Gilmore, P. S. (Patrick Sarsfield), 1829-1892

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Patrick Sarsfield (P.S.) Gilmore was born in County Galway, Ireland, on December 25, 1829, and later became known as the "Father of the American Concert Band." Gilmore organized and staged two music festivals in Boston, Massachusetts: the National Peace Jubilee (1869) and the World's Peace Jubilee (1872). He conducted bands and integrated woodwinds into what had traditionally been brass bands. He led the New York Twenty-seventh Regiment Band for almost 20 years. Gilmore also authored several pieces of music and poems, including "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." Gilmore died unexpectedly in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 24, 1892.

Michael Cummings founded the Patrick S. Gilmore Society in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1969.

From the description of Michael Cummings collection of P.S. Gilmore materials, 1850-2004. (Boston College). WorldCat record id: 259196999

Patrick S. Gilmore, an American bandleader before the time of John Philip Sousa, was born on 25 December 1829 in Ireland. Most sources place Gilmore's birth in the town of Ballygar, but recent research by Frank Cipolla has suggested Mullingar as a more likely birthplace. The young Gilmore learned to play the cornet under a retired British bandmaster named Patrick Keating and was soon playing in the city of Athlone's Amateur Youth Band and singing in St. Peter's Catholic Church Choir.

Gilmore emigrated to the United States in 1849 and arrived in New York on October 16. The young musician settled in Boston where he soon headed the band instrument department at Ordway's Music Store and played with Ordway's minstrel ensemble, the Aeolian Vocalists.

By 1852, Gilmore was leading the Charlestown, Massachusetts Town Band, and soon thereafter, the Suffolk Brass Band. In 1853 he briefly directed the Boston Brigade Band but soon left for Salem where he led the Salem Brigade Band, which played for the inauguration of President James Buchanan. In 1858, Gilmore married Ellen O'Neill, and the next year they returned to Boston. On 9 April 1859, the reorganized Boston Brigade Band gave its first concert as Patrick Gilmore's Band.

General Order 48, issued on 31 July 1861, allowed for military bands to serve in the Union army. Gilmore's Band enlisted on 16 September 1861 and attached itself to the 24th Massachusetts Infantry, which it accompanied to Camp Massasoit near Boston. Gilmore and his musicians provided music for the Regiment and also served as stretcher bearers at battles in Roanoke, New Bern, Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Nashville, Petersburg, and Richmond. In August 1862, Congress discharged most military bands in an effort to lower costs. In 1863, however, the governor of Massachusetts charged Gilmore with reorganizing the state's military bands. In March 1864, Gilmore was sent to New Orleans to oversee music for the inauguration of Louisiana's new governor. This event, with its chorus of 6000, band of 500, cannons, and anvils, foreshadowed Gilmore's later monster concerts.

After the war, Gilmore returned to Boston where he formed Gilmore and Wright, a musical instrument manufacturer. His National Peace Jubilee opened on 15 June 1869, and audiences were treated to five days of music featuring over 1000 instrumentalists and 10,000 vocalists. The concertmaster for the event was the great violinist Ole Bull, and Gilmore earned some $40,000. The end of the Franco-Prussian war led Gilmore to organize an even larger celebration, the World Peace Jubilee. This time the event lasted 18 days, closing on 4 July 1872. The audience was able to hear 2000 instrumentalists and 20,000 adult voices, as well as the orchestra of Johann Strauss and bands from England, France, Germany and the United States.

On 18 November 1873 Gilmore gave the first concert with his new ensemble, the 22nd New York Regiment Band. In 1875, he leased the New York Hippodrome, renamed Gilmore's Concert Garden, and gave regular concerts with this ensemble. In 1876 Gilmore's Band became the first ensemble to travel across the country, giving concerts from New York to San Francisco. In 1878, they made an international tour and in 1879 opened the amusement park at Manhattan Beach.

Gilmore was not widely known as a composer, but he did write several pieces including "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," published under the name Louis Lambert, "The Everlasting Polka," "Music Fills My Soul With Sadness" and "Good News from Home."

Patrick Gilmore died following a concert at the St. Louis Exposition on 24 September 1892.

