Josephine Mary Premice (July , â€" April , ) was a Haitian-American
actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage.Josephine
Mary Premice was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of
Thelomaine and Lucas Premice. Her parents were part of the Haitian
aristocracy who fled Haiti after her father, Lucas Premice, who
allegedly had claim to the title Count de Brodequin, was part of a
failed rebellion to try to overthrow the dictator of the country.
Lucas was imprisoned in Guiana. He and a fellow prisoner to whom he
was chained escaped and fled through the woods to friends that awaited
them on the coast. On the third day of their journey, the other man
died, and Lucas is said to have had to cut off the man's arm to free
himself from the chains. He was brought to France, where he learned to
cut fur for the couturiers. He eventually immigrated to New York in
the early s.Premice and her sister, Adele, were given the education
and training of an "at-home finishing school" and treated like part of
the elite, at a time when African Americans were treated as
second-class citizens, even in the northern states.
actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage.Josephine
Mary Premice was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of
Thelomaine and Lucas Premice. Her parents were part of the Haitian
aristocracy who fled Haiti after her father, Lucas Premice, who
allegedly had claim to the title Count de Brodequin, was part of a
failed rebellion to try to overthrow the dictator of the country.
Lucas was imprisoned in Guiana. He and a fellow prisoner to whom he
was chained escaped and fled through the woods to friends that awaited
them on the coast. On the third day of their journey, the other man
died, and Lucas is said to have had to cut off the man's arm to free
himself from the chains. He was brought to France, where he learned to
cut fur for the couturiers. He eventually immigrated to New York in
the early s.Premice and her sister, Adele, were given the education
and training of an "at-home finishing school" and treated like part of
the elite, at a time when African Americans were treated as
second-class citizens, even in the northern states.
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