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: xiii : ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the nine years I have worked on this biography of Sissieretta Jones, I have had the good fortune to receive assistance from many people. The first person I want to thank is my husband, John, for his constant support and encouragement . Without it I would not have finished this biography. I also wish to thank him for the countless hours he helped me search reels of microfilm of old newspapers for information about Sissieretta, compiled her performance schedules, and read numerous drafts of my work. I want to thank the staff of the Interlibrary Loan Department and the Government Information, Microforms and Newspapers Department at the Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina in Columbia. For four years the Interlibrary Loan Department, particularly Jo Cottingham (now retired ), responded quickly and patiently to my many requests for years of old newspapers as well as hard-to-find publications. With borrowed microfilm reels in hand, my husband and I viewed the film on the machines in the Government Information, Microforms and Newspapers Department. Thanks to director Bill Sudduth and his excellent staff for all the assistance they gave us. Many other libraries and librarians helped me. They include Eric Nitschke, reference librarian, Woodruff Library, Emory University, Atlanta; the Library of Congress; the Richland County Public Library, Columbia, South Carolina; Robert Hetilewigs, Norfolk (Virginia) Public Libraries, History Department; Tricia Roush, former reference librarian, and Kirsten Tanaka, head librarian, Performing Arts Library, Museum of Performance and Design, San Francisco; Joellen ElBashir, chief curator, and Ida Jones, assistant curator, MoorlandSpingarn Research Center, Manuscript Division, Howard University, Washington , D.C.; Portsmouth (Virginia) Public Library; Jennifer Lee, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University; Nicolette Bromberg, Special Collections Division, University of Washington Library; J. D. Kay and the staff of the Rhode Island Historical Society Library; and the Providence (Rhode Island) Public Library. I am indebted to the librarians and photo xiv : Acknowledgments reproduction staff at these institutions for helping me find the materials I needed to complete my research and for providing the photos included in this book. I also want to thank several people who shared their experience and knowledge with me. Thanks to Joaquina Bela Teixeira, former executive director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, for providing information about African American history in Rhode Island and giving me a copy of a 1911 letter Sissieretta wrote to her attorney. I also received great marketing tips and helpful information from Ray Rickman, a scholar of African American history in Rhode Island. Thanks to Glenn Laxton, former reporter for Channel 12 News in Providence, for helping me search for Sissieretta’s grave in the Grace Church Cemetery in Providence. Thanks also to Mrs. Linnear H. Horne, music director (retired), Congdon Street Baptist Church in Providence , who shared the history of the church with me as well as stories about her grandfather William Younger, who would have been the choir director when Sissieretta retired to Providence in 1915. Sissieretta sometimes sang with the choir during her retirement years. My husband enjoyed singing at the church during our visit there while Mrs. Linnear accompanied him on the pipe organ. John T. Meyers, archivist (retired) at Providence City Hall, was incredibly helpful in my search for information about Sissieretta’s estate. I thank him for locating the estate documents in archived probate court records and for also guiding my search of Sissieretta’s property records. A special thanks goes to Rob Hudson, associate archivist at Carnegie Hall, who not only supplied program information from Sissieretta’s performances at the famous New York City landmark, but also sent me several helpful newspaper reviews. Rob’s guided tour of Carnegie Hall provided me with great background about the early days of the concert hall. Thanks also to Mae Breckenridge-Haywood, executive director, African American Historical Society of Portsmouth, Virginia , for the additional information about Sissieretta and her native city, Portsmouth, and for introducing me to the historical library staff at the Portsmouth Public Library, who also assisted me. I also wish to thank two people who helped me find some old court records related to Sissieretta’s life. Bruce Abrams, Division of Old Records, County Clerk and Clerk of the Supreme Court, New York County Court House, tracked down a copy of the July 1893 lawsuit between Sissieretta’s manager , James B. Pond, and Sissieretta and her husband, David. Thanks too to Andrew Smith, then administrative assistant at the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s Judicial...

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