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BIO: German-American Ringling Brothers Show - Baraboo, WI (1880s)

BIO: German-American Ringling Brothers Show - Baraboo, WI (1880s)

Posted: 13 Feb 2001 12:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 22 Jun 2001 5:38PM GMT
Surnames: Ringling, Rungeling, Robinson, Barnum, Bailey, Juliar, North, Sells, Forepaugh, Cody, Thompson
The five Ringling brothers took a little wagon show out of Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1884. Through their insistence on absolute honesty on the part of all their employees in dealing with the public, coupled with their intense desire to put back into the organization all of the profits, their circus developed rapidly. The Ringlings' adherence to honesty and fair play caused sneering showmen of the day to label their circus a "Sunday school show."

Seven boys and one girl were born to August Rungeling, a harness maker who changed his name to Ringling after he immigrated to America from Germany as a young man. (See below). While the children were growing up they lived for some years in the Mississipi River town of McGregor, Iowa. Here they developed a fascination for the tiny circuses that arrived ocasionally by steamer and, even as youngsters, often gave shows for the neighbors.

In 1882, Al, Otto, Alf T., Charles and John Ringling set forth with their first show, an amateurish affair which they called "The Ringling Brothers Classic and Comic Concern Company." Offering popular songs, dances and jokes and performing on various musical instruments, they quickly dropped the adjective "Classic" from the name when they learned the public had no desire to be uplifted.

In 1884, the Ringling brothers opened their first true circus under the guidance of the famous, but aging, showman, Yankee Robinson, whose name was joined to theirs in the show's title.

By 1890, they had prospered sufficiently to put their show on the rails. The year 1892 saw them traveling through a dozen states, with a total of 31 railroad cars and presenting their performances within a 170-foot round top. In a few short years, the Ringling circus had become a serious competitor of the mighty Barnum & Bailey. In 1897, James A. Bailey had taken the Barnum & Bailey show to Europe for a five-year tour of Great Britain and the Continent. This fascinating journey is well documented by the ledgers and press clipping books of the "Greatest Show on Earth," now preserved in the library of the Ringling Museum of the Circus, Sarasota, Florida.

On returning to America for the 1903 season, Bailey found the Ringlings had invaded the East and their prominence was at the point of eclipsing his own in the circus field. Bailey developed a plan to avoid future expensive billing wars between the two shows. In 1904, he arranged for the Ringling brothers to purchase half of the Forepaugh-Sells circus, thus making the Bailey and Ringling interests equal. Each now owned one large show, and together they shared equally in the ownership of the third. They entered into an agreement to route the three shows in such manner to avoid further territorial conflicts. The agreement covered a period of three seasons, to 1907, and might have become a permanent pact had it not been for the death of Bailey on April 11, 1905. The following year his estate sold all the Bailey circus properties to the Ringlings, with the exception of the ownership in the Buffalo Bill Wild West show. This placed the Ringlings in the supreme command of the sawdust world. The Barnum show, with Otto Ringling as manager, and the Ringling circus were operated separately for over a decade. Gus died in 1907 and Otto in 1911, followed by Henry in 1918. During WWI, railroad troop movements caused the circus trains to suffer costly delays. The terrible influenze epidemic forced both shows to close early in the fall of 1918. The government hinted that with the war in progress, the two major circuses could not be accomodated on the nation's railroads. So, the three surviving Ringlings, Alf T., Charles and John, who were loath to hire outsiders to fill key positions their brothers had held, made the great decision to combine the two circuses following the 1918 season.

The last performance ever given by the Barnum & Bailey circus was presented in Houston, TX, On October 8, 1918, and the "Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows" closed the same day at Waycross, GA. The Ringlings then abandoned their winter quarters at Baraboo, WI, and the two shows were shipped to the Barnum & Bailey headquarters at Bridgeport, CT. On March 29, 1919, the consolidated Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows opened at the old Madison Square Garden in New York at 26th St. and Madison Ave. The greatest circuses of all time were now merged into one colossal show, a climax to fifty fabulous years of American circus development. The new giant, dubbed the "big one" by circus troupers everywhere was an immediate and phenomenal success. Alf T. died before the end of the 1919 season, however, and Charles passed on in 1926. John alone remained, one of the most powerful men show business has ever known.

