The Story of Septimus Barbour

     

To learn to play the piano passably well, to develop one’s voice with a voice teacher – this was something desirable and important from the second half of the 19th century till radio and phonographs.  A rising standard of living meant a little discretionary income could be scraped up to pay for lessons. And Septimus Barbour was ready to provide them.

  Named for his grandfathers, Septimus Edwin was four when his older sister died. After that, he remained the only child of Edward Barbour and Mary Anna Woodward, the focus of all their attention. “Annie” was herself considered a musician in her day, noted for her fine soprano. Her father, Septimus Woodward, was one of the wealthiest men in Carlinville, Illinois, and got his son-in-law Eddy into the hardware business. Young Septimus’ parents encouraged his musical interests and paid for years of lessons, sending their son to Dana Musical Institute in Warren, Ohio; Chicago Musical College, and for private sessions with nationally noted teachers.

  He studied voice with Karelton Hackett of Chicago and Oscar Saenger of New York, piano with Emil Liebling, organ with Harrison Wild, names that were familiar in their day.

  All his training calls to mind an image presented by a historian:

 

     The climax of four years of hard work and the expenditure of several thousands of dollars was a modest debut in the salle of a quiet hotel at some spa, the folding chairs occupied by an audience whose attendance the maestro could command. There was a pretty bouquet, a little champagne supper, congratulations, and Fräulein returned to Ohio to disappear forever from the pages of history.

 

One thing a young man or woman could do with all that musical training was teach, and in 1911 Septimus' parents surprised him by setting up a studio in their home.

  He must have entertained dreams of a career as a concert performer, and he had some encouragement to that end. A 1913 review in the Streator, Illinois newspaper said, “His versatility and thorough musicianship as well as an unusually beautiful baritone voice equip him for what will undoubtedly be a career in concert work.” It should be noted, however, that the review was written by his mother’s cousin.

  Septimus did his best to make a go of it in the concert field, and was signed with Cordova Concert Company, a small booking and promotions agency that operated from 1916 to 1919. Cordova managed to books its performers in the smallest of towns, places like Hickman or Blue Hill, Nebraska, or Arcanum, Ohio, places overlooked by bigger companies.[1] Their shows typically featured a flutist, a violinist, a soloist and an impressionist – always four performers. A woman doing child impressions was especially popular. She would also do a reading, an inspiring or tastefully funny tale suitable for the whole family. It was part of the “Lyceum Circuit,” designed to educate and uplift.

  In the fall of 1916, he was manager of the little company. He and the three women appeared in such places as Edgar, Nebraska; Sommerville, Kansas; Kaw City, Oklahoma; Larned, Kansas and Odell, Nebraska.

   “An entertainment usually only heard in the largest cities,” an ad promised. Admission was fifty cents, when one could see a motion picture show from five to 10 cents.

 

  Septimus’ greatest champion, by far, was Sue Jackson Foster, Mrs. W.G. Foster. She was his mother’s cousin, a graduate of the University of Illinois Class of 1900, and wife of a prominent architect, William G. Foster. They moved to Streator, Illinois in 1908 when William joined an architectural firm there. She must have been a woman of great energy. For years she produced community theater productions and musical recitals, led women’s club work, and served as society editor and music critic of The Streator Daily Free Press, while raising four children. No one could have been more enthusiastic in her support and promotion of Septimus, and no one was more effusive in newspaper reviews.

  Before his two-month foray with the Cordova Concert Company, his performances were at the occasional wedding of a friend, Sue Foster’s community theater, and music recitals sponsored by the likes of the Library Association, the Musical Culture Club and the Home Missionary Society. The latter were performed in churches and private homes. He taught music lessons and one student, Violet Daube, was his special protégé and often accompanied him on piano.

  Beginning in 1916 and continuing until 1921, he was director of the LaGrange College Conservatory of Music in Missouri. It was a small junior college, and his job entailed two days a week at LaGrange, where he directed the college orchestra.

