Whiffin, Blanche (1845–1936)
Whiffin, Blanche (1845–1936)
English-born actress . Name variations: Blanche Galton; Mrs. Thomas Whiffin. Born Blanche Galton in London, England, on March 12, 1845; died in Mont-vale, Virginia, of bronchial pneumonia at the home of her children on November 25, 1936; daughter of Joseph West Galton (a secretary in the London general post office) and Mary Ann (Pyne) Galton (an accomplished singer and piano teacher and sister of Louisa Pyne and Susan Pyne of the three well-known musical Pyne sisters); sister of Susan Galton ; attended boarding schools in Gravesend, Kent, and in London; married Thomas Whiffin (a musician and actor), on July 11, 1868 (died 1897); children: Mary BlancheWhiffin (died young); Thomas Whiffin (an actor turned farmer); Peggy Whiffin (an actress).
Blanche Whiffin, better known as Mrs. Thomas Whiffin, came to the United States in 1868 and was the original Buttercup in the American production of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. She joined the Lyceum Theater Company in New York in 1887, later played at the Empire, and became a great favorite with the public. She remained active into her 80s.