Black History Month: Canadian Jubilee Singer Fannie Stewart

Fannie Stewart was one of the female singers in the original group of Canadian Jubilee Singers.

According to a newspaper article in the Freeman (Indianapolis Indiana) in December 1896 Fannie was born in Windsor Ontario.

She was married to W. T. Cary, another member of the group but I have not been able to find a record of their marriage. Nor have I found Fannie after her marriage. 

I believe she is the Fannie Stewart age 8  found in Windsor Ontario in 1861 with parents David and Eliza Stewart, both born in the USA. In all the census records I found for Fannie she is recorded as born in USA but is in WIndsor from the 1861 to the 1891 census.

Census and death records reveal that the woman I believe is Fannie's grandmother was born in Virginia ca1802. Her name was Sarah Ann and she was the widow of Richard Stewart at her death in WIndsor in 1896. Her son David (Fannie's father) was the informant at her death. 

Her husband Richard died at the age of 77 in 1877, also in Windsor. Eliza Stewart (Fannie's mother) was the informant. From the marriage of David & Eliza's daughter we learn that Eliza's maiden name was Robinson. 

So far my research has turned up 3 children for Richard & Sarah Ann Stewart: David, born ca 1830 USA, Henry born ca 1834 and Sarah Ann born ca 1842 in Virginia. It is very likely that all 3  children were born in Virginia but so far I have not found them on the 1850 census. Perhaps they are on slave schedules. 

David & Eliza (Robinson) Stewart's son George died in WIndsor in 1886 at the age of 28. On his death record he is said to have been born in Virginia. Unfortunately that is where the trail ends for my research.

Black History Month: Jubilee Singer Charlotte Bland-O'Banyon

It wasn't easy to find Charlotte. Her death record has proved elusive. What I did find after a great deal of research was an 1871 census record for Hamilton Ontario showing a Charlotte E. Bland age 33 married to John H. Bland, 49. Charlotte was born in Hudson New York.

She is also found in the 1861 census for Hamilton with husband John Bland, a barber born USA, and their son Charles age 8, born Canada. The 1881 Hamilton Census still finds the family of John 56, Charlotte, 37 and 3 other people, one being the widow Mary Young 70, born USA. 

I had a hunch that Mary Young was possibly Charlotte's mother because in her marriage to Josephus O'Banyon her parents are recorded as Randall and Mary. Although the surname was recorded as Bland I believe this was an assumption that she was a single woman on her marriage. But in reality she was a widow, her husband John Bland having died in Hamilton in December 1884. 

Sure enough a search of New York census records showed in 1850 and 1860 in Athens New York. The family group in 1850 consisted of Randall Young 53, his wife Polly (a common nickname for Mary) 49, and children James, 25, Thomas 23, Charlotte 15 and Jane 10. All were recorded as being born in New York.

In 1860 Randall was 57 born Maryland, a boatman. His wife Mary was 43 born Greene Co. New York and children were Charlotte 17 born Columbia Co., and Jane A. also born Columbia Co. Next door was son Thomas age 25 with a wife and 2 children.

By 1871 Randall and his wife were in Hamilton Ontario for they are found there in the 1871 census. Randall is recorded as 70 and born USA while his wife is listed as Polly age 58 born United States. A widow Jane Ann Hall is also with the family as are two of her children. I suggest this is their daughter born ca 1840.

Charlotte is found with Josephus in the Muncie, Indiana, City Directory for 1897 and it is very possible that she died there.

To date I have not found any further information on the family. It seems a shame to not know more about these Canadian Jubilee Singers! 

Credit:  Canadian Jubilee Singers songbook available at http://www.resourcebooks.net/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=174463

Black History Month: Canadian Jubilee Singer Josephus O'Banyon

Josephus O'Banyon was one of the singers in the Canadian Jubilee Singers. It is interesting to note that we also find the following names:

Mrs. Bland-O’Banyoun – mezzo soprano, married to Josephus

Ernest O’Banyoun  son of leader, Baritone

With 3 singers to research I had a lot of fun with this biography. As I searched census records and vital statistics, I discovered quite a bit of fascinating information about Josephus.

Simon Peter O'Banyon

Census records revealed Josephus as a 14 year old in 1851 in Brantford Ontario with his parents Simon Peter O'Banyon and Sophia. 1881 found him in Hamilton Ontario and by 1891 he was in Chatham Ontario with his widowed mother Sophia. It was quite a surprise to find him in Indiana in 1900 with wife Maud.

It is interesting to note that in the 1891 census, Sophia O'Banyon is recorded as being born in Ontario, with a father born in Ireland and a mother born in Canada. 

Early marriage records show that Simon O'Banyon married Sophia Wright in July 1832 in Brantford, Ontario. I have been unable to discover her parents. The following anecdote about the O'Banyons is found in Samuel Ringgold Ward's 1855 book Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro.  The anecdote concerns Peter O'Banyoun, at a time when the O'Banyons were living in Brant County. 

