Known for having shot President Lincoln in the head, John Wilkes is probably one of the most famous villains in US history. Born to Junius Brutus Booth and Mary Ann Holmes, his parents were renowned for their acting skills and toured the US playing Shakespear.
Junius was initially married to Adelaide Delannoy Booth, but she was granted a divorce in 1851 for adultery. Only a few months after the divorce, John’s father married his mistress Mary Ann Holmes. The two had several children and raised them in Bel Air, a county in Maryland.
John Wilkes had eleven siblings, some of whom decided to follow in their parent’s footsteps and pursue an acting career. If you would like to know more about this topic, keep reading. Below you will find a list of John Wilkes’ siblings ranked oldest to youngest.
12. Amelia Booth (October 5, 1815 – July 7, 1816)
Age at Time of Death: 9 months, 2 days
Amelia Booth was John Wilkes’s oldest sibling, born in 1815. She died when she was just nine months old.
11. Richard Junius Booth (June 21, 1819 – December 16, 1868)
Age at Time of Death: 49 years, 5 months, 25 days
Birthplace: London, England
Richard Junius Booth was born in June 1819 to Junius Brutus Booth and Marie Christine Adelaide. At the time of his birth, his father was 23 years old, while his mother was 29.
Unlike most of his siblings, Richard was born in London and lived in England his whole life.
Did You Know?
Richard died at 49 years old and was buried in Camden, London.
10. Junius Brutus Booth Jr. (December 22, 1821- September 17, 1883)
Age at Time of Death: 61 years, 8 months, 26 days
Birthplace: Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Profession: Actor
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Junius Brutus Booth Jr. was named after his father and was born in 1821. Throughout his life, he managed several theatres, including the Boston Theater, the Walnut Street Theater, The Booth’s Theater, and the Winter Garden Theater.
He also worked as an actor, and even though his brothers were way more famous, he was still widely praised for his performance as Cassius and King John in Julius Caesar, a tragedy by Shakespeare.
Junius married a total of three times. First, to Clementina De Bar, the sister of a comedian and theatre manager, secondly, to Harriet Mace, who died while giving birth to a baby daughter, and lastly, to Agnes Perry, an Australian-born actress. Junius’ last wife passed away only after her husband’s death. She gave him four children, but only two reached adulthood.
Did You Know?
After his brother assassinated Abraham Lincoln, Junius had to spend a short period of time in prison.
9. Rosalie Ann Booth (July 5, 1823 – January 15, 1889)
Age at Time of Death: 65 years, 6 months, 10 days
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Rosalie Ann Booth was born in 1823 and was one of John Wlikes’ sisters. Unfortunately, we do now know much about her life. However, according to historical records, she resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for some time during the 1860s. She lived a long life and died in January 1889 in Manhattan.
Did You Know?
Rosalie is now buried in Baltimore, Maryland.
8. Henry Byron Booth (1825 – December 28, 1836)
Age at Time of Death: 11 Years Old
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Henry Byron Booth was born in 1825 in Bel Air, Maryland, similar to most of his siblings. He died very young, at 11 years old. Henry is now buried in Clerkenwell, London, so he probably spent the last period of his life in England.
7. Mary Ann Booth (1827 – 1833)
Age at Time of Death: 6 Years old
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Mary Ann Booth was born in 1927 and died extremely young, at the age of six.
She is now buried in Baltimore, Maryland.
6. Frederick Booth (1830 – 1833)
Age at Time of Death: 3 Years Old
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Unfortunately, after the birth of Mary, John Wilkes’ parents kept having weak kids. In fact, Frederick Booth, born in 1830, survived only three years.
Did You Know?
Frederick is now buried in Baltimore, similarly to his sister Mary Ann.
5. Elizabeth Booth (1832-1833)
Age at Time of Death: 1 Year Old
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Elizabeth Booth was Mary and Brutus’ last child to die during childhood as she lived one year.
4. Edwin Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893)
Age at Time of Death: 59 years, 6 months, 25 days
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Profession: Actor
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Edwin Booth was born in 1833 in Bel Air, Maryland. He worked as an actor all his life, first performing next to his father. Edwin had his stage debut in Boston, playing the character of Tressel in Colley Cibber’s version of Richard III in 1849.
His dad died only three years later, and Edwin soon took his place in the performance playing the main character. After his father’s death, Edwin traveled to Hawaii and Australia. Throughout his career, he managed to tour the capital of Europe and most of the US.
After his brother’s assassination of President Lincoln, Edwin was forced to leave the theatre. Still, thankfully he managed to clear his name, returning to the stage to perform his iconic role in Hamlet.
Following his brother’s crime, Edwin wrote a letter to his sister Asia which read: “Think no more of him as your brother; he is dead to us now, as he soon must be to all the world, but imagine the boy you loved to be in that better part of his spirit, in another world.”
Did You Know?
Edwin was named after Edwin Forrest and Thomas Flynn, two of his father’s colleagues.
3. Asia Booth (November 19, 1835 – May 16, 1888)
Age at Time of Death: 52 years, 5 months, 27 days
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Profession: Poet and writer
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Asia Booth was born in 1835 and was John Wilkes’ youngest sister. Her father decided to call her Asia as he believed this was the continent where the Garden of Eden was originally located.
Similarly to most of her siblings, Asia was negatively affected by her brother’s crime. In fact, because of it, she had to emigrate to England with her family, where she lived the rest of her life.
Asia married John Sleeper Clarke at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore in 1859. The couple had eight children, two of which decided to pursue acting careers.
Asia was a poet and writer and produced books such as John Wilkes Booth: A Sister’s Memoir and Booth memorials: Passages, incidents, and anecdotes in the life of Junius Brutus Booth (the Elder) by His Daughter,
Did You Know?
Asia’s full name was Asia Frigga Booth.
2. John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865)
Age at Time of Death: 26 years, 11 months, 16 days
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Profession: Actor
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1838 and will always be remembered as Lincoln’s murderer. He was named after John Wilkes, a radical politician and distant relative of the Booth family.
Like most of his family members, he worked as an actor and was a Confederate sympathizer. He often criticized Lincoln for abolishing slavery, and he killed him despite his initial plan to kidnap the President.
John Wilkes murdered Lincoln by shooting a bullet in the back of his head.
Did You Know?
When John Wilkes attended Milton Boarding School, a fortune teller told him he was destined to live a grand but short life characterized by a bad ending.
1. Joseph Adrian Booth (February 6, 1840 – February 26, 1902)
Age at Time of Death: 62 years, 20 days
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Profession: Unknown
Joseph Adrian Booth was John Wilkes Booth’s youngest sibling, born in 1840. Unfortunately, not much information is available on him online, but despite this, we gathered some details about his life.
Born in Bel Air, Maryland, Joseph lived until 62. At the time of his birth, both his parents were relatively old for the time period. In fact, Joseph’s mom was 37 years old, while his father was 43!
According to historical records, Joseph lived in Philadelphia Monthly Meeting in Pennsylvania during the 1860s.
Did You Know?
Joseph Adrian died in 1902 and was buried in Baltimore, similar to many of his siblings.
