Mellie Dunham
Background information
Birth nameAlanson Mellen Dunham
Born(1853-07-29)July 29, 1853
DiedSeptember 28, 1931(1931-09-28) (aged 78)
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Snowshoe maker
Instrument(s)Fiddle

Mellie Dunham (July 29, 1853 - September 27, 1931) was an American fiddler during the early twentieth century. Dunham was born in Norway, Maine,[1] the son of Alanson Mellen Dunham and Christiana Bent. He came to prominence after he was invited to play for Henry Ford at his house in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford sent a Pullman car for Dunham and his wife, Emma "Gram" Dunham (née Richardson), because of Ford's love of country music.[2] While Ford had invited 38 other fiddlers before Dunham, none received as much attention as Dunham did.[1]

He was also a snowshoe maker, supplying 60 pairs of snowshoes to Commodore Robert Peary for an Arctic expedition.[3]

Dunham died on September 27, 1931, in Lewiston, Maine, after a two-week illness,[4] and was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, South Paris, Maine.

References

  1. ^ a b Wells, Paul F. (Autumn 1976). "Mellie Dunham: "Maine's Champion Fiddler"". John Edwards Memorial Foundation Quarterly. 12 (43). Archived from the original on 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  2. ^ "Melody Three". Time Magazine. Dec 21, 1925. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  3. ^ "Mellie Dunham making snowshoes, ca. 1925". Maine Memory Network. Maine Historical Society. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  4. ^ "MELLIE DUNHAM, NOTED FIDDLER, DIES". New York Times. September 28, 1931. p. 17. Retrieved 2008-11-30.

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