Thomas Brigham Bishop
Encyclopedia
Thomas Brigham Bishop (usually referred to as T. Brigham Bishop) is best known as an American
composer of popular music. Various disputed claims have been made by Bishop and others that he authored, or at least contributed to the authorship of, a number of popular 19th century songs including John Brown's Body
, When Johnny Comes Marching Home
, and Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me
. Bishop later had an infamous career as a bucket shop
proprietor, among other schemes.
(Kennebec County
) Maine
in 1835.(11 June 1905). Extraordinary Career of Florida Bank Wrecker, Pensacola Journal and began studying music in Providence, Rhode Island
when he was 16. In 1864, he founded a minstrel
show in Chattanooga, which lasted until Lincoln's assassination.
(very colorful 1901 story about Bishop's musical claims, probably authored by John J. MacIntyre)
, though that claim is widely disputed.Cornelius, Steven. Music of the Civil War era, p. 26-30 (2004) The melody of the song was famously also used for The Battle Hymn of the Republic
. In 1916, Bishop's friend John J. MacIntyre published a short book promoting Bishop's authorship of John Brown's Body and other songs, boldly called The Composer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. MacIntyre also promoted Bishop's authorship claims in 1935, for the 100th anniversary of Bishop's birth, which was featured in an article in Time magazine
.
Bishop's story of the genesis of the song is that it grew out of a conversation with his brother-in-law around 1858, who "took me to task, remarking that my songs were all written for the devil. Then he said 'I am bound to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.' Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!'" This, according to Bishop, inspired him to the melody and lyrics, and he later modified the lyrics after John Brown
's death at Harper's Ferry in 1859. Bishop claimed he first published the song with John Church
of Cincinnati in 1861.
is usually attributed to composer and bandmaster Patrick Gilmore
(though from a melody derived from the older Irish song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
), but other attributions to Bishop have also been made.Hart, James D. & Leininger, Phillip. The Oxford companion to American literature, p. 70 (6th Ed. 1995)Cazden, Norman et al. Folk songs of the Catskills, p.367-69 (1982). An 1863 publication of the song attributes authorship to a "Louis Lambert." According to Bishop, he wrote the melody for the song in 1850, as "Johnny, Fill Up the Bowl," Gilmore wrote new lyrics for it in 1863, and both brought the song to their publisher, who reportedly suggested that the Lambert pseudonym be used on the sheet music.
during the Civil War while assigned to command a company of black soldiers. One of the soldiers, dismissing some remarks of his fellow soldiers, exclaimed "Shoo fly, don't bother me," which inspired Bishop to write the song. The company, we are told, generated the line "I belong to Company G". Yet, the song was reportedly "pirated" from Bishop and he made little money from it.(8 November 1905). The Author of "Shoo Fly", Reading Eagle
(stating that T. Allston Brown
, had vouched for this account) Bishop did publish a sheet music version of the song in 1869, which includes the caption, "Original Copy and Only Authorized Edition." Other sources, however, have credited Billy Reeves (lyrics) and Frank Campbell, or Rollin Howard
, with the song.The blue book of Tin Pan Alley, p. 9 (1965) The first group to popularize the song was Bryant's Minstrels
in 1869-70.Cropsey, Eugene H. Crosby's Opera House: symbol of Chicago's cultural awakening, p. 270 (1999)
Perhaps the most amazing of the claims in the book is that Bishop had a small part in the writing of one of the Stephen Foster
's best known songs, Old Folks at Home
("Swanee River"). Bishop claims that he ran into Foster in a music publishing house, where Foster had already composed the lyrics and basic melody, and whistled it to Bishop, who "put it down" on paper for him, and arranged it for piano by adding basic chords. Then, according to Bishop, famed blackface performer E.P. Christy
walked in, heard the song, and paid Foster $30 for it on the spot. Thus, the song was attributed to E.P. Christy when it was published (which, at the very least, is true; the original sheet music, dated 1851, attributes authorship to Christy). If any of this story was true, Bishop would have been only about 16 years old at the time of this event, and it contradicts other sources which make no mention of Bishop.
" business--essentially a betting business based on the stock market. Bishop reportedly became the "leader" of the shady (and eventually illegal) trade in New York City, and also specialized in female customers.
