Born in Tilbury, Ontario on October 21, 1862, Maggie was the daughter
of John Finlayson who ran a boarding house for sailors near the
Detroit River. She did the chores of a maid at the boarding house.
At the age of 10, she sold newspapers downtown Detroit and, at 16,
she was a maid at one of the Jefferson Avenue mansions. She moved
to New York at the urging of an older sister.
In New York, she adopted her mother’s maiden name, Mather,
and began to get bit parts in the theatre. She worked in a small
troupe that toured New York State. During the tour, she came to
the attention of J. M. Hill, a prominent theatrical manager. He
signed her to a five-year contract and she began a two-year rigorous
schedule of study and training. She made her debut at the McVickers
Theatre in Chicago on August 1, 1882 as Juliet. She was a great
success and was hailed as the new queen of the American stage. She
toured the country and opened in New York at the Union Square Theatre
to the acclaim of critics and audiences.
Margaret was twice married, first to Emil Havekorn, an orchestra
leader in New York. Her second marriage was to Gustave G. Pabst
of the Milwaukee Brewing family. Both marriages were of short duration.
After her association with Hill, she was managed by Detroit Theatrical
Manager, B. C. Whitney, who organized sumptuous productions and
tours. During a performance of Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline”
in Charleston, West Virginia on April 7, 1898, Margaret, playing
the role of Imogene, collapsed on stage during the Fourth Act. She
died the next day without regaining consciousness.
She was buried on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1898 from the Chapel
at Elmwood with a small number of immediate family and friends attending
the service inside the Chapel and hundreds of mourners and onlookers
outside. She was buried in one of the costumes she had worn during
her spectacular stage career.
Born: October 21,1862
Died: April 7, 1898
Buried: Lot 134, Section 3
