Jessie Bartlett Davis

Davis, Jessie Bartlett (1861–1905), singer and actress. Born on a farm near Morris, Illinois, the contralto studied voice in Chicago, where she made her debut in 1879 in H. M. S. Pinafore. Bartlett then spent several years with various opera companies before joining the new Boston Ideal Opera Company and remaining with this troupe for virtually its entire history. Her most famous role was the trouser part of Alan‐a‐Dale in Robin Hood (1891), in which she introduced “Oh, Promise Me.” She later was briefly popular in vaudeville and also appeared in several other Broadway musicals.