The Composer - Sylvester Legg

Sylvester A. Legg 

Illustration from Kansas City Journal, August 27, 1897, page 1.

Advertising Cards for Legg Brothers Music Store 

From the Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Library, Kansas City, Mo.

In 1897 an article about a popular song, “In the Shadow of the Pines” was published on the first page of Kansas City Journal. The article was about the song’s history and composer, a Kansas Cityan named Sylvester A. Legg.

Sylvester owned a Kansas City music store with his brother, Edward N. Legg. He was also an organist and in 1897 had played at the Cathedral in Kansas City for 17 years. According to the newspaper story, Mr. Legg read a poem, written as an advertisement for the Wabash Railroad, in Godey's magazine and decided that it should be set to music. He and his brother Edward received permission from Godey’s magazine to do this. Later on, the Leggs corroborated with the poem’s author, Miss Hattie Lummis of Pittsburg, Kansas on additional songs.

By 1897 the song "In the Shadow of the Pines," had sold more than 100,000 copies. Sylvester wrote under the “nom de plume” G. O. Lang. Some other songs that he published as sheet music were “Dreams of Old Kentucky,” “Say Not Goodbye,” “Dreaming of Home,” and “The Sun Will Shine Again.”

Sylvester A. Legg was born in St. Louis, Missouri about 1857. Sylvester's father was Matthew Legg and his mother was Zelena Gilbert or “Guilbert”. He was a middle child and had five siblings, Augustus, Isabelle, Florence, Edward and John. The newspaper reported that Sylvester came from a musical family and that Zelena “was a musical prodigy as a child in St. Louis.” According to Edward Legg, "My brother as a boy played the piano while I played ball."

The family also had connection to the railroads. Sylvester’s older brother, Augustus, worked as an auditor for the Wabash railroad; its likely Augustus knew and worked with Charles Crane, the Wabash railroad passenger agent who is named in the Godey's magazine advertisement.

Sylvester Legg was married to Julia M. Chouteau, who was a member of a prominent St. Louis family. Her great-great grandfather was Pierre Laclede Liguest, one of the founders of St. Louis. In 1764 Liguest and his stepson Auguste Chouteau had established a fur trading post where St. Louis now stands.

Sylvester and Julia had one son, Edward Chouteau Legg, born in 1883. Sylvester died in 1927 and is buried Mount Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Kansas City, or at least he has a marker there. The family’s musical tradition was carried on by Sylvestor's son. In 1920 Edward was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was employed as an organist in a theater; his wife, Emma had the same occupation.


Further information and links:
Previous blog post on the newspaper article:
http://miscellaneousmar.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

Newspaper article: Library of Congress, Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers –
Kansas City Journal, August 27, 1897, page 1, “Written As An AD.”
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063615/1897-08-27/ed-1/seq-1/


Advertising Cards: Missouri Valley Special Collections (MVSC) Digital Gallery, Kansas City Public Library -
http://localhistory.kclibrary.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/Advert&CISOPTR=1603&REC=2


Silvester A. Legg (1855-1927) Find A Grave Memorial
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=legg&GSfn=silvester++&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=26&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=8645221&df=all&