The monstrous tented city now traveled on 100 railroad cars loaded with costumes, props and trappings, 1,500 performers and employees, and a most comprehensive collection of of wild animals. So immense was the task of moving the big show from town to town and setting it up in time to give two shows daily, that the street parade was discontinued at the end of the 1920 season.

Briefly, John had already acquired vast interests in oil, mining, grazing lands in Texas, Oklahoma and Montana, homes in New York, New Jersey and Florida. He purchased some property along Sarasota Bay, formerly owned by Charles Thompson, once the manager of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and the Forepaugh-Sells circus, who had settled in Sarasota in 1895. Before his death, Charles Ringling had followed his brother to Sarasota and acquired a piece of land adjoining John's to the north. The Ringling brothers took an active interest in civic and social affairs, added to their holdings. John and Mable Ringling visited Europe in search of circus talent and added paintings by the old masters to his collection. In the fall of 1927, John transferred the circus winter quarters from Bridgeport to Sarasota. Between 1924 and 1926, John built an elaborate Venetian-style palace on Sarasota Bay and in 1928 began construction of a great museum to house his collection of works of art. His power and wealth was impressive by 1929. John was one of the principal organizers and builders of the present Madison Square Garden area in New York City, but by 1929, he had sold most of his stock in the corporation.

Few could have predicted the "crash" of 1929 and the subsequent depression throughout the country. Mable died the same year, John's second brief marriage failed and he had a stroke from which he never recovered. John's death came on December 2, 1936. Through the years the circus John helped found grew and prospered. The Ringling family regained control and ownership was divided among Charles Ringling's heirs and John Ringling North who, as the majority stockholder, served as president. North's mother, Ida, was the sister of the seven illustrious Ringling brothers. The show continued despite two wars, disasters, fires, strikes and labor problems that caused the show to abandon tents in 1956. The show was sold in the fall of 1967. The ornate wagons, costumes and other items of nostalgia from the circus that has charmed generations of American families is carefully and wonderfully preserved in the Ringling Bros. Museum of the Circus and John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.

The Ringling Family: John (1866-1936); mother, Marie Salome Juliar (1833-1907); father August (1826-1898); Ida (1874-1950); Henry (1868-1918); Albert C. "Al" (1852-1916; Alfred T. "Alf T." (1863-1919); August Jr. "Gus" (1854-1907); Charles E. (1864-1926); William H. O. "Otto" (1857-1911).
Posted: 18 Feb 2001 12:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 26 Jan 2003 8:16PM GMT
Surnames: cody, scholl
My husband franks grandmother mary scholl her married name, was the niece of buffalo bill cody. she told us all about the time the show appeared in suffolk cty ny and uncle bill got sauced and shot up her mothers new limed walls

filler/stuff

Posted: 27 May 2001 12:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 11 Feb 2002 4:59AM GMT
Surnames: JULIAR
My mother, Mabel Juliar, was the grandaughter of Nicholas Juliar, who housed the Ringling boys in Baraboo, Wisc. in the 1870's, and was named in honor of John's wife, Mabel Ringling. The Ringling Brothers' mother, Salome Juliar, was the daughter of Nicholas Juliar (Sr.) of Ostheim, Alsace, France, and Magdalena Etling of Milwaukee.

We have the Juliar family trees going back to Nicholas (Sr.) (1798-1882) and a letter from John Ringling North, but not much else.

Re: BIO: German-American Ringling Brothers Show - Baraboo, WI (1880s)

Posted: 15 Sep 2002 5:35PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 28 Dec 2004 9:19AM GMT
Dear Jean,
Many thanks for the very informative piece re the Ringling Bros, my grandfather went to America sometime between 1886 and 1926 and performed with them as the "Famous Flying Aeronauts Troupe" James "Washington" Durant was his stage name, it was lovely to read about the circus at that time.

