MSS 60 Pearl R. Nye Collection

              MSS 60
Pearl R. Nye Collection
1
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Manuscript Collections
MSS 60
Pearl R. Nye Collection
1851- 1962
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Number:
MSS 60, MSS 60 AV
Title:
Pearl R. Nye Collection
Creator:
Pearl R. Nye, Cloea Thomas
Dates:
1851 - 1962; 1870- 1913 ( Bulk)
Media:
Papers, photographs
Quantity:
1.67 c. f.
Location:
3/ 31/ 4 ( Boxes 1- 2), 3/ 14/ 2/ C ( Boxes 3- 4)
BIOGRAPHY OF Pearl R. Nye
Pearl R. Nye was born February 5, 1872 on a canal boat, the " Reform". At that time, the Reform was docked at Chillicothe, Ohio on the Ohio- Erie Canal. He was the fifteenth of eighteen children of Captain and Mrs. William Nye. Nye was raised and educated by his parents on the canal boats, eventually becoming a canal boat captain. During Nye's career, the Ohio canal system was in a continual state of decline. The railroads were the primary reason for this decline, replacing the canals as the preferred method of transporting passengers and freight. The final blow to the canal system came in the spring of 1913 when disastrous flooding across the state of Ohio damaged the canals so severely that the state decided to close them.
After the closing of the canals, Nye built a permanent home on the remains of an abandoned canal lock near Roscoe ( Coshocton), Ohio. His home was built to resemble a canal boat and was named Camp Charming. Nye’s goal in his later years was to preserve the history and culture of the ' canallers.' Nye learned a large repertoire of ballads, gospel hymns, minstrel tunes and popular songs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He drew on his memories of his parents and his years spent as a canal boat captain for inspiration. He adapted the lyrics of well- known songs such as " Tipperary" and " Rock- a- Bye Baby" to become new songs describing canal life. He also wrote original lyrics and music.
Nye developed a reputation as a folk singer. He was recorded by John and Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1937. In 1945 Nye was recorded by Edith Keller, Music Supervisor for elementary and secondary education in Ohio, and Cloea Thomas of the Ohio State University School of Music. Nye performed at the National Folk Festivals in 1938, 1942 and 1946 at Madison Square Garden in New York and Constitution Hall in Philadelphia. Nye passed away in a nursing home in Akron, Ohio on January 4, 1950.