Bishop was arrested in mid-1890 for charges arising out of legal proceedings brought against him for taking $2,000 from a Julie E.Hetsch in 1885, but was able to skip town once bond was posted. He was again arrested in Jersey City, New Jersey
in November 1891 and placed in Ludlow Street Jail
, where the New York Times critique of Bishop's financial career was withering: "Bishop has had a long career as a confidence man
, bunko steerer, and general crook. He has made Massachusetts, Ohio, and Florida too hot to hold him."Fayant, Frank. Fools and Their Money, SUCCESS (magazine)
(January 1907)
In 1881, Bishop built a 200-room hotel near Silver Springs, Florida
. After fires in 1894/95, he rebuilt on the site as the "Brown House." Also in Florida, he helped found the Palatka National Bank, which failed after a few years.
In 1901, Bishop was embroiled in yet another scheme, this time promoting the "New England Wireless Telephone Company", which was one of a number of companies formed as a supposed competitor to Marconi
, which were later exposed as a fraud.
, New Jersey
.Scott, William Winfield. History of Passaic and its environs (Volume 1) p. 616 (1922)
Bishop died in Philadelphia on May 15, 1905, suffering from locomotor ataxia
.(18 May 1905). Obituary - Thomas B. Bishop, New York Tribune
As one Florida obituary of Bishop noted (while detailing Bishop's various exploits), "by the death in Philadelphia last week of Thomas Brigham Bishop, a curiously picturesque and extraordinary career extending more than half a century was closed."
Bishop was buried in Mount Peace Cemetery
in Philadelphia. His widow Sarah died in 1924 and was interred with him.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer of popular music. Various disputed claims have been made by Bishop and others that he authored, or at least contributed to the authorship of, a number of popular 19th century songs including John Brown's Body
John Brown's Body
"John Brown's Body" is an American marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the 19th century...
, When Johnny Comes Marching Home
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a popular song of the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.-Origins:...
, and Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me
Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me
Shoo, Fly, Don't Bother Me! was most likely written by T. Brigham Bishop and first published in 1869 by White, Smith & Perry. It has remained popular since that time...
. Bishop later had an infamous career as a bucket shop
Bucket shop (stock market)
As defined by the U.S. Supreme Court a Bucket shop is "[a]n establishment, nominally for the transaction of a stock exchange business, or business of similar character, but really for the registration of bets, or wagers, usually for small amounts, on the rise or fall of the prices of stocks, grain,...
proprietor, among other schemes.
Background
Bishop was born in WayneWayne, Maine
Wayne is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,112 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne...
(Kennebec County
Kennebec County, Maine
Kennebec County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 122,151. Its county seat is Augusta. The center of population of Maine is located in Kennebec County, in the city of Augusta....
) Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in 1835.(11 June 1905). Extraordinary Career of Florida Bank Wrecker, Pensacola Journal and began studying music in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
when he was 16. In 1864, he founded a minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
show in Chattanooga, which lasted until Lincoln's assassination.
Songs
While Bishop did published a number of songs beginning in the 1850s,The World's best music: famous songs and those who made them, Volume 4 (1903) disputes have arisen over his authorship claims as to some of the most famous of those compositions. In some cases, it is fairly clear that Bishop was not the original author of the works in dispute. In other cases the facts are not clear.(23 June 1901). A Last Minstrel, Reading EagleReading Eagle
The Reading Eagle is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This family-owned newspaper has a daily circulation of 64,000 and a Sunday circulation of 100,000...
(very colorful 1901 story about Bishop's musical claims, probably authored by John J. MacIntyre)
John Brown's Body
Bishop has often been attributed with authorship of the popular Civil War marching song John Brown's BodyJohn Brown's Body
"John Brown's Body" is an American marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the 19th century...
, though that claim is widely disputed.Cornelius, Steven. Music of the Civil War era, p. 26-30 (2004) The melody of the song was famously also used for The Battle Hymn of the Republic
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is a hymn by American writer Julia Ward Howe using the music from the song "John Brown's Body". Howe's more famous lyrics were written in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862. It became popular during the American Civil War...
. In 1916, Bishop's friend John J. MacIntyre published a short book promoting Bishop's authorship of John Brown's Body and other songs, boldly called The Composer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. MacIntyre also promoted Bishop's authorship claims in 1935, for the 100th anniversary of Bishop's birth, which was featured in an article in Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
.
Bishop's story of the genesis of the song is that it grew out of a conversation with his brother-in-law around 1858, who "took me to task, remarking that my songs were all written for the devil. Then he said 'I am bound to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.' Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!'" This, according to Bishop, inspired him to the melody and lyrics, and he later modified the lyrics after John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
's death at Harper's Ferry in 1859. Bishop claimed he first published the song with John Church
John Church Company
The John Church Company was a 19th-century American publishing company that specialized in sheet music. They had offices in Cincinnati, Ohio; New York, New York; and Chicago, Illinois. The company published the works of John Philip Sousa, Dan Emmett, and other composers.The company was bought out...
of Cincinnati in 1861.
