G. Estabrook is the pen name used by composer and singer Caroline Augusta "Gussie" Clowry (October 23, 1845 – April 18, 1897), whose opera ''The Joust'' was the first opera by an American woman to be published. With musical talent from an early age, "Gussie" had many songs published throughout her life, one of which "reached the extraordinary sale of over one million copies."''Philadelphia Inquirer'', April 19, 1897

Biography

Born on October 23, 1845, in

Geneva, Wisconsin Geneva is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,390 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Como is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Lake Como is also located in the town. Geogr ...

, she was the only daughter of General

Experience Estabrook Experience Estabrook (April 30, 1813 March 26, 1894) was an American attorney and legal administrator. He was the 3rd Attorney General of Wisconsin and the 1st United States Attorney for the Nebraska Territory. Biography Born in Lebanon, New ...

and Caroline Augusta Maxwell. She had one brother, Henry Dodge, who was nine years younger. In January 1855, General Experience Estabrook moved with his family to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

after being appointed United States Attorney by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

. In 1860, at the age of 15, she met Colonel Robert Charles Clowry (b. Sept. 8, 1838; d. Feb. 26, 1925) of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, the superintendent of the Missouri and Western Union Telegraph Company; and later, president and general manager of the

Western Union Telegraph Company The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

. They were wed five years later, on August 29, 1865, in

. By 1879, the couple had moved to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

before settling in Chicago. In 1882, the first production of "The Joust" was performed in her home town of Omaha, with her mother and brother both performing major roles. In 1885, the Chicago Music Company published the complete opera, making it the first opera by an American woman to be published. The opera, however, was written five years earlier when "Gussie" held a local contest for a story she could base an opera upon. Her younger brother, Henry, submitted the story of ''The Joust'' and won. For the 1882 production, Henry reworked the plot and largely changed the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

. The work is, therefore, a joint effort between the two siblings. By 1896, her health was fading, and so she spent a summer abroad in Europe with her mother and friends in the hopes that her health would recover. It did not, and she died in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, from apoplectic paralysis on April 18, 1897. She was survived by her husband, brother, and both parents. Clowry is buried in Omaha's Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estabrook, G. 1845 births 1897 deaths Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska People from Geneva, Wisconsin American opera composers American women classical composers American classical composers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century American composers Women opera composers Classical musicians from Wisconsin 19th-century women composers 19th-century American women musicians