How famous was Edwin Booth when he was alive? How did his brother killing the president affect him and his acting career?

The Booth family members were all enormously famous as actors. The dynasty was established by Junius Brutus Booth (1 May 1796 – 30 November 1852). Born in London, he became a sensation of the English stage. In 1821, he abandoned his wife and son, emigrating with a flower girl, Mary Ann Holmes, who had caught his fancy. He became known as one of the most famous actors on the American stage.

Mary Ann Holmes gave birth to four children, all of whom had a relationship with the stage. Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., (1821–1883) was the least famous of the three brothers. The last of his wives, Agnes Booth (October 4, 1843 – January 2, 1910), was more famous than her husband, and she continued acting as a Booth after the death of her husband, even though she remarried.

Edwin Thomas Booth (1833–1893) was enormously popular and acclaimed as an actor - the most famous of the three brothers. In an odd twist of fate, he rescued the president's son, Robert Lincoln, from an accident that could have been fatal, involving a moving train. Booth did not know the identity of the young man he saved, but Lincoln had recognized him because Edwin Booth was such a famous actor at the time.

John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) remains, of course, the most famous of the three brothers (although he was not regarded as the most talented). At the time of the assassination of President Lincoln (April 14, 1865), he was well known as an actor and regarded as one of the best of his craft, but Edwin eclipsed him before the assassination.

After the assassination, Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., turned himself in to a federal marshal and was detained for questioning. He was later released when it was clear he had nothing to do with the crime. He remained a popular actor until his retirement in 1881.

Edwin Booth denounced his younger brother and retired from the stage for the remainder of 1865. He reappeared on the stage in January 1866 and was well received. he remained an acclaimed actor, one of the best in America during the second half of the century.

Their only sister, Asia Frigga Booth Clarke (November 19, 1835 – May 16, 1888) was a writer. Her husband, John Sleeper Clarke (September 3, 1833 – September 24, 1899), was an actor and comedian. He was arrested and was forced to testify at the trial of the assassination conspirators. In the wake of everything, he demanded a divorce, but Asia refused him, and the estranged couple emigrated to England where they remained, but they lived apart for the rest of their lives. She wrote a book about her memories of her brother the assassin, but it did not appear in print until 1938 when the family finally allowed it to be published.

It's always hard to evaluate the effect of something like the assassination on the surviving siblings. Clearly, Asia and her husband were profoundly affected. The brothers were part of a famous family before and after the assassination. Edwin felt it necessary to retreat from the stage, but he returned and became widely acclaimed for the rest of his life. The assassin's sister-in-law continued to act as a Booth after the death of her husband and her remarriage.

One should not underestimate the affect of the crime on the family name. It appears, however, that the blight that might have been caused by the assassination was something that could be survived, and for the brothers, at least, a continued career with considerable fame was possible.

It is also difficult to assess and understand "fame" in the nineteenth century as opposed to what that means in a modern context. The fact that Robert Lincoln recognized his rescuer because Edwin's face was so well known tells us something about how people would know these personalities. There were not the same media outlets in the nineteenth century and one's image was not splashed about as it is today. That said, the Booth family - father and the brothers - were extraordinarily well known and represented one of the more famous acting families of their time.

For some perspective, here is a flyer for the opening of Maguire's Opera House in Virginia City, Nevada, July 2, 1863, featuring Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., the least notable of the family. Even as "least notable," he has a respectable billing, and retained that level of fame even after his brother cast shame on the family.