John Lange Jr. and John William “Blind” Boone. Image courtesy of State Historical Society of Missouri (#005742).

Edited byMary Collins Barile

Christine Montgomery

Foreword byMax Morath

Truman State University PressKirksville, Missouri

Merit, Not Sympathy, WinsThe Life and Times of Blind Boone

Copyright © 2012 Truman State University Press, Kirksville, Missouri, 63501All rights reservedtsup.truman.edu

This volume includes an annotated edition of Blind Boone: His Early Life and His Achievements (2nd ed.) by Melissa Fuell-Cuther, originally published by Evangel Publishing Society (Robbins, TN) in 1918. The first edition was published in 1915 by Burton Publishing (Kansas City, MO).

Cover photo courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri (#001578). The caption read: “Jno. Lange and Jno. W. (Blind) Boone. The most astute, dignified and successful manager of the race, and the greatest living musical prodigy, who have journeyed together in the Blind Boone Concert Company thirty-five years, a record unsurpassed or equalled by any other company, white or colored in America. Both philanthropic, generous and kind hearted to a degree, they are loved by their race throughout the length and breadth of America. — ‘Kansas City Sun’ Press Associated News, Dec. 5, 1914.”

Cover design: Teresa Wheeler

Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data

Merit not sympathy wins : the life and times of Blind Boone / edited by Mary Barile & Christine Montgomery.

p. cm.“This volume includes an annotated edition of Blind Boone : his early life and his achievements (2nd ed.) by Melissa Fuell-Cuther.”Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-1-61248-065-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-61248-066-4 (ebook)1. Boone, Blind, 1864–1927. 2. Composers—United States—Biography. 3. Ragtime music—History and criticism. I. Barile, Mary. II. Montgomery, Christine. III. Fuell, Melissa. Blind Boone.ML410.B715M47 2012781.64'5092—dc23[B]

2012012081

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any format by any means without writ-ten permission from the publisher.

The paper in this publication meets or exceeds the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48– 1992.

Contents

Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ixMax Morath

Preface: A Life Retold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Strains from Flat Branch: The Music of Blind Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1John Davis

A Place and a Time: The Missouri of Blind Boone and John Lange Jr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Greg Olson and Gary Kremer

Melissa Fuell-Cuther and Blind Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Mary Barile and Marilyn Hillsman

Blind Boone: His Early Life and His Achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Melissa Fuell-Cuther

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter I . Introductory Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Chapter II . Birth and Early Childhood Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter III . School Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter IV . Out in the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Chapter V . John Lange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Chapter VI . On the Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Chapter VII . Prof . John William Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Chapter VIII . What Others Think of Boone’s Worth . . . . . . . 117

Chapter IX . Concert Reminiscences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Chapter X . Some of Boone’s Songs (Original) . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

vi a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Contents

Chapter XI. Instrumental Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Chapter XII. Supplement – Boone’s Faithful Manager Dies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Chapter XIII. Peeping Back Then Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Chapter XIV. Conclusion – O. M. Shackelford . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

The Story Continues… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Mike Shaw and Christine Montgomery

Selected Chronology: The Life and Times of John William “Blind” Boone and John Lange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Contributor Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Music Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Illustrations

John Lange Jr. and John William “Blind” Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Advertising flyer for Blind Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Sheet music cover, “Melons Cool and Green” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Boone at home, circa 1911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Blind Boone on the porch of his home in Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Portrait of Blind Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Portrait of Mrs. Melissa Fuell-Cuther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Portrait of Mrs. Rachel Hendrix, Boone’s Mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Boone’s Childhood Home, drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Portrait of Senator Francis M. Cockrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Boone’s Little Tin Whistle Band, drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Portrait of John Lange Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Lange’s Residence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Ed, the parrot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Lange’s Cottages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

“Lady” (Lange’s horse) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Portrait of Blind Boone, age 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Portrait of Mrs. G. W. Sampson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Portrait of Miss Stella May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Portrait of Miss Emma Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Ed and the School Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

viii a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Illustrations

Portrait of Mrs. J. W. (Eugenia) Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Boone at the piano in his home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Portrait of President Hayes, given to Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Portrait of Blind Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Sketch of Blind Tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

“The Moon” (Boone’s car) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Portrait of Marguerite Boyd-Day, detail from an advertising flyer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Concert announcement, circa 1921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Blind Boone with his wife, Eugenia, circa 1890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

John William “Blind” Boone, circa 1922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

ix

ForewordMax Morath

The lives of two musicians of unquestioned genius were rooted in the state of Mis-souri at the turn of the twentieth century: Scott Joplin, who lived in the state from 1894 to 1907, and John William “Blind” Boone, who lived and died there. For years, their accomplishments were obscured by the passage of time and the indif-ference of a heedless society. While one musician’s work has been rediscovered and is cherished, the other’s still awaits full recognition.

After falling into relative obscurity during his lifetime, the life and work of Scott Joplin (1868– 1917) finally gained the notice of critics, scholars, and musi-cians almost forty years ago. By 1975, his compositions for piano, now known as classic rags, had been widely recorded and republished. The story of John William Boone (1864– 1927), on the other hand, resurfaces with the publication of this text, which will bring academic and media attention to the memory of the man who became “Blind Boone.”

The lives of Boone and Joplin have equal importance to the story of American music, but for entirely different reasons. Today Joplin is recognized as the father of a form of piano music called, for reasons that remain unclear, ragtime. In fact, his 1899 hit “Maple Leaf Rag” defined the genre for years. As a pianist of no more than average skill, Scott Joplin was unable to couple his career as a performer to his work as a composer, and so in his own time, Joplin was not a famous man. For-tunately, he continued to publish: first in St. Louis, then in New York. The most superb items in Joplin’s canon, however, withered in publishers’ files and private collections until they were rediscovered during the 1970s.

John William Boone, however, was a famous man during his lifetime. As you will learn in this indispensable biography and the accompanying essays, his career as a celebrated concert artist spanned more than forty years. Blind Boone’s success rested on his stunning command of the keyboard, enhanced by his perfect tonal memory. He was also a gifted showman and a storyteller of unfailing goodwill and

x a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Max Morath

gentle humor. In spite of increasing racial tensions and the hardening of Jim Crow laws, he performed throughout the nation for segregated audiences, both black and white. These talents and traits, indeed Boone’s very essence, allowed him to experience what affection and forbearance he did enjoy during a time of racist rigidity. While most African American artists, even major stars such as vaudeville performer and recording star Bert Williams, were obliged to shuffle around on stage in blackface, wearing slap shoes and tramp clothes, Boone appeared in his own skin. He did not shuffle and he wore a tuxedo. How did he do it? Touring in Boone’s America was hard enough without the added burden of racial barriers and insults. Was it only his blindness that softened the hostilities imposed by dis-crimination? There is abundant evidence in these pages to the contrary— it was his talent, and the joy with which he brought it to the stage, that momentarily overruled the racist dispositions of his time.

Unlike Boone, Scott Joplin enjoyed only limited success during his life and died in obscurity. The public’s rediscovery of his music came about in a cascading series of events. In 1971 the New York Public Library republished his piano music and the score of his forgotten 1911 opera, Treemonisha. Never fully staged in Joplin’s lifetime, it was finally performed in its entirety in Atlanta under the direction of Robert Shaw in 1972. Piano recordings of Joplin’s rags proliferated through a wide range of labels, and arrangements of the rags for chamber orchestras led to their use in the major motion picture The Sting (1973), featuring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, two major stars at the height of their popularity. Set in 1936, the film was underscored with Joplin’s music, and its success did much to revive ragtime. Books, films, and television specials about the composer followed, and in 1976, after a production of Treemonisha on Broadway, Scott Joplin was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

A similar groundswell of interest in the life of John William Boone is now building. Access to information about his life and events featuring his music are converging, and the publication of this key biography is leading the way. Research concerning Boone’s music should now deepen with the pending publication of his transcriptions and compositions. In 2008, pianist John Davis released Marshfield Tornado: John Davis Plays Blind Boone (Newport Classic), a definitive recording of Boone’s challenging arrangements. It includes his stunning version of “Old Folks at Home,” the score of which is included in these pages. In addition to lovers of music, scholars are becoming increasingly interested in Boone’s life, notably Mike Shaw, Gary Kremer, and Greg Olson, who are represented in this volume. Their efforts to unearth Boone’s life and music surely foreshadow the coming full- court media attention to the artist.

But here ends the parallel between modern rediscoveries of Boone and Joplin.

Foreword a xi

We heard Scott Joplin’s music and found that we loved it. We embraced his legacy as a composer, but we knew or cared little about his life. It is John William Boone’s life itself that awaits our attention. His slender musical legacy will please us, but we now need to plumb the depths of the man’s existence outside of his music. His is a life shaped like that of a great novel— one that features courage in the face of poverty and adversity, bolstered by hope and friendship.

John William Boone was born in 1864, when the Civil War had yet to con-clude. He was thirteen years old in 1877 when Reconstruction ended, and he was thirty- two years old when the Supreme Court handed down Plessy v. Ferguson, legalizing the “separate but equal” doctrine that triggered the onrush of Jim Crow laws, which prevailed into the 1960s. In 1915, the year this biography was first published, D. W. Griffith released The Birth of a Nation, a film that was as cinemati-cally innovative as it was viciously racist. Many historians agree that it played a major role in the upsurge of bigotry and racial violence that followed and contrib-uted to the renewed activism of the Ku Klux Klan after World War I. Blind Boone’s years of national celebrity fit precisely within these turbulent years. His first for-mal concert under Lange’s management took place in 1880; his last concert took place in 1927, the year of his death.

Many men and women of equal courage and determination played vital roles in his story: John William Boone’s mother, Rachael, a contraband slave on the day of his birth; his manager, John Lange Jr.; Lange’s sister Eugenia, who became Boone’s wife; and the author of this biography herself, Melissa Fuell- Cuther. Lange, himself a former slave, guided Boone’s career from the age of sixteen with a careful and caring eye. Already a successful Missouri businessman, Lange chanced to hear Boone at a church recital. Following the young man’s performance, Lange offered to direct his career, which flourished because the manager approached it as though it were a business. He enlarged the concert format to include a succes-sion of talented singers, and he hired advance men and road managers to handle travel arrangements and publicity, staging, lighting, and box office control. With-out Lange’s business acumen and faith in Boone, the performer might have disap-peared into the shadows of saloons and tenderloin districts.

