African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920

Features:

  • Timeline
    • 1865-1910

Browse Collection by:

View more collections from the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition

Links marked * go to Web pages at the awardee institution.

Collection Connection
Classroom resources for teachers

The Development of an African-American Musical Theatre 1865-1910

1865-1880

Dan Lewis

Sam Lucas and the Hyers Sisters

In the years after the Civil War, African-American performers began to appear on the American popular stage in ever-greater numbers. In the 1870s, performers and composers such as Sam Lucas and Dan Lewis appeared in touring minstrel troupes composed of African American performers. Lucas is particularly noteworthy in that he was the first African-American actor to play Uncle Tom in Uncle Tom's Cabin. He also toured with the Hyers Sisters in the play Out of Bondage.

 Top

Cover of sheet music

descriptive record icon enlarge image icon "Moses cart dem melon down: song and chorus." Dan Lewis. 1880.