Browse Items (59 total)

  • Tags: Tennessee music box

"Sweet Hour of Prayer"

This hymn, with words by William W. Walford from around 1842 and a melody by W. B. Bradbury that was first associated with the hymn in 1859, has become a staple of Protestant church services over the past century-and-a-half. This performance by David…

"The Water is Wide"

This folk song, also known as "O Waly Waly," originally hails from the British Isles, and like many other such traditional songs, is about unrequited love. This performance by David Schnaufer and Sandy Conatser is performed on a so-called "courting…

[Alcorn County (MS) Dulcimer #1]

MS-Corinth-1-1.jpg
This music box belonged to the great-great-grandfather (maternal) of the owner, Benjamin Franklin Hardin (b. 1860s). He was a carpenter who built houses, and lived in Alcorn County, Mississippi. The instrument passed through the family.

[Jefferson County (AL) Dulcimer #1]

AL-2-1.jpg
This instrument was purchased at an antique store near Huntsville, Alabama. No other history is known.

[Alabama Dulcimer #1]

AL-1.jpg
The current owner purchased this instrument from the widow of one Joe Gamble in Huntsville, Alabama. It had been purchased in turn at the same time as fiddles that were from Texas.

[Wayne County Dulcimer #3]

Wayne-3-1.jpg
This music box was found in a house built by Wesley Galloway, a carpenter, and the great-great-grandfather of the instrument's current owner. The family had come from Lawrence County before settling in Wayne County.

[Wayne County Dulcimer #2]

Wayne-2-1.jpg
The current owners bought this instrument around 1978 from Bill Spencer in Wayne County. Its previous history is unknown. This dulcimer appears to be a primitive (homemade) instrument.

[Wayne [Hardin] County Dulcimer #1]

Wayne-1-1.jpg
The current owner purchased this instrument from one Ocie Burns in Waynesboro in 1988. Her grandmother, Sara Josephine Ford Pulley, had had it, and it was probably made by her father, John Ford, who was living in Hardin County at the time. It was…

[Sullivan County Dulcimer #1]

Sullivan-1-1.jpg
This music box dates from the late 19th century, and was purchased by David Schnaufer around 1990 for $325 from an antique dealer in Black Mountain, NC.

[Shelby County Dulcimer #1]

Shelby-1-1.jpg
The current owner acquired this instrument at a flea market in Memphis, Tennessee.