  Septimus advertised in the Music News, a weekly publication out of Chicago. A 1917 piece would not be the last about him:

 

     Septimus Barbour is one of the most promising American-trained young baritones now in the concert field. It may safely be stated that few, if any, young singers now before the public can surpass him in the thoroughness of his musical equipment.

   Trained from youth as a pianist, he graduated with high honors from the Dana Institute of Music of Warren, Ohio. Later he studied piano with Emil Liebling five years and with Rafael Jossefy three years, and organ with Harrison Wild.

  When his extraordinary baritone voice began to develop, he was a thoroughly equipped musician, which is rare indeed in the ranks of concert singers. He began his voice training with Karelton Hackett.

  He has had instruction under the greatest of voice teachers, including Oscar Saenger of New York, who manifests great interest in his unusually talented student.

  Mr. Barbour is splendidly equipped with a voice of pure baritone quality, of extraordinary range and of unimpeachable artistry. He has attained much success in the concert field as manager, director and soloist in some excellent lyceum companies.

  Mr. Barbour will be available for only a limited number of concerts and recital engagements this season, because of his large classes in piano and voice. He is head of the music department at LaGrange College, LaGrange, Mo.[2]

 

  In 1918 he and Sue created the Streator School of Music, with Sue as manager. In 1919 the ‘school of music’ was dropped and his ad said “Barbour Studios.” He taught one day a week at the Masonic Temple and the rest of the days from the Foster home, until he moved to a studio in the Foster Building.

  On the 1920 census, Septimus lived with William and Sue Foster. It was a four-bedroom, 1,900-square foot house.[3] He probably had lived with them since around the time of his father’s death. 

  Beginning at least in 1919, he was director of the orchestra at Streator Township High School. This involved two mornings a week. His two days a week at LaGrange College continued until 1921, when he was replaced by a young woman with a four-year degree. He continued to leave for the summer to study with noted voice teachers in Chicago.

     It must have been very difficult for Septimus when the Foster family moved to Berkeley, California in 1925. Why didn’t he go with them? He’d been part of the family for over a decade. Sue had been his constant supporter. But if he lived alone at all, it wasn’t for long. By 1927, at least, he was living with his mother, who moved from Fort Madison to Streator.

  He continued as director of the high school orchestra and now band. He moved his studio from Main Street to his home. He was elected vice president of the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians.

But after 1928, everything seems to stop. He was no longer with the high school, and he did not appear in community productions and recitals. There is a 1929 letter to the editor in the Los Angeles Times whose ending is poignant:

 

     That an airplane can be operated by a robot proves that we shall see a time when every mechanical device shall be operated in a similar manner.

  Radio and sound recording are combined with pictures; it is inevitable that an orchestra and performers before their audience, in person, will be a rare novelty.

  Children are going to be instructed in their various subjects by sound pictures accompanied by lectures given by authorities in every line. This will enable every student to have the very best instruction the world can produce.

  All of these things with their benefits are confronting us with a weighty problem: what of the many persons who will thus be unemployed?

                                                                                                  S.E. Barbour

 

  Yes, everyone could have access to the teachings of the likes of Oscar Saenger. In fact, in 1916 Oscar himself produced a series of 20 music lessons on records for the Victor Talking Machine Company. (They can be heard today on Youtube.) Who needed a Septimus Barbour if one could be taught by the great Saenger himself, without costly trips to New York?

  The world had changed greatly since a young Septimus began his musical training, pursuing a career doing what he loved. And the Great Depression hadn’t even descended when he wrote his letter. Why was he replaced at LaGrange College, where he was highly regarded, and Streator Township High? It was probably because of rising standards for teachers. Septimus had only one year of high school. His “degrees” from the Dana Music Institute and Chicago Music School were from unaccredited institutions.

  So how did he make a living? In 1935 he left his mother’s place and moved to Oak Park, Illinois. She died a year later.

