamin Maginley dies of heart trouble Westchester, Bronx NY, at home of his granddaughter and her husband, Frank and Josephine Maginley Buckel. Buried in family plot at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Westchester Sq. Bronx, NY.
1888 06 02       Brooklyn Daily Eagle Death Notice Maginley Page 6
1888 06 03       Benjamin Maginley NY Times obit
1888 06 03       Death Benj. R. Maginley Freemason Manhattan No. 184
1888 06 04       Benjamin Maginley Death
1888 06 04       New York Times Benjamin Rush Maginley Obituary Page 2
1888 06 04       NY Times Benjamin Maginley’s Professional Vicissitudes
1888 06 04      NY Times Benjamin Maginley Clip Page
1888 06 04      NY Times Benjamin Maginley Clip Page 2
1888 06 06      Benjamin Maginley funeral
1888 06 10      Benjamin Maginley Death Notice Daily Alta

1889             William Barney Carroll last appearance, ringmaster, at a circus Fourth Avenue and 14th Street, NYC.
1889 07 14      William Barney Carroll dies in Van Ness, Westchester, NY at the age of 74. He began apprenticing at age 12, so his career lasted 62 years.
1889 07 21      Galveston Daily News Barney Carroll Obituary Page 9

1892 04 19       Annie Carroll Divorce NY Times
1892 04 19       Annie Carroll Divorce NY Times
1892 04 20       Annie Carroll “divorce from her clown” The Evening World NY NY EXtra 2 O’clock
1892 04 20       William Barney Carroll
1892 04 23       The Pittsburgh Press apr 23, 1892
1892 04 23       The Pittsburgh Press apr 23, 1892

1919 04 15 Bronx Women The Evening World

1920 01 02 Variety 1920 – 0229 Annie Carroll Destitute