Author Melissa Fuell- Cuther (1886– 1968) modestly notes her accomplish-ments as a youthful singer with the Boone Company, but the continued story of her long life reveals a determined woman who became a prominent educator. She also championed the memory of another Missouri native, George Wash-ington Carver, until the federal government dedicated a national monument to his memory. One year before his death, John Lange had petitioned her to write a biography of Boone. It was a timely decision of invaluable foresight; without

xii a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Max Morath

that volume, no coherent story of Boone’s life would exist— just endless scraps of concert bills and notices, without much detail regarding his origins and his family, and their roots in slavery.

In 1994, musicologist Edward A. Berlin, after years spent tracking the life of Scott Joplin, produced his monumental biography, The King of Ragtime (Oxford University Press). This volume provides a starting point for similar research into the life of Boone, but there is still much work to be done. No doubt there are resources yet to be discovered; perhaps there are mildewed diaries, church records, and newspaper files out there, awaiting the efforts of devoted scholars to comb through a near- century’s worth of stories to uncover unique insights about Boone’s one- of- a- kind touring company in a nation still in the grip of Jim Crow, and use that information to reconstruct the epic of the life of Boone.

Did Blind Boone know Joplin? Some say he must have. Joplin was living in Sedalia on the several occasions that Boone performed there. But it’s facile to assume that all professional pianists of the 1890s— African American or white— were caught up in the ragtime storm; there’s little evidence that Boone was part of it. Consider Boone’s published work. Only two pieces employ the word “rag” in their titles, and their scores bear little resemblance to the prevalent form of classic piano ragtime. Neither one is reprinted in either edition of this biography. Was this Fuell- Cuther’s decision, Boone’s, or Lange’s? Indeed, you will search through the text of both editions in vain to find the author, even once, using the word “ragtime” positively or negatively. The word does appear in a review quoted from a Fort Dodge newspaper in 1915, stating that Boone played “the classics and rag-time” (p. 119–20 [Fuell-Cuther, Blind Boone, 133–34]). That is simply a careless use of the word, however; by 1915 all popular music was called ragtime.

Boone composed, yes, but he also performed those compositions. His surviv-ing works, several of which are reprinted in this volume, are of extreme technical difficulty. They were, nonetheless, carefully engraved and published. If Boone had been consistently composing and performing rags, why were they not published, especially in his home state of Missouri, the acknowledged birthplace of ragtime? J. W. Jenkins & Son of Kansas City published his densely scored seventeen- page arrangement of “Old Folks at Home” in 1898. After 1900 the Jenkins firm was also a consistent publisher of ragtime. In St. Louis, John Stark & Son, having launched Joplin’s seminal “Maple Leaf Rag” in 1899, became for years the nation’s major publisher of classic rags. If ragtime was the rage at the time, why weren’t Boone’s two “rags” snatched up by these publishers? Instead, they were published in 1908 and 1909 by W. B. Allen, proprietor of a music store in Columbia, and bore Allen’s personal copyright registry rather than Boone’s.

Foreword a xiii

Blind Boone, who became nationally famous, performed in both Boston and New York. Some of his concert pieces carry the imprint of the respected, old Bos-ton publishing firms of Oliver Ditson and John Church. Neither published any ragtime, by Boone or anyone else; but what of ragtime’s Tin Pan Alley power-houses in New York, such as Jos. W. Stern & Co. or Jerome Remick? Both lack even a single Boone title.

We want John William Boone to be a notable character in the story of ragtime. The fact that he was not should not slacken our interest in him; rather it should strengthen it. Boone’s career paralleled Joplin’s in its timing and location, and the lives of both men were grounded in music, but as the years go by, Boone’s career will resonate beyond his music to invaluably remind us of the pains and rewards of our national past. Scott Joplin’s ragtime has found its place in the history of American music, but it is John William Boone’s life that now renews its ascendancy into the history of America itself.

xv

A Life RetoldPreface

In 1915 a relatively unknown young black woman put pen to paper to write the only biography of the turn- of- the- century musical sensation known as Blind Boone to be written during his lifetime. As a part of his touring company and a lifelong acquaintance of Boone, the author, Melissa Fuell- Cuther, had insider knowledge of the musician/composer and wrote what serves as the foundation of current knowledge and lore about Boone. Her book provides a look at the enter-tainment industry during this period, as well as the difficulties encountered by black entertainers during the height of the Jim Crow era.

The biography was commissioned by Boone’s manager, John Lange. That fact, as well as the tone of the book, conveys the underlying sense that the biography orig-inally had promotional value— it was used to present Boone to the larger world in the hopes of expanding his audience. It is the record of how the two men, especially Lange, wanted their lives to be remembered. As a tribute or homage, it does not pro-vide a critical view of Boone’s life or music. Indeed, Fuell- Cuther’s tone toward both Boone and Lange is almost reverential. This is not naïve hero worship, however. It is difficult to describe to today’s audience how important these two men were to the black population in the United States during this time. Not only were they widely recognized and respected for their abilities, but they were also acknowledged civic leaders and philanthropists in both black and white communities.

Fuell reprinted the biography in 1918 with some revisions. Most notably, she added chapters about the death of John Lange and information about the com-pany’s activities immediately afterward. As memories of Boone’s piano virtuosity faded after his own death in 1927, both editions of his biography became rare and his name largely fell into obscurity. Although Boone never considered himself or desired to be known as a ragtime composer, it was ragtime performers who kept his name and music alive as those performers struggled with public neglect of America’s first original musical genre. Jazz replaced ragtime in popularity even

xvi a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Preface

before Boone’s death in 1927, and ragtime only enjoyed a major resurgence of interest in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Some local groups in Boone’s hometown communities of Warrensburg and Columbia, Missouri, did their part to keep his name from falling through the cracks of time. In the 1950s, the citizens of Warrensburg renamed a previously segre-gated park in his honor, and today, a citizens group continues to educate the park’s visiting public about Boone. In the 1960s, the University of Missouri performed and recorded a concert of Boone music. This started a momentum building to recognize Missouri as the birthplace of ragtime music and honor Boone as one of the earliest ragtime composers and performers. Lucille Salerno further increased Boone’s name recognition by changing the name of her annual international rag-time festival in Columbia, Missouri, to the John William “Blind” Boone Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival in 1994. The festival continues today and always features the music of Boone. Several CDs have been dedicated to Boone’s music: Frank Townsell’s Blind Boone’s Piano Music (1998) and more recently Marshfield Tor-nado by John Davis (2008), as well as the Blind Boone Park Renovation Group’s fundraising CD, Blind Boone: Strains from the Flat Branch, which features seven of Boone’s piano- roll recordings from the early 1900s. Efforts are now underway to restore Boone’s home in Columbia.

In 2010, Mary Barile recognized the increasing rarity and importance of the Fuell biography. She pulled together a group of historians and musicians who cared deeply about the Boone story, and submitted a proposal to Truman State University Press for reprinting the biography with accompanying essays. Christine Montgom-ery then assumed the job of editing, fact-checking, and annotating the Fuell text to bring the project to fruition. This volume sets the stage for Fuell’s biography by plac-ing Boone in the context of his time, geographical location, and the music of the era. Juilliard- trained pianist and music historian John Davis, who learned of Blind Boone through his earlier research on the life of Blind Tom, describes a few of the period’s musical influences on Boone’s work, how he affected the music of his day, and the impact of his music on later developments in American music. Historians Gary Kre-mer and Greg Olson provide an essay on what it was like to live in Missouri during the turbulent Civil War era and subsequent Jim Crow laws, with a focus on life in Boone’s hometown of Columbia. This includes information on John Lange’s fam-ily, who were important to the history of black Columbia. Mary Barile and Marilyn Hillsman provide us with details of Melissa Fuell’s life after publication of the biog-raphy. In the final essay of the book, Mike Shaw and Christine Montgomery explain what happened to Boone after the death of John Lange, which is where Fuell’s story of the musician leaves off.

A Life Retold xvii

Fuell’s 1918 edition is reproduced here for the scholar who seeks knowledge of this exceptionally talented individual and background information on what was occurring in the entertainment industry at the turn of the twentieth century. Fuell relied on Boone for the facts of his life, which means that some names are spelled phonetically and chronologies are often approximate. The editors have made every effort to identify the individuals mentioned and indicate proper spelling in footnotes, but within the text itself, original spelling variations and punctuation usage has been retained. Fuell’s prose and many of the contemporary newspaper accounts reflect the language, prejudices, and stereotypes of the era. These provide the reader with a sense of Boone’s time and help with understanding the environ-ment in which Boone and his contemporaries lived. Any differences between the 1915 and 1918 editions are also noted.

With growing interest in the music and life of Boone and expanded online access to newspapers and documents, additional information about the artist’s life and musical career continues to come to light. Online resources, such as the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America newspaper project, proved invaluable in piecing together the life of Boone and those connected to him outside of his home state. For Missouri resources, the State Historical Society’s newspaper and manuscript collections proved equally important.

Many people made this project possible. The editors wish to thank each of the essayists, who have willingly donated their time and all proceeds from the sale of this book to the restoration of the Boone home in Columbia. Special thanks to Mike Shaw, whose invaluable research was instrumental in making this book the resource that it is. His extensive research in tracking down primary sources allows us to distinguish the facts from the myths surrounding the musician. His gener-osity in sharing much of his research is evident in the annotations to the Fuell biography. Any errors in the annotations are the responsibility of the editors. We also wish to thank Mark Bowdin at the Detroit Public Library and the staff at the State Historical Society of Missouri, especially Kim Harper, Sara Przybylski, and Peter McCarthy, for their assistance and diligence; Lucille Salerno for her support and advice; and Tess Montgomery Olson for her willingness to key in the original manuscript and cfrancis blackchild for assisting with the proofing. Last, but not least, we thank Truman State University Press for taking on this publication, espe-cially Barbara Smith- Mandell and Nancy Rediger for their assistance and willing-ness to help spread this story.

The story of Boone is by no means complete. There is still much to be uncov-ered, and his true place in music is yet to be defined. We hope this volume will inspire others to continue investigating his life and influence. In the last chapter of

xviii a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Preface

Fuell’s biography, O. M. Shackelford writes that Fuell’s chief desire in publishing the story of Lange and Boone was to open the pages of their lives to the world in order that they may be honored for what they accomplished. We share that desire and hope that you will also find their story rewarding.

