Born to E. Pixley, a carpenter from Brooklyn, New York, the three Pixley sisters, Annie (1858-1893), Minnie (ca. 1856-1935) and Lucy, emigrated to San Francisco in 1857 and north to Olympia, Washington, by the 1860s. The sisters began their stage careers in the mining camps near Truckee and Carson, Nevada. They came to Portland, Oregon, in 1870, debuting at the Philharmonic Hall before becoming members of George B. Waldron’s company at the Ora Fino Theater. They also performed at the New Market Theater in 1875. While in Portland, both Annie and Minnie met their future husbands. Annie married fellow actor, Robert Fulford of Britain, and Minnie wed prominent Portland businessman, E. Henry McCracken, son of Col. John H. McCracken, an Oregon pioneer. Minnie retired from acting upon her marriage.
Annie and Lucy continued their stage careers, Annie becoming famous, particularly for her decade-long run as lead in M’Liss, a play based on Bret Harte’s short story, “Luck of Roaring Camp.” She performed in this production at Portland in 1884. Other plays she is noted for include Snowflake, The Deacon’s Daughter, and Kate . Annie became so famous for her role in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore that her image as Josephine was emblazoned on pressed glass tableware. Lucy became an operatic actor, performing mainly in the East. Both Pixley sisters were renowned for their comedic and vocal talents.
Annie died in England of a brain fever and is inurned at the Woodlands Cemetery in London, Ontario, Canada, in one of the most viewed mausoleums in the park.
From the guide to the Pixley Sisters photographs collection, 1872-circa 1890, (Oregon Historical Society Research Library)
