Article on Peter Richings, Caroline Richings, and Charley White

 Includes a drawing of White.
Peter Richings: Born in Kensington, London, May 19, 1797.  “On the 28th of August 1821 he sailed for America.”
Caroline Mary Richings: She was adopted by Peter Richings.  “This lady was born in England, and came to this country with her parents when quite a child.  Her first appearance before the public was as a pianist . . . November 20, 1847, at the first concert of the Philharmonic Society, at Music Fund Hall, Philadelphia. . . . Made her first appearance on the stage Feb. 9, 1852, in the opera of ‘The Child of the Regiment,’ at the Walnut-street Theatre, Philadelphia, which proved so successful that she resolved to remain on the stage and make it her profession. . . . First appeared in Italian opera, March 7, 1857, at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, as Adlagisa, in ‘Norma.’ . . . She possesses a clear soprano voice, of considerable compass, great flexibility, and extremely pleasing tone; the notes being clearly enunciated, and very musical, and producing very great power, while the neatness of execution, firmness in tone, and capability of sustentation of the higher notes, do infinite credit to her.  As a star, she is one of the brightest of which the American stage can boast.”
Charles White: Born in 1821.  Interesting list of performers (Cool White, Barney Williams, etc.) and the minstrel companies they belonged to in the 1840s onward.  “His first appearance in disguise (burnt cork) was as one of the principal members of the old ‘Kentucky Minstrels,’ at the Vauxhall Gardens, New York, in 1845. . . . Early in 1860, Mr. White was instrumental in the formation of a Minstrel Fund Association, formed for the purpose of aiding persons in the minstrel profession in need of relief, and to improve the condition of the poor and destitute performers, and to defray the funeral expenses of its members. . . . For a long time Mr. White has been one of the chief attractions at that very popular establishment, 444 Broadway.  As a performer, he ranks among the very first in his profession.  He is the author of a large number of negro sketches, all of which continue to hold the boards at the present writing.”