Christine MontgomeryMary BarileDecember 28, 2011

1

Strains from Flat BranchThe Music of Blind Boone

John Davis

The piano career of John William “Blind” Boone (1864–1927), a sightless son of a free black woman and a white bugle player in the Union army, did not just survive during the Jim Crow era—it flourished. As blacks were regularly being lynched around him (a particularly brutal such murder occurred in 1923, just blocks from the pianist’s home in Columbia, Missouri1), Boone and his all-black Boone Concert Company traversed the Midwest and western United States over and over again, performing for often racially segregated audiences. During its peak from 1885 to 1916, Boone’s traveling musical extravaganza, under the deft man-agement of African American John Lange Jr., toured ten months out of the year, gave six concerts a week, and in 1908 took in $150 to $600 a night, equivalent to $3,600 to $14,375 in 2010 dollars.2

More astonishing than its financial success was the Boone Concert Compa-ny’s ability to sustain such popularity and influence while assuming a decidedly activist stance. The company motto, “Merit, not Sympathy, Wins,” was a direct challenge to the discriminatory promotion of Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins (1849–1908), the formerly enslaved, sightless, and probably autistic Georgia pia-nist/composer on whose career Boone’s was initially modeled. Throughout Wig-gin’s enormously successful run of concerts in the second half of the nineteenth century, most legitimate aspects of the pianist’s artistic talent were downplayed in favor of a sensationalized publicity campaign designed to fan the flame of accepted

1. For more information on Missouri lynchings and the cultural climate in which Boone and Lange traveled during this period, see Olson and Kremer in this volume, pp. 11–23.2. See p. 96 (Fuell-Cuther, Blind Boone, 100–101). The figures for 2010 dollars were calculated using The Infla-tion Calculator at www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi.

2 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Davis

racial stereotypes of the era and the public’s limitless fascination with the freak show. The architect of this cynically designed marketing approach was James Neil Bethune, Wiggin’s former owner and post-emancipation legal guardian, and prior to the Civil War, one of the leading anti-abolitionist newspaper publishers in the South. Doubling as Blind Tom’s manager, Bethune and his hired deputies falsely advertised Blind Tom as merely a bovine, musical illiterate, in possession of an inexplicably prodigious memory, ear, and keyboard prowess.

Boone’s own career was launched by an infamous playoff staged by John Lange Jr. that successfully pitted the upstart fifteen-year-old against the older and more-seasoned Wiggins at Garth Hall in Columbia, Missouri, in 1880.3 From that night on, Boone’s programs, like his predecessor’s, always featured performances of his own compositions, well-known opera transcriptions, and a variable mix of main-stream classical works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Thalberg, and Gottschalk, as well as several of Blind Tom’s signature keyboard and extra-musical stunts.4 Even “Blind John,” an early stage name Boone adopted but later abandoned, paid hom-age to Wiggins. But the Blind Boone Concert Company, officially established in 1880, soon departed from the Blind Tom model. The activist impulse that lay at the core of the company mission took precedence over any initial urge to ride the coattails of Blind Tom. Boone and Lange adopted “Merit, Not Sympathy, Wins” as their motto, in an attempt to discourage the kind of sordid attention to the star’s infirmities that had been such an effective drawing card in Wiggin’s career.

More generally, “Merit, Not Sympathy Wins” was a call to eliminate the racial barriers imposed by Jim Crow. The Boone Company’s weapon of choice in fighting institutionalized racism was African American music. Boone and Lange sought to break down racial barriers of the era by exposing both blacks and whites in the audience to the rich sound world of African American culture. In his con-cert programs, Boone regularly performed camp meeting tunes, plantation mel-odies, negro spirituals, minstrel songs, ragtime, coon songs, and his own black music–inspired piano pieces: a strategy Boone characterized as “putting cookies on the lower shelf so that everyone can get at them.” In the process, Boone became the first instrumentalist, preceded only by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a choral group of former slaves from Fisk University, to bring nineteenth-century African Ameri-can–influenced folk and popular music into the concert hall.5

3. See p. 69 (Fuell-Cuther, Blind Boone, 63).4. Like Wiggins, Boone performed keyboard imitations of various musical instruments and mechanical devices, and rendered three songs at once: one in the right hand, another in the left, and a third vocally, each in a different key. He also referenced Blind Tom by playing back, on the spot and note-for-note, clusters of random notes and an original piece hammered out moments earlier by a local pianist onstage. 5. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, who performed a series of celebrated tours of North America and Europe in the

Initially adopting the freak-show sensational-ism used by Blind Tom’s promoters, Lange quickly dropped this approach and often described Boone’s intelligence in advertisements and programs. Image cour-tesy of Ellie Fike Diaries 1879–1892 (#2216.f.2), State Historical Society of Missouri Manuscript Collection.

11

A Place and a TimeThe Missouri of Blind Boone

and John Lange Jr.

Greg Olson and Gary R. Kremer

Melissa Fuell’s biography of John William Boone is important, not only because it gives us insight into the life of this extraordinary entertainer, but also because of what it tells us about his manager, John Lange Jr., and the cultural climate that shaped both men. Boone was born in Missouri, and Lange moved there from Kentucky when he was about ten years old. Despite enjoying the national acclaim and wealth that could easily have been their one- way ticket to stardom in Chicago, New York, or New Orleans, Boone and Lange both chose to make their homes in the Show- Me State. As Fuell states in her supplement to Blind Boone, “The two were as one,” and their stories give us a rare glimpse into the experience of African Americans living in Missouri at the turn of the twentieth century.

For most of his life, John William “Blind” Boone rarely stayed in one place for long. From his infant days in a Union militia camp near Miami, Missouri, to his adult years spent as a traveling musician, he lived a life of transience. Blind Boone’s travels took him throughout the state and, eventually, across the country. By the time he was forty- nine years- old, Boone claimed to have traveled more than 144,000 miles and slept in 7,000 beds.1 But even though John William Boone spent much of his life shuttling between concert halls and railroad stations, he considered Columbia, Missouri, to be the one place he could call home.

Though he was born among soldiers who fought for the Union cause, the camp in which Boone spent his earliest days was located in the heart of Missouri’s slave region. Saline County’s five thousand African American slaves accounted for

1. Swindell, “John William Boone’s Chicago Itinerary,” 113.

12 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Olson and Kremer

roughly one- third of the county’s total population on the eve of the Civil War.2 The commitment of Saline County residents to slavery can be measured in part by the fact that, in the presidential election of 1860, the county’s voters failed to cast a single ballot for Abraham Lincoln, the candidate who opposed the expansion of slavery into United States’ territories.3

The racial oppression that continued after emancipation dictated what Boone and other Missourians of color were able to do and how they were able to live. For example, Boone’s white father and black mother never married. Missouri law would have prohibited them from doing so, even if they had wanted to. The prohi-bition against a black person marrying a white person persisted until nearly half a century after Boone’s death in 1927. Racial division was also institutionalized and codified in the way Missourians were educated throughout Boone’s life— black and white students were prohibited from attending school together.

Boone was still an infant when, at the war’s end, his mother, Rachel, moved to Warrensburg, Missouri, the county seat of Johnson County and home to a couple of thousand African Americans, forming a significantly lower percentage of the population than in Saline County.4 Like the vast majority of Missouri blacks who emerged from the Civil War, Boone’s mother did not have the formal education that might have helped her make the transition from slavery to freedom because antebellum Missouri law had prohibited slaves from being taught to read or write. Thus, the illiterate Rachel Boone turned to the domestic skills she learned as a slave to earn a living for herself and her son; the 1870 federal census lists her occu-pation as “Washing and Ironing.”

While Boone enjoyed a relatively stationary childhood in Warrensburg, the local black school was not equipped to handle a young blind student. So, in 1872, Rachel sent nine- year- old “Willy” to the Missouri Institution for the Education of the Blind, a St. Louis- based facility that operated as a special branch of the state’s public school system. Local white Warrensburg townsfolk, many of whom had employed Rachael as a laundress, aided the family by raising money to help pay the costs of Willy’s education. By the time Willy arrived at the school, no more than a half- dozen of the nearly one hundred students in attendance were African American. Still, it is ironic that Boone’s blindness entitled him to attend a racially

2. “Census of Missouri: Table Showing the Population of Missouri by Counties, as Returned by the Eighth Census, 1860,” Records of the 1861 Missouri State Convention, Missouri State Archives.3. Election Returns for Saline County, Missouri, General Election, 6 Nov 1860, Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division, Missouri State Archives.4. “Census of Missouri: Table Showing the Population of Missouri by Counties, as Returned by the Eighth Census, 1860.” Records of the 1861 Missouri State Convention, Missouri State Archives.

A Place and a Time a 13

integrated school at a time when his sighted contemporaries were forced to attend segregated schools.

After a series of misadventures led to his dismissal from the school, Willy lived for a time on the streets of St. Louis, broke and hungry. After a brief stay back in Warrensburg, Boone left home again at the age of twelve to become an entertainer, embarking on a life of near- constant travel. Under the direction of an unscrupulous manager, Boone first played harmonica in the streets of small towns in central Missouri.

By the time that Boone is first known to have set foot in Columbia in the late 1870s, it was a rough- hewn town of just over three thousand people. In 1821, the city’s first homes and businesses had been erected in a shallow valley where Flat Branch Creek intersected the newly rerouted Boonslick Trail, which linked Columbia to St. Charles and St. Louis to the east, and to the Santa Fe Trail to the west. Though conveniently close to water, the town was an undesirable location to situate a home or conduct business. The low- lying land along the creek was often damp and swampy, leaving the unpaved streets and market square mired in muck. As the town grew in size, Flat Branch Creek also became a dumping ground for refuse and sewage. By the 1840s, white merchants and residents began abandon-ing the area in favor of higher ground a few blocks to the east. Seeing an opportu-nity to buy affordable land, a small number of free African Americans purchased much of the property bordering the fetid creek and established a neighborhood that was first called Blackcrook and later known as the Sharp End.5

One of the most prominent early black businessmen to work in Blackcrook was John Bateste Lang Sr. (the family would eventually change the spelling of their name to Lange). Lang, a free French Creole from Louisiana, married Louisa, a slave who belonged to the second wife of James Shannon, an educator and pro- slavery preacher. The Langs had thirteen children. One of their elder sons, John Jr., who was born in 1840, would later become Blind Boone’s manager. Before moving to Columbia, the Shannon and Lang families lived in Harrodsburg, Ken-tucky, where James Shannon, a Disciples of Christ preacher, served as president of Bacon College. When the University of Missouri offered Shannon the post of president in 1850, John Lang Sr. followed the Shannon family and their slaves from Kentucky to Columbia in order to be near his wife and their children, who remained enslaved after moving to Missouri.

