 |
| Los Angeles Evening Express, March 14, 1917, courtesy of https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ |
The way I read this, the woman at the top (or in the back) is Mrs Gertrude Bailey. On the left is Mrs Hallie Swartz and on the right is Mrs Carl Johnson. And the woman in the middle is Mrs Merlin McKee, or Belle. I've written about my search for a photo of Belle before. It took me just over a year after that post to find this. I'm still hoping to find more.
Hallie sang first soporano, Gertrude second soprano, Belle first alto and Mrs Carl Johnson second alto. Their performances were usually at Social Clubs or sometimes Church functions. Some of their scheduled events as reported in the Los Angeles Herald for the first part of 1917 were as follows:
- January 30 - the Women's Wednesday Morning Club
- February 9 - the Liberty Club
- February 21 - at the Huntington in Pasadena
- March 7 - the Gamut Club
- March 14 - the Gamut Club
It's difficult to learn more about the women, especially Mrs Carl Johnson, without more information. I do find in Los Angeles city directories that Hallie and Belle were both music teachers. Belle is the half-sister of my Second Great Grandmother, Lena (Jorgenson) Roscoe. Learning more about these women is a little project of mine. If you know anything about them or the "Los Angeles Ladies Quartet", I'd love to hear from you.
What a wonderful find, Laura! I love the arrangement of the ladies and the frame surrounding them. I know it's the style of 1917 but I certainly wish for such beauty in today's newspapers.
ReplyDeleteI would love to find this actual photograph somewhere! Thanks Nancy
DeleteI am not sure if it is the same group but my great great-grandmother used to sing in the Los Angeles Ladies Quartet. She was Edith P. Sparks (maiden: Mayhew) and sang as first soprano. Based on newspaper records, she sang with the group starting around 1898 and was often listed under her husband's name as "Mrs. Henry S. Sparks" in newspapers. She would eventually be elected financial secretary for the Los Angeles Women's Lyric Club before dying of pneumonia in 1906. Early mentions of the group also mention a Professor William James Chick and his wife being associated with it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I had seen articles from around 1898 and wondered if there was a connection between that group and the 1913-1917 group. Of course, there were different women involved, but do we only find these 2 different groups in newspapers while groups in the years inbetween never got any media recognition? It's interesting to me. Thank you for your comment! It's nice to see someone else who has a connection to this obscure little singing group.
Delete