Emma Sheridan Fry
American actress, playwright, teacher (1864-1936)

Emma Sheridan Fry (née, Sheridan; pen name, Polly and E. V. Sheridan; October 1, 1864 – December 11, 1936) was an American actress, playwright, and teacher. She started her career as a stage actress, and after retiring from that, she became a writer for various periodicals and wrote plays. In 1903, she established the Children's and Young People's Theatre in New York City. Also in that city, she served as director of the Children's Educational Theatre and the Educational Players, as well as teaching at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Early life and education
Emma Viola Sheridan was born in Painesville, Ohio, October 1, 1864. Her mother, Emma Christina (Huther) Sheridan, was a niece of the New England clergyman, Rev. Joseph W. Parker. Her father, Congressman George Augustus Sheridan, fought with the Army of the Cumberland during the American Civil War, and later developed a national reputation as an orator. Fry was always his friend, confidant and counselor.
She was a graduate of Mrs.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Emma Sheridan Fry” as american actress, playwright, teacher (1864-1936). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q49479881. VIAF identifies the subject as 14265350. The Library of Congress control number is nb99029432. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1864, 1936 and 1903.
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This entry incorporates text from “Emma Sheridan Fry” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.