Even though he was a free man, John Lang Sr. needed a license to live in Columbia. Between 1845 and 1865, any “free Negroes and mulattos” who wanted to settle in Boone County, Missouri, where Columbia is located, had to show that

5. Jindrich, “Our Black Children: The Evolution of Black Space in Columbia, Missouri,” 18, 41.

24

Melissa Fuell- Cuther and Blind Boone

Mary Barile and Marilyn Hillsman

In 1915, Blind Boone: His Life and Times became the first biography of a black musician published in America. The author, a young black woman, was relatively unknown, but the musician known as Blind Boone was a beloved national sensa-tion, especially within the black community. Born in 1864, Boone lost his sight shortly after birth, but his genius for music became apparent while he was still a young child, and he later encountered people who took advantage of his tal-ents. A chance meeting with Columbia, Missouri, contractor John Lange saved Boone from a life of hardship and obscurity. Their lives entwined for thirty- one years— as friends, colleagues, and business partners. Shortly before his death in 1916, Lange commissioned Melissa Fuell, a singer in their entertainment com-pany, to write Boone’s biography.

What little is known today about Fuell must be teased out from obituaries, news articles, and the book itself, in which her former teacher O. M. Shackelford wrote of Fuell’s early life in a concluding chapter. Born in Warrensburg, Missouri, on May 15, 1886, Fuell received a degree from the Lincoln Institute (now Lin-coln University) in Jefferson City, Missouri. “I always wanted to attend the then Lincoln Institute State college at Jefferson city,” she recalled. “Through interested teachers I found a way to work my way through Lincoln. I scrubbed the wood- covered halls on my knees, as no one used mops.” She graduated with second- highest honors from Lincoln— losing out on the highest honor, she believed, only because she was competing with a male student.1

After graduation, Fuell traveled to Colorado where she searched for a teach-ing job while supporting herself as a house cleaner. She returned to Missouri

1. Unidentified newspaper article by Joannie Kidder, “Cuther, Melissa Fuell” Vertical File, SHS MO.

Melissa Fuell- Cuther and Blind Boone a 25

when she was hired to teach first grade in Joplin, where she remained from 1905 to 1912. A talented singer who had performed as child, Fuell joined the Blind Boone Concert Company at the suggestion of Miss Emma Smith, the company’s lead singer. Like other singers before her, Fuell also worked as the company sec-retary. After becoming acquainted with her skills, John Lange commissioned her to write a biography of John Boone, which, given Boone’s popularity and fame, Lange expected to become a bestseller.

In 1915, Fuell left the company to promote the book, but despite her efforts and Boone’s fame, Blind Boone had limited sales. The following year, Fuell mar-ried Charles William “Sunshine” Cuther of Carthage, Missouri. Cuther was a hotel employee renowned for his personality and sense of humor. He worked for more than fifty years at the Connor Hotel in Joplin, a popular stop for entertain-ers and celebrities. Just as she had promised Lange shortly before his death, the couple purchased several properties, including apartment houses, where they hosted black performers such as Marion Anderson and Duke Ellington, who were refused lodgings at the area’s whites- only hotels.

Fuell- Cuther’s accomplishments as a community leader and educator were impressive during a time when blacks were barred from many places of work and education. When Fuell- Cuther saw a need, she did not allow the existence of seg-regation to stop her. One of her colleagues recalled in later years that “when [politi-cians] saw her coming, they knew it was business.”2 Recognizing the importance of George Washington Carver to American history, she helped to preserve his home and later worked to establish the George Washington Carver National Park site, the first such site to honor an African- American. She was instrumental in opening and supporting the George Washington Carver Memorial Nursery School on the Carver property, the first organization of its kind for working African American families in Joplin. The Carver property, under Fuell- Cuther’s leadership, also became the site of Ewert Park, the first park for African Americans in Joplin. Fuell- Cuther formed the first African American Girl Scout troop in Missouri in 1946 and worked to develop many other projects within the black community, including Lincoln High School, the Ewert Park Little League, and Camp Mintahama.

Like Boone and Lange, the couple was active in the Masons: Melissa was a matron of the Missouri Masonic Order and the Eastern Star, and Charles was a past master of a Joplin Masonic lodge.3 After the death of Charles Cuther, Fuell-

2. Christen Reuter, Undated newspaper article, Joplin (MO) Globe , “Cuther, Melissa Fuell” Vertical Files, SHS MO.3. “Of Cabbages and Kings,” unidentified Joplin newspaper article by Porter Wittich in “Cuther, Melissa Fuell” Vertical File, SHS MO.

26 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Barile and Hillsman

Cuther briefly lived in Kansas City with their daughter, Charlene Cuther Ander-son, but returned to live out her remaining years in Joplin.

Fuell- Cuther’s understanding of John William Boone and his music was based upon mutual respect (she referred to him as “Brother Boone”), a lifelong friend-ship, and her dedication to music and education. In the biography, Fuell- Cuther commented on the hardship and discrimination the troupe faced in the days of Jim Crow with a clear voice and no self- pity, believing firmly in Lange’s dictum that merit, not sympathy, wins. Although Fuell- Cuther is generally uncritical of Boone, Lange, and their times (befitting her mission to uplift and inspire readers), her book is a rare record of the daily lives and lifelong careers of two remarkable African Americans. Two editions of the biography were published during Fuell- Cuther’s lifetime: one in 1915 by Burton Publishing Company of Kansas City, Missouri, and a later 1918 edition, published in Robbins, Tennessee, by the Evan-gel Publishing Society. Educator and musician Otis M. Shackelford wrote in the book’s afterword that it “will be a valuable contribution to the literature and the history of the race. It will be an inspiration to the youth, a ‘living example’ of what pluck and perseverance will do.” Shackelford, author of Seeking the Best: Dedicated to Negro Youth, understood the value of Fuell- Cuther’s work. He believed that it was not the responsibility of the white community to record the history of black life in America; that responsibility lay with the black community, which held a rich fund of memory, history, and belief.4

Melissa Fuell- Cuther embraced the history of her community with a single- mindedness that accomplished things unimagined by either white or black educa-tors a generation previous. She did so with grace, grit, and talent for more than seventy years. After her death in 1968, the community erected a monument in her honor at the George Washington Carver Memorial Nursery School. The plaque is dedicated to “Melissa Cuther: Educator, Founder, Humanitarian.” In an interview shortly before she died at the age of eighty, Melissa Fuell- Cuther reflected, “There are so many beautiful opportunities to help make the world a better place in which to live,” a belief she lived with unwavering faith.5

4. Shackelford, Seeking the Best: Dedicated to Negro Youth.5. Unidentified newspaper article by Joannie Kidder, “Cuther, Melissa Fuell” Vertical File, SHS MO.

Blind Boone

Blind BooneWorld Renowned Pianist and Musical Genius

Blind BooneHis Early lifE

and

His acHiEvEmEntsIncluding “Early Life Stories;” Professional

Life Incidents; Concert Reminiscences; Brief Life of His First and Only

Manager

also

His Musical Compositions Arranged in Instrumental Selections of the Waltz,

Gallop, Caprice, Serenade, Polka, Together With His Reveries

and Songs

by

Mrs. Melissa Fuell-Cuther, B.S.D.1

Teacher of Wide Reputation, Lecturer, Author of “Life’s Mystery,” “Cry of a

Lonely Heart,” “Fire of Chicago” And Other Poetic Ballads

310 KentucKy ave., Joplin, Mo .

illustrated

EVAnGEL PuBLISHInG SOCIETy ROBBInS, TEnnESSEE2

1918

NOTE: Bracketed numbers in text indicate page numbers in original printing of 1918 edition.1. In the 1915 edition, the author’s name was listed as “Miss Melissa Fuell, B.S.D.”2. The 1915 edition was published by Burton Publishing, 915 Woodland Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri.

Mrs. Melissa Fuell-CutherThe Authoress; Former Assistant to Boone’s Manager .

Handler of All Finance, Correspondence, etc ., and Mezzo-Soprano in Blind Boone’s Concert Company3

3. The caption in the 1915 edition reads: “Miss Melissa Fuell, The Authoress; Assistant to Boone’s Manager, Handler of All Finance, Correspondence, etc., and Mezzo-Soprano in Blind Boone’s Concert Company.”

[5] To my dear Father who was ever mindful of my education and higher developments and to my faithful Mother to whom I owe everything—“All that I am and all that I hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother,”—the authoress sincerely dedicates this volume.4

4. The 1915 dedication reads: “To ‘Mrs. Mary J. Stover’ Joplin, Mo.—Truest friend, kindliest critic, staunch sup-porter of anything I have undertaken and heartiest co-operator in doing whatever she can, to promote the welfare of the principal characters of this story, the author dedicates this volume.”

33

[7] PREFACEThe hills, the rocks, the mountains steep,The valleys low, the waters deep,Are viewed by all from land to land;The works of God so great and grand;yet greater far to understan’His master work—The Mind of Man .

—Fuell

This little book aims to place the true life of a master work before the lovers of character studies .

It has been my great honor, as well as good fortune, to know the sub-ject of this sketch from my earliest childhood days, to the present date of this edition .

Many curious and anxious minds have sought to know his early life; the period of his blindness; what caused his blindness; when he first began playing; how long he has been on the road; how much money the company has handled; how far he has traveled; how much he has con-tributed to charitable [8] purposes; if his mother is living; if he is mar-ried and numerous other questions .

After you have carefully perused these pages and after you have sat-isfied yourself concerning many things in his life of which no doubt you have often wondered, it is hoped that a higher inspiration be manifested to make the best of every opportunity to find your talent and then use it to the greatest good . Accept no middle ground, but amidst trials and hardships, make your friends in this life, as did our subject—The World Renowned Pianist—John William Boone . For:

The way is broad and full of work;Some try to drift and fake it,

But if you’d win, have push and say:“It’s here for me, I’ll make it .”

