John Van Dyke’s second wife, Edna Van Dyke, better known as Edna de Lima, never lived in 632 W Market Street, known today as the MacDonell House. However, her story has been intermixed with the house for so long, there was no question of her being a part of this series. Her story is fascinating, as an Allen County native who became an internationally renowned opera singer. That journey, from local resident to famous opera star, will be the main focus of this article.
Before getting into Edna’s rise to fame, we should first mitigate some unsubstantiated rumors about her early life. Edna was at no point raised or financially supported by John and Emma, John’s first wife covered in last month’s article, while they lived in Lima.[1] Edna’s actual parents, Dr. Enos and Mrs. Emma Burton, lived until she was already a famous opera singer.[2] By all accounts the Burton family was very close and supportive of Edna’s career. We have no indication of when John and Edna met, including if it was when John lived in Lima. It has been long believed that they did not meet until she was living in New York between 1901-1907.[3] Likewise, they certainly did not start a relationship before that period because Emma, John’s first wife, did not pass away until 1901.[4] We do know that Edna was career driven, admirably persistent in her goals, and close to her family no matter where she lived.
Edna was born on July 15, 1878 or 1879, to Dr. Enos and Mrs. Emma Burton.[5] She was the eldest of four children; followed by Elma, Don, and her closest sister Helen.[6] She grew up in Westminster, Ohio, but it is not known if she was born there.[7] Music lessons for Edna started when she was around ten years old. Professor Thompson taught her both the piano and the organ.[8] It was said she was a master of both instruments by 1890 when she started playing the organ during services at the Methodist Church in.[9] The Burton family moved to Lima in 1894; Edna’s music lessons continued under the tutelage of Professor Hugh Owen.[10] She also began singing at the Market Street Presbyterian Church on Sundays.[11] As you might remember from last month’s article, Emma Van Dyke was a member of the Market Street Presbyterian church. Perhaps Emma and Edna, or even John and Edna, did meet then, but again, we have no record of this. This is all we know about Edna’s younger years, but it shows she had integrated music into her life from a young age.
Edna is by no means done with her education in music; she will spend over a decade continuing to study under many music teachers before breaking into the world of opera. In 1896, she began her time at Lima College in the music department,[12] taking her around two years to graduate with a degree in voice and piano.[13] Then there was a short time in her life where she was raising money to move to New York City, more than likely earning it by singing in churches. The exact date of when she moved to New York City is unknown; but it was probably between 1900 and 1904.[14] There, she also studied under music teachers—for a time with James Savage and then later Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Brown.[15] While in New York City, Edna continued to earn income by once again singing in churches.[16] Saving money for her future was not new to Edna, and this time her goal was Europe. In 1907, Edna moved to Paris and started her tutelage under Jean de Reszke.[17] Born in Poland to a musical family, Jean was a famous opera singer in the late 1800s and early 1900s all over the Western world.[18] Unfortunately, an illness stopped him from performing on stage in 1902; after that, Jean transitioned into teaching others to sing opera.[19] He taught many of the breakout opera singers of the time, including Dame Nellie Melba, who chose the last name Melba to reflect on her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.[20] This inspired Jean and Edna to choose Edna de Lima as her stage name.[21] Although it is believed Lima would have been pronounced more like Lima, Peru than the pronunciation of Edna’s own hometown of Lima, Ohio. Edna would spend the next two years under Jean de Reszke’s careful tutelage until 1909 when he decided she was fit to start auditioning in Europe. That’s where the next chapter of Edna’s life would begin—becoming an opera star instead of an opera student.
