The Little Vernon Brothers

 

It's a photograph with instant charm.
Three young boys, surely brothers,
pose for the camera in identical velvet suits
fringed with lacy collars and cuffs.
But it is their musical instruments
that really draw our attention.
The oldest boy plays a violin,
the middle one a piccolo,
and the youngest holds a cello
so much taller in proportion
that it looks like a double bass.

It's a peculiar trio of musical siblings
that I felt certain were part of a family of professional entertainers,
but frustratingly this unmarked cabinet card photo offered no clues
as to the photographer, the location, or the date,
much less the names of the three boys.

So for a few years their photo
languished in my collection
under the very large category–
Unknown Musicians.

Until I found a second copy of the photo.

 

 

Though badly cracked, chipped and faded
it was the exact same image of the three boys,
yet this photo had the trifecta of valuable information.
First and second place went to
the photographer's name and location:
S. E. Jessup
Marshalltown, Ia.

And the real prize was a penciled note on the back:

Sidney, Howard and Percy Vernon
Marshalltown Iowa

 

 

 

With these excellent clues I easily found them in the newspaper archives. On Monday evening, November 25th, 1889, the little Vernon Brothers gave a musical and literary entertainment at the Methodist church in Eldora, Iowa, 30 miles north of Marshalltown. Tickets were 25 cents; children, 15 cents.

 

 

Eldora IA Herald
22 November 1889

 

As found in the 1900 census, the full names for the little Vernon brothers were Sidney Clyde Vernon, born 1878 in Elgin, Ontario, Canada; Howard Alexander Vernon, born 1881 in Marshalltown, Iowa; and Percival Lessington Vernon, born 1884, also in Marshalltown. Their father was Edward Henry Vernon who listed his occupation in the 1881 Canadian census as accountant. The boys' mother was Mary Jerusha Vernon. She was born in Massachusetts but Edward H. Vernon was originally from London, England. 

 

Using the birth dates, I estimate the photo was taken around 1892, placing the brothers at ages 14, 11, and 8. This time frame fits with the boys' fancy attire too as this was when American mothers became enthralled with a boy's fashion fad, the Little Lord Fauntleroy suit. 

Poster for the play, Little Lord Fauntleroy,
Source: Library of Congress Archives

This fictional character came from the novel Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924). This rags to riches story was first published in serial form in St. Nicholas Magazine from November 1885 to October 1886. In 1888 the author adapted her popular novel for the stage and it first opened on May 1888 in London, and then on Broadway in December 1888. The plot follows Cedric Errol, a boy living in a poor New York City neighborhood with his recently widowed mother. One day they are approached by a lawyer who makes an offer from Cedric's wealthy English grandfather, estranged from his deceased son who chose to marry an American woman. The grandfather wishes to raise Cedric in England as his heir to an earldom. In return his mother will receive a house and a pension but her father-in-law still rejects her. Of course the boy changes his grandfather's heart and all is made good in the end. The novel and play were adapted to film several times and some critics have described Little Lord Fauntleroy as the Harry Potter of his time. 

The author's description and the illustrations of little Lord Fauntleroy popularized a fashion trend for boys of aristocratic velvet jackets and lace collars. Given that Mr. and Mrs. Vernon were also an English-American couple it's seems likely that Mary Vernon was inspired by the story to dress her talented sons in this fancy wardrobe. I don't know if there is a musical instrument in the story, but I have several photos in my collection of young musicians similarly attired. Take a look at my story from December 2017, Boys with Sticks 3.

 

 

A few years later I acquired another photo of the Vernon brothers. This one has them arranged in a different order and as if playing their instruments. The photographer is Burpee Studio of Beloit, Wisconsin. Mr. Burpee has conveniently added a note in the print, Copyright 1891, which is not common to find in cabinet card photos of this era but was probably considered important for photos produced for a commercial purpose. The two older boys, Sidney and Howard are noticeably shorter and their hair cut very short, though Percy has long wavy locks. I think they are a bit younger than the previous photo which is why I dated that one to 1892. The brothers are dressed differently here with velvet suits ornamented with elaborate cord knots in a kind of Germanic fashion.