––Fuell

35

[9] Table of ConTenTs

ChapTer I.InTroduCTory ChapTer

barefoot waif; un-noticed; lost in the masses; Gets discouraged but sees a lesson in the hard working farmer; a lesson for you and me; follows the lesson of life; becomes a great man; finds favor with God, who places him in fellowship with mankind; Many, in his station of life; Introduction of one; ragged, blind; little Willie boone; he, too, follows the lesson of life; becomes World renowned pianist—blind boone . . . . . . . . . . .[15] 41

ChapTer II.bIrTh and early ChIldhood days

born in Miami; his mother, southerner; left Miami; Came to War-rensburg; Willie fretful, sick; an anxious mother; fears the worst; eyes removed; hopes for recovery; health; Three years old; attracts attention by perfect rhythm, in tunes; his baby songs; eight years old; Mother marries; log cabin home; first musical instruments; organizes band; street concerts; nine years old: Mother anxious about his education; sent to school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [21] 45

ChapTer III.sChool days

enrolled; becomes a favorite; first and second terms; slow progress; attracted by music; enoch [10] donley; first opportunity; Genius; Teases other pupils; Causes jealously [sic]; encouraged by the superin-tendent; parting of friends; returns home; renders useful service; school time again; Changes; Truancy; on public program; stage fright; regains composure; Makes good; his friend, Colonel Cockrell, present; new resolutions broken; dismissed from school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [31] 53

ChapTer IV.ouT In The World

In the tenant districts of st. louis; Mr. Kerry; The way of the trans-gressor; homesick; The prodigal’s return; a job; Kidnapped; a cruel master; searching for Willie; sam reiter; a prisoner; stolen again; Cromwell caught; home again; Tells of his wanderings; at the foster school; day dreams; leaves home again; entertaining passengers’

36 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Fuell-Cuther

fakes; restrictions; banjo picker; Teacup artist; successful partnership formed; dispute over money; disbanded; In Glasgow; In fayette; In Columbia; John lange; his week of jubilee; Coming of blind Tom; plays for blind Tom; lange inspired; seeks aid from sunday school; refused; pays bill himself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [44] 60

ChapTer V.John lanGe

birth; parents; first negro school in Columbia, Mo.; negro churches; “Cummings academy”; lange’s one day in school; a contractor; loyal to his church; bankrupt; Marriage; a beautiful home; Mrs. lange travels sixteen seasons; she aids her husband; ed; lady; The Moon; real estate; learning to write; struggling upward; honored; Charitable gifts . . . . . . . . . . . [69] 73

ChapTer VI.on The road

lange contracts with boone’s mother; first concert; Working the fairs; dark days; sends home for money; Mr. Jordan; Without a piano; sends home for one; Mr. b. T. raisor; an interpreter of music [11] for boone; boone reaches maturity; boone and lange become partners; business picks up; stella May; eliza Thompkins; Josephine rivers; Margaret Ward; emma smith; her suffering and death; Jesse brosins [sic]; Melissa fuell; Marie Jackman; boone’s programs; Children are the company’s friends; extent of travel; pianos furnished boone; What lange thinks of boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [89] 89

ChapTer VII.prof. John WIllIaM boone

resident town; Marriage; Mrs. boone travels with her husband; Keeps him abreast with the times; Wonderful memory; Tests; his method of learn-ing new concert selections; progressive citizen; Charitable; faithful to mother; her death; boone’s social life; Countless numbers of friends; Med-als; boone’s appearance; Compositions; Marshfield Tornado, descriptive; songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[119] 109

ChapTer VIII.“WhaT oThers ThInK of boone’s WorTh”

park church, bloomington, Ill.; Mystic Iowa; first M. e. Church, fort dodge, Iowa; Waterloo, Iowa; abington, Ill.; Marshalltown; pontiac; blan-dinsville; rock Island; Toronto; des Moines; hannibal; Colorado springs; pueblo; st. louis; denver; Cleveland; Chicago; lincoln, neb.; st. paul; fort Wayne; detroit; Kansas City; sioux City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [131] 117

Table of Contents BLIND BOONE a 37

ChapTer IX.ConCerT reMInIsCenCes

Contest between allen Chapel and second baptist Church; boone walks from boonville to Columbia; pleasant way to get rid of bad boys; Meets enoch donley again; a minister’s story related; effect of boone’s “storm” on the citizens of Marshfield; Mr. Monser; pleasing results from his musical talent; personal valuables; old soldier remembers boone to be the babe born in their camp; Wrecks; fires; “you’ll have to rip”; blind boone and blind Tom contrasted; letters in poetry, per white salesman; [12] reply, per colored secretary; boone charters a train; lange, a generous brother; from first savings, boone makes a gift to his mother; Judge s. p. shope; Judge demur; lange’s personal interest in his employees; Gives employment to his former master in slavery; first negro advance agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [160] 138

ChapTer X.soMe of boone’s sonGs (orIGInal)

dinah’s barbecue; Cleo; you Can’t Go to Glory dat away; open de Window, let de dove Come in; dat Morning in de sky, etc. . . . [187] 155

ChapTer XI.InsTruMenTal seleCTIons

[195] 162

ChapTer XII.suppleMenT

boone’s faIThful ManaGer dIes5

[227] 194

ChapTer XIII.peepInG baCK Then forWard

[236] 199

ChapTer XIV.by prof. o. M. shaCKelford

ConClusIon

[242] 202

5. Chapters 12 and 13, “Supplement” and “Peeping Back Then Forward,” were added for the second edition.

[13] List of iLLustrationsBlind Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Frontispiece] 28Mrs . Melissa fuell-Cuther6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page [5] 30Boone’s Mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [21] 44Boone’s Childhood Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [25] 49senator francis Marion Cockrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [29] 52Boone’s Little tin Whistle Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [49] 64John Lange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [69] 72Lange’s residence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [75] 77Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [79] 83Lange’s Cottages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [81] 85“Lady” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [89] 88Boone, age fifteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [93] 91Mrs . G . W . sampson7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [99] 95Miss stella May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [101] 99Miss Emma smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [106] 104Ed and the school Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [113] 107Mrs . J . W . Boone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [119] 108Boone’s residence, Columbia, Mo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [122] 111President Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [127] 113Blind Boone and Blind tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [174] 146the Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [176] 149Marguerite Boyd-Day8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” [238] 200

6. Listed as “Miss Melissa Fuell” in the 1915 edition.7. Listed as “Mrs. M.R. Sampson’ in the 1915 edition.8. Not included in the 1915 edition.

41

[15] CHAPTER I .InTRODuCTORy CHAPTER

Since the earliest dawn of creation when the child Jesus was born of humble parents in a lowly manger and suffered injury as well as insults for righteousness sake, it seems that a certain halo of sacredness and glory has surrounded poverty and adverse circumstances . Every genera-tion looks with an uninteresting eye at first at many an unkempt bare-foot waif, so familiar to every locality and neighborhood . What if he does wear a broad smile and bright eyes, although he feels the pangs of hun-ger and cold racking his little form, while other boys surrounded with wealth and plenty are always complaining and worrying? The masses will not single him out: “He is only a waif .” What if he does deny himself of a nice bag of candy, a good time with the [16] other boys, in order to help eight or nine little brothers and sisters at home and a kind, hard-working mother?

What if he is one of the first ones in the morning looking for work and stands around waiting many minutes before time, ready to get in to his appointed task? If once employed, he works for years to pay an honest debt; to earn an honest dollar, to accumulate a little something that he might call his own .

Who notices him walk into the presence of girls and quickly slip off his little ragged cap; offer assistance to an old man; a feeble woman; answering kindly their many questions and oft-times uninteresting ones?

Ah, dear reader, I am afraid that in this rush of civilization, the little waif is lost in the masses . He is not popular, he is not in style, he has such coarse, rough features .

Many a boy in this class possesses a rich, fertile mind; a pleasing per-sonality, yet, he is passed by every day unnoticed . I believe they are the ones of whom the poet wrote when he said:

[17] “Full many a gem, of purest rays serene,The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear;

42 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Fuell-Cuther

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,And waste its sweetness on the desert air .”9

Yet, the little waif can find many lessons to help him on life’s path, if he will but grasp them .

For instance: Let us look at the farmer who desires to reap a bountiful harvest . First he plows the ground and harrows it; then he digs deep; gets dirt on his hands, dirt all over himself before he is really ready to even plant .

So it is with human nature . The boy that hopes to reap a bountiful harvest must plow and harrow at first, i.e., he must sweat over whatever he undertakes in life; work early and late, long and hard . He must dig deep, i .e ., if it is mental work, he must get all there is out of a subject before he feels that he has mastered it; if he starts to accomplish a task of manual labor and fails, start again; try every conceivable way to suc-ceed, never halting at pleasing results, but dig and keep digging deeper and deeper until the highest and greatest good is realized .

[18] Again, like the farmer, he must expect to do many things to which he is unaccustomed; even many that he doesn’t want to do .

He must go still further and get dirt all over himself, i .e ., he must face insults and abuse, ofttimes false accusations, envy, jealousy and strife .

yet if he will do these things; if he will plow, dig deep, get dirt on his hands, dirt all over himself, when the time comes for the harvest the reaping will be rich and bountiful . The masses that passed him by at first will halt and wonder: “Who is that Great Man?”

It is but the plan of creation. The little waif that is faithful will find favor with God, who will instill it into the heart of someone, who is able to help and they will see a bright future in his broad, sweet smile, express-ing kindness; they will see self-denial in his keen willingness to work for others at the sacrifice of his own pleasures; they will see promptness in his manner of waiting for the door of his workshop to open; they will see honesty in his anxiety [19] to pay his debts; they will see politeness in his readiness to take off his hat in the presence of ladies and respect for old age, when he offers assistance to the feeble .

you, dear reader, have seen the same, and it is hoped that you had the courage to pat that boy on the shoulder and say: “Go on, you are

9. Fourteenth stanza of Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in A Country Church-Yard,” published in 1751. The cor-rect first line of the stanza is “Full many a gem of purest ray serene.”

Introductory Chapter BLIND BOONE a 43

doing a great thing .” For it takes encouragement to sweeten the bitter waters of this life .

I, too, have seen the same, and I want to introduce to you a little waif . True, he had a dear mother, but he had many brothers and sisters and he was poor, ragged and blind, yet “Little Willie Boone,” for it was he, had a strong, healthy body, a sunny, cheerful disposition with a joke and a smile for everyone .

He did not stand around with his hands in his pockets, possessing a healthy body, and the average quantity of good strong muscles, dream-ing of some old rich citizen that would take pity on him and make him a great man, but with his young mind and great determination, he set out to plowing, to digging deep and getting mud all over [20] himself and although the curtains had darkened the window of his physical man, God opened the window of his soul and little Willie Boone became the famous “World Renowned Pianist—Blind Boone.” He has electrified the hearts of millions and millions of people since the first days that God instill it into the heart of one John Lange, a well-to-do citizen of Colum-bia, to pat the boy on the shoulder and tell him: “you have great things in you, my boy . Listen to me and I’ll help you to stand where you belong .”

