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THE FAY FAMILY HOMEPAGE GENEALOGIES |
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| IRISH GUESTS |
| Maud Fay her family and her achievements |
| Irish Guest directory |
| Maud Fay: Showcase of Roles |
| Maud Fay: Family Obituaries |
| Maud Fay: Living in Awe |
| Maude Fay born in San Francisco on April 18, 1878 was a world renowned soprano. On the recommendation of Johanna Gadski she went to Dresden for study. Like many sopranos, she made her debut (1906) as Marguerite in Faust at the Munich Royal Opera, where she was a member of the company from 1906 to 1911. Her credentials included the Munich premieres of Tosca (1908), Feuersnot, and Ariadne auf Naxos. At the outbreak of World War I she remained in Germany doing Red Cross work but returned to America in 1916 to make her Metropolitan Opera debut as Sieglinde (Die Walk�re). She was particularly distinguished in Wagnerian roles. She also appeared in Chicago and in San Francisco. |
| Powers Symington graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1892; he and Maud met in Germany. Maud tells the story in her memoirs, Living in Awe. They were married in 1922. |
| Maud's grandfather William Fay was born in Ireland about 1804. He married there, a woman named Bridget, also born about 1804. Together they had at least one child in Ireland, Edward, born in 1828. Shortly after that, the three of them immigrated to America, arriving here before the birth of their son John in New York in 1830. |
| It is possible that they arrived here on Aug 19, 1829, on the ship Meteor. There is a small family, William, Bridget and Patrick, of the right ages. It is quite possible that "Edward" was actually 'Patrick Edward,' but it is far from certain. |
| William and Bridget, the grandparents of Maud, are listed in the census of 1850 with six sons; and in the census of 1860, where Phillip and William Jr. are the only ones of the older children still at home. With them now, though, is a girl, Ellen, said to be 12. This would place her birth in 1848; but there is absolutely no sign of her in the census of 1850. She remains a mystery. |
| 1850 NEW YORK |
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| Bridget died between 1860 and 1870. William, and his sons Jeremiah, John and Phillip moved to California. Jeremiah and John worked on a ranch, and William was a farmer, boarding with a dairyman. |
| The oldest son of William, Edward, is listed in the census of 1850, but could not be traced after that. John disappears after 1870. William became a soldier, Thomas a broker, and both were living in 1880 and unmarried; Thomas at least was still living in 1900. |
| Phillip, Maud's father, was a stockbroker, living on Grove Street (which Maud was to know very well indeed) in San Francisco, California; in 1880 he is listed with his wife and 6 children including Maud, the youngest. Three more children were to be born in the next ten years. In 1880, Phillip's father William is also there. |
| 1880 SAN FRANCISCO |
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| One of the children born after 1880 was Paul Burgess Fay, born in 1884. It was his son Paul Jr. who became a close friend and shipmate of President John F. Kennedy. Paul served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy between 1961 and 1965. Some of Paul's papers are housed at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, and some at Stanford University. |
| Paul's book "The Pleasure of his Company" was published in 1966. There is a short review and an interesting anecdote published Friday, October 28, 1966, by time.com. |
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| It was Joanne Fay who became interested in Maud and her career. She and I researched Maud and her family. Much of the information came from census records, some from internet resources, and some from obituaries. |
| FAMILY OVERVIEW |
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