COMPOSER : Edward T. Paull

ARRANGER : Michael Gill

Edward Taylor Paull was born the oldest of three children to Henry Washington Paull and Margaret C. Thornburg in pre-Civil War Gerrardstown in what is now West Virginia, as Virginia had not yet been divided. Edward was the oldest of three children, including Laura May (5/23/1859) and Mary C. (12/27/1861). Henry Paull attempted a variety of occupations according to census listings. He was shown as a miller in 1850, a farmer in 1860, and boarding house keeper in 1870, the latter vocation of which he was successful enough to buy a great deal of land in Martinsburg after the end of the war. An 1881 ad for Estey Organs. 1881 estey organ ad Young Edward certainly witnessed the ravaging effects of the war as it not only affected life in the Shenandoah River Valley but divided the state of Virginia politically as well, eventually splitting it into two states. The lasting memories of this are often reflected later in his compositions and covers. Edward eventually found work in 1877 while in his late teens at the J.S. Caroll Music store in Martinsburg selling pianos and organs, and likely sheet music as well. He was shown in the 1880 enumeration as an agent for the Estey Organ Company, and still living with his parents and sisters. Several ads in papers throughout the Shenandoah Valley indicate that he was a traveling agent for Estey, as well as Fischer and Weber pianos, possibly selling pianos and organs off the back of a wagon at rural locations and small towns.

ISMN - 9790570006458