207

The Story Continues…Mike Shaw and Christine Montgomery

John Lange played such a vital role in the life and career of John William “Blind” Boone that after the manager’s death in 1916, Mellissa Fuell- Cuther updated her Boone biography just three years after its initial printing. The second edition contains two additional chapters: one recounting the death of John Lange, and another describing how Boone carried on with the management of the company. Boone and Lange were each men of considerable talent, but their friendship and commitment to each other allowed their individual talents to develop and their partnership created a synergy that allowed Boone to thrive. Their friendship and commitment to one another was itself commendable and proved an inspiration to Melissa Fuell- Cuther and undoubtedly countless others. Over time, some have argued that Boone’s career, even his creativity, declined after Lange’s death. The reality is more complex. Judging by his publishing output, Boone’s greatest com-posing activity, one indicator of his creative output, occurred between 1886 and 1913, ending three years before Lange’s death. His touring career continued for another decade. However, years later, on the occasion of his retirement, Boone stated he was going to try to “regain his health, which failed following the death of his manager, John Lange.”1 Apparently the loss of his friend effected Boone’s heart, both physically and emotionally.

By 1916, Boone was fifty- two years old, which was approximately the aver-age life expectancy of males at that time. For most of his life, he had been on the road. Many performers who were younger than Boone, even those in his tour-ing company, did not survive the grueling lifestyle. During those thirty- six years with Lange, Boone knew without a doubt that he would not be abandoned, taken advantage of, or abused. Lange was not just his business partner, but also his best friend, traveling companion, and brother- in- law; his death was surely a difficult

1. “Blind Boone Dead,” Chicago Defender, October 22, 1927, p. 7.

208 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Shaw and Montgomery

loss for Boone to endure. As Fuell- Cuther recounted, Boone’s manager, John Lange Jr., died after an auto accident in Kansas City on July 23, 1916.2 Newspaper accounts of the incident vary, but all agree that it started with a collision between Lange’s chauffeur- driven motorcar and another car driven by a white man, and ended with Lange’s death. The Kansas City Kansas Elevator called the accident minor and wrote that Lange died in his car. The Hedrick (IA) Journal claimed that Lange chased after the other car on foot and was in the process of making a claim for damages when he suddenly collapsed; bystanders carried him to a nearby drug store where Lange died shortly thereafter.3

Lange’s death certificate, signed by his personal physician, Dr. Thomas Unthank, gives the cause of death as a cerebral hemorrhage, with the contributory cause listed as “shock from motor accident.” Unthank’s additional statement that he had personally “attended deceased from June 14, 1916 to July 22, 1916, [and] last saw him alive on July 21, 1916” indicates that Lange visited the doctor fre-quently in the weeks leading up to the accident.4 The Kansas City Sun claimed that Lange had known his heart was failing for two years before his death. According to Fuell-Cuther, during the previous season (his thirty-fourth season with Boone), Lange had complained of shortness of breath and was often unable to leave his bed until concert time.5 But the Kansas City Sun reported that, despite his condi-tion, Lange attempted a foot chase after the offending car.

The Kansas City Sun issued a special edition describing the funeral and announced that it was the most elegant and expensive ever seen in the city, featur-ing a five- hundred- dollar metal casket, twenty- two, seven- passenger matching high- powered limousines, and floral bouquets from all across the country that extended twenty feet beyond the grave. Boone may have used the company cash reserves to pay for the funeral. After Lange’s funeral, Boone took out loans to finance the upcoming touring season, a first for the concert company that used cash reserves held over from the previous season. At the service, Boone “held up manfully” but collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably, at the cemetery and had to be led away.6 The size

2. See pp. 194–95 (Fuell-Cuther, Blind Boone, pp. 227–29). Much of Fuell’s account is taken from a lengthy front- page newspaper article with the headline, “A Mighty Man has Fallen,” Kansas City (MO) Sun, July 29, 1916.3. “Death Comes to John Lange Following Minor Auto Accident,” Kansas Elevator (Kansas City, KS), July 29, 1916, p.1; “Lange’s death”, Hedrick (IA) Journal, September 6, 1916, p. 6.4. Certificate of Death #24584, John Lange, July 22, 1916, Missouri State Archives: Missouri Death Certificates, 1910– 1960, accessed November 22, 2011, http://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1916/1916_00024990.PDF.5. See p. 195 (Fuell-Cuther, Blind Boone, p. 229–30).6. “A Mighty Man has Fallen,” Kansas City (MO) Sun, July 29, 1916, p. 1.

The Story Continues… a 209

of Lange’s funeral was not surpassed in Kansas City until 1935 with the death of popular jazz pianist and bandleader Bennie Moten.7

In the tradition of the theater, Boone carried on despite his grief. Less than a week after Lange’s funeral and interment on August 4, Boone played a concert at Woodland Park in Lawrence, Kansas, to a “delightfully entertained full house.”8 Fuell- Cuther, who had resigned from the company in 1915 to promote the biog-raphy, had turned her secretarial and administrative duties over to the company singer Marguerite Boyd, who continued competently performing those duties after Lange’s death.9 Alfred Oscar Coffin, a former Kansas City school principal whom Lange had hired as his first black advance agent in 1910, continued serv-ing the company in that capacity.10 Coffin remained with the company for almost eight years, but after the start of the 1918 season, which generally ran September through June, Coffin left the company to return to teaching.11

In March 1917, Marguerite Boyd married John M. Day, who owned and operated a construction company and was considered the leading black contrac-tor in Kansas City.12 Fearing his singer/secretary would leave his employ after she married as others had done, Boone offered her husband a job as his manager before the end of 1918. John Day proved to be effective at getting the Boone Con-cert Company booked at new venues. Probably Boone’s greatest professional tour was organized by Day. In late 1918, the troupe left Iowa and headed east to Ohio, before going on to New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York starting what was referred to as the “Big East Coast Tour.” Advertisements show that the company also played in Baltimore, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York City, and Providence, Rhode Island, and at Yale and Harvard Universities. A sampling of reviews in local newspapers show that the tour was a success. The Trenton (NJ) Evening Times wrote “overwhelming success, both socially and financially … tech-nique that is far above average,” and the Newark (OH) Advocate wrote that Boone performed for “a large and enthusiastic audience at Methodist church.” The Chi-cago Defender reported that Boone played six return engagements in New York

7. “Bennie Moten funeral”, Pittsburgh (PA) Courier, April 13, 1935, p. 1.8. “Lawrence’s Woodland Park,” Topeka (KS) Plaindealer, August 11, 1916, p. 6.9. Fuell, Blind Boone, p. 195.10. Alfred O. Coffin (1861– 1933) was the first African American to receive a PhD in the biological sciences (1889). After leaving the Boone Company and teaching in Texas, he taught romance languages at Langston Uni-versity; Mather, “Alfred O. Coffin,” in Mather, Who’s Who of the Colored Race, 71; Greene, Holders of Doctorates Among American Negroes, 187; “Alfred O. Coffin: Zoologist, Biologist,” The Face of Science: African Americans in Science, accessed January 2, 2011, https://webfiles.uci.edu/mcbrown/display/coffin.html.11. Coffin apparently worked as late as September before leaving the company; “A. O. Coffin, advance agent for Blind Boone was here Thursday,” Humeston (IA) New Era, September 25, 1918, p. 1.12. “Boyd/Day marriage announcement,” Topeka (KS) Plaindealer, March 2, 1917

235

Contributor Biographies

Mary Collins Barile, PhD, is a theatre historian and author of books about Mis-souri history, the Santa Fe Trail, and the history of acting in nineteenth- century America. Her most recent publication is The Haunted Boonslick: Ghosts, Ghouls & Monsters of Missouri’s Heartland. She lives in Boonville, Missouri.

John Davis, pianist and musicologist, is a specialist in American roots music at the intersection between white and black cultures. His recordings include Newport Classic CDs Marshfield Tornado: John Davis Plays Blind Boone, John Davis Plays Blind Tom, and Halley’s Comet: Around the Piano with Mark Twain & John Davis. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Brown University and has assembled a major collection of rare nineteenth- century African American sheet music, books, and ephemera.

Marilyn Hillsman is a community activist. She has a BA from the University of Cen-tral Missouri in corporate communications and teaches marginalized and under-privileged people how to step out of the margin and into respect. Blind Boone and Melissa Fuell Cuther are some of her favorite role models for people who rose above the challenges facing them.

Gary Kremer, PhD, is the executive director of the State Historical Society of Mis-souri. Previously he taught history at Lincoln University in Jefferson City and William Woods University in Fulton, and served as Missouri’s state archivist. He has written, cowritten, and coedited ten books and dozens of journal articles, and is an authority on the African American experience in Missouri.

Christine Montgomery is a grant writer for the University of Missouri. Prior to coming to the university, she worked as the photograph specialist at the State His-torical Society of Missouri, where she wrote the Blind Boone essay for the soci-ety’s Historic Missourians website. She served as a contributing writer and coeditor for Images of Our Lives, a history of Columbia, Missouri, in the twentieth century, published by the Columbia Tribune Press.

236 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Contributor Biographies

Greg Olson is the Curator of Exhibits and Special Projects at the Missouri State Archives in Jefferson City is and author of The Ioway of Missouri and a forthcoming book on Missouri folklorist Mary Alicia Owen. He served as the founding presi-dent of the John William Boone Heritage Foundation and is the former chair of Columbia [Missouri] Historic Preservation Commission.

James M. (Mike) Shaw, retired Kansas City ironworker, now owns and operates CMO Solar. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Johnson County (MO) Historical Society, Blind Boone Park Renovation Group, and the J. W. “Blind” Boone Heritage Foundation, among others. He has spent many years researching the life of Boone and his contemporaries and has been a guest scholar at the Blind Boone Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival, among other events.

