Laura Elmina Cooke [Barney] (1849-1919)

Laura “Lollie” Cooke spent most of her adolescent years in Philadelphia, where her father Jay was heavily involved in the finance world. (He became known as the “Financier of the Civil War.”) According to an inscription in LOC M1 .A15 v. 71, her music teacher at one time was W. J. Lemon, who advertised in 1866 and 1867 in Dwight’s Journal of Music. (Stafford, 58)

According to Henry Cooke, “The Grand Concert” was offered every day of the Barney family’s stay on the island. mong the presentations were the solos, “On the Rampage,” by “What is It” (Elizabeth Barney), “Come, Let Us Be Going”by “Pater,” and “At Dinner Let Us Howl,” by “The Hairy One” (Laura Esther Barney). From left: Emily Barney, Elizabeth Barney, Dorothea Barney, Carlotta Barney, Laura Esther Barney, Henry Cooke Jr., Sarah Butler, C.D. Barney, Eunice Dean.

On Laura Cooke’s music collection:

Candace Bailey, “Silencing the Guns of War: Civil War Parlor Music at the Library of Congress,” AMS-LOC Lecture, spring 2021

Karen Stafford, “Binder’s Volumes and the Culture of Music Collectorship in the United States, 1830-1870,” PhD diss., Indiana University, 2020

Laura’s mother’s collection is also found in the LOC: M1 .A15 v. 55 (Dora E. Cooke)

Volumes in the Library of Congress, Music Division

M1 .A15 (all)

V. 56 Laura E. Cooke (spine: Classical music, vol. 1)

v. 57

v. 58

v. 59

v. 60

v. 61

v. 63

v. 64

v. 65

v. 66

v. 67

v. 68

v. 69

v. 70

v. 71

Sources of Laura Cooke’s music, mapped by K. Stafford (p. 202)