While Edna began auditioning in 1909, she did not get her break-out role until the following year. The story is that Mr. Harry Higgins, the head of the Royal Opera Covent Garden, heard Edna sing in 1909 but had no roles left for a soprano that year.[22] However, he told her to audition again the following year, and for the 1910-1913 summer seasons, she was contracted by the Royal Opera Covent Garden in London.[23] Edna’s debut was on June 23, 1910, in the opera La Boheme, playing the role of Musetta.[24] Well wishes via telegram were sent to her by John Van Dyke?, Jean de Reszke, and other friends from Lima.[25] The summer of 1910 was a chaotic one for Edna, she was in four different operas and fourteen different shows between June 23 and the end of August.[26] The following year she went back to the Royal Opera Covent Garden for the summer season.[27] She also added a winter season at the Vienna Imperial Opera in Munich—and for the rest of her life, Edna loved performing operas in German. After learning the German language and sing it in operas, she seemed completely enamored with it.[28] This is how life went for Edna for the next couple of years, during off seasons she would be sharpening her skills with Jean de Reszke in Paris, summers in London, and winters in Munich.[29] She would sign again for another three years at both opera houses after her original contracts ended.[30] The start of World War I put an early end to her time in Europe. Against her desires, but for her safety, Edna fled Germany in November of 1915 and traveled back to the United States.[31]
As it turned out, Edna’s time in the United States was earlier than she had imagined and quite different than what she had hoped. We do not know much about where or how she spent her first few months in the United States. However, by April of 1916, Edna had started with a new instructor, Madame Marcella Sembrich.[32] Just like Jean de Reszke, Madame Sembrich had been a star opera singer from the late 19th century to her retirement in 1909.[33] Even though she mostly sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, during her vast career she also performed all over the United States and Europe.[34] In October of 1916, Edna debuted in the United States at Aeolian Hall in New York; the critics were in no way harsh but thought she needed to hone her skill further to sing on a New York stage.[35] Edna practiced more with Madame Sembrich, and when she sang at the Aeolian again, the next January, there was acclaim instead of criticism.[36] She began traveling more at that point, singing both in Chicago and in Lima at the Elks Home that March.[37] During the summer, she spent time with Madame Sembrich again—this time in the Adirondacks.[38] In October of 1917, Edna signed with music managers Haesel and Jones, who were based in New York City, and they started planning an Eastern and Midwest tour for her in the United States.[39]Edna gave a big performance at Memorial Hall in Lima on November 8, 1917.[40] The Lima papers were abuzz about it for weeks before and after. Throughout her whole career, the people of Lima cheered her on, even if it was from afar. After the Memorial Hall performance, Edna traveled everywhere in the Midwest and Eastern regions of the United States giving performances until World War I ended. During this period, she was based in New York City and built an elaborate music studio for herself in her penthouse.[41] Her career grew steadily during this time, but her personal life experienced a series of upheavals.
In 1921 Edna finally made it back to Europe, performing the summer season in Italy that year.[42] In 1922, she was at the Royal Opera Covent Garden in London again for the summer and signed another three-year contract with them.[43] The next year, Edna traveled more around Europe giving opera performances in various Scandinavian Countries, France, and Belgium.[44] She would perform on two unique tours during her career. In 1926, Edna gave performances on a tour in South Africa.[45](This is not referring to the country we know today as South Africa, which became a sovereign state to the British Empire in 1934 and became an independent country in 1961.[46] This use of South Africa referred to the southern regions of the African continent.) Specifically, she went as far as the Zambezi River, highlighted in yellow on the map, which runs in, around, and between the modern-day countries of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, and Mozambique. These are all in the southern region of Africa, but not where the country of South Africa is today. It is also said on this trip that Edna went to see Victoria Falls, which is on the Zambezi River in modern-day Zimbabwe.[47] Then, in 1930, Edna toured Japan and some eastern cities of China., but we have far less information about this tour.[48] However, we know that in Japan, at least, she sang with the accompaniment of a Japanese Orchestra. Overall, it is believed that Edna was mostly retired by 1926, and her Asian tour was her last time performing.[49] There did not seem to be any specific reason why Edna retired at that time; she had no illnesses or any obvious decline in her career. Perhaps, at around 52 years old, Edna was ready to have a calmer life with less chaotic tours and no new operas to learn and perform. All in all, that was the end of her professional career.
