Henry Thacker Burleigh
| Harry Burleigh | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Henry Thacker Burleigh |
| Born |
December 2, 1866 Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | September 12, 1949 (aged 82) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, composer, arranger |
Henry Thacker "Harry" Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949), was an African-American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his baritone voice. He was the first black composer to be instrumental in the development of a characteristically American music and he helped to make black music available to classically trained artists both by introducing them to the music and by arranging the music in a more classical form.
Henry Thacker Burleigh was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1866 to Henry Thacker and Elizabeth Burleigh.
His grandfather, Hamilton Waters, was granted manumission from slavery in Somerset County, Maryland, for himself for $50 and for his mother for $5 in 1832 and a certificate of freedom in 1835. They traveled to Ithaca, New York, where two of Water's half-brothers lived. After his mother died, Water's married Lucinda Duncanson. Their first child, Elizabeth Lovey Waters, who would be Burleigh's mother, was born in Lansing, New York, in 1838. Later that year the family moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, which would be the family home until the 1920s. Elizabeth, who graduated from Avery College in Pittsburgh in 1855, was denied a teaching position in the Erie Public Schools, but she taught at the Colored School for a number of years.
Burleigh's father, Henry Thacker Burleigh, Sr,. a naval veteran in the Civil War, was the first black juror in Erie County in 1871. After his father's death in 1873, his mother remarried in 1875. Her second husband John Elmendorf was also a veteran of the Union Navy.
Burleigh's grandfather who was known for his "exceptionally melodious voice," taught young Burleigh and his brother Reginald traditional spirituals and slave songs. Burleigh helped support his family by lighting gas streetlamps, selling newspapers and working as a printer's devil, working as a coachman, as a steward on Lake Erie steamboats, and after training as an accountant at the Clark's Business College while he was in high school. His mother occasionally worked as a maid for the daughter of Burleigh Sr.'s employer when she held musicales (musical gatherings) in her home. Burleigh served as a doorman to the performance of Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño in their home. He studied voice with George F. Brierly, and during and after his high school years became known as one of Erie's most accomplished classical singers. He was employed as a soloist by several Erie churches and the Jewish synagogue, and appeared as soloist at many community and civic events.
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