Backus Family History
Ebenezer Young Backus
1851 - 1914 (63 years)-
Name Ebenezer Young Backus Nickname Eben Birth 5 Aug 1851 Danielson, Windham, Connecticut 
Gender Male Occupation Actor and Stage Manager Death 12 Nov 1914 Westport, Fairfield, Connecticut Burial 15 Nov 1914 Westfield Cemetery, Danielson, Windham, Connecticut 
Siblings8 siblings Person ID I24298 Backus Genealogy | Backus Family Last Modified 12 Nov 2020
Father Judge Thomas Backus, Jr., b. 9 Mar 1800, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut d. 9 Dec 1858, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut (Age 58 years) Mother Sarah Anna Young, b. 18 Jan 1811, Windham, Windham, Connecticut d. 13 Mar 1896, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut (Age 85 years) Marriage Abt 1829 Age at Marriage He : ~ 28 years and 9 months old - She : ~ 17 years and 11 months old. (Were Married ~ 30 years). Family ID F10758 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Spouse / Partner Lillian Annie Thurgate, b. 19 Jul 1872, Hackney, Greater London, England d. 18 Aug 1960, Katonah, Westchester, New York (Age 88 years) Marriage 15 Sep 1892 London, Middlesex, England Age at Marriage He : 41 years and 1 month old - She : 20 years and 2 months old. (Were Married 22 years and 2 months). Family ID F19136 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 12 Nov 2020
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Event Map 
Birth - 5 Aug 1851 - Danielson, Windham, Connecticut 
Marriage - 15 Sep 1892 - London, Middlesex, England 
Death - 12 Nov 1914 - Westport, Fairfield, Connecticut 
Burial - 15 Nov 1914 - Westfield Cemetery, Danielson, Windham, Connecticut = Link to Google Earth Pin Legend< 
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
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Photos Eben Young Backus
Indexes 
Connecticut, Hale Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934
Source Citation: The Charles R. Hale Collection. Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions. Hartford, Connecticut: Connecticut State Library.
Obituaries 
Obituary
The Norwich Bulletin, Norwich, Connecticut - Sat 14 Nov 1914
Headstones 
Eben Young - Lillian Annie Thurgate Backus
Find A Grave: Ebenezer
Find A Grave: Lillian
Plot: Old Westfield
1860 US Census 
1860 US Census
Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Killingly, Windham, Connecticut; Roll: M653_92; Page: 585; Image: 594; Family History Library Film: 803092.
1870 US Census 1870 US Census
Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Killingly, Windham, Connecticut; Roll: M593_116; Page: 418A; Family History Library Film: 545615.
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Notes - Ebenezer Young Backus (1851-1914) was born in Connecticut, son of Thomas Backus and Sarah A. Young. Named for his maternal grandfather, his mother’s sister Harriet Young married Charles Lewis Tiffany, who founded Tiffany & Co. in 1837 with Backus’s uncle, John B. Young. Backus’s first cousin Louis Comfort Tiffany (famous for his stained glass creations) partnered with Thomas Edison in 1885 to provide the first electric footlights in a Broadway theatre, the old Lyceum Theatre on 4th Avenue.
E. Y. Backus made his stage debut in the Boston Theatre in the late 1870s. He came to New York and joined the Empire Theatre stock company, serving as a stage manager as well as appearing in many of its productions. His first Broadway production appears to have been Lord and Lady Algy in 1899. He performed steadily on Broadway through the years, with his last Broadway appearance coming in 1914, a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It at the Hudson Theatre.
E. Y. Backus married British actress Lillian Thurgate about 1892. She appeared with Lillian Russell at the Casino Theatre in 1894, also appearing in Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines with Ethel Barrymore. E. Y. Backus and his wife appeared together on the stage numerous times. She left the stage after her husband’s death and died in Katonah, New York in 1960. It does not appear the couple had children.
Actor Jim Backus (voice of Mr. Magoo, Thurston Howell III on Gilligan’s Island) was a fifth cousin, twice-removed. Jim Backus, born in Cleveland, Ohio, was less than two years old when E. Y. Backus died in November of 1914, and it is unlikely Jim Backus was aware of the role his distant cousin played in the early life of Actors’ Equity.
Info from Stars of Yesterday web site.
- Ebenezer Young Backus (1851-1914) was born in Connecticut, son of Thomas Backus and Sarah A. Young. Named for his maternal grandfather, his mother’s sister Harriet Young married Charles Lewis Tiffany, who founded Tiffany & Co. in 1837 with Backus’s uncle, John B. Young. Backus’s first cousin Louis Comfort Tiffany (famous for his stained glass creations) partnered with Thomas Edison in 1885 to provide the first electric footlights in a Broadway theatre, the old Lyceum Theatre on 4th Avenue.