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
The Civil-War tune When Johnny Comes Marching HomeWhen Johnny Comes Marching Home
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a popular song of the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.-Origins:...
is usually attributed to composer and bandmaster Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was an Irish-born composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. Whilst serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Gilmore wrote the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", the tune he took from an old Irish antiwar folk...
(though from a melody derived from the older Irish song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
"Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" is a popular traditional Irish anti-war and anti-recruiting song. It is generally dated to the early 19th century, when Irish troops served the British East India Company...
), but other attributions to Bishop have also been made.Hart, James D. & Leininger, Phillip. The Oxford companion to American literature, p. 70 (6th Ed. 1995)Cazden, Norman et al. Folk songs of the Catskills, p.367-69 (1982). An 1863 publication of the song attributes authorship to a "Louis Lambert." According to Bishop, he wrote the melody for the song in 1850, as "Johnny, Fill Up the Bowl," Gilmore wrote new lyrics for it in 1863, and both brought the song to their publisher, who reportedly suggested that the Lambert pseudonym be used on the sheet music.
Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me
According to Bishop's account, he wrote Shoo Fly, Don't Bother MeShoo Fly, Don't Bother Me
Shoo, Fly, Don't Bother Me! was most likely written by T. Brigham Bishop and first published in 1869 by White, Smith & Perry. It has remained popular since that time...
during the Civil War while assigned to command a company of black soldiers. One of the soldiers, dismissing some remarks of his fellow soldiers, exclaimed "Shoo fly, don't bother me," which inspired Bishop to write the song. The company, we are told, generated the line "I belong to Company G". Yet, the song was reportedly "pirated" from Bishop and he made little money from it.(8 November 1905). The Author of "Shoo Fly", Reading Eagle
Reading Eagle
The Reading Eagle is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This family-owned newspaper has a daily circulation of 64,000 and a Sunday circulation of 100,000...
(stating that T. Allston Brown
T. Allston Brown
Thomas Allston Brown was an American theater critic, newspaper editor, talent agent and manager, and theater historian, best known for his History of the American Stage, published in 1872. Brown was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts...
, had vouched for this account) Bishop did publish a sheet music version of the song in 1869, which includes the caption, "Original Copy and Only Authorized Edition." Other sources, however, have credited Billy Reeves (lyrics) and Frank Campbell, or Rollin Howard
Rollin Howard
Rollin Howard was an American minstrel performer, best known for his female blackface impersonations.Howard was born as Ebenezer G.B. Holder in New York City around 1840, and appeared in minstrel productions from approximately 1860 to 1870. He appeared in other dramatic performances both before...
, with the song.The blue book of Tin Pan Alley, p. 9 (1965) The first group to popularize the song was Bryant's Minstrels
Bryant's Minstrels
Bryant's Minstrels was a blackface minstrel troupe that performed in the mid-19th century, primarily in New York City. The troupe was led by the O'Neill brothers from upstate New York, who took the stage name Bryant....
in 1869-70.Cropsey, Eugene H. Crosby's Opera House: symbol of Chicago's cultural awakening, p. 270 (1999)
MacIntyre's reporting
Writer John J. MacIntyre's 1916 short book, The Composer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, about Bishop's songs, appears to be written largely based on Bishop's self-reporting to MacIntyre many years after the fact. MacIntrye reports therein that he first met Bishop in 1897 in New York.Perhaps the most amazing of the claims in the book is that Bishop had a small part in the writing of one of the Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
's best known songs, Old Folks at Home
Old Folks at Home
"Old Folks at Home" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator...
("Swanee River"). Bishop claims that he ran into Foster in a music publishing house, where Foster had already composed the lyrics and basic melody, and whistled it to Bishop, who "put it down" on paper for him, and arranged it for piano by adding basic chords. Then, according to Bishop, famed blackface performer E.P. Christy
Edwin Pearce Christy
Edwin Pearce Christy was an American composer, singer, actor and stage producer. He is more commonly known as E. P. Christy, and was the founder of the blackface minstrel group Christy's Minstrels.-Background:...
walked in, heard the song, and paid Foster $30 for it on the spot. Thus, the song was attributed to E.P. Christy when it was published (which, at the very least, is true; the original sheet music, dated 1851, attributes authorship to Christy). If any of this story was true, Bishop would have been only about 16 years old at the time of this event, and it contradicts other sources which make no mention of Bishop.
