In Dahomey: A Negro Musical Comedy on Broadway in 1903

Paperdoll Journal Ancestry

​August 2018

DISCOVER 
​Black family history and African American genealogy hints in theater history. 

George Walker, Aida Overton Walker, and Bert Williams link arms and dance the cakewalk in the first Broadway musical to be written and performed by African Americans, "In Dahomey."

"In Dahomey: A Negro Musical Comedy was a landmark American musical comedy, "the first full-length musical written and played by blacks to be performed at a major Broadway house." It featured music by Will Marion Cook, book by Jesse A. Shipp, and lyrics by poet Paul Laurence Dunbar." via wikipedia.

I love reading history, especially when there are genealogy clues. Just in the description of the play alone has lots of family history hints that may fit in your family tree or clues heard in family oral history.

Let's explore some of the surnames involved in producing the first full length musical comedy play by African Americans on Broadway!

• George Walker
• Adah Overton Walker
• Bert Williams
• Will Marion Cook
• Jesse A. Shipp
• Paul Laurence Dunbar

​
PAPERDOLL JOURNAL NOTES
Whenever I see a full name of interest, I search the name for a wikipedia submission, usually more information is noted there such as birth date, birthplace, parents, spouse and children and often times military history if relevant, is noted also.

Another helpful tip is to look at the year of the history you are reviewing and find a person on your family tree of the same era, location or vocation and search their name with keywords relevant to what you are reading.

EX searching 'In Dahomey 'YOUR ANCESTORS NAME' could bring some interesting finds and hints. Remember to keep notes on your search to refer to later.

Happy researching! ~ Lisa

In Dahomey above the line: cast and crew

George Walker in 1903, was an American vaudevillian born in 1873 in Lawrence Kansas, the son of a policeman and husband of Ada Overton Walker.

Aida Overton Walker (14 February 1880 – 11 October 1914), also billed as Ada Overton Walker and as "The Queen of the Cakewalk", was an African-American vaudeville performer, actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, and wife of vaudevillian George Walker.

Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time.

William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an African-American composer and violinist from the United States.[2] Cook was a student of Antonín Dvořák and performed for King George V among others. He is probably best known for his popular songs and Broadway musicals, such as Clorindy, or The Origin of the Cake Walk and In Dahomey.

Jesse Allison Shipp, Sr. (March 24, 1864 in Cincinnati, Ohio - June 1934)[1] was an African-American actor, playwright, and theatrical director, who is best remembered as a pioneer African-American writer of musical theater in the United State, and as the author of the book upon which the landmark play In Dahomey was based. Shipp played an influential role in expanding black theater beyond its minstrel show origins and is recalled as perhaps the first African-American director of a Broadway performance.

Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War, Dunbar began to write stories and verse when still a child.