Annabel Morris Buchanan (October 22, 1888January 6, 1983) was an American composer and

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

. The author of the book ''Folk Hymns of America'' (1938) as well as myriad journal articles, Buchanan (along with John Powell) helped found the White Top Folk Festival (hosted in Grayson County, Virginia, from 1931 to 1939), which promoted music of the people in the Appalachian Mountains. Buchanan's documenting practices are credited for preserving many folk songs that might have otherwise gone on unrecorded.

Biography

Buchanan was born Annie Bell Morris on October 22, 1888, in

Groesbeck, Texas Groesbeck is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,631 at the 2020 census. The community is named after a railroad employee. History The city of Groesbeck was dedicated as a township by H ...

. Her father, William Caruthers Morris, worked for a local newspaper before becoming a minister in the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

; her mother, Anna Virginia Foster Morris, was a teacher. In 1901, Annabel moved with her family to

Maury County, Tennessee Maury County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia, Tennessee, C ...

. In 1906, she graduated with honors from the Landon Conservatory in Dallas; it was at this time that she took the name Annabel. She went on to teach music at Halsell College in Vinita, Oklahoma (1907–08) and the Stonewall Jackson Institute in Abingdon, Virginia (1909–12). In 1912, Annabel married

John Preston Buchanan John Preston Buchanan (January 30, 1888 – September 15, 1937) was an American politician who served as a member of the Virginia Senate, representing the state's 1st district. Buchanan succeeded his father, Benjamin Franklin Buchanan, who would ...

, a lawyer who would eventually serve as a member of the Virginia Senate, representing the state's

1st district The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Inn ...

. In 2018 the Virginia Capitol Foundation announced that Buchanan's name would be on the Virginia Women's Monument's glass Wall of Honor.

References

External links

Annabel Morris Buchanan Papers, 1902-1972
the official repository of Annabel Morris Buchanan's papers, housed by University of North Carolina Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Annabel Morris 1888 births 1983 deaths American composers American women composers