Business endeavors
By the 1880s, Bishop begame engaged in the "bucket shopBucket shop (stock market)
As defined by the U.S. Supreme Court a Bucket shop is "[a]n establishment, nominally for the transaction of a stock exchange business, or business of similar character, but really for the registration of bets, or wagers, usually for small amounts, on the rise or fall of the prices of stocks, grain,...
" business--essentially a betting business based on the stock market. Bishop reportedly became the "leader" of the shady (and eventually illegal) trade in New York City, and also specialized in female customers.
Bishop was arrested in mid-1890 for charges arising out of legal proceedings brought against him for taking $2,000 from a Julie E.Hetsch in 1885, but was able to skip town once bond was posted. He was again arrested in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
in November 1891 and placed in Ludlow Street Jail
Ludlow Street Jail
The Ludlow Street Jail was New York City's federal prison, located on Ludlow Street and Broome Street in Manhattan. Some prisoners, such as soldiers, were held there temporarily awaiting extradition to other jurisdictions, but most of the inmates were debtors imprisoned by their creditors. The two...
, where the New York Times critique of Bishop's financial career was withering: "Bishop has had a long career as a confidence man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
, bunko steerer, and general crook. He has made Massachusetts, Ohio, and Florida too hot to hold him."Fayant, Frank. Fools and Their Money, SUCCESS (magazine)
SUCCESS (magazine)
SUCCESS is a business magazine in the United States published by SUCCESS Media, a company owned by VideoPlus L.P. According to the company the magazine is "designed specifically to serve the growing entrepreneur," and the magazine's primary focus is in providing information and content in the areas...
(January 1907)
In 1881, Bishop built a 200-room hotel near Silver Springs, Florida
Silver Springs, Florida
Silver Springs is a U.S. populated place and spring in Marion County, Florida, just to the east of the city of Ocala. It is part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. After fires in 1894/95, he rebuilt on the site as the "Brown House." Also in Florida, he helped found the Palatka National Bank, which failed after a few years.
In 1901, Bishop was embroiled in yet another scheme, this time promoting the "New England Wireless Telephone Company", which was one of a number of companies formed as a supposed competitor to Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
, which were later exposed as a fraud.
Personal life and death
In 1867, Bishop married "Sarah A.", who was possibly a former actress. From 1886-1894, they resided in Dundee ParkElmwood Park, New Jersey
Elmwood Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 19,403....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.Scott, William Winfield. History of Passaic and its environs (Volume 1) p. 616 (1922)
Bishop died in Philadelphia on May 15, 1905, suffering from locomotor ataxia
Locomotor ataxia
Locomotor ataxia is the inability to precisely control one's own bodily movements. Persons afflicted with this disease may walk in a jerky, nonfluid manner. They will not know where their arms and legs are without looking, but can, for instance, feel and locate a hot object placed against their feet...
.(18 May 1905). Obituary - Thomas B. Bishop, New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
As one Florida obituary of Bishop noted (while detailing Bishop's various exploits), "by the death in Philadelphia last week of Thomas Brigham Bishop, a curiously picturesque and extraordinary career extending more than half a century was closed."
Bishop was buried in Mount Peace Cemetery
Mount Peace Cemetery
Mount Peace Cemetery is a cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that is owned and operated by the Odd Fellows organization. It was established in 1865....
in Philadelphia. His widow Sarah died in 1924 and was interred with him.
Other notable songs
- If Your Foot Is Pretty, Show It (1857) - Has been credited to Bishop, though the original 1857 sheet music only lists Bishop as "composer" and does not identify the author of the lyrics.
- Kittie Wells (1861) - Has been credited to Bishop, but it was published twice previously, by Charles E. Atherton in 1858, and Thomas Sloan, Jr. in 1860.
- Sweet Evelina (1863). Has been attributed to Bishop as composer, the song was first published in 1863 as "words by M." and "melody by T."Sweet Evelina sheet music (1863), Levy Sheet Music Collection
- Leaf by Leaf the Roses Fall (1865). The lyrics to this song were penned by Caroline Dana Howe in 1856. It appears Bishop originally claimed complete authorship of the song, but when confronted with proof that the lyrics were from a poem by Howe, he gave full credit for the lyrics to her and made sure credit was given to her in future publications of the song.
- Pretty as a Picture (1872) (lyrics by George Cooper)
- On the Down Hill of Life