Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul by Frank Moore
page 78 of 148 (52%)
page 78 of 148 (52%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
|
spell their names the same way. Dan had only one "t" at the end of his
name, while the judge used two. Whether the judge used two because he was ashamed of Dan, or whether Dan used only one because he was ashamed of the judge, no one seemed to know. Dan Emmet left a legacy that will be remembered by the lovers of melody for many years. What left the judge? When Emmet's company left St. Paul they got stranded and many of them found engagements in other organizations. Dan turned his attention to writing negro melodies. He wrote several popular airs, one of them being "Dixie," which afterward became the national air of the Confederate States. When "Dixie" was written Emmet was connected with Bryant's Minstrels in New York city, and he sent a copy to his friend in St. Paul, the late R.C. Munger, and asked his opinion as to its merits and whether he thought it advisable to place it in the hands of a publisher. Mr. Munger assured his friend that he thought it would make a great hit, and he financially assisted Mr. Emmet in placing it before the public. One of the first copies printed was sent to Mr. Munger, and the first time this celebrated composition was ever sung in the West was in the music store of Munger Bros, in the old concert hall building on Third street. "Dixie" at once became very popular, and was soon on the program of every minstrel troupe in the country. Dan Emmet devoted his whole life to minstrelsy and he organized the first traveling minstrel troupe in the United States, starting from some point in Ohio in 1843. The father of the Emmets was a gallant soldier of the War of 1812, and at one time lived in the old brown frame house at the intersection of Ramsey and West Seventh streets, recently demolished. A correspondent of one of the magazines gives the following account of how "Dixie" happened to become the national air of the Confederate States: |
|


