Henry Thacker Burleigh Jr (1866 - 1949)

Born 2 Dec 1866 in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Died 12 Sep 1949 at age 82 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: US Black Heritage Project WikiTree [send private message]

Harry Burleigh Jr is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage

Biography

Harry Burleigh Jr is Notable.

Harry Burleigh Jr was awarded the Spingarn Medal for excellence in the field of creative music.

Henry Thacker "Harry" Burleigh was famous at the turn of the 20th century for his baritone voice and his classical arrangements and compositions. He was instrumental in developing characteristically American classical music. In 1917, the NAACP awarded him the Spingarn Medal.^[1]

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1866, his parents were Henry T. Burleigh and Elizabeth Lovey Waters. His maternal grandfather, Hamilton Waters, who bought his freedom from slavery in Maryland in the 1830s, taught Harry and his brother Reginald traditional spirituals and slave songs.^[2] In 1870, when Harry was three, the family was living in Erie, Pennsylvania. Harry's father was working as a bank messenger, his mother was a housewife, and his grandfather was living with them.^[3] Harry's father died just a few years later, in 1873. By 1880, Harry's mother had remarried; Harry was living with his mother, her new husband, John E Elmendorf, and their blended family, still in Erie, Pennsylvania. John worked as a coachman.^[4]

Harry studied voice in high school, and began his singing career as the baritone in his family's quartet. By the time he left Erie in January 1892 for further study in New York, he was a professional vocalist, singing at civic events and church gatherings. In 1892, at age 26, Burleigh was accepted at the prestigious National Conservatory of Music of America in New York. There he gained the attention of the conservatory's director, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, known for weaving traditional folk music into symphonic compositions to form the uniquely representative music of a nation. Burleigh introduced Dvořák to the music of his grandfather.

In 1894, he became a lifelong soloist for St. George's Episcopal church in New York City. In the late 1890s, he became known as a concert soloist, and he began to publish his own arrangements of art songs, compositions for one voice accompanied by piano, and to compose his own music; by the late 1910s, Burleigh was one of America's best-known composers of art songs. He also had a thirty-year career as a music editor for a major Italian publisher of classical music and opera.^[2][5]

Harry Thacker Burleigh and Rebecca Louisa Alston married on 8 February 1899 in Washington D.C.^[6] They had one child, Alston Waters Burleigh.^[7]

By 1900, the couple was living in Brooklyn, New York, where Harry was working as a music teacher.^[8] By 1910, the family was living in Manhattan. Harry was listed on the census as a musician and singer. His wife, Louisa, was a poet. Their son Alston was ten years old.^[9] By 1915, the Burleigh family had moved to the Bronx.^[10]

Burleigh's art song arrangements of spirituals and sentimental songs were so popular during the late 1910s and 1920s, that almost no vocal recitalist gave a concert in a major city without occasionally singing them.... Estimates of Burleigh's original musical output range from 200 to 300 songs. In 1914, he was a founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), and received a seat on its board of directors in 1941.^[2]

In 1920, Louisa was no longer listed in their Bronx household, although Harry was listed as married. He was working as a music composer, and Alston, age 20, was a university student.^[11] By 1930 through 1940, Harry was living alone in the Bronx. The 1930 census listed him as a musician, composer and teacher;^[12] he was the vocal coach of Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson and other singers whose fame by then had eclipsed his.^[5] He was simply listed as a musician in 1940.^[13]

His health declined and he retired from singing at St. George's in 1946. His son moved him to an assisted living facility in Stamford Connecticut, where he died in 1949 at age 82.^[14] Burial was originally in White Plains, New York. On 28 May 1994, his body was re-interred in the Erie Cemetery, in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania. His grave marker is engraved:

Internationally known African-American baritone, composer, and arranger of spirituals. Encouraged by Anton Dvorak, he created arrangements for over 100 spirituals, such as "Deep River," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen." One of Erie's most beloved native sons. Buried in White Plains, New York, 1949, and reinterred here 28 May 1994. "Steal away, steal away home."^[15]

Sources

1. ↑ Melvin I. Douglass, Black winners: a history of Spingarn medalists, 1915-1983, (Brooklyn, N.Y.: T. Gaus, 1984) Harry Burleigh, p. 5
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Wikipedia contributors, "Harry Burleigh," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harry_Burleigh&oldid=1084033050 (accessed May 9, 2022).
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZGG-8PD : 19 March 2020), Harry T Burley in entry for Henry T Burley, 1870.

