Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          20 Feb 1874 Pa.
Death:          1949 New York, N.Y.

Notes
info from Mary Gail (from Blodgett book)
married
1880 in Philadelphia, Pa.
1900 in Philadelphia, Pa. boarder, unm, editor
1910 in Manhattan, New York, N.Y. theater manager
1920 cannot find
1930 in Manhattan, New York, N.Y. drama author
also newspaper publisher, theater critic and writer
wrote "Pietro's Song" a comedy per NY Times archives article from 1916
from http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/findingaids/mc1998.02.pdf:
Archives and Special Collections Dickinson College Carlisle, PA COLLECTION 
REGISTER Name: Blodget, Arba (1879-1949) MC 1998.2 Material: Family Papers 
(1859-1919) Volume: 0.25 linear feet (1 Document Box) Donation: Gift of Samuel and 
Anna Moyerman, 1966 Usage: These materials have been donated without restrictions 
on usage. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Arba Blodget was a drama critic, playwright, 
producer, and manager. Born in Pennsylvania in 1879, he attended Penn Charter 
School and graduated from Lafayette College. Living in Philadelphia, Mr. Blodget was 
a drama critic for the Philadelphia Record. He would later work in New York City to 
produce and write several Broadway shows with the Trial Theatre Co., under the 
direction of prominent Broadway producer Henry Savage. In 1909 Arba married Laura 
Livingston. The Blodgets struggled in the early stages of their marriage due to Arba’s 
travels with his theater company. A series of letters from Mr. Blodget to his wife, 
although exceedingly affectionate, show the stress that their separation had caused. 
Laura maintained correspondence with her family as well, with letters from her mother, 
“Mama”, and her brother Max. Laura’s father, who at the time of the letters had passed 
away, was involved with the founding of the Standard Oil Co., and the Livingston 
family seemed to have enjoyed financial security as a result of Max, Sr.’s business 
association with John D. Rockefeller. There is reason to believe that the Livingston 
family is associated with the Spooner family, also featured in the collection. Charles H. 
Spooner married Laura Loomis, and the couple had a son, Charles Alfred Spooner, or 
“Fred.” There is little known about the Spooner family, except that they lived in the 
Philadelphia area at the same time the Blodgets were married. Also, Charles. H. 
Spooner seems to have been involved in the theater scene in Philadelphia as either a 
playwright or producer.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION This collection is composed primarily of letters to and 
from Arba and his wife, Laura (Livingston) and her immediate family. They address 
both personal and business interests and chiefly cover the decade from 1910 to 1919. 
A significant amount of the material, also in the form of personal and business letters, 
details the lives of Charles H. Spooner, his wife Laura (Loomis) Spooner, and their 
son, Charles Alfred Spooner. The Spooner materials date from 1859 to 1908. 
Correspondence comprises the first section of the collection, the letters largely being 
arranged alphabetically by its author’s last name. The second section of the 
collection, Miscellaneous Materials, includess a journal kept by Arba Blodget that 
begins in October 1910. This section also contains assorted newspaper clippings from 
Arba’s various theater productions. COLLECTION INVENTORY BOX 1 - MC 1998.2 
CORRESPONDENCE Folder 01) Blodget, Arba 50 Letters to Laura Blodget - 1910-
1916 Letter to John Valieant, Esq. - Nov. 24, 1911 Folder 02) Blodget, Laura 3 
Postcards received - 1914-1917 Folder 03) Caine, Derwent Hall Letter to Arba Blodget 
- Dec. 27, 1907 Letter to Laura Blodget - undated Folder 04) Creamer, A. E. 4 
Unidentified letters received - 1900 Folder 05) Livingston, “Mama” Letter to Arba 
Blodget - Feb. 3, 1913 9 Letters to Laura Blodget - 1911-1919 Folder 06) Livingston, 
Max, Jr. Letter to Laura Blodget - Jan 28, 1911 Letter to Laura Blodget - July 16, 1917 
Letter to Laura Blodget - May 14, 1919 Folder 07) Spooner, Charles Alfred Letter to 
Charles H. Spooner - March 25, 1892 Letter to his mother, Laura Spooner - Jan. 20, 
1883 Folder 08) Spooner, Charles Alfred 14 Business-related letters received - 1902-
1904 Folder 09) Spooner, Charles Alfred 6 Miscellaneous personal letters received - 
1901-1908 Folder 10) Spooner, Charles H. 11 Letters to Laura Loomis (Spooner) - 
1859-1873
BOX 1 - MC 1998.2 Folder 11) Spooner, Charles H. 4 Miscellaneous letters received - 
1885-1894 Folder 12) Spooner, Laura Letter to Dr. Luther Peters - April 17, 1893 
Letter received from Dr. Peters - April 14, 1893 Letter to Charles Alfred Spooner - 
Sept. 6, 1901 Letter to Charles Alfred Spooner - Sept. 8, 1901 Folder 13) Spooner, 
Laura 9 Letters from her friend, Emma - 1890 Folder 14) Spooner, Laura 2 
Miscellaneous business letters received - 1902 MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS Folder 
15) Blodget, Arba Journal sketches - October 1910 Folder 16) Blodget, Arba 
Miscellaneous theater clippings - 1916 This collection register was prepared by Adam 
J. Cohen, October 1998.
per NY Times article in its archives, he and his wife's sister's husband, John R. 
Cantlin, tried to create a NY newspaper, The Evening Bulletin. The plant was at 125th 
and Lenox. Went into receivership because of insufficient working capital to pay 
employees. published 2 June 1906

Parents
BLODGETT Lorin (25 May 1823 - 24 Mar 1901)
GIBBS Mary Elizabeth (23 Jan 1830 - 16 Mar 1888)

Siblings
BLODGETT Lorin Theodore (1 Jun 1857 - 7 Jun 1857)
BLODGETT Mary Sylvia (18 Sep 1858 - )
BLODGETT William Alexander (23 Jun 1860 - 9 May 1862)
BLODGETT Edward Augustus (20 Apr 1862 - 2 May 1862)
BLODGETT Virginia (29 May 1863 - Aug 1864)
BLODGETT Elizabeth Virginia (13 Feb 1865 - 1898)
BLODGETT Ida Lorini (12 Nov 1866 - )
BLODGETT Lorin (28 Jul 1868 - 17 May 1951)
BLODGETT Leila Helene (1 Feb 1871 - 5 Oct 1944)
BLODGETT Arba (20 Feb 1874 - 1949)

Marriage To LIVINGSTON Laura (1882 - )
    m. 1910 

Notes


Produced by Fzip 1.7 2/10/2021