Buckley Serenaders

Buckley's Serenaders was a family troupe of English-born American blackface minstrels, established under that name in 1853 by James Buckley. They became one of the two most popular companies in the U.S. from the mid-1850s to the 1860s, the other being the Christy and Wood Minstrels.

James Buckley was born in Manchester, England, in 1803, and emigrated with his family to the U.S. in the 1830s. By 1843, he organized a troupe of minstrels, the Congo Melodists, in Boston, Massachusetts. They performed in New Orleans, and in 1845 in New York City, when they were known as the New Orleans Serenaders. From 1846 to 1848, James Buckley and his three sons, Bishop, Swayne, and Fred, toured in England. Though they were an influential troupe in the United States, their absence allowed Edwin Christy's troupe to gain popularity and influence the development of the minstrel genre.

James Buckley - who was known as "Master Ole Bull" - and his sons returned to the U.S. at the end of 1848. They appeared regularly in New York and Boston, and in 1852 became the first recognized company to play in California. By the 1853–4 season, the Buckleys began to burlesque popular operas and boasted of their ability to reproduce such works. Some of these were Cinderella, La Sonnambula, and Don(e) Juan; or, A Ghost on a High horse (Don Giovanni). Another popular act involved Bishop Buckley's trained horse, Mazeppa.

In 1853, they leased a New York City theatre at 539 Broadway, a hall they called Buckley's Opera House, the Ethiopian Opera House, and the American Opera House. The troupe roster stayed relatively consistent until 1855, with only non-members of the Buckley family coming or going. In 1856, they moved to 585 Broadway. By 1857, they were spending as much as six months there between tours. They also gave regular Sunday-evening concerts in whiteface at this location. However, like other minstrel companies, the Buckleys toured extensively. Upon their return to New York after a late 1857 tour, they published this advertisement:

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