   The household included:

   -Henry T Burley Male 34 Massachusetts

   -Lizzie Burley Female 31 Michigan

   -Reginald Burley Male 5 Pennsylvania

   -Harry T Burley Male 3 Pennsylvania

   -Adie Burley Female 1 Pennsylvania

   -Hamilton Waters Male 64 Maryland

4. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWF4-XCL : 15 July 2017), Harry Burliegh in household of John E Elmendorf, Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district ED 146, sheet 134D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,127.

   The household included:

   - John E Elmendorf Self Male 43 New York, United States

   - Elizabeth Elmendorf Wife Female 42 Michigan, United States

   - Reginald Burliegh Stepson Male 15 Pennsylvania, United States

   - Harry Burliegh Stepson Male 13 Pennsylvania, United States

   - Adah Burliegh Stepdaughter Female 11 Pennsylvania, United States

   - Eva Burliegh Stepdaughter Female 9 Pennsylvania, United States

   - Elija Elmendorf Son Male 3 Pennsylvania, United States

   - Bessie Elmendorf Daughter Female 1 Pennsylvania, United States

5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Jean E. Snyder, [stor.org/stable/4145491?origin=crossref JSTOR 4145491 "Harry T. Burleigh], one of Erie's most popular church singers," Black Music Research Journal, 24 (2), (September 22, 2004) pp. 195–225.
6. ↑ "District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XL3D-LZD : 10 March 2018), Harry Thacker Burleigh and Rebecca Louise Alston, 08 Feb 1899; citing p. 74, Records Office, Washington D.C.; FHL microfilm 2,108,216.
7. ↑ "New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WW8-NDS : 11 February 2018), Harry F. Burleigh in entry for Alston Waters Burleigh, 18 Aug 1899; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 31750 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,953,537.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSFR-FXV : accessed 6 August 2020), Harry T Burleigh, Borough of Brooklyn, Election District 3 New York City Ward 16, Kings, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 226, sheet 2B, family 39, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,053.

   -Harry T Burleigh Head Male 34 Pennsylvania

   -Louisa A Burleigh Wife Female 19 District Of Columbia

   -Alston W Burleigh Son Male 1 New York

   -Jane Lee Servant Female 45 South Carolina

9. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5HC-HQR : accessed 19 August 2020), Harry T Burleigh, Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 532, sheet 14B, family 402, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1022; FHL microfilm 1,375,035.
10. ↑ "New York State Census, 1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9FQ-KYK : 8 November 2014), Harry T Burleigh, New York, A.D. 34, E.D. 19, Bronx, New York, United States; from "New York, State Census, 1915," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing p. 79, line 20, state population census schedules, 1915, New York State Archives, Albany.
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch
    • (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJPS-CSG : 2 February 2021),
    • (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RN8-VBX?cc=1488411&wc=QZJT-GQ4%3A1036473601%2C1040103701%2C1040113801%2C1589332903 : 12 September 2019), New York > Bronx > Bronx Assembly District 4 > ED 233 > image 23 of 72; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Henry Burleigh, 1920.
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7DK-Y1H : accessed 6 August 2020), Harry T Burleigh, Bronx (Districts 251-500), Bronx, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 278, sheet 14A, line 50, family 277, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1471; FHL microfilm 2,341,206.
13. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQMW-DDR : 7 January 2021), Harry Burleigh, The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 3-537, sheet 6B, line 44, family 106, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2474.
14. ↑ "Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZ53-C2V : 9 December 2014), Henry T Burleigh, 1949; from "Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2001," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2003); citing Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, Connecticut Department of Health, Hartfort.
15. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 19 August 2020), memorial page for Harry Thacker Burleigh (2 Dec 1866–12 Sep 1949), Find A Grave: Memorial #12072, citing Erie Cemetery, Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Find A Grave.

See also:

• Wikipedia: Harry Burleigh
• Wikidata: Item Q1586825, en:Wikipedia