Unfortunately, compared to Edna de Lima’s vocation, we know very little about her personal life, especially regarding her own thoughts. To illustrate this, we know nothing about when and where Edna and John met or when they started dating. The first time we have a record of them being together is their wedding day, August 3, 1908, in Paris.[50] At that time, Edna was thirty or thirty-one, and John was around sixty. They traveled back to Lima during the fall of 1908 to celebrate with Edna’s family. This journey is when they sailed on the Kronprinzessin Cecilie ocean liner.[51] We know nothing about the celebration with Edna’s family, or if they knew about the marriage before it happened. Helen, her closest sister, comment on the marriage, in 1968, was that Edna had no more money troubles after marrying John.[52] We know that Edna made her way back to Europe in 1909 and studied more with Jean de Rezke. Still, it is likely that John stayed in Philadelphia and continued his work in the oil industry. As mentioned earlier, John sent her two congratulatory telegrams for her debut in La Boheme during the summer of 1910.[53]
It is after the 1909 season that Elise Lanthrop, a journalist, did an exclusive on Edna and we get actual quotes from Edna.[54] Most of the article is about her opera roles; however, two interesting things about her marriage are mentioned. Edna states during the interview, “I do not want to go back to America to sing yet. Not until I can go as a really great singer, with some years of experience behind me.”[55] At this point in her life, Edna was career-focused and saw Europe as the place to grow her career, not the United States where her husband lived. The other piece of information is that Edna and John were planning a holiday in Switzerland later in 1910.[56] That was the last time Edna and John were definitively together, according to the records used for this article. Of course, Edna ended up in the United States at the start of WWI. Yet, there is only one time that she is known to be in Philadelphia where John lived, and that’s in 1917 at a Red Cross Charity Concert.[57] We have records of Edna being in Lima and New York often during those WWI years, but nothing of her and John being together at either place or anywhere else in the country. The next thing we know about the couple is that John filed for divorce on “the grounds of desertion” in 1919.[58] Cornell Law School describes divorce via desertion as “When one spouse breaks off marital cohabitation with the intent to remain apart permanently, without the consent and against the will of the other spouse.”[59] This reasoning seems a bit odd for the couple, since from the very beginning of their marriage they had been apart. It does not appear like there was a significant change in how their marriage was between 1908 and 1919. Although it is likely that John thought it would change at some point. Perhaps he believed Edna would finish her career after a few years, and then they would settle down in Philadelphia together. Unfortunately, for John, Edna’s time in the United States was focused on her career; thus, dashing John’s hope for them to live together. According to the 1910 article, Edna’s position was clear: she would keep doing opera in Europe until she was ready to return to the United States as an opera star. Then once she had ostensibly “made it” she would continue to perform in the United States. Overall, it seems likely that both Edna and John had different ideas on how their marriage would work, and when they could not come to a consensus, they divorced. The divorce was finalized on February 18, 1921, and neither Edna nor John would remarry.[60] Their marriage does not appear to be a grand romance; it is better described as two very driven people whose livelihoods could not coexist, and thus they separated.
Although Edna’s marriage was not close, her relationship with her family was. Throughout her whole childhood and adolescence, her parents supported her musical education. From all the information we have, it seems as if Edna was close to her family. However, one is mentioned far more often than the others—her youngest sister, Helen. In 1912, when Edna was at the Royal Opera Covent Garden for her second season, Helen was planning on getting married in June of that year.[61] Unfortunately, because of Edna’s opera schedule, they had to delay the wedding until July because Edna was the matron of honor.[62] When it was held, Edna was asked to sing at the reception.[63] Then during Edna’s 1915 to 1922 time in the United States, the newspapers make note of them being together a lot. In 1917, Edna held a concert at the Elks Home in Lima, accompanied by Helen’s husband, Frank Holms.[64] Frank would go on to be a well-known violinist with the Cleveland Symphony, so maybe Helen also held a love for music.[65] Edna brought Helen along for her summer in the Adirondacks when she studied with Madame Sembrich.[66] Until Edna moved back to Europe, she constantly made her way back to Lima to see her family.[67] The early 1920s were a very tumultuous time for the Burton family. In 1922, Edna’s only brother, Don, took his own life after struggling with PTSD from his time serving in WWI.[68] Edna was in Italy at the time but went back to Lima later that year to be with her family. Then, in 1924, the Burton patriarch, Dr. Enos, passed away.[69] Again, Edna was living in Europe, specifically Paris, at that time. Yet, she would go back to mourn with her family.[70] These tragedies only strengthened the connection between Edna and Helen. From that time on, there are mentions of either Edna or Helen visiting one another quite frequently. In 1951, twenty years after Edna retired from singing opera, they traveled around Europe together for three months.[71] From all that is known about Edna and Helen, they were close until the end of their lives.
