Antedating? of "monkey's uncle" 1923

[James Knight, MLIS]

I don't think these count, but for what it's worth...

The Times, Wednesday, Jan 27, 1847; pg. 5; Issue 19457; col E
Lyceum Theatre.
Category: Reviews
... The pompous language of the Indians is ludicrously burlesqued, and from
the sagacious "Downy Beaver," acted with becoming gravity by Mr. Bender, to
the jealous "Monkey's uncle," played with furious irritability by Mr.
Oxberry ...

The Times, Thursday, Jan 10, 1856; pg. 5; Issue 22260; col E
The Song Of Hiawatha.
Category: Arts and Entertainment
!> (From Punch)
^^^^^^^^^^
...
With their Chief, the clean Efmatthews,
With the growling Downy Beaver,
With the valiant Monkey's Uncle,
Came the gracious Mari-Kee-Lee,
...

-jk
At 06:08 PM 2/15/04, you wrote:
>HDAS as 1926.  M-W and OED don't list it(unless I missed)  I couldn't find
>it in ADS archives.
>
>The reason I wanted to find an earlier cite is to prove absolutely that
>the phrase didn't originate during the Scopes Trial(1925).
>
>Using newspaperarchive,
>
>8 Feb. 1923 _Elyria(OH) Chronicle Telegram  Page obscured, col. 3-4.  Text
>under picture of Ms. Cheeseborough:
>
><<When is a joke not a joke?  Two answers are forthcoming.  One
>from  coquettish Edith Russell Cheseborough, Boston society girl--"Frame
>it," she told her Harvard admirer, William L. Lawrence, referring to the
>marriage license he had obtained.  "The nuptial idea is a joke." she told
>Lawrence.  But Lawrence can't see it.  "If that's a joke I'm a monkey's
>uncle.">>
>
>SC