Louis Lawrence (Lefevre) Shean (1882 - 1973)

Ancestors

Cousin Lou was a plain-looking guy who wore thick glasses, but he could sing along with the best of them. — Arthur "Harpo" Marx (Harpo Speaks!)

Biography

Louis Lawrence Lefevre was born on the 9th September 1882, in Manhattan, New York, New York, the eldest child of Max Lefevré and Hänne Schönberg,^[1] A couple of years later a sister was born, and named Pauline. His Marx cousins claimed his date of birth was altered to cover for his mother having been seven months pregnant at the time of her marriage to Lefevre, but there is no documentation to verify that claim. (They likewise put about that his sister, Pauline, was illegitimate, and that was why she was "adopted" by the Marx parents. Again, there is nothing to verify that claim.)

When Louis was ten years old, his mother married Julius Schickler, who was a cousin on her mother's side.

Tagging along on the demi-fame of his uncle Adolph aka Albert Schönberg aka Al Shean, Louis also changed his name, deciding on "Lou Shean" and began a career in Vaudeville in 1898, although the work was not full-time. As a result, Lou was present at one of the great tragedies in American (theatre) history, as a member of the chorus in the large company of the Eddie Foy show, Mr. Bluebeard at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago on December 30, 1903, when a fire broke out at the overcrowded Wednesday matinee, and 602 people died in just twenty minutes.^[2]

On the 7th June 1900, the Schickler family was living at 1473 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan (four floors, three units per floor). Supposedly home at the time were Julius (35), head of the household, a tailor; his wife: Johanna (38), and Johanna's children from her first marriage (listed as Scheckler): Louis (18), noted as an assistant bookkeeper; and 16-year-old Pauline (who was also enumerated the following day at her aunt and uncle's home on East 93rd Street, as their 15-year-old daughter).^[3]

By early 1910 Lou was a member of Ed Gallagher’s touring company, doing a German dialect character in the famous Vaudeville sketch The Battle of Bay Rum; and beating his uncle, Al Shean, in teaming up with Gallagher by several months (so Lou was really Gallagher’s first Shean). Once that gig was done, his next job was with his cousin Leonard Marx; billed as Shean and Marx (it may have been better as the more alliterative "Leo and Lou", or "Lou and Leo"). Leonard and Lou presented their act as From Grand Opera to Ragtime. When he decided his performing days were over, Lou formed his own company to act as agent for those working Vaudeville. Named as Shean’s Vaudeville Agency, he booked small-time vaudeville acts for several theatres in the Midwest. By 1930, he had retired completely from anything show business, and had taken up a career in the paper business.

Based on the information given on the 1930 census, Lou and Jessie Belle Hancock née Mann were married around 1913..

On the 9th April 1930, Lou, listed as a salesman in the paper box industry, and his wife were living at 8278 165th Street, Jamaica Township, Queens, a home he owned.^[4]

In 1942, when signing up for the draft, Lou described himself as – Height: 5-6; Weight: 172; Complexion: Dark; Eyes: Brown; Hair: Bald; Identifying physical characteristics: wears glasses. He gave his personal details as – Name: Lou Lawrence Shean; Address: 1960 Commonwealth Ave, Brighton, Suffolk, Mass; Age: 59; Date of Birth: Sept 9 1882; Place of Birth: New York city NY; Occupation: Traveling Salesman, New England Territory; Employer: Menasha Products Co, Menasha, Wisconsin; Next of Kin: Jessie B Shean; Address of Next of Kin: 1960 Commonwealth Ave, Brighton, Suffolk, Mass.^[5]

Lou Shean né Louis Lawrence Lefevre, also Shickler, passed away on the 31st December 1973,^[6] in a convalescent home, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, aged 90 years.^[7]

Lou was interred at Knollwood Memorial Park, Canton, Massachusetts, where his wife would later be laid to rest beside him.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth — "New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:271T-VHK : 11 February 2018), Lefevre, 09 Sep 1882; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 347465 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,322,174.
2. ↑ Smithsonian Magazine: The Iroquois Theater Disaster Killed Hundreds and Changed Fire Safety Forever
3. ↑ Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Year: 1900; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 0882; FHL microfilm: 1241120
4. ↑ Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Year: 1930; Census Place: Queens, Queens, New York; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 1150; FHL microfilm: 2341332
5. ↑ United States, World War II Draft Cards : Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, Record Group Number 147. National Archives and Records Administration; The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) for the State of Massachusetts; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Series Number: M2090. Name: Lou Lawrence Shean; Gender: Male; Race: White; Birth Date: 9 Sep 1882; Birth Place: New York City, New York, USA; Residence Place: Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; Military Draft Date: 1942; Relationship to Draftee: Head
6. ↑ Death — Social Security Administration . Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration. Name: Lou Shean; Social Security Number: - - - ; Birth Date: 9 Sep 1882; Issue Year: Before 1951; Issue State: Wisconsin; Last Residence: 02108, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; Death Date: Jan 1973
7. ↑ Obit — "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPB4-9QVC : 18 July 2020), Lou L Shean, 1973.
8. ↑ Burial — Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/131293794/louis-lawrence-shean : accessed 9 June 2021), memorial page for Louis Lawrence "Lou" Shean (9 Sep 1882–31 Jan 1973), Find A Grave: Memorial #131293794, citing Knollwood Memorial Park, Canton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Mom (contributor 48202874).

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