Georgia Gordon Taylor (née Georgia Gordon; 1855 - June 7, 1913) was an American

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. She was the leader of the "Original

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American ''a cappella'' ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditiona ...

Biography

Georgia Gordon was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

in 1855. Her mother, Mercy Duke Gordon (1833-1890), was

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

, and her father, George Gordon (1830-1870), was a slave. She had a half-sister, Elwin (born 1848). Taylor's cousin, Adelaide Allen, was the mother of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

professor

Sterling Allen Brown Sterling Allen Brown (May 1, 1901 – January 13, 1989) was an American professor, folklorist, poet, and literary critic. He chiefly studied black culture of the Southern United States and was a professor at Howard University for most of his caree ...

. In her youth, Taylor did not receive an education, but learned to read by studying the Bible. She arrived at

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

in 1868, studying literature under

Helen Clarissa Morgan Helen Clarissa Morgan (February 25, 1845 – May 23, 1914) was an American educator from the U.S. state of New York. She was the first woman to be appointed professor of Latin in a US coeducational college. Early years and education Helen Clari ...

, and music with George L. White. In 1872, she became a Jubilee Singer, being one of the early singers who toured the US and Europe in 1872-73, with an appearance before

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

when they were in England. For seven successive years of almost continuous labor, she was the group's leader, traveling extensively in the interest of

, giving popular entertainments of a species of singing which originated among the slaves of the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

. She possessed a soprano voice of rare quality that was pleasing and in demand. After retiring from public life, she married

Preston Taylor Preston Taylor (November 7, 1849April 13, 1931) was an African-American businessman, minister and philanthropist. In the early 20th century he was considered one of the most influential leaders of Nashville, Tennessee's black community. He creat ...

, founder of Greenwood Cemetery and minister of the Lee Avenue Christian Disciples of Christ Church at Nashville. She did church work alongside him. Their only child, Preston G. Taylor (1890–91) died age seven months. Taylor died in 1913 in Nashville, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, a plaque commemorating that she was an original Fisk Jubilee Singer. She was posthumously awarded a bachelor's degree by Fisk University in 1978.

References

Attribution

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Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Georgia Gordon American sopranos 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Fisk University alumni Singers from Nashville, Tennessee 1855 births 1913 deaths 19th-century American women musicians