Rosina Vokes

Vokes, Rosina (1854–94), actress. The daughter of a London costumer, she and her brother and sisters—Fred[erick Mortimer] (1846–88), Jessie (1851–84), and Victoria (1853–94)—came to America in 1871 along with Fawdon Vokes, who was not a member of the family and whose real name was Walter Fawdon (?–1904). They made their New York debut in 1872 in The Belles of the Kitchen, an early forerunner of modern musical comedy. During several visits between their debut and 1875, the Vokeses regaled playgoers with similar shows such as The Right Man in the Wrong Place and Fun in a Fog but always returned to their popular Belles of the Kitchen. From the first, Rosina had been considered “infinitely the cleverest, the most bewitching” of the group, so when she reappeared in America in 1885 with her own company, she was instantly welcome. One paper wrote, “She is still young, agile, slender, and graceful; the piquant prettiness of her face and the droll charm of her manner still exert a strong influence upon the susceptible spectator.” Until shortly before her early death she continued to tour in made‐to‐order vehicles with titles such as The Tinted Venus, My Milliner's Bill, My Uncle's Will, and A Lesson in Love.