Thomas Commuck (January 18, 1804 – November 25, 1855) was an American composer and historian. His 1845 collection ''Indian Melodies'' has been described as the first published musical work by a Native American. A member of the

Narragansett tribe The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983. The tribe was nearly la ...

, Commuck was born in Charlestown,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. In 1811 he began attending a school sponsored by the Society for Propagating the Gospel among Indians and Others in North America, continuing in attendance off and on through 1814. As a young man he moved to Oneida County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where he joined the community of

Mohegans The Mohegan are an Indigenous people originally based in what is now southeastern Connecticut in the United States. They are part of the Eastern Algonquian linguistic and cultural family and historically shared close ties with the neighboring ...

and

Pequots The Pequot ( ) are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, o ...

later to become known as the

Brothertown Indians The Brothertown Indians (also ''Brotherton''), located in Wisconsin, are a Native American tribe ethnogenesis, formed in the late 18th century from communities descended from Pequot, Narragansett people, Narragansett, Montaukett, Montauk, Tunx ...

. In 1831 he married a Pequot woman, Hanna Abner, and with the rest of the Brothertown community moved to Calumet County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He published a book of original compositions, ''Indian Melodies'', in 1845; the melodies were harmonized by

Thomas Hastings Thomas Hastings may refer to: *Thomas Hastings (colonist) (1605–1685), English immigrant to New England *Thomas Hastings (composer) (1784–1872), American composer, primarily of hymn tunes * Thomas Hastings (cricketer) (1865–1938), Australian c ...

. Among the songs in the collection is one which later became known under the title "Lone Pilgrim", rearranged by

Benjamin Franklin White Benjamin Franklin White (September 20, 1800 – December 5, 1879) was a shape note "singing school, singing master", and compiler of the shape note tunebook known as ''The Sacred Harp''. He was born near Cross Keys in Union County, South Carolina ...

and published in the 1850 appendix of ''

The Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music which developed in New England and perpetuated in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a historically important shape-note tunebook printed in 1844; multipl ...

''. The book contains 120 Christian hymns whose titles were taken from the names of Indian chiefs, tribes, and places, none of which bear any relationship to the tunes bearing their names; in the introduction to the volume Commuck states that " is has been done merely as a tribute of respect to the memory of some tribes that are now nearly if not quite extinct; also a mark of courtesy to some tribes with whom the author is acquainted." All are written in the

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and Sing-along, social singing. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century. Shapes were added to the noteheads in ...

style. The book is one of the earliest written by a Native American to deal specifically with Native American culture. In Wisconsin Commuck, who lived with his wife in Green Bay, came to occupy a number of important positions within the Brothertown community; he acted as the tribe's postmaster, justice of the peace, and historian, and in 1844 was nominated by the Whig Party to stand as a candidate for the

Wisconsin House of Representatives The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican Pa ...

. He wrote a "Sketch of the Brothertown Indians" in a letter to

Lyman Draper Lyman Copeland Draper (September 4, 1815August 26, 1891) was a librarian and historian who served as secretary for the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at Madison, Wisconsin. Draper also served as Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wis ...

, secretary of the

State Historical Society of Wisconsin The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

; this has been anthologized. He drowned after falling through a hole in the ice near his residence, it has been suggested that his death was not accidental. A project is underway to digitize recordings of the melodies and other documents related to their history, under the auspices of the Yale Indian Papers project.

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites '' Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

incorporated two of Commuck's works into his music; "Old Indian Hymn" appears in the fifth of the '' Woodland Sketches'', while "Shoshonee" is used in the third movement of the Second "Indian" Suite.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Commuck, Thomas 1804 births 1855 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century Native American people American hymnwriters American male composers Deaths by drowning in Wisconsin Historians from New York (state) Musicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin Musicians from New York (state) Musicians from Rhode Island Narragansett people Native American composers Native American writers People from Oneida County, New York People from Washington County, Rhode Island Shape note Wisconsin Whigs Writers from Green Bay, Wisconsin Writers from Rhode Island Historians from Wisconsin