Even though Edna retired from opera in 1930, she lived until 1968. Not only that, but she seems to have had quite a busy life . After her retirement, Edna appears in the Lima newspapers often, and they always seem to note where she was living at the time. Because of multiple overlapping locations during the same periods, we get the impression that Edna may have had multiple homes in different large cities worldwide. Namely, she’s often stated as residing in either New York City, London, or Paris. The dates seem to show that Edna mainly lived in New York during the early 1930s,[72] then primarily in London from 1934 to 1952,[73] and then New York again for a decade.[74] Although throughout these periods of time, she might have been holidaying in Lima or traveling all around Europe with Helen. However, those time spans seem to be where she spent most of the indicated dates. In 1962, Edna moved to Connecticut to be closer to friends and family, and this is all we know about her life until she died in 1968.[75] She would pass away in Mystic, Connecticut, at a nursing home with no expressly stated illness.[76] At that time, Edna would have been around the age of ninety, so we can infer old age as the cause. Helen would outlive her by a few years and go on to donate, along with her daughter Nadja Altstetter, many of Edna’s mementos to the Allen County Museum.[77] Edna chose to be cremated; her ashes were spread in a nature preserve in Sudbury, Massachusetts, which is just west of Boston.[78] From all of this, Edna can be seen as a truly driven, hardworking, family-oriented person, who achieved renowned and traveled extensively throughout her life.
Endnotes:
[1] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” The Allen County Reporter, Vol. LX, 2005, No. 1, The Allen County Historical Society, Lima, Ohio, 19.
[2] Lima News, “Dr. Enos G. Burton Dies at Home Here,” December 8, 1924, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1924_12_08_0001.
[3] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 20.
[4] The Allen County Republican-Gazette, “She is Silent,” November 29, 1904, accessed April 15, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/847540212:61843.
[5] Ibid., 11.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Lima Daily News, “Coming of Edna de Lima is Eagerly Anticipated,” November 4, 1917, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1917_11_04_0018.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 12.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid., 16.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid., 17.
[18] Unknown Author, “Jean de Reszke: Polish Singer,” Britannica, Accessed May 15, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-de-Reszke.
[19] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 17.
[20] Jim Davidson, “Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, Accessed May 15, 2024, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/melba-dame-nellie-7551
[21] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 18-19.
[22] Ibid., 24.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Included in Edna de Lima’s Scrapbook, held in the Allen County Museum Archives.
[26] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 24.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Funk, Addie, “American Debut at Vienna Hofoper,” Musical America, December 2, 1911, in Edna de Lima’s Scrapbook, held by the Allen County Museum Archive.
[29] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 32-33.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid., 33.
[32] The Times-Democrat, Lima, “Lima has Many Musical Students at Schools,” April 8, 1916, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8018/images/NEWS-OH-LI_TI_DE.1916_04_08_0010.
[33] Unknown Author, “Marcella Sembrich,” The Sembrich, Access May 16, 2024, https://www.thesembrich.org/sembrich
[34] Ibid.
[35] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 37.
[36] Ibid., 38.
[37] Lima Daily News, “Coming of Edna de Lima is Eagerly Anticipated,” November 4, 1917 & Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 39.
[38] Ibid., 40.
[39] Ibid., 40-1.
[40] Lima Daily News, “Former Lima Girl Will Appear Next Thursday Eve at Memorial Hall,” November 2, 1917, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1917_11_02_0008.