  The 1940 census is interesting. Septimus was living in a boarding house with a total of 14 lodgers, some single and some in families. He reported living there for the last five years, occupation: music teacher; hours worked per week: 10. He reported zero income from this, and answered ‘yes’ to whether he received other funds that did not come from wages. Inheritance from his parents, perhaps?

  In 1942, he was living at the Oak Park Infirmary in Cook County. Oak Park Infirmary went by a variety of other names since its creation, including the Cook County Poor Farm, the Cook County Almshouse, the Cook County Poorhouse, the Cook County Old-Age Home and Oak Forest Tuberculosis Hospital.

  The poorhouse. Forgotten today, unknown to the generations after the baby boomers. It was commonly invoked by baby boomers’ parents –the children of the Depression - as the most shameful, dreaded place a person could end up. “We’re going to end up in the poorhouse if you keep leaving these lights on.” Usually, it was said in jest, but lingering behind it was fear that had been passed down from their parents.

  Septimus, a musically talented man, ended up dying alone at the Oak Park Infirmary in 1944. He is not buried in the family plot in Carlinville. Maybe there was no one to tell the county where to take him. Maybe no one would pay the expenses. He was probably buried on the grounds, along with some 38,000 other souls in unmarked graves.

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[1] Hickman, for example, had a population of 380 in 1920.

[2] Music News, Vol. 9, No. 42, p. 14, Oct. 19, 1917.

[3] This was spacious at a time when the average house size was 1,000 square feet.

 Sources:

Carson, Gerald. The Polite American: A Wide-Angle View of Our More or Less Good Manners Over 300 Years,"London: MacMillan, 1967.

“A Few Brave the Storm to Hear the Weekly Concert at Dana’s Hall,” The Daily Item (Great Bend, Kansas), Jan. 29, 1904, p. 1.

“News of Musical Circles of Des Moines and a Glance Outside,” Des Moines Register, June 18, 1911, p. 39.

“Local News,” The Times (Streator, Illinois), Dec. 11, 1913, p. 5.

“The House That Jack Built,” The Times, May 4, 1914.

“E.C. Barbour Dies at Iowa Home,” The Times, May 5, 1914, p. 5.

Cordova Concert Company (ad), The Hickman Enterprise (Hickman, Nebraska), Jan. 5, 1917, p. 5.

“Mozart Club Has Meeting,” The Times, Aug. 11, 1917, p. 1.

“Septimus E. Barbour, Baritone” (ad), The Times Jan. 9, 1918, p. 6.

“June Recitals Close Season,” The Times, June 18, 1918, p. 7.

“To Study in Chicago,” The Times, June 21, 1918, p. 1.

“In the Music News,” The Times, March 3, 1919, p. 2.

“Oriental Musical is Presented – S.E. Barbour Gives Remarkable Program,” The Times, April 4, 1919, p. 7.

“LaGrange College Notes,” Word and Way (Kansas City, Missouri), May 1, 1919, p. 11.

“Back From Missouri – S.E. Barbour and Kathryn Foster Present Recital,” The Times, May 29, 1919, p. 1.

“LaGrange College Commencement,” Word and the Way, June 17, 1920, p. 12.

“LaGrange College Opened Last Week,” Lewis County Journal (Monticello, Missouri), Sept. 10, 1921, p. 3.

“Roof Garden Scene Clever – Ki Ke Koo Act a Scream,” The Times, April 10, 1923, p. 3.

“High School Orchestra Gives Splendid Program,” The Times, April 15, 1925, p. 5.

“James E. Patton Heads Musicians,” The Times, Jan. 7, 1926, p. 2.

“Annual Concert,” The Times, May 22, 1926, p. 5.

“Musicale Directed by S.E. Barbour,” The Times, June 1, 1927, p. 10

“This Mechanical Age,” Los Angeles Times, Nov. 12, 1929, p. 28.

“Mrs. Barbour, Musician, Dies at Carlinville,” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, Illinois), Jan. 25, 1936, p. 9.

Copyright Andrea Auclair © 2023