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11 The Dinwiddie Quartet Dinwiddie County is a poor, rural county in the southeast corner of Virginia, near the North Carolina border. Named for Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia in 1752 (when it was formed), it was the site of some notable military actions during the Civil War. By 1900 its population was about 15,000, mostly farmers and sharecroppers. More than 60 percent of its citizens were black, and living standards were low.1 In 1898 a group of white philanthropists founded the Dinwiddie Normal and Industrial School (also known as the John A. Dix Industrial School) about fifteen miles south of Petersburg, Virginia, to help ameliorate the poor conditions under which blacks in the area lived. Like most such schools, it was continually in need of funds to sustain its mission, and like others it quickly formed a “jubilee quartet” to go on tour and raise money. Under the leadership of Charles B. Cheshire, the original Dinwiddie Quartet spent the next two years singing in YMCAs, churches, and similar venues, raising thousands of dollars for the school.2 The members of the quartet at this time are unknown, and it is not known whether they were students or professionals. Upon Cheshire’s death about 1900, the quartet went into vaudeville. A newspaper item in May 1901 indicates that the manager at that time was J. A. Porter, and that the quartet was still touring the country on the school’s behalf.3 In the fall of 1902, now under the management of a young Philadelphian named Sterling Rex, the quartet joined a new touring show called The Smart Set, starring vaudeville headliners Ernest Hogan and Billy McClain. By this time the quartet seems to have been operating independently of the Dinwiddie School. No mention is made of fundraising or a school connection. The membership was Sterling Rex, first tenor and leader, J. Clarence Meredith, second tenor, Harry B. Cruder, first bass, and J. Mantell Thomas, second bass. The Smart Set was an immediate hit. Sylvester Russell, the notoriously hard-toplease critic of the Indianapolis Freeman, called it “the smartest colored comedy ever produced in America,” and the public embraced it as well.4 The Smart Set would go on to become one of the longest running shows in the history of black theater, playing until 1923. The role of the Dinwiddie Quartet was to provide musical interludes in the playlets that comprised most of the show, as described in the following review of an October 18, 1902, performance at the Empire Theatre in Newark, New Jersey. The plot was set in Honolulu. The character played by Ernest Hogan was getting initiated into a lodge, where he and his wife sang “Tell Me, Dusky Maiden.” Then, “The scene changes. The Dinwiddie Quartet comes in on its way to the Rooster’s lodge and sings ‘The Palms’ in a manner unsurpassed. S. C. Rex, the leader, has a light baritone voice of much sympathy and sweetness and J. M. Thomas, the basso, is very fine; together with J. C. Meredith and H. B. Coyer [sic], they make the 03.153-234_Broo 12/17/03, 1:45 PM 155 156 lost sounds most harmony and display the best artistic methods of any colored quartette now before the public.”5 On Monday, October 27 The Smart Set opened at the National Theatre in Philadelphia , again impressing the critics. “Smart Set captivates Philadelphia,” wrote one, adding “the Dinwiddie Quartet, a feature of the show, sustained their wellearned reputation by delightfully rendering ‘The Palms’ and ‘Come Out Dinah on the Green.’”6 Just two days later, Rex and his quartet traveled the short distance to the studios of the Victor Talking Machine Company at Tenth and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia to record three selections on seven- and ten-inch discs. On October 31 they returned to make three more. These were not the popular selections cited in reviews of the show, but rather characteristically “black” material that Victor evidently felt would add novelty to its catalog. To make sure customers would understand exactly what they were getting, Victor called the group “The Dinwiddie Colored Quartet” on its labels. These six historic a capella sides were the first jubilee recordings ever made by Victor. The first title recorded on the first day, “Down on the Old Camp Ground,” would become a particular favorite, remaining in the Victor catalog for eight years and being reissued in recent times on LP and CD. Labeled a “coon...

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