Jean E Snyder - Harry T. Burleigh: From the Spiritual to the Harlem Renaissance

Many people and numerous libraries, archives, and collections have contributed to this research on the life and work of Harry T. Burleigh. First and foremost, the Burleigh family: Burleigh's grandson, the late Dr. Harry T. Burleigh II and his wife Mary, with their daughter Marie, have made letters, photographs, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks available to me, helping to fill in many gaps in the story. I owe a profound debt of gratitude to Mrs. Burleigh, who spent countless hours going through the family papers, making photocopies and lists, and sharing invaluable information with me. Though she did not know her husband's grandfather personally, she talked freely and at length with me about what she knew of the family and the context of Burleigh's life. Happily, the family papers include documentation of Burleigh's early recital career; his marriage to Louise Alston, her writing and performance of dialect verse, and the dissolution of their relationship; the life and career of their son Alston; and Burleigh's mentoring of younger musicians. Dr. Burleigh himself answered many questions and shared his memories of his grandfather, and his daughter Marie sent scans of photographs and other materials.

The descendants of Burleigh's stepfather John Elmendorf have also assisted me. Great-granddaughter Monica Marshall Wilson shared family stories and photographs and the family Bible, which lists births, deaths, and marriages. Burleigh's niece, Grace Elmendorf Blackwell, whose father was Burleigh's half-brother Elzie Elmendorf, has shared generously her memories of Burleigh's last years. She has made photographs, letters, and other memorabilia available, and her accounts of her warm relationship with her Uncle Harry reveal a very human person behind the public figure. The extended family's enthusiasm and support of my research have made this a rewarding project.

I began my Burleigh research in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; thanks to Kathryn Logan and her staff in the Music and Art Department there. The staff of the Baron-Forness Library at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania has always been helpful and supportive; special thanks to Judy Rauenswinter for her persistent help in fulfilling many requests for microfilms and Interlibrary Loan materials. The staff at the Heritage Room of the Erie County Public Library was always helpful. And very special thanks are due Annita Andrick, archivist at the Erie County Historical Society, who with her Library and Archives intern Allyson Hoover provided key locator information for sources in their collection even while they were in the midst of moving their collection to a new location. I found much help from staff and resources in the following archives and libraries: James Weldon Johnson Collection, Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut; Library of Congress Music Division and Manuscripts Division and the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, all in Washington, D.C.; Archives of the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Clark Atlanta University, the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library of Emory University, and the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, all in Atlanta, Georgia; Burge Plantation, Newton County, Georgia; Bar Harbor Archives, Bar Harbor, Maine; Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts; Roland Hayes Papers, E. Azalia Hackley Collection, Detroit Public Library, Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo and Erie County History Museum, Buffalo, New York; the Morgan Library, the Theater Collection of the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, the Schomberg Research Center of the New York Public Library, all in New York, New York; Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York; Erie County Historical Society, Erie County Public Library, and Sister Mary Lawrence Franklin Archival Center, Mercyhurst University, Erie, Pennsylvania; the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Marian Anderson Collection, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, University of Pennsylvania, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I have been blessed by the friendship and support of a host of singers and scholars too numerous to name here, whose continued interest and encouragement have made the journey endlessly rewarding. Special thanks to Ann Sears for her partnership in numerous Burleigh projects, including two recordings available from Albany Records: Deep River: Songs and Spirituals of Harry T. Burleigh, with bass-baritone Oral Moses; and Fi-yer!: A Century of Songs by African American Composers, with the late tenor William A. Brown. Ann provided the accompaniment for both recordings and supervised the production. Ann, Sandra Graham, Brian Moon, Marva Carter, and the late Catherine Parsons-Smith have been especially supportive colleagues along the way. Profound thanks to my faithful general readers, Carol Hayes and Richard O'Keefe, who read and commented on every chapter. And thanks to the following, who read and commented on one or more chapters or passages: Luciana Bohne, John Burt, Marva Carter, Dale Cockerell, Catherine Drew, Samuel A. Floyd Jr., Sandra Graham, Maben Herring, Johnny Johnson, Ralph P. Locke, Brian Moon, Rene Lapp Norris, Catherine Parsons-Smith, Willis Patterson, Frank G. Pogue, Thomas Riis, Deane L. Root, Adrienne Rush, Ann Sears, Darryl Taylor, Sarah S. Thompson, LeAnne Wistrom, and Josephine Wright. Thanks also to Jake Gibson and Ronuel Viera, who formatted the music examples, and to Bill Brooks, who corrected and reformatted them. My editor, Laurie Matheson, has been an indispensable guide and supporter throughout the preparation of this biography. Her enthusiasm and encouragement have given me hope when the task seemed interminable. Tad Ringo, who shepherded the manuscript through the production process, deserves special thanks. To my husband John Burt, whose passion for the nineteenth, greatest of centuries, added depth to my understanding of the world that shaped Burleigh and his family, my love and thanks for your wholehearted and unconditional support.

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