237

Index

italicized page numbers indicate images

AAbbott, L. F., with Boone company, 153Allen , Wayne

accompanies Boone to Chicago, 213as music publisher, 213, 213n24becomes Boone’s manager, 213Boone’s concert bookings, 213, 213n25,

214, 215correspondence regarding company,

213, 213n25, 214, 214n27, 215n37, 215n38

invents School- o- phone, 213petition to declare Eugenia Boone

insane, 218, 218n47Anderson, Charlene Cuther, daughter of

Fuell- Cuther, 26Andrews, Mr., 47, 47n15

BBacote, Samuel

at Smith funeral, 101fundraising contest, 138at Lange funeral, 196

Ballew, Squire (captain), 45n12Bartlett Agriculural and Industrial School,

84n43Belcher, William, probable father of Boone,

1, 45, 45n12Berry, Henry, schoolmate of Boone, 59Bethune, James Niel, manager of “Blind

Tom,” 2, 18Black Patti. See Jones, Matilda Sissieretta

JoynerBlack Swan Company, 97, 97n55

Blake, James Herbert “Eubie,” 210, 210n14Blind Boone Concert Company

Canadan tour, 113, 131, 131n75, 152, 224

concert program, 103– 5, 121– 22concert statistics, 106, 216, 219East Coast tour, 209– 10, 210n13, 210n16,

227European tour, 131n75list of male employees, 93, 153name first used, 90n48, 94n52

Blind Tom. See Wiggins, Thomas “Blind Tom”

Blind Wesley. See Hendricks, Wesley “Blind Wesley”

Boone, Eugenia Lang, 108, 217declared insane, 109n62, 217, 218,

218n161death of, 217, 218in Columbia home, 19, 22,108marriage to Boone, 109, 109n62, 217,

215toured with company, 217

Boone, John W. “Blind Boone”as “Blind John,” 90, 90n47, 90n48, 217,

220as successor to Gottschalk, 130automobiles, 145, 147, 149, 150, 201,

212, 214, 214n28becomes full partner, 95birth, 11, 21, 45, 142Blind Tom concert, 2, 17, 69– 70blindness, 46, 53n21burial place, 198charters train, 150, 150n91

238 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Index

Boone, John W. “Blind Boone,” continuedcomparisions to Blind Tom, 1– 2, 2n4,

3, 9, 18, 89, 89n46, 126, 130, 132, 134, 144– 45, 145n86, 146, 218– 19

death of, 207n1, 216, 216n43description of wealth, 199, 218, 218n46disasters involved in, 142– 44dismissed from school, 58early hardships of touring, 90– 94East Coast tour, 209– 10, 210n13,

210n16effects of Lange’s death on, 207expelled from school, 42– 43father, 1, 45, 45n12first concert under Lange, 89– 90first marriage, 109n62fraternal organizations, 112, 141,

151n93friendship with Enoch Donnelly, 54–

57, 54n22, 139hires Allen, 213, 215, 215n36home in Columbia, xvi, xvii, 18–19, 21,

22, 23, 110, 111, 218, 224, 227, 228

home in Warrensburg, 22, 48, 49, 112illness, 214, 214n31in popular culture, 218– 219, 219n50jewelry, 105, 140, 141, 141n81, 141n82,

211– 13, 213n23how he learns new music, 96, 96n53marriage to Eugenia, 109, 109n62meets John Lange Jr., 68owns property, 112, 151, 151n92memory, 18, 55, 109, 117, 151, 200performance stunts, 2, 2n4, 214philanthropy, 112philosophy, 211, 219photographs of, 21, 23, 28, 91, 146, 217,

220 physical description of, 114pianos, 106, 110QRS Company, 103n60, 213, 226radio performances, 214, 214n32,

214n33retirement, 216, 216n39, 216n42

School- o- phone, 213wealth, 218with Mark Cromwell, 62– 63, 63n28,

222wrote “Marshfield Tornado,” 114– 115,

115n67Boone, Rachel. See Hendricks, Rachel

Boone CarpenterBoone Theatre, 10Botts, W.H., at Lange funeral, 197Bowlin, Belle, marriage to Boone, 109,

109n62, 223Bowser, (Prof.), 194Boyd, Margaret. See Day, Margaret BoydBriscoe, Josephine Huggard

petition to declare Eugenia Boone insane, 218, 218n47

purchased Boone home, 218Brosius, Jessie

early career, 102illness, 117, 205death of, 205, 205n114joins company, 102, 102n58, 226, 227marriage (Wilkins), 102n58mention in reviews, 117, 118, 122, 123,

127, 129saves Boone from fire, 143

Bruce, Nathaniel C., 84, 84n43Burton, Elward, 59Bush, George, lynching of, 16

CCamp, L. W., 153Carpenter, William P., 1Carter, David, 59Chinn, Mrs. A. R., attends Lange funeral,

96Cockrell, Francis Marion (senator), 52

employs Rachel, 51helps send Boone to school, 50, 52leading figure in state, 51, 51n20visits Missouri Institute for the Educa-

tion of Blind, 58, 222Cockrell, Mrs. Francis M.

helps send Boone to school, 50, 61

Index a 239

Coffin, Alfred O.at Smith Funeral, 101daughter Lillian singer in company, 226hired as first black advance agent, 226in company, 124, 125, 153, 195,

195n103, 209, 209n10, 209n11, 227

Cole and Johnson, 97n56, 98Columbia, Missouri

Blackcrook, 13, 14, 16, 18Boone, John William, home, xvi, xvii,

18–19, 21, 22, 23, 111, 218, 224, 227, 228

Cummings Academy (first African American school), 16, 73, 73n35, 74, 74n36

First Christian Church, 19Lang’s Meat Market, 14, 73, 75lynching, 16, 20Second Baptist Church, 17, 68, 74,

82– 83Sharp End, 13, 22

Crews, Nelsonat Smith funeral, 101at Lange funeral, 196

Crittenden, Thomas T. (governor), 45n12, 51, 51n19, 113, 113n64

Crittenden, Thomas T. (Kansas City mayor), 113, 113n64

Cromwell, Mark, 62– 65, 63n28Cuther, Charles W. “Sunshine,” 25

marriage to Melissa Fuell, 197

DDay, John M.

becomes Boone’s manager, arranges East Coast Tour, 209, 212

death of, 211, 211n19marriage to Boyd, 209, 209n12

Day, Marguerite Boyd, 200in company, 195, 200, 201, 209, 211,

212, 215marriage to John M. Day, 209, 209n12death of Day, 211, 215marriage to Joe Hendricks, 215, 215n34death of, 215n35

Dempsey, William Harrison “Jack,” on pro-gram with Boone, 211, 211n21

Demur (Supreme Court judge), mention, 151

Dett, Robert Nathanielcontroversy over first to record with

QRS, 6n12trains Marie Jackman,103n60

Dishman, Eliza Thompkins. See Thomp-kins, Eliza

Donnelly, Enochfriendship with Boone, 54– 57, 54n22,

57n24, 222death of, 139hears Boone in concert, 139

Dowley, William H., at Lange funeral, 196Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 116, 116n68Durham, John S. See Cromwell, Mark

EEd, the parrot, 6, 79– 80, 83, 107

FFayette, Missouri, Methodist Episcopal

Church, 68Fields, Ruben, 51, 51n21Fields, W. W., at Lange funeral, 197Fife (conductor), 61Fisk Jubilee Singers, 2, 2n5Foster, Henry Rensallear, 50, 57n24Foster School. See Warrensburg, MissouriFoster, Bernard, 153Francis, David, 113, 113n64Franklin, Ben, 67– 68Fuell- Cuther, Melissa, 30

at Smith funeral, 101birth, 203education, 202– 4joins company, 205listed on program, 103, 105marriage to C. W. Cuther, 197mention in concert reviews, 117, 118,

121, 122, 123, 127, 129poetry, 33, 50, 204saves Boone from fire, 143

240 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Index

Fuell- Cuther, Melissa, continuedteaching, 205with Lange before death, 197writes biography, 24, 25, 195, 205, 207,

209

GGentry, Mary Eliza Todd, Boone’s Euro-

pean tour, 131n75Gillsinn, M. A., 57n24Glasgow, Missouri, Methodist Episcopal

Church, 68Goodwin, Edna Lee. See Lee, EdnaGordon, Turner, 153Gottschalk, Louis Moreau

Boone plays, 2, 105, 133, 134, 135precedes Boone, 8– 9, 130, 130n74See also Music Index

Grant, Abraham (bishop), 86, 86n45

HHarris, Eddie, accompanies Boone to War-

rensburg, 139Harrison, Richard B., 116n68, 196,

196n106Hayes, Rutherford B. (president), 113

mentioned, 112, 112n63, 113Hendricks, Joseph “Joe”

as Boone’s manager, 215death of, 215n35marriage to Boyd- Day, 215n34

Hendricks, Rachel Boone Carpenter, 44agreement with Lange, 89employment, 12, 45n11list of male children, 112death of, 45n11, 112, 225during Civil War, 45, 45n11home in Warrensburg, 12, 151n92marriage to Hendricks, 47, 47n14remembered by former soldier, 142

Hendricks, Samuel (stepbrother), 45n11Hendricks, Harrison

employment, 47n14marriage to Rachel, 45n11, 63– 65

Hendricks, Wesley “Blind Wesley,” 215, 215n38

Hendrix, Harrison. See Hendricks, HarrisonHeuermann, Anna (music teacher), 114n65Hill, Stella May. See May, StellaHowell, Josie Lang

in company, 225sister to John Lange, 150

JJackman, Marie L.

in company, 103, 103n59, 227listed on program, 105married and left company, 200

Jackson, John H.at Lange funeral, 197, 197n107

James, R. A., at Lange funeral, 196Jeffries, Rev., 68Jesse, Richard (University of Missouri

president), 113, 113n64John Lange Lodge No. 66, 195Johnson, Tom, 67– 68Jones, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner (“Black

Patti”), 103n59Jones, Wm. H.

attends Lange funeral, 196

KKansas City, Missouri

AME Church, 138Allen Chapel, 138Second Baptist Church, 138, 196

Kerry, A. J., 60– 61, 60n27Ketchum, W. G., 152, 153Ku Klux Klan, 20Kyles, Kay, at Lange funeral, 197

LLang, Jennie

in company, 90n47Lang, John Bateste, Sr. (father of John

Lange Jr.), 13– 15, 73Lang, Josie. See Howell, Josie Lang

Index a 241

Lang, Louisa (mother of John Lange Jr.), 13, 73

Lange, Eugenia. See Boone, Eugenia LangLange, John, Jr., 23, 72, 83, 88, 150

agreement with Rachel Hendricks, 89bankruptcy due to epizootic epidemic,

75birth, 73, 73n34commissions biography, 24contest between churches, 138funds building of Second Baptist

Church, 75death of, 194– 95, 197– 98, 207– 8, 208n2,

208n3, 208n4, 208n120death threats, 79n39early life, 73, 81– 82employment, 15, 16, 17fraternal organizations, 195, 196funeral, 196– 97, 196n105, 208– 9generosity, 150home in Kansas City, 18, 19– 20, 20n25,

63, 76, 77, 78, 79n39, 195illness, 195Lange hospital, 84n44learns to read, 81marriage to Ruth Jones, 76meets John William Boone, 17– 18,

68– 70mention in reviews, 136monument at Boone, 198philanthropy, 82– 86, 152, 152n94philosophy, 89n46, 107, 150poetic response to Scott Sovereign,

