James
Reese
"Jim"
Europe
Born in Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, USA
Son of Henry Jefferson Europe
and Loraine (Saxon) Europe
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died
at age 39
in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA
Profile last modified
| Created 10 Jun 2022
This page has been accessed 96 times.
| James Europe is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage |
Biography
James Europe is Notable.
James Europe was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer.
James was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1880, the son of James Europe and Lorraine Sexon. He was enumerated, age 2 months, in his parents' household there at the time of the 1880 Census.[1] His family relocated to Washington, D.C., where his father passed away in 1899, leaving his mother a widow. In 1905, he was a lodger in Manhattan, New York, and employed as a musician.[2]
Married Willie A Starke in Manhattan, New York, in January 1913.[3] No children were mentioned in his obituary.
Lt. James Europe served in the United States Army in World War I
Service started:
Unit(s): 369th Infantry
Service ended:
Service started:
Unit(s): 369th Infantry
Service ended:
"When the United States entered World War I in 1917, James enlisted and was commissioned as a lieutenant with the 369th Infantry, also known as the "Harlem Hellfighters." His job was to form a military band of the best musicians in the unit. The band was known as the Hell Fighters Band, and they performed across continental Europe. Europe credited the band's success to the fact that the musicians played only original music.
He passed away in 1919, a few hours after being stabbed by the band's drummer during a dispute over the drummer's on-stage conduct. A report of the death, funeral, and the life of James Europe was reported on the front page of The New York Age on 17 May 1919.[4] He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.[5]
Sources
- ↑ Citation Needed
- ↑ New York State Census; Manhattan, AD 27, ED 08, Image 2
- ↑ Citation to be added
- ↑ "Funeral of Famous Bandmaster Held on Tuesday—Fatally Cut by Drummer Herbert Wright Last Week in Boston." The New York Age 17 May 1919; p 1, col 1 [1] and p 6, col 1-2 [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9762672/jre-buried-with-honors-ny-age/ Newspapers.com (Shared Clip)
- ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (findagrave.com: accessed 08 March 2023), memorial page for James Reese Europe (20 Feb 1880–9 May 1919), Find A Grave: Memorial #6553895, citing Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Reese_Europe
- "Prominent African-Americans," US Army, Arlington National Cemetery, Web, accessed 8 Mar 2023. link to article.
Is James your ancestor? Please don't go away!
Login to collaborate or comment, or
contact
the profile manager, or
ask our community of genealogists a question.
Login to collaborate or comment, or contact
the profile manager, or ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com
DNA
No known carriers of James's ancestors' DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
No known carriers of James's ancestors' DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Comments
Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
E > Europe > James Reese Europe
Categories: USBH Notables, Needs More Sources | USBH Notables, Needs Genealogically Defined | USBH Notables, Needs Connection | USBH Notables, Needs Biography | Mobile, Alabama | Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia | Military Musicians, World War I | Composers | US Black Heritage Project Managed Profiles | African-American Notables | Notables | 369th Infantry Regiment, United States Army, World War I