Santa Cruz History ~ Lottie (Part 3)

photo of Lottie Sly in 1921, while on her
honeymoon with Lucian Sly.

Welcome to Part 3 of my 5-part series dedicated to the Carmelita Cottages in Santa Cruz, in honor of Dana Bagshaw's new play "La Boheme Santa Cruz". If you haven't already, PLEASE check out Part 1 and Part 2. Lottie Pauline Thomson Thompson Sly (whew!) is the character I play in "La Boheme Santa Cruz", which has one more performance left TOMORROW, August 29th @4pm at the Carmelita Cottages in Santa Cruz. She was a young singer and piano teacher who married Henry Thompson, the charming main protagonist of Dana Bagshaw's "La Boheme Santa Cruz", once he returned to Santa Cruz from his worldly travels.  

Picking right up from Part 2: when Ellen Thomson bought Captain Dame's cottage on their wedding day in 1881, she and her 10 year-old daughter Lottie (1871) moved in with the Captain. At that point, the 63 year-old Captain Dame had fully retired being a captain and made a living at a lime quarry in Felton.

The newly formed family only lived together for 5 years, because in the Spring of 1886, Captain Dame died of apoplexy while at work in Felton. Lottie was just 14 years-old at the time. When she turned 17 in 1889, Ellen deeded 1/2 of the Dame cottage to her daughter. 

All throughout the 1880s, Beach Hill was rapidly developing into an enormous tourist attraction. The biggest change at the time was the addition of sidewalks to the road.

In 1889, the same year Ellen deeded part of their cottage to Lottie, James Henry Thompson - local celebrity and baritone - returned from his international and national tour, back to his hometown of Santa Cruz. Stay tuned for Part 4, dedicated to Henry Thompson!

Henry was a sensation for the people in Santa Cruz, both before he left for his 7 year-long trip and upon his return. After directing a church choir where Lottie sang, Henry and Lottie got married in 1892. Henry, aged 34, and Lottie, aged 21, married at the Calvary Episcopal Church, one of the oldest buildings still standing in downtown Santa Cruz. 800 people, 300 of which were uninvited fans, crowded the building. The wedding was one of the most lavish events the city had ever seen. 

As soon as Henry returned to Santa Cruz, he began an active life of performing and political activism. He promoted culture, initiated many musical aspects of the local churches, and advocated for affordable ticket prices for concerts. He used music and his beautiful singing to perform at Democratic rallies, combining his political and musical aspirations. As his student, Lottie performed alongside him at many of these functions and at the multi-functional Santa Cruz Opera House. He also became the choir director at Calvary Episcopal Church, where he and Lottie were married.

Although a lot of Lottie's performing came with Henry's chaperoning, she led an active musical life before becoming his wife. She was an outspoken advocate for women's rights, and would sing at many women's organizations' events. Lottie was also a skilled keyboardist; she had many piano students and played Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" at her neighbor's wedding. During their marriage, Henry worked as director of the First Methodist Choir, while Lottie worked as their organist and soloist.

In August 1891, a year before marrying Henry, Lottie organized one of the most popular Garden Parties at the Carmelita Cottages, benefitting the Saint Agnes Guild. Obviously, Henry was still a big part of the program! (That same year, Lottie also ALMOST won a beauty contest at the County Rose Fair.)

Dame Cottage, 1894
Santa Cruz Public Library

Lottie and Henry lived together for 8 years, mostly at the Carmelita Cottages and in Sacramento for a few years. In 1900, Henry died of consumption at the age of 43, leaving the 28 year-old Lottie a young widow - much like her own mother.

With the final completion of the Carmelita Cottages, and the deaths of Lottie's mother and aunt - both owners of cottages in the Carmelita Court - Lottie became the single owner of the entire Carmelita Cottages. Lottie would remain the only property owner who would maintain the entire property during her whole life. 

Despite becoming a young widow, Lottie did not remarry for a long time after Henry's death. This doesn't prove anything, but considering that Lottie owned land and had a significant dowry to offer a new husband, she most likely had potential suitors who would be interested in marrying her after Henry died. Her lack of a new husband during the decade following Henry's death indicates that she most likely was not interested in marrying anyone again.

This changed in 1921, when 50 year-old Lottie married the 62 year-old Lucian Heath Sly, a wealthy real estate investor from San Francisco, responsible for the Stanford Court Apartments in San Francisco.

They married in Sacramento, seemingly spontaneously, and then went off on a honeymoon to Europe, mostly France. Unfortunately - or maybe fortunately - upon arrival in New York from their honeymoon in 1923, Lucian Sly broke off their marriage and they never ended up living together. Considering that he had broken off all 4 of his previous marriages, it's safe to assume this was a behavioral pattern for Sly. Sly didn't allow Lottie entrance into their townhouse in San Francisco and sold the villa he had in Santa Cruz, (possibly the villa located around the block from the Carmelita Cottages). Lottie sued him for abandoning her -  (similarly to how Captain Dame's first wife sued him) - and demanded divorce and monetary compensation. She was granted the divorce, most likely because Sly was busy dealing with other legal battles, and was even awarded a title to one of Sly's apartment complexes in San Francisco.

Sly died in Palo Alto, at the age of 82 in 1944.

Lottie Thompson Sly's
obituary in the Santa Cruz
Sentinel, 1955
It incorrectly states the First Methodist choir
instead of the Calvary Episcopal choir.

Lottie moved back into Carmelita Court and continued functioning as the manager and owner there. She had several permanent residents, mostly women, with whom she resided until her death in 1955.

Her whole life, Lottie never ceased to continue managing and organizing musical events in Santa Cruz, continuing her late husband's legacy. Lottie was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Santa Cruz, beside her mother, Ellen, and her stepfather, Captain Dame.

I'm really happy to have gotten the opportunity to portray this woman in Dana Bagshaw's play, La Boheme Santa Cruz, which has one more performance tomorrow, August 29th @4pm at the Carmelita Cottages. There's so little information about all these people, even though they played significant roles in the cultural development of Santa Cruz, that there are a lot of blanks that remain unfilled. I'm still thrilled to read anything available to me and guess at what their personalities and relationships might have been like. Please stay tuned for Part 4, featuring Enrico de Tomaso (Henry Thompson)!!!

Part 1: Introduction to Carmelita Cottages and Dana Bagshaw's play, "La Boheme Santa Cruz"

Part 2: Captain Dame 

Part 3: Lottie Thompson Sly (you're reading it now!)

Part 4: Henry Thompson

Part 5: Conclusion