Talented musician takes to the stage in ‘HMS Pinafore’ opera

Catherine M. (Kitty) Shoot Heywood posed for this portrait circa 1879, in costume for her role of “Buttercup” in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera “H.M.S. Pinafore.” Photo by the Deane Bros., of Hannibal. Photo contributed by Joseph Haslwanter, great-great-grandson of Mrs. Walter J. (Jennie) Hilton, who kept a scrapbook of the opera’s performers.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Catherine M. (Kitty) Shoot Heywood (1840-1921) portrayed Mrs. Cripps aka Little Buttercup, in the spring 1879 production of “H.M.S. Pinafore,” at Hannibal’s Mozart Hall, which was located across from City Park on the third floor of 407-409 Broadway. (The building is still standing in 2025.)

The opera was presented as a fundraiser for the First Congregational Church’s organ fund. Mrs. Heywood served as an organist for the church.

“H.M.S. Pinafore” is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. (Wikipedia)

Known show dates in Hannibal  (newspapers.com) were March 27, 1879, and April 18, 1879.

Kitty Heywood and her husband, Charles P. Heywood, long lived at 208 N. Third Street, in a frame house that would later be occupied by David Scyoc. This house was ultimately torn down and in 2025,  the northern portion of the old Hannibal Courier-Post building is located on this lot. (Lot 7, in OT block 11) 

Many hats

Mr. Heywood wore many hats during his years in Hannibal. From his death notice: In 1854 he came to Hannibal, and for five years served the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad as paymaster. He and his father-in-law, William Shoot, formerly of Paris, Mo., ran the Planters house for one year, and then dealt in carpets and general upholstery. In 1862 Mr. Heywood was appointed deputy United States revenue collector. He served as deputy 13 years and collector for seven years. During this period he collected for the government over $7,000,000, and had a receipt in full for every cent he collected. For seven years he was city treasurer and his reputation as city officer was untarnished. In 1877 he began the business of druggist at 207 Broadway, which he continued for several years. In 1893 he went to Chicago and became associated with W.L., C.I., and Ferdinand W. Peck.

Planters House

During their tenure as proprietors of the Planters House, William Shoot and Charles P. Heywood arranged for the construction of a “neat and commodious portico, at the windows of the second story. The beautiful iron railing which surrounds it, was put up by Mr. G.W. Langdon.” (Hannibal Weekly Messenger, July 1, 1858.

Hotel guests

The Hannibal Daily Messenger in its March 16, 1858 edition, reported Planters Hotel arrivals for the previous Sunday and Monday:

Planters House, Shoot and Heywood, props. Main street between Hill and Bird

B. Morris, city;

T.B. Coontz, city;

H.W. Morris, city;

C.L. Reeder, city;

G.C. Lee, St. Louis;

Dr. H.S. Taft, city;

W. Morris, city;

Wm. S. Howard, Ohio;

E. Gardner, New York;

L. Eichengrum, Shelbina;

G.S. Dean, Bloomington, Mo.;

H.R. Mills, U.S. Express;

Ben E. Harris, St. Louis;

J.T. Handlan, St. Louis;

M.S. Kramer, Cincinnati, Ohio;

J.R. Shockley, city;

H. Hall, city;

Joshua Gentry, Marion County;

Maj. Hays, New London;

Charles Hays, do.

Wedding at the Planters

William Shoot and Charles P. Heywood were proprietors of the renowned 62-room Planters House hotel on North Main Street from roughly March 1858 until June 1, 1859, when they turned over the keys to Reuben Storrs (1812-1862) and his son, George W. Storrs (1830-1894) of Chicago.

During their tenure at the hotel, Shoot and Heywood became more than business partners.

C.P. Heywood, born 1833, and Mr. Shoot’s daughter, Mildred C. (Kitty) Shoot, born 1840, were married at the Planters House Hotel on Tuesday evening, April 27, 1858. Dr. D.T. Morton, of the Christian Church of Hannibal, officiated.

The marriage would last for more than 50 years, ending with C.P. Heywood’s death in 1909. The childless couple lived in Hannibal until moving to Chicago in 1893. Even after their move, their visits to Hannibal via rail were frequent. One notable visit took place in April 1906, at which time they hosted a banquet for their Hannibal friends in the parlors of the newly constructed Mark Twain Hotel.

Mr. Heywood, a noted jokester, and Mrs. Heywood, a talented musician, were long members of Hannibal society.

New building

According to the Hannibal Daily Messenger of Aug. 31, 1859, Charles Heywood was responsible for the erection of a building two doors south of the League Building, which was located on the west corner of Main and Center streets. The three-story building on the corner housed the Messenger newspaper. The new building, constructed for Mr. Heywood, would become a carpet store.

To stock this store, Charles and Kitty Heywood traveled to Boston, New York and Philadelphia by rail in the spring of 1860, in order to place market orders.

Fire

At 3 a.m. on July 4, 1860, a great fire consumed five buildings on Main Street in Hannibal (then known as Second Street.)

The fire started in the center of Mr. J. Riley’s wholesale grocery and liquor store, which was at the corner Main and Center, east side of the street.

The second story of the building was occupied by Wm. Shoot and his wife, Mary Jane Pavey Shoot, and their son and daughter-in-law, Charles P. and Kitty Heywood. Mrs. Shoot also operated a millinery business from this residence.

The Masons and Good Templars had their lodges in the third story.

The fire left this building and all of its contents in ruins, before spreading to four buildings located to the north.

Musical roles

In addition to her role as Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore, Mrs. Heywood was a popular performer for other venues as well.

On May 5, 1887, she performed a duet with J.R. Winchell at the church, “which received great applause,” according to the next day’s Hannibal Courier-Post.

Dec. 20, 1877, Mrs. Heywood participated in a dramatic and musical presentation at Mozart Hall. Participants in this program were Mrs. J.K. Hayward, Miss Nettie Bishop, Miss Belle Sproul, Mrs. C.P. Heywood, Messrs. J.K. Hayward, W.J. Hilton, Mark Merriman, Jas. Hayward, and Prof. Woolner’s daughter.

Deaths

Mr. Heywood died in 1909.

Mrs. Heywood died in 1921.

The building at right is the old Melpontian Hall, historically located on the northeast corner of Third and Center.  The building served many offices and businesses during its long history, from the pre-Civil War era until the building was demolished in the early 1920s. Immediately to the north, or right, is the home that was occupied by Charles P. and Kitty Heywood from circa 1866 until they left Hannibal in 1893. It was later occupied by the David Scyoc family. Photo courtesy of Steve Chou.

Mary Lou Montgomery, Suburban Newspapers of America Editor of the Year, Dailies, 2010, retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,”  and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com