This query was forwarded to me; sorry, it came without an e-mail
address.


  I am interested in the early life of James Hewlett, the star actor of
"The
  African Theatre" in the early 1820s, and a travelling performer
through the
  mid 1830s, including performances in Brooklyn and perhaps elsewhere on
L. I.
  He was born in Nassau Co, probably in the 1790s, possibly 1780s, (if
he
  wasn't born in the West Indies). One of the few reviews he ever
received,
  and just about the only favorable review, was in the Brooklyn Eagle,
which
  is the source for the statement that he was born on L. I. The Brooklyn
  Historical Society once had a folder on him, which was stolen before
it
  could be microfilmed. I would like to publicize my interest among
people
  doing research in early 19th C Brooklyn & Long Island sources. Any
  information about his birth would be welcome. Was he born slave or
free? I
  despair at the thought of looking for a birth record. Any references
to his
  performances, 1825-1834. I am the pro-tem librarian for American
History at
  Bobst Library, NYU.

  GAT George A. Thompson Author of A Documentary History of "The African
  Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998.

Natalie Naylor
Prof Emerita, Hofstra Universityy