"Only Speak Kindly to Me," William James Knapp Sheet Music Collection, 1865 - 1885

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Date

1865 to 1885

Description

"A piece of sheet music from William James Knapp's collection. The sheet music is from between 1865 to 1885. James was the great-grandchild of Dinah Jackson, the last person who was enslaved at Cherry Hill. After his mother died in 1854, James became a ward in Richard Van Rensselaer’s household. They lived on State Street in Albany, N.Y. James worked as a butler for the family. Throughout his life, James also worked as a musician, a sales clerk at Hideley’s Music Store, a hospital porter and a nurse. James lived at Cherry Hill for about sixteen months between 1880 and 1884. James played the violin, piano, flute, and more instruments. James’s collection includes popular, classical, and parlor music from the Victorian Era. This includes sing-a-longs, Christmas music, Irish ballads, waltzes, polkas, and more. This item was added as part of the Diversity and Collaborative Knowledge Program funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Type

Written Document

Region

Capital District

Era

Expansion and Reform, Civil War and Reconstruction, Industrialization

Topic

Civil War, Communication

Repository

Historic Cherry Hill

Identifer

4001_Only_Speak_Kindly_to_Me_WJK_001

Source

Historic Cherry Hill

Rights

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