Born in
Baltimore, Maryland in 1812, the fourth child and second son of Amzi Bateman (c. 1777–1816), a fisherman, and his wife, Catherine Bateman (née Schaeffer) (c. 1784–1870). Amzi Bateman had served with the 6th Regiment of the Maryland Militia and took part in the defence of Baltimore against the invasion by the British troops during the
Anglo-American War of 1812. After his death in 1816 his widow tutored students to support herself and her children. Hezekiah Bateman was reluctantly apprenticed to an engineer but in 1832 left that position to become an actor, playing with
Ellen Tree (afterwards
Mrs Charles Kean) in juvenile leads. In 1855 he was manager of the St Louis theatre for a few years and in 1859 moved to New York. In 1866 he was manager for his daughter
Kate, and in 1871 returned to London, where he managed the
Lyceum Theatre. Here he engaged
Henry Irving, presenting him in
The Bells, with great success. His wife
Sidney Frances Cowell was an actress. His daughter the actress
Virginia Frances Bateman (1853–1940) married the British
actor-manager Edward Compton. Another daughter was the actress
Kate Josephine Bateman. His grandchildren included the British novelist Sir
Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie (1883–1972) and the actress
Fay Compton (1894–1978). ==Notes==