Merseyside Mirth Makers - John E. Owens

One of the earliest comics to originate from Liverpool would be John Edward (or Edmund) Owens who was born in Aigburth, Liverpool on the 2nd of April 1823 but left for the USA when he was 3 years old and began a stage career in Philadelphia at the age of 18 years.

His portrayal of  Solon Shingle

J.E. Owens

Owens was a popular comedian whose regular repertory included about fifty parts and who earned a fortune. His Solon Shingle in J.S.Jones' 'The Peoples Lawyer' (1864) was famous both in the United States and in England and among his other favourite characters were Dr. Pangloss, in George Coleman the Younger's, 'The Heir At Law', and as Caleb Plummer in stage adaptations of  the Charles Dickens novella, The Cricket on the Hearth. He played the old man, Elbert Rogers, in Esmeralda, in which he last appeared in New York. He was both a humorist and comedian and when describing the conduct of a bee in an empty molasses barrel, once threw a circle of his hearers almost into convulsions of laughter.

He died at his home, Aigburth Vale, near Towson, Maryland ten miles north of Baltimore, on the 7th of December 1886.

see next :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2018/05/merseyside-mirth-makers-robb-wilton.html?q=John+E+Owens