Nehemiah Shumway (August 26, 1761 – July 1843) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

of sacred music, teacher, and farmer.

Life

Shumway was born in

Oxford, Massachusetts Oxford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,347 as of the 2020 United States Census. History Oxford was first settled in 1687 and was officially incorporated in 1713. It was the birthplace of Clara ...

, the youngest of seven children of Amos Shumway and Ruth Parker. He graduated from the College of Rhode Island in 1790, and became principal of the Freehold Academy in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Shumway married Sarah/Sara Tice/Tyse on December 10, 1795. She was baptised in Freehold on July 4, 1773, and died in

Lyme, New York Lyme is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 2,185 at the 2010 census. The settlements of Chaumont and Three Mile Bay are located within the town. Lyme is in the western part of Jefferson County and is northwes ...

, in 1831. They had four children together, but no known grandchildren.George F. Daniels, ''History of the Town of Oxford, Massachusetts'', Oxford, Mass.: Published by the Author with the Co-Operation of the Town, 1892
p. 688
Shumway moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, where his first two sons were born in 1796 and 1798, relocated to Schenectady in around 1800, and returned to Albany in 1806. In 1820 he settled in Lyme; after he lost his farm there through a title defect. A few years later he returned to Freehold, where he died in 1843.

Music

Shumway is best remembered today for two

fuguing tune The fuguing tune (often fuging tune) is a variety of Anglo-American vernacular choral music. It first flourished in the mid-18th century and continues to be composed today. Description Fuguing tunes are sacred music, specifically, Protestant hym ...

s included in ''

The Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tun ...

'', "

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

" and " Ballstown," though others, including "Pennsylvania," "

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

," "Judgment," and "Creation," are still found in

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

books in print as of 2012. He is also believed by some to have been the composer of the tune "New Jordan" (''Sacred Harp'' p. 442), attributed to him by

Ananias Davisson Ananias Davisson (February 2, 1780 – October 21, 1857) was a singing school teacher, printer and compiler of shape note tunebooks. He is best known for his 1816 compilation ''Kentucky Harmony'', which is the first Southern shape-note tunebook. ...

.D. W. Steel, ''The Makers of the Sacred Harp'', U of Illinois P, 2010, p. 155 ("While Davisson's attributions are not always accurate, this is at least plausible, as the tune was first published in an 1815 edition of ''

The Easy Instructor ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''."). His sacred tunebook ''The American Harmony'' was published in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1793 (2nd ed. 1801). (Note: There were several publications of this name in the same period.)

Footnotes

External links

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Schenectady sheet musicBallstown sheet music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shumway, Nehemiah 1761 births 1843 deaths People from Oxford, Massachusetts American male composers Shape note Brown University alumni Farmers from Massachusetts Musicians from Massachusetts 18th-century American composers 18th-century male musicians 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians