Mason, Eudora Hall, 1863-1937.

The predecessor to Juvenile Bostonians was the Williams Juvenile Opera Company. The Williams Juvenile Opera Company came into existence as a traveling troupe after the theatrical school won a competition. The Opera Company toured the season of 1905-1906 throughout Washington State. Mrs. E. Lang was the manager and Mrs. Mason was the musical director. Mrs. Mason's daughters, Nell "Babe" and Lois, were members of the group from a very young age. The Williams Juvenile Opera Company evolved into The Juvenile Bostonians. The Company comprised about 25 children ranging in age from 4-14. The children were from established Seattle families. There were no orphans that participated in the groups. By 1912, the group was exclusively girls from the age of 14-17 years of age from Seattle, WA families. The Juvenile Bostonians had built an excellent reputation as a vaudevillean opera or musical group. They had played all over the Pacific Northwest, the Dakotas and Minneapolis MN. In 1912 they played Seattle, WA and Hawaii for the first time. A few of the girls that were well known from the group were: Nell "Babe" Mason, Lois E. Mason, Edith McClaire, the Masons' cousin, and Rose Henry. It is unclear when the Juvenile Bostonians troup retired but it appears they may have disbanded about 1913 because several members either married or pursued other options.

Mrs. Eudora Hall Mason was born in Indiana on May 4, 1863 to Isaac "Ike" Miller and Laura Crane Hall. In November 1865 the Hall family arrived in Seattle, WA after spending a year in California. Mrs. Hall's parents, Daniel M. and Catherine Rogers Crane, were living in Seattle after arriving the previous year. Isaac Miller Hall seems to be one of the early settlers of Seattle, WA that has been overlooked by the city's history. Many historical journals, newspapers, legal records and genealogical records are profusely peppered with his name yet he hasn't been given much recognition as a pioneer of the city which may be because of his less than stellar reputation. Once the family arrived in Seattle, Ike Hall was one of the first attorneys to practice law in the city. He was involved in the defense for the first two murder trials, although he lost both cases. Mr. Hall was involved in a number of the early newspaper enterprises within the city. Some included: Seattle Weekly Gazette or Seattle Gazette; Puget Sound Daily; Puget Sound Gazette; Alaska Times and Seattle Dispatch. It seems that he had a number of unsuccessful attempts at publishing. By 1869, Mr. Hall was living in Port Townsend apparently without his family. When he returned about 1872, he was very involved in his law practice and civic organizations. His wife, Laura, had become very active and successful in her civic work with the women's suffrage movement and the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She may have been involved in the temperance movement because of personal experience. It seems that Ike Hall had a notorious drinking problem. In 1874, Mrs. Hall filed a Complaint for Divorce because he was a "habitual drunkard". The divorce was not granted. Mr. Hall went on to be the first probate judge for King County between 1881 through 1883. Nine years after Mrs. Hall's first attempt at a divorce, she filed again. Her divorce was granted and the marriage dissolved that day in 1883. Mrs. Hall was given full custody of their three children: Eudora, Frank, and Luella Katherine. After the divorce, Mr. Hall had moved to Port Townsend, WA. He had remarried and returned to live in Seattle, WA. In 1893, he passed away suddenly. After the divorce from Ike Hall, Mrs. Hall was very involved in women's suffrage rights along with Mrs. DeVoe. Mrs. Hall was heavily involved in a number of social, political and civic causes throughout her life. These included being an active member of the prolabor Liberal League, which Laura's father, Daniel Crane, headed. Over the years, Mr. Crane had accumulated considerable real estate yet he hadn't identified with his success and was very involved with the Liberal League. Mrs. Hall's involvement with the anti-Chinese affair led to participation forming and developing the Puget Sound Co-operative Colony in Port Angeles, WA from 1886 through 1888. She had met Charles J. Peters when he moved to the Colony about a month after Mrs. Hall. The Puget Sound Co-operative Colony didn't survive very long but did develop into the city of Port Angeles, WA. By 1888 Mr. Peters and Mrs. Hall were married and had bought their own substantial parcel to farm. They continued to be involved in local civic, political and social causes in Clallam County, WA. Mrs. Laura Hall Peters passed away in 1902. Luella Catherine, Mrs. Peters' daughter, had met and married Charles Kitchell. She and her husband resided in Cleveland, OH where Catherine was involved in civic and theater groups. Eudora Hall met her future husband, Luther A. Mason, in Port Angeles, WA. They were married in 1889. Luther and Eudora Mason had three children: Lois E., Lawrence L. "Silver" and Nell "Babe" Mason. Mrs. Eudora Mason was a very gifted musician. She had been musical from a very young age. Besides teaching music, she was a leader and member of various orchestras. She had conducted a studio of piano in Ellensburg and Port Angeles. Throughout her life, she had played at many social events and gatherings. This musicality she passed on to her children because most of the girls childhood they were members of musical troupes. Both Lois and Nell were members of the Williams Juvenile Opera Company that toured through Washington State. It seems the Williams Juvenile Opera Company evolved into the troupe Juvenile Bostonians. Both Lois and Nell "Babe" Mason were members of this group along with a couple their cousins. It's unclear whether Lawrence was as member of the earlier group. It appears the Juvenile Bostonians probably disbanded about 1913. Lois first married Frederick L. Popham on March 22, 1913. Lawrence married and they had three children. By 1937, Nell "Babe" had married Mr. Jeffs and lived in Seattle, WA. Lois had later married a Mr. Moir and was living in Victoria, B.C. Eudora's husband, Luther, had passed away in 1912 at the family home in Ellensburg, WA. Eudora was very active after her husband passed away. She had been a president of the Pioneer Women of Washington and other organizations. Not only was she a member but she and either of her daughters would often perform for different groups and socials. Mrs. Eudora Hall passed away June 26, 1937 near Sequim, WA where she had been visiting friends.

From the description of Mason family scrapbooks, circa 1865-1937 bulk 1905-1912. (Washington State Library, Office of Secretary of State). WorldCat record id: 181105307