Research Catalog

Title

Edmund Thornton Jenkins collection.

Author

Green, Jeffrey P.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Cook, Will Marion.

Description

.5 lin. ft.

Subject

• Jenkins, Edmund Thornton, 1894-1926
• Jenkins, Daniel J., -1937
• Jenkins Orphanage (Charleston, S.C.)
• Jenkins Orphanage Band
• Composers > United States
• African American composers
• Orphanages > South Carolina > Charleston
• African American musicians
• African Americans > Music
• Musicians > United States

Source (note)

• Jeffrey P. Green

Biography (note)

• Edmund Thornton Jenkins, born in Charleston, South Carolina, was a composer and musician.

Publications (note)

• Edmund Thornton Jenkins: The Life and Times of an American Black Composer, 1894-1926, Jeffrey P. Green 1982.

Processing Action (note)

• Accessioned
• Cataloged
• Cataloging updated

Call Number

Sc MG 333

OCLC

NYPW87-A292

Author

Green, Jeffrey P. Collector

Title

Edmund Thornton Jenkins collection.

Summary

The collection consists of personal and professional papers reflecting Jenkins' career as a musician and composer, and encompasses four series: Personal and Professional Papers, Family Papers, Jenkins Orphanage Documents, and Research Material. The personal and professional papers contain letters from Jenkins to his father and stepmother, Eloise C. Harleston Jenkins, letters to Jenkins from friends and professional associates, including a letter from composer Will Marion Cook; family papers consisting of letters written to the family following Jenkins' death in 1926 and documents related to his death and the disposition of his estate; Jenkins Orphanage Documents including letters, programs and playbills, and financial papers; research material gathered by Jeffrey P. Green, the donor and author of EDMUND THORNTON JENKINS: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AN AMERICAN BLACK COMPOSER, 1894-1926 (1982). The research material includes Green's correspondence and interviews with people who knew Jenkins, a listing from SACEM of the songs composed by Jenkins, photocopies of articles regarding Jenkins, the Orphanage, Jenkins family members and prominent musicians who had some sort of affiliation with the Jenkins Orphanage and the Band.

Biography

Edmund Thornton Jenkins, born in Charleston, South Carolina, was a composer and musician. He began his musical career during his childhood with the Jenkins Orphanage Band, which was organized and led by his father, the Reverend Daniel Jenkins, to raise money for the orphanage he had established in Charleston in 1871. The band was composed of boys in the orphanage. They performed jazz and ragtime in numerous cities in the United States and England, and were the largest single source of revenue for the orphanage.

Jenkins received his musical training from the musical directors of the Jenkins Orphanage Band, at Morehouse College and at London's Royal Academy of Music (1914-21). He remained in Europe following the completion of his studies at the Academy, performing with dance bands, making jazz recordings, and eventually leading the Ermitage Orchestra.

Publications

Edmund Thornton Jenkins: The Life and Times of an American Black Composer, 1894-1926, Jeffrey P. Green 1982.

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Added Author

Cook, Will Marion.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 333