Nellie Weldon Cocroft

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Nellie Weldon Cocroft
Born
Ellen Estelle Weldon

(1885-11-04)November 4, 1885
Quitman, Georgia
DiedJune 27, 1986(1986-06-27) (aged 100)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesN. Weldon Cocroft
Occupationcomposer

Ellen "Nellie" Weldon Cocroft (November 4, 1885 – June 27, 1986) was an American composer.

Early life[]

Ellen Estelle Weldon was born in Quitman, Georgia, the daughter of Richard Aycock Weldon and Virginia Frances Massey Weldon. Her father was a marble dealer. She was raised in Thomasville, Georgia. She studied piano performance at Brenau College, graduating in 1905.[1]

Sheet music for "When the Autumn Turns the Forest Leaves to Gold" (1909) by N. Weldon Cocroft; illustration in greens and golds of a white couple and a dog, standing in a forest.
Sheet music for "When the Autumn Turns the Forest Leaves to Gold" (1909) by N. Weldon Cocroft

Career[]

Cocroft was a church organist and choir director in Thomasville. Her husband ran a music store, and published her compositions to sell in the shop under the name "N. Weldon Cocroft".[2] After her divorce, she moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she worked in a law office.[1]

Published works by Nellie Weldon Cocroft included "Kute Kids" (1909), "The Pinywoods Rag" (1909), "When the Autumn Turns the Forest Leaves to Gold" (1909),[3] "The Georgia Cracker: March and Two Step" (1910), and "I'se Gwine to Highball" (1910).[4]

Personal life[]

Nellie Estelle Weldon married fellow musician Christopher Columbus Cocroft in 1905, in Thomasville. Their son Charles Christopher CoCroft (1910-2001) continued the family's music publishing company until he sold the business in 2000.[5] The Cocrofts divorced in 1924.[6][7] She died in 1986, aged 100 years.[1]

Music by Nellie Weldon Cocroft is part of the permanent "Jazz & Swing Club" exhibit at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon.[8] Pianist Nora Hulse included Cocroft's "Georgia Cracker" on her Ragtime Refreshments (2002), a collection of works by women.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Bill Edwards, "Nellie Estelle Weldon Cocroft" RagPiano.com.
  2. ^ Adams, Elliott. "The Story of Cocroft Music Company" The Rag Times (May 1994): 1-4.
  3. ^ Cocroft, N. Weldon (1900). When the autumn turns the forest leaves to gold. Melbourne : Allan & Co.
  4. ^ Tjaden, Ted. Women Composers of Ragtime.
  5. ^ "Charles Christopher CoCroft". Thomasville Times-Enterprise. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  6. ^ "Superior Court Not in Session Today". Thomasville Daily Times Enterprise. April 17, 1923. p. 5. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  7. ^ "Mr. C. C. Cocroft Awarded First Decree in Divorce Case". Thomasville Daily Times Enterprise. October 21, 1924. p. 5. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Georgia Music Hall of Fame: Permanent Exhibitions". Georgia Tourist Guide. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. ^ Ragtime refreshments: 25 rags by women composers., Nora Hulse, 2002, OCLC 129573472, retrieved 2019-07-21

External links[]

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