Artus Moser (1894–1992) was an American folklorist, educator and musician who collected hundreds of folk songs in his native Western

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. Moser grew up in Swannanoa and served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He then completed undergraduate and master's degrees at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, before studying at various other institutions. In 1945, Moser contributed his archive to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, which in return loaned him a portable disc recorder and encouraged him to expand his collection. He made recordings of many traditional musicians including Jean Ritchie,

Bascom Lamar Lunsford Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 – September 4, 1973) was a folklorist, performer of traditional Appalachian music, and lawyer from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians." Biography ...

Samantha Bumgarner "Aunt" Samantha Bumgarner (October 31, 1878 - December 24, 1960) was an American early country and folk music performer and singer from Dillsboro, North Carolina. She won much praise for her work with the fiddle and banjo. In 1924, accompanied b ...

and

Virgil Sturgill Virgil Sturgill (born 1897 in Carter County, Kentucky) was a ballad singer and dulcimer player. He was a friend of Cratis Williams. His performances were recorded in "Southern Mountain Folksongs and Ballads" (1955) and "Bury Me Beneath the Willow: A ...

. He also sang songs for other folk music collectors such as Kenneth Goldstein,
- and recorded two albums with Folkway Records entitled ''North Carolina Ballads'' (1955) and ''North Carolina Mountain Folksongs and Ballads'' (1974). The Artus Moser archive contains his recordings, plus non-musical resources such as photographs, videos and stories. Moser collected folk songs throughout the rest of his life, and died on Christmas Eve 1992 at the age of 98.

References

American folklorists 1894 births 1992 deaths {{Edu-bio-stub