Addenda for Songs Before Unknown: a
Companion to The Sacred Harp, Revised Cooper Edition, 2012
Butterfield,
James Austin (May 18, 1837–July 6, 1891) was born in
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England in 1837. He learned to play the violin by
the time he was four years old. He dreamed of following music, but at age
fifteen his parents put him to work in a trade. He came to the United States in
1856, first lighting in New England but shortly moving to Chicago. He gave
violin lessons and taught singing schools, and later established Butterfield
and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. His composed When You and I Were Young for lyrics written by George
Washington Johnson of Hamilton, Ontario. The tune was first published by
Butterfield in 1866 and later by Oliver Ditson and Company. In 1868 he was made
director of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church choir in Chicago. He moved
to Connecticut for a period of time, but returned to Chicago and his directorship
of the Centenary Church choir in 1888. He was the second president of
the Music Teachers National Association. Though he is usually remembered
as a secular composer, he also composed religious tunes – for example, Victory Over Sin for words by Henry
S. Perkins (1833-1914). Butterfield died in Chicago and is buried in Graceland
Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. B. L. Andrews used When You and I Were Young as a
template for the tune Long Ago,
Comrades.
582 Long Ago, Comrades (When You and I Were
Young)
Butterfield, James Austin
A Hundred Years of Music in America, William Smythe Babcock Mathews,
Chicago, IL: G. L. Howe, 1889, pp. 647-650
Hitchcock. “Hitchcock”
wrote the music for Fairfield, No.
29a. This composer likely is Miles Hitchcock, the son of Asahel Hitchcock (1743-1824)
and Abigail Law (1747-1827) – and a nephew of preacher, music teacher, compiler,
and composer Andrew Law (1749-1821). He was born February 3, 1767 in Cheshire, New
Haven County, Connecticut and died December 9, 1843 in Gowanus, Long Island, New
York. He was a merchant in New York City for many years, having arrived there
at least by 1798. After the death of his first wife (name unknown), Hitchcock
married Caroline Catalina Vanderbilt (1782-1851) on October 24, 1825. She was
born in August 1782 and died April 10, 1851. Miles and Catalina are buried at Flatbush
Reformed Dutch Cemetery in Kings County, New York. According to The Genealogy of the Hitchcock Family,
Miles Hitchcock had at least four children – two by his first wife and two by
his second wife. Two compositions by Hitchcock appear in Andrew Law’s Rudiments
of Music between 1786 and 1790. During this period, Miles Hitchcock
was procuring music plates for these revisions. His relationship to Andrew Law
and his involvement in the publication of Rudiments of Music make
it very likely that this Miles Hitchcock is the “Hitchcock” who composed Fairfield. It is worth noting that
Fairfield, Connecticut is in Fairfield County, a neighboring county to New
Haven County, where Miles Hitchcock was born. Wilton
by Hitchcock appeared in a variant second edition of Law’s Rudiments in 1786. There is a Wilton, Connecticut in Fairfield
County.
29a
Fairfield
Hitchcock
Thanks to
Mary Huffman and Warren Steel for discovery and information on Miles
Hitchcock, with additional information from Ancestry.com, Find-A-Grave.com, et
al.
Fairfield
is attributed to “Hitchcock” in the third edition of Rudiments of Music, by
Andrew Law, 1791 (A Companion to the New
Harp of Columbia, Marion J. Hatchett, Knoxville, TN: University of
Tennessee Press, 2003, pp. 6, 245). “Fairfield first appeared in the variant
second edition of 1787-90 [of Andrew Law’s Rudiments
of Music].” (The Makers of The Sacred Harp, David Warren Steel, Richard H.
Hulan, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2010, p. 123).
History of
Cheshire, Connecticut, from 1694-1840: including Prospect, which, as Columbia
parish, was a part of Cheshire until 1829, Joseph Perkins Beach, Cheshire,
CT: Lady Fenwick Chapter, D. A. R., 1912, p. 361.