Re: BIO: German-American Ringling Brothers Show - Baraboo, WI (1880s)

kitty (View posts)
Posted: 7 Jan 2003 8:26AM GMT
Classification: Query
jean
your info was great in the 1st paragraph you stated that five people went out with the show you wouldn't by any chance know who they were? My ggrandfather was supposed to have been one of the first clown as he lived next to the Ringlings at least that is what is in his obit when i called the circus they had no info on him but he was born in 1864 which would have been close to the oldest one anything you have i would appreciate also do you know what county Baraboo was in then?

thank you
kitty

Re: BIO: German-American Ringling Brothers Show - Baraboo, WI (1880s)

Jean Rice (View posts)
Posted: 7 Jan 2003 9:42AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Kitty - No I don't know any names but it looks like Baraboo is in Sauk, WI, although you should check because boundary lines sometimes change over the years. Looking in my circa late 1970s encyclopedia/map there is/was a Circus World Museum in the general vicinity. Have fun with your genealogy. Jean

Re: BIO: German-American Ringling Brothers Show - Baraboo, WI (1880s)

Posted: 27 Jan 2006 6:19PM GMT
Classification: Query
Some additional history on the Ringling brothers: In the late 1870's/early 1880's Al Ringlings came to Darlington, Lafayette, Wisconsin seeking employment at the local blacksmiths. He met Joe Parson, who founded the Parson Brothers Circus, and offered Mr. Ringling a job with him. Al signed a contract as a roustabout. This original contract is on display at the Circus World Museumin Baraboo, Wisconsin. abt 1886/88, while on a boat on the Mississippe River, outside of Memphis, Tenn, the boat caught fire. The story in the family is all that was left "was the ring in the buffalo's nose". (Inacurate to say the least). At that time the Ringling Brothers purchased what was left of the Parson Brother's Circus. (This consisted of a few actual pieces and handbills). Joe Parson, was also a high wire performer, bareback rider, and balanced a plow on his chin. He continued performing with what became Ringling Brother's Circus until felled by a heart attack while performing in Chicago in 1895. Also, following the sale of their family circus, Arthur Parson (youngest of the Parson Brothers) had the contract with Ringlings for the concessions. The brother's continued in this capacity until about 1906. I have much old circus memorabelia as well as pictures and history. Arthur was my grandfather.

Re: BIO: German-American Ringling Brothers Show - Baraboo, WI (1880s)

Posted: 7 May 2015 5:03PM GMT
Classification: Query
The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows, 1882 -1914, lists the personnel for the early years.

Ringling Bros. Classic and Comic Concert Company
Opened at Mazomanie, Wis., Monday, Nov. 27, 1882. Closed at Oregon, Wis., Saturday . Feb. 3, 1883.
AI. Ringling, Alf. T. Ringling, Chas. Ringling, E. M. Kimball, E. S. Weatherby, Fred Hart, Wm. Trinkhouse. M. A. Young, Agent. John Ringling joined at Sanborn, Iowa, Dec. 18, 1882.

Ringling Bros. Classic and Comic Concert Company
Opened at Baraboo, Wis., Monday, March 12, 1883. Closed at Viroqua, Wis., Friday, April 27, 1883.
AI. Ringling, Otto Ringling part of season, Alf. Ring­ ling, Chas. Ringling, John Ringling, E. M. Kimball, E. S. Weatherby, John Fay, Frank Putnam part of season. M. A. Young, Agent.

Yankee Robinson and Ringling Bros. Great Double Shows, Circus and Caravan
Opened at Baraboo, Wis., Monday, May 19, 1884.
Closed at Benton, Wis., Saturday, Sept. 27, 1884.
Wagon Show. Admission 25 cents. No Band Wagon. Band parade on foot. All people stopped at hotels.
Fayette Ludovic Robinson (died at Jefferson, Iowa, about Aug. 25, 1884, aged 66 years), Al. Ringling, Otto Ringling, Alf. Ringling, Chas. Ringling, John Ringling, Rich Dialo, F. Sparks, A. W. Fox, Sam Hardy, L. Dupont, E. Fralando, P. Putnam, C. Goll­ mar, Theo. Asmus, Jas. Frazier, Pete Baker, Geo. Hall, B. Hall, Steve Donahoe, Wm. Donahoe, Bob Mack, Agent. Louise Ringling.

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