Maria Carter (Hall) Caldwell (1784-1859)

She moved to Fredericksburg after the death of her first husband in 1814 with the two of her four children who had survived infancy. There, she attended a theatrical performance by an English touring company led by one James H. Caldwell. She, "found the actor-manager irresistible and threw herself at him, scandalizing the staid Virginia gentry". Her complements were returned and they were soon married. They also had four children of whom only two survived infancy. Caldwell's business took him to New Orleans where he built the American Theatre and the St Charles - "the grandest theatre the South had ever known" - but Maria refused to move with him and they eventually became estranged. Their situation was further complicated after he fell in love with one of his leading actresses and Maria refused to grant him a divorce until 1836.