[41] Miss Christen, “Society Clubs and Fashionable Follies,” The Lima News, April 10, 1921, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1921_04_10_0018?treeid=&personid=&queryId=c5166815-5813-4e5b-88e3-2e5757ac3551&usePUB=true&pId=483010578&rcstate=NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1921_04_10_0018.
[42] Ibid.
[43] Lima News, “Edna de Lima,” September 23, 1923, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1923_09_23_0001 & Lima News, “Edna de Lima Sings in Paris,” March 23, 1924, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1924_03_23_0018..
[44] Lima News, “Edna de Lima,” September 23, 1923.
[45] Lima News, “Former Lima Woman Discussed Music in Europe and Orient,” September 2, 1934, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1934_09_02_0021.
[46] Unknown Author, “The Republic of South Africa,” President Clinton’s Trip to Africa, Accessed May 22, 2024, https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/Africa/south.html#:~:text=Independence%3A%20The%20Union%20of%20South,left%20theCommonwealth%20in%20October%201968.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 48.
[50] Ibid., 21.
[51] John later gifted a model of the boat to Edna, which is in the Allen County Museum collection.
[52] Hope Strong, “County Museum Gains Singer’s Scrapbook,” Lima News, October 13, 1968, accessed April 19, 2024. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1968_10_13_0035.
[53] Edna de Lima’s Scrapbook, held in the Allen County Museum Archives.
[54] Elise Lanthrop “Another American at Covent Garden,” (Unknown newspaper) ca. 1910-11, in Edna de Lima’s Scrapbook, held in the Allen County Museum Archive.
[55] Ibid.
[56] Ibid.
[57] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 41.
[58] Ibid., 46.
[59] Unknown Author, “Desertion,” Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, Accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/desertion.
[60] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 46
[61] The Lima Daily News “Society and Household,” July 7, 1912, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1912_07_07_0011.
[62] Ibid.
[63] Ibid.
[64] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 39.
[65] Ibid.
[66] Lima Daily News, “Club and Social Arrangements,” June 24, 1917, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1917_06_24_0016.
[67] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 43.
[68] Ibid., 46-7.
[69] Lima News, “Dr. Enos G. Burton Dies at Home Here,” December 8, 1924.
[70] Lima News, “Social Calendar,” October 13, 1925, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1925_10_13_0008.
[71] Lima News, “Personals,” July 8, 1951, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1951_07_08_0024.
[72] Lima News, “Delightful Luncheon Given in Shawnee Country Club,” September 15, 1930, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1930_09_15_0006.
[73] Lima News, “Former Lima Woman Discussed Music in Europe and Orient,” September 2, 1934, accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1934_09_02_0021 & Lima News, “Personals,” November 23, 1952, Accessed April 18, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1952_11_23_0026.
[74] Lima News, “Personals,” November 23, 1952, and Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 54.
[75] Patricia Smith, “John and Edna,” 54.
[76] Ibid.
[77 Ibid., 63.
[78] Ibid., 54.
Photo Credit:
American Colony (Jerusalem), Photo Department, “Map of Africa Showing the ‘Great Rift Valley’ cont’in of Jordan Valley,” [between 1934 and 1939], LC-DIG-matpc-00451, Accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2019691591/.
American Studio, “42nd St. East from 6th Ave.,” c. 1919, LC-DIG-ppmsca-15312, Accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007680474/.
Bain News Service, “Mme. M. Sembrich,” Unknown Date, LC-DIG-ggbain-08066, Accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014688057/.
Du Bois, W. E. B., [African American Man Giving Piano Lesson to Young African American Woman,], [1899-1900], LC-DIG-ppmsca-08779, Accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/99472455/.
Unknown Photographer, “Emma Jane Brown Burton and Dr. Enos George Burton,” Shared by Thoms Ellis, Ancestory.com, Accessed May 31, https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/76795691/person/32356212644/media/.
Unknown Photographer, “Jean de Reszke, Romeo,” 1891, Accessed May 17, 2024, http://www.cantabile-subito.de/Tenors/The_De_Reszke_Family/the_de_reszke_family.html/.
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