From the guide to the Patrick Gilmore Collection, 1864-1893, 1864-1893, (Special Collections in Performing Arts)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn The Moldenhauer Archives at Harvard University: Correspondence, literary manuscripts, sound recordings, and other material, 1873-2001. Houghton Library
referencedIn David Blakely papers, 1880-1931, 1892-1896 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Letters to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1761-1904 (inclusive), 1820-1888 (bulk) Houghton Library
referencedIn Schneeloch family. The Schneeloch family papers, 1886-1910 (inclusive). Yale University, Music Library
creatorOf Gilmore, P. S. (Patrick Sarsfield), 1829-1892. Michael Cummings collection of P.S. Gilmore materials, 1850-2004. Boston College. John J. Burns Library
referencedIn Nicolas Slonimsky Collection, 1873-1997, (bulk 1920-1990) Library of Congress. Music Division
referencedIn Edison Sheet Music Collection, 1830-1958, (bulk 1890-1940) Library of Congress. Music Division
creatorOf Gilmore, P. S. (Patrick Sarsfield), 1829-1892. Patrick Gilmore collection, 1864-1893 University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
creatorOf Smith, Leonard B. (Leonard Bingley), 1915-2002. Leonard B. Smith Collection 1840-2001 (bulk 1901-2000). Library of Congress
referencedIn J. E. Roach Banda Mexicana. J. E. Roach Banda Mexicana music collection, 1881-1906. University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
referencedIn Goldman, Edwin Franko, 1878-1956. Edwin Franko Goldman autograph collection, 1823-1954. Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn National Peace Jubilee and Musical Festival (1869 : Boston, Mass.). Collection, 1869. Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, SCPC
referencedIn Harvard University. Autograph File, G. 1641-2009. Houghton Library
referencedIn World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival (1872 : Boston, Mass.). Collection, 1872. Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, SCPC
referencedIn Anka, Paul. Musicians Collection, 1727-1981, (bulk 1900-1940). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Letters from various correspondents, 1819-1889.. Houghton Library
referencedIn Musicians Collection TXRC99-A17., 1727-1981, (bulk 1900-1940) Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Gilmore, P. S. (Patrick Sarsfield), 1829-1892. Pro-Union Civil War sheet music collection, 1859-1917. Boston Athenaeum
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
referencedIn The Schneeloch Family Papers, 1886-1910 (inclusive) Irving S. Gilmore Music Library
creatorOf Gilmore, P. S. (Patrick Sarsfield), 1829-1892,. Autograph letters signed from Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, New York, to various recipients [manuscript], 1874-1887. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Emile Berliner collection, 1871-1965, 1871-1930 Library of Congress. Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division
creatorOf Blakely, David, 1834-1896. Papers, 1880-1931, bulk (1892-1896). New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Edward Webster McGlenen papers, 1857-1937 (inclusive), 1857-1890 (bulk). Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Edwin Franko Goldman Autograph Collection, ca. 1770-1954, 1850s-1940s Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Schneeloch family. The Schneeloch family papers, 1886-1910 (inclusive). Yale University, Music Library
creatorOf Gilmore, P. S. (Patrick Sarsfield), 1829-1892. Autograph card signed : Boston, Coliseum, 1872 June 29. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn J. E. Roach Banda Mexicana. J. E. Roach Banda Mexicana music collection, 1881-1906. University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
creatorOf Gilmore, P. S. (Patrick Sarsfield), 1829-1892. Patrick Gilmore collection, 1864-1893 University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Berliner, Emile, 1851-1929 person
associatedWith Blakely, David, 1834-1896. person
associatedWith Clapp, William Warland, 1826-1891 person
correspondedWith Clarke, George, 1840-1906 person
associatedWith Cummings, Michael. person
correspondedWith Daly, Augustin, 1838-1899 person
associatedWith Emma Waleska Schneeloch Bacon and Emilie Auguste Schneeloch Busse person
associatedWith Gilmore's Band. corporateBody
associatedWith Goldman, Edwin Franko, 1878-1956. person
associatedWith J. E. Roach Banda Mexicana. corporateBody
correspondedWith Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882 person
correspondedWith McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster). person
correspondedWith Moldenhauer, Hans, collector. person
associatedWith National Peace Jubilee and Musical Festival (1869 : Boston, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith Patrick S. Gilmore Society. corporateBody
associatedWith Schneeloch family. family
associatedWith Schneeloch family. family
associatedWith Slonimsky, Nicolas, 1894-1995 person
associatedWith Smith, Leonard B. (Leonard Bingley), 1915-2002. person
correspondedWith Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874 person
associatedWith Thomas A. Edison, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith United States corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 24th (1861-1866) corporateBody
associatedWith World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival (1872 : Boston, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival (1872 : Boston, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival (1872 : Boston, Mass.) corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
County Galway C IE
St. Louis MO US
Subject
Bandmasters
Bands (Music)
Conductors (Music)
Music festivals
Occupation
Bandleaders
Composers
Activity

Person

Birth 1829-12-25

Death 1892-09-24

Americans

English

Information

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