148–50property owned, 71, 76, 77, 80– 81, 85saves Boone from fire, 143sells overshoes to keep company on the

road, 92, 92n50spelling of name, 13, 81n42tribute to, 82– 83turns business over to Boone, 195

Lange, Ruth (Mrs. John Lange)as member of company, 90, 96receives Ed, the parrot, 79marriage to Lange, 76, 77, 88, 148, 150

Lee, Ednawith company, 201marries, leaves company, 201n111

Lee, J. R. E., 194Lee, Rev. John, 68Leonard, Albert, 59Logan, Rufus W., at Lange funeral, 197

MMarshfield, Missouri, 115, 115n67

tornado, 140n80“Marshfield Tornado.” See Music IndexMatthews, Cromwell, 47, 47n15May, Stella, 99

in company, 90– 91, 96, 96n54, 99married, leaves company, 225mention in reviews, 126, 131, 132, 135replaced by Emma Smith, 98

Missouri School for the Blind. See Missouri Institute for the Education of the Blind

Missouri Institute for the Education of the Blind, 9n16, 12, 47n14, 53– 59

Monser, Edward, 140– 41Moore, W. T., 113, 113n64Morrow, Columbus, 48, 51

OOkeh Records, 215, 215n37Otticer, Annette, at Lange funeral, 197,

197n109Owens, J. C., at Lange funeral, 197

PPalmer (advance agent), 153parrot. See Ed, the parrotPeck, Jesse, 138Peck, William, 138Phelps, Mattie, in company, 90n47Perkins (advance agent), 153Price, Robert Beverly (banker), 113,

133n64

242 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Index

QQRS Company, 4, 6, 6n12, 7, 103n60, 213,

226

RRaisor, Benjamin T.

joins company and sends Boone to Samson, 94– 95, 94n52, 223

“rips” vest, 144Redd, E. S. (pastor)

at Lange funeral, 197tribute to Lange, 82– 83

Reiter, Sam, (possibly Reeder), 63– 65, 63n29

Rivers, Josephinein Black Swan Company, 97, 97n55joins company, 97, 225marriage to John M. Wright, 97, 97n55

Robinson, Harry, at Lange funeral, 197

SSamson, Mrs. G. W., 95

teaches Boone, 94, 94n52Sauer, Rev. Cyrian, 86Saxe, John Godfrey, poetry, 70, 70n33Scott, James, lynching of, 20Scott, James (composer), 10, 225Shackelford, O. M., 24, 26

philsophy, 202Shannon, James, 13– 14, 152– 53, 153n95,

221Shedd, Warren, 46, 46n13Shope, Simeon P., 151, 151n93Smith, Charles, remembers Boone’s birth,

142Smart, Frank, Mrs., at Lange funeral, 197Smart Set, mention, 97n56, 98Smith, Emma, 104

death of, 100, 227Fuell replaces, 25, 205funeral, 101– 2in company, 98, 102n58, 104, 225, 226illness, 100mention in reviews, 127, 128,130 , 137

replaces Stella May, 98selected reviews, 98n57

Smith, W. G., 59, 59n25Sovereign, Scott, poem to Boone Company,

145– 47, 147nn87, 89Stewart, (Rev.), 68Stephens, E. W., 216Stephens, Lawrence “Lon” (governor), 113,

113n64Stone, William J. (senator), 113, 113n64

TThomas, Frank, 153Thomas, Kid, 98Thomas, Margaret Ward. See Ward,

MargaretThompkins, Eliza

in company, 97marriage to Dishman, 97

UUncle Tom’s Cabin Show, 148, 148n90Unthank, Thomas

director of Lang Hospital, 84n44death of Lange, 208, 208n4

VVaughn, Beulah, 215, 215n36

WWalker, H. H., at Lange funeral, 197Ward, James, 47, 47n15Ward, Margaret

in company, 97with various other entertainment com-

panies, 97n56Warner, William (senator), 113, 113n64Warrensburg, Missouri

Hendricks home, 48, 49Foster School, 62, 66

Wesley, (Miss), in company review, 121, 122

Index a 243

White, J. Shannongrandson of Lange’s former owner, 153,

153n93employee with company, 153lyceum agency, 153n95See also, Shannon, James

White Caps, 16, 16n14Wiggins, Thomas “Blind Tom,” 146

concert promotion, 1– 2, 2n4, 3description of, 2, 18n20, 144, 218impact on Boone, 9– 10, 17– 18, 69– 70,

89, 89n46, 216, 223death of, 144n85See also Music Index

Wilkins, Jesse Brosius, see Brosius, JesseWillhartitz, Adolph, 57n24Williams and Walker, mention, 97n56, 98Work, Fred, attends Lange funeral, 196Workman, James (superintendent), 57n24Wright, Josephine Rivers. See Rivers, Jose-

phine

ZZoll, William (colonel), 47, 47n14

245

Music Indexby Composer

italicized page numbers indicate sheet music

Allen, Thomas, and Joseph M. Daly“What Do You Mean, You Have Lost

Your Dog?,” 122

Beethoven, Ludwig van“Moonlight Sonata,” 132“Sonata Pathetique,” 132

Boone, John William“Aurora Concert Waltz,” 6, 213, 226“Camp Meeting no. 1,” 6, 7“Camp Meeting Songs,” 103“Caprices de Concert: Melodies de

Negres nos. 1 and 2,” 4, 114, 114n65

“Cleo: Waltz Song,” 116, 116n68, 156–57 (lyrics), 156n99, 223

“Danse des Negres: Caprice de Con-cert,” 4, 114n65, 225

“Dat Mornin’ in de Sky,” 4, 116, 116n68, 160–61 (lyrics), 160n102, 225

“Dat Only Chicken Pie,” 116“De Melon Season’s Over,” 116“Dinah’s Barbecue: Song and break-

down,” 4, 116, 116n68, 155–56 (lyrics), 155n98, 224

“Dixie,” 7“Echoes of the Forest,” 114, 114n66“Gavotte Chromatique,” 7, 114n65“Georgia Melon,” 4, 116, 116n68,

162–64“Grand Fantasie,” 4“Grande Valse de Concert, op. 13,” 6,

176–93“Josephine Polka,” 6, 114n65, 224“Hummingbird: Morceau de salon,” 6,

114, 114n6, 223

“Last Dream Waltz,” 6, 101, 114, 114n65, 117, 226

“That Little German Band,” 116, 116n68, 224

“Love Feast Waltz,” 6, 114, 114n65, 226“Marshfield Tornado,” 4n6, 9, 103, 114,

115n67, 119n66, (cyclone) 134, 135, 140, 140n80, 223

“Massa’s in the Cold, Cold Ground,” 121

“Melodies de Negress,” 114n66“Melons Cool and Green: Plantation

Song and Chorus,” 4, 5 (cover), 224

“Mocking Bird,” 121, 133, 134“My Country ’Tis of Thee,” 120“My Old Kentucky Home,” 114,

114n66, 118, 121“Nearer My God to Thee,” 7, 114,

114n66, 134“Nicodemus,” 114, 114n66“Old Folks at Home: Grand Concert

Fantasie,” x, 114, 114n66, 137, 165–75, 224

“Open de Window, Let de Dove Come In,” 158–60 (lyrics)

“Peek- A- Boo,” 133“Romance,” 114“Serenade: Song without Words,” 6,

114, 114n65, 224“Signs o’ the Times,” 116, 116n68Southern Rag Medley no. 2: “Strains

from the Flat Branch,” 6, 226Southern Rag Medleys nos. 1 and 2, 4,

6, 226“Sparks: Grand Galop de Concert,” 6,

114, 114n65, 224

246 a MERIT, NOT SYMPATHY, WINS Music Index

“The Spring: Reverie for Piano,” 6, 114, 114n66, 223

“The Storm,” 117, 118“Thanksgiving Turkey,” 116, 116n68Waltz de Concert, no. 1, “Tarantella,”

114, 114n65Waltz de Concert no. 2, 114, 114 n65“When You and I Were Young, Mag-

gie,” 7“Wha’ Shall We Go?,” 116, 116n68,“Whar Shall We Go When De Great

Day Comes,” 4, 116n68, 224“When I Meet Dat Coon Tonight,” 4,

116, 116n68, 224“Whippoorwill: Romance for the Piano

Forte,” 6, 114, 114n65, 224“Woodland Murmurs: A Spinning

Song,” 6, 7, 114, 114n65, 224“You Can’t Go to Gloria,” 157, 224“You Can’t Go To Glory Dat Way,”

116, 116n68, 157–58 (lyrics), 157n100

“You Can’t Make It Win at the Gate,” 116

Chopin, FredericF- sharp Major Nocturne, 123“Military Polonaise” (Polonaise in A

Major, op. 40, no. 1), 103, 137

Joplin, Scott“Maple Leaf Rag,” vii, x, 10, 225

Foster, Stephen“Old Folks at Home,” 20, 137“Old Kentucky Home,” 121

Goddard, Benjamin“Venetian Bacarolle,” 129, 129n71

Gottschalk, Louis Moreau“Bamboula: Danse de Nègres,” 8n14“Banjo: Grotesque Fantasie, American

Sketch,” 8“Chanson de Lizette,” 8“Le Bananier: Chanson Nègre,” 8“La Mancenillier: Serenade,” 8“La Savane, Ballade Créole,” 8“Last Hope,” 134

“Ma Mourri,” 8“Ou som souroucou,” 8“Pov’ piti Lolotte,” 8“Quand patate la cuite na va mange

li!,” 8“Tant sirop est doux,” 8

Liszt, Franz“German Triumphant March

(Mazeppa),” 103, 117Hungarian Rhapsody no. 6, 114n65,

117, 126, 128, 132, 133, 135“Hungarian Storm March,” 132Second Rhapsody, 133, 134

Moszkowski, MoritzValse de Concerte, op. 32 (“Three Piano

Pieces”), 129, 129n71

Schleiffarth, George“Gavotte Rosita,” 134

Verdi, GuiseppeIl Trovatore (opera), selections from,

121, 128

Waldteufel, Emile“Dolores Waltz,” op. 170, 132, 132n76

Wiggins, Thomas“Battle of Manassas,” 9, 115n67“The Rain Storm,” 115n67

Wollenhaupt, Hermann Adolf“Whispering Wind,” op. 38, 56, 103“March Military,” 133, 137

Work, Henry Clay“Marching Through Georgia,” 131, 133

Unknown“Charming Thoughts Schottische”

(possibly “Happy Thoughts Schottische,” by John Zwei-dinger), 58

“I’ll Come Back When You Gather the Sheaves” (possibly “I Cannot Be Idle,” by William J. Henry), 122