“Died,” The
Evening Post, Monday, December 11, 1843, p. 2
The
Genealogy of the Hitchcock Family: Who are Descended from Matthias Hitchcock of
East Haven, Conn., and Luke Hitchcock of Wethersfield, Conn., by Mrs. Edward
Hitchcock, Sr., East Haven, CT: Press of Carpenter & Morehouse, 1894, p.
158
http://home.olemiss.edu/~mudws/errata.html
Howard, Samuel Lafayette Sr. (December 10, 1860–October
8, 1940) was born in either Muscogee or Harris County, Georgia, the son of James
W. Howard and Tinsey Narramore of Muscogee County. He was a composer and
singing school teacher, a student of A. J. and J. H. Showalter. He began
teaching singing schools in 1886. He was editor of Gospel Banner and an associate editor of Crowning Vocalist and Hymns
of Glory. Howard lived with his parents in Muscogee County, Georgia in the
1870, 1880, and 1900 censuses, and was living in Columbus in 1904. The 1900
census lists the occupation of the 38-year old Samuel Howard as “Music Teacher.”
Howard married Lydia Dowdell on December 24, 1907 in Lee County, Alabama, and lived
at or near Auburn in that county until his death in 1940. In the 1910 census,
Howard’s occupation is “Farmer” and he is listed simply as “Prof. Howard”. The B. F. White Sacred Harp added At the Golden Gates to the book in 1950.
It previously appeared in The Vocal Class
Leader under the title They are
Waiting for You and Me, tune by Howard and the words written by G.
Beaverson. S. L. Howard died October 8, 1940. He and his wife Lydia are buried
at the Pine Hill Cemetery at Auburn, Lee County, Alabama.
476 At
the Golden Gates
Howard, Samuel Lafayette
The
Best Gospel Songs and Their Composers, A. J. Showalter,
Dalton, GA: The A. J. Showalter Co., Dallas, TX: The Showalter-Patton Co.,
1904, p. 285
The
Montgomery Advertiser, Thursday, October 10, 1940, p. 8
U. S. Federal Censuses, Muscogee County,
Georgia, 1870, 1800, 1900; Lee County, Alabama, 1910-1940
Lee, David Jonathan “Johnny” (July
20, 1934–November 1, 2016) Johnny Lee passed away Tuesday November 1, 2016. He
was buried Friday the 4th at the High Bluff Cemetery near Hoboken, Georgia.
Helwig,
Steven (November 18, 1957–January 21, 2018) Steven Helwig
passed away Sunday, January 21, 2018 in Gridley, Butte County, California.
Spurlock, Tom Junior “Tommie” (June 7, 1930—January 24, 2024) … Margaret died March 6, 2020. Tommie died January 24, 2024. They are buried at the Mabson Methodist Church Cemetery in Dale County, Alabama.
Pope, Mattie. Martha Matilda “Mattie” Pope was the daughter of George William Pope and Sarah Missouri Head of Crenshaw County, Alabama, born January 29, 1889. She arranged The Blessed Lamb, a song already in The Sacred Harp on page 454, when she was about 13 years old.. The greatest part of the arrangement of this tune is the change of the initial section from 3/4 to 2/4 time. There are a few note changes as well. Minnie Floyd added the alto part. In her youth, Mattie was active in the singings in Crenshaw County. She served as secretary of the all-day singing at Luverne in 1908 (as well as other years). W. M. Cooper was among the “prominent visiting singers present.” Mattie taught music in school, and taught private piano lessons. She married fellow Sacred Harp singer A. O. Jackson at Luverne, September 7, 1919. They lived in Luverne, Mountain Creek, and Montgomery in Alabama, and Miami in Florida (and perhaps other places). Mattie died in Miami, Florida. A. O. and Mattie are buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia.
454
The Blessed Lamb (arranged)
Pope, Mattie
U. S. Federal Censuses, 1900-1940
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176908826/martha-matilda-jackson
“News of Luverne,” The Montgomery Advertiser, Tuesday, June 9, 1908, p. 2
“Pope-Jackson At Luverne,” The Luverne Journal, Thursday, September 18, 1919, p. 1
“Mrs. A. O. Jackson Dies At Her Home in Miami,” The Montgomery Advertiser, Saturday, November 1, 1947, p. 8