"A gentleman of my acquaintance (Peter O'Banyoun), driving a good pair of horses, and traveling at leisure, with his ladylike wife, was one night, in the winter of 1851-52, denied admittance at some dozen public taverns. His lady, being of lighter complexion than himself, on one or two occasions was admitted, and was comfortably seated by the fire, and politely treated - until her darker-skinned husband came in, and then, there was no room for either. It was a bitterly cold night; and being treated - maltreated - after this manner until nearly midnight, they were at length obliged to accept of a room in which they could sit up all night." 

So far I have found 5 marriages for Josephus, four of them to very young women. Here is the list of his marriages:

1. Nancy Butler before 1864. They had 2 sons, one being Ernest (baritone in the Canadian Jubilee Singers) who died at the age of 29 in 1893.  Nothing further is known of Nancy.
2. Mary Elizabeth Goosely, age 19 in 1871 in Nova Scotia. She died in 1884 in Essex Co. Ontario. Josephus was 33 years old.
3. Cassimar Elizabeth Johnson, age 21 in 1884 a few months after Mary's death. She died in 1890. He was 46 years old.
4. In 1891 he married Charlotte E. Bland (also a singer in the Canadian Jubilee Singers). I have not found a death record for Charlotte.
5. In 1898 he married Maud Garrison, age 18, in Indiana. Josephus was now 61 years old.

As a minister, Josephus moved around frequently and can be found ministering in various churches in different countries.


A very intriguing man! And I must admit I am curious about the deaths of 4 of his wives. Such bad luck for him.

Black History Month: Canadian Jubilee Singer Nathan Warner

1896 Freeman newspaper Indiana

Nathan Warner was one of the musicians in the Canadian Jubilee Singers. 

Research in American newspapers revealed a few tidbits of information about Nathan. In 1896 it was said that he had been with the Jubilee Singers for 4 seasons. 

He was also listed as being with the group in 1898 along with Daisy Underwood aka Black Melba and James E. Lightfoot.

The 1881 census for Hamilton Ontario shows Nathan as a 15 year old "African" living with his widowed mother Mary Jane Warner. Mary Jane was born in the USA ca 1832 and supported the family by taking in laundry. 

Also with the family was the widowed Margaret Felson, age 68 born USA. I suspected she was Mary Jane's mother and Nathan's grandmother.

The 1871 census of Hamilton shows Nathan (recorded as Nathaniel) as a 4 year old living with none other than Margaret Felson and Jane Warner (his mother)

1861 finds Margaret Felson, 49 married to Alfred, 59. Alfred's occupation is given as porter. With the family are 3 Felson children as well as Frank (age 29 born Upper Canada) & Jane Warner and two of their children. I have no doubt that Alfred and Margaret Felson were Nathan Warner's maternal grandparents. Frank and Jane were Nathan's parents.

Further research turned up Margaret's death record in 1895 stating she was born in Washington but no further genealogical information. However court records for Washington, District of Columbia revealed an 1831 marriage record for Alfred Felson and Margaret Jenkins on the 13th of April that year. 

I have not been able to find more on Nathan. 

Black History Month: Who Were the Jubilee Singers

February is Black History Month so I am going to talk about the Canadian Jubilee Singers and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. I'd never heard of either group until I saw a Murdoch Mysteries episode in January. It featured the Canadian Jubilee Singers as the historical aspect of that episode. I became interested and decided to do some research.

The Canadian Jubilee Singers were a group of black African-American singers and musicians. The group was based on the successful Fisk Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in Tennessee, but the singers in the Canadian group were almost all from the Hamilton area of Ontario Canada. 

The Canadian Jubilee singers made their appearance in 1878 when William and Sadie Carter organized the group.It became very successful and toured Great Britain for 5 years and United States for 3. 

Researching the original members was not an easy task but as near as I can determine from various online resources the original group consisted of the following members:

• Prof. Cockbin of Hamilton – bass
• Maud Young – soprano from Hamilton
• Alice Dowden - Soprano from Hamilton
• Mrs. Bland-O’Banyoun – mezzo soprano married to Josephus O'Banyon
• Ernest O’Banyoun son of Josephus, Baritone
• Minnie Parker from Chatham
• Mrs. Cockbin, Hamilton, accompanist wife of Professor Cockbin
• James Escort (Jimmie) Lightfoot
• Nathan Warner, trombone
• Hattie Butler
• James Thomas
• W. T. Cary and his wife Fannie Stewart 

It took me some time to cobble together the list above from various sources. Many had only initials and no full names. I was able to find more about each member, including their full names and I will share that information in future blog posts.

Over the month of February I will be posting bios with the research I have done on several of the members of the group. Given how difficult it has been to find information on them, I think it even more important to publish on this blog what I have found. My hope is that they will not be forgotten or overlooked as an important part of Canadian history.

Credit: Image ID: 1240264. Famous Canadian Jubilee singers male quartette, plantation lullabies. ca 1890s. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org
Credit: Jubilee Singers Flyer Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. R5500-22