William John Hammond

[1] As a youth he was apprenticed to a letter painter and decorator, but to the annoyance of his parents he turned his back on this career in favour of one on the stage, and left home at 19 to pursue it.

Between 1823 and 1826 he toured the York circuit and during this early period in his career he gained success as Bob Acres in The Rivals and as Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer.

Although he was only manager of the circuit for a short period he attracted well-known actors of the day to the theatres, including Edmund Kean, Charles Mathews, Frederick Henry Yates and Madame Vestris.

'[3][12] By December 1842 Hammond and his family had returned once again to Liverpool where he briefly held the lease for the Theatre Royal, while later that month his daughter Jane Matilda, who was attending school in Boulogne, died aged 13 and was buried there.

In July 1848 he made his New York début at Niblo's Garden Theatre at Astor Place where he sang from his repertoire of comic songs.

[14] William John Hammond died of dysentery at the residence of a Mrs Black on Broadway in New York on 23 August 1848 only five weeks after arriving in America.

[3] He received an obituary in The Illustrated London News which stated: This well known actor died recently in New York, leaving, we are sorry to say, his wife and family of seven children perfectly destitute.

Hammond's funeral service was held at St Mark's church in New York attended by various members of the acting profession and he was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

[14] His son Henry Holbrey Hammond became a mining engineer in Peru and on his father's death he took on the financial responsibility for his mother and younger siblings.