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Notable people · Entertainment

Dan Emmett

Born and died in Mount Vernon, Knox County. Founder of the Virginia Minstrels (first show 1843, New York) and the composer generally credited with 'Dixie', first performed in 1859. Buried in Mound View Cemetery, Mount Vernon.

At a glance

Born
1815-10-29
Died
1904-06-28
Known as
Entertainment
Organizations
Virginia Minstrels

Life story

Daniel Decatur Emmett was born in Mount Vernon in 1815 and had little schooling. He learned music from his mother and taught himself the fiddle, and at 13 he apprenticed to a printer.

He enlisted in the Army and became a fifer and drummer at Newport Barracks, Kentucky. The page lists a discharge of July 8, 1835 and enlistment at 21 in 1836, which do not line up.

He co-founded the Virginia Minstrels with Billy Whitlock, Dick Pelham and Frank Brower; their first full-length minstrel show was at the Chatham Theatre in New York in 1843. 'Dixie' was first performed on April 4, 1859, while he was with Bryant's Minstrels.

He published about 30 songs and wrote a Fifer's and Drummer's Guide (1862). He retired to Mount Vernon in 1888 and died in 1904. Others, including William Shakespeare Hays and the Snowden family, have been credited with Dixie.

Timeline

  • 1815-10-29: Born in Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, OH) source
  • 1828: Apprenticed to a printer (about age 13) (OH) source
  • 1843: Virginia Minstrels debut at Chatham Theatre (New York, NY) source
  • 1853: Marries Catharine Rives (New York, NY) source
  • 1859-04-04: Dixie premieres at Mechanics' Hall (New York, NY) source
  • 1862: Fifer's and Drummer's Guide (US) source
  • 1888: Retires to Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, OH) source
  • 1904-06-28: Dies at 88; buried at Mound View Cemetery (Mount Vernon, OH) source

What Dan is known for

  • Founded the Virginia Minstrels (1843)
  • Generally credited with writing 'Dixie' (first performed 1859)
  • Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1970
  • Dixie (1859)
  • Fifer's and Drummer's Guide (1862)
  • Virginia Minstrels (1843)
  • Papers at the Ohio History Connection

Honors and things named for them

  • Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1970

Family

  • wife: Catharine Rives
  • wife: Mary Bird

Places in Ohio to see

Ohio places

Where Dan Emmett was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Myths and corrections

  • Authorship of Dixie is disputed: William Shakespeare Hays and the Snowden family (including John Baptist Snowden) also claimed or were credited.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.

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