Tracing Your Musical Roots: Resources for Your Musician Ancestor

One of the invaluable legacies my ancestors have passed on to me is a love of music. I have sung and played the piano since I was three years old, and I have a degree in music. My parents are musicians, my maternal grandparents both sang (in choirs and glee clubs), several great-grandparents played the piano, and I married into a very musical family.

I also love genealogy research. Learning about the families we come from is very meaningful and fascinating. In researching our ancestors, we often focus so much on the “who, what, where, and when” that we forget to investigate the “how they lived.” What might their lives have looked like? What was their occupation? What did they do for fun? Did they play an instrument or a sport? This information is often not as easily found if it can be found at all. But the potential discovery can be so rewarding if we can see the clues!

If you think you might have a musician ancestor, there are many places to look!

• Family stories, letters, photos, and memorabilia can give us clues.
• Many censuses list occupations.
• County histories often have biographies and stories of local people and their lives.
• City directories will often list occupations and addresses.
• Newspapers can have articles, ads, or reviews about performances and events.
• Many libraries, archives, and historical societies have the papers of local musicians’ unions, performance program notes, and information about local music groups and culture.
• Church and military records are good resources if your ancestor was a church or military musician.
• Try the American Federation of Musicians, the Database of Recorded American Music, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts for collections about musicians and their music.

Do you have an ancestor who played in a band in Missouri? Check out History of Missouri Bands, 1800-2000, by C. Duncan Herbert. Herbert traces the history of bands in Missouri, featuring town bands as well as high school and university bands.

Music and Musicians in the Schools, Churches, and Community of Raytown, Missouri, is a great resource if you are looking for a musician who studied, taught, or performed in Raytown, Missouri.

Music Periodicals of the 19th Century is one of the Midwest Genealogy Center’s online databases (while you are there, check out the other Alexander Street databases – you can listen to some great music and read interesting historical stories). Often, these periodicals would feature articles about music, ads for musicians, reviews of performances around the country and the world, and the occasional tidbit about musicians’ lives. Maybe your ancestor wrote an article, placed an ad, or was featured in a review.

These are just some of the many valuable resources available to help you find your musician ancestor. May the rhythm guide you in your research!

Jennifer C.
Midwest Genealogy Center