 

 

Janesville WI Daily Gazette
27 February 1891

In 1891 when they posed for this picture the Vernon brothers were taken on a winter tour that lasted several weeks. This review appeared in the Janesville WI Daily Gazette on 27 February, and describes them as "musical prodigies". By this time the "little Vernon brothers" were experienced entertainers having presented numerous concerts in towns and cities far beyond their hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa. The boys, Sidney, Howard, and Percy played violin, piccolo, and cello respectively, but other instruments were never mentioned in reports. I believe they were usually accompanied by their mother, probably on piano or reed organ, and also sang songs, whistled, and did recitations of poetry. Almost all their concerts were modest entertainments confined to churches, Y.M.C.A. halls, and similar wholesome family venues. Very often there was a lecture/sermon by the church pastor. Like other small family bands of this era,  the Vernons never listed themselves as a vaudeville act and, as far as I know, they never performed in theatrical revues.

 

Tully NY Times
24 July 1897

 

Over the next few years from 1890 to 1899, the Vernon trio played in countless towns and cities from Nebraska to Massachusetts. Newspapers promoted their successful performances but only rarely gave reviews and those were always flattering and never critical. The boys' musical programs were never listed but it seems they did not play any classical fare, which is not rally surprising as Mozart didn't write any trios for violin, cello, and piccolo. Instead they performed well-known Sunday school songs and other light Christian music. Again like with most of the family bands of this era, the boys' ages were never accurately reported and newspapers always lowered their actual age by a few years. 

 

 

In this next photo the entire Vernon family posed for the camera. The photographer's imprint on the front of the cabinet card is The DeMorat Studio, but on the back it is H. B. Hansbury, the successor of  DeMorat on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It likely dates to 1893 to judge by the small change in the boys, especially with Percy. 

 

(The information on the Philadelphia photographer came from CabinetCardPhotographers, a terrific archive compiled by AnyJazz, a former regular blogger on Sepia Saturday.)

 

 

The Vernon brothers first appeared in Philadelphia in January 1893 and again in April 1894 so I think the photo was taken then. By their last performances in 1898-99 the newspapers reported that the Vernons had moved from Iowa to Philadelphia.

 

 

 

The photographer, or maybe the Vernons themselves, chose to display all their faces in a similar profile turned slightly right. It allows us to see the resemblance between Howard Vernon and his mother Mary, as well as between Sidney and his father Edward. The boys are still in knee breeches but the lace cuffs and collars are a bit subdued. Little Percy wears a gingham shirt tied at the neck with a colored ribbon bow. Clearly he was always the centerpiece for the brothers' show.

 

 

 

The last years of the group's musical career did not have as many concerts as in the early years. By 1899 Sidney was 21 years old, Howard 19, and Percy 15, and yet their notices continued to call them the little Vernon brothers. How the boys were educated is not clear, probably from lessons given by their mother. One reviewer noted that they claimed not have ambition to become professional musicians, so the family's mission was likely driven by other motives, probably related to their Christian faith. Curiously in the 1900 census, Mary J. Vernon and her three sons were living in Detroit, Michigan. She and the boys all listed their occupation as Music. Since Detroit is on the Canadian border, their father, Edward H. Vernon, may have been away in Ontario on business. Sadly Mary died in 1908 at age 53, and Edward in 1917 at about 63. 

 

 

 

It's interesting to compare the talented Vernon brothers to my stories of other traveling family bands. As a mostly string trio the Vernon brothers resemble the three Harry Sisters, who nearly match them in ages and also limited  their entertainments to just church venues.

The serious competition for groups like the Harry sisters and the Vernon brothers were larger family troupes that played America's theater circuits. On one occasion I found the Vernons playing in a town just as The Noss Family Band of Practice Makes Perfect were performing at the town's theater. And the notion of a young cellist smaller than their instrument was nothing novel as seen in my stories Sibling Rivalry, Two Young Cellists, and Master Harry Barreuther - Boy Cellist. In the last one, the Barreuther family orchestra/band began playing concerts in 1889 when little Harry Barreuther was only age 7. 

 

But none of them could match
Percy's awesome cuteness in his velvet and lace suit.

  

 

 

 

 

 

At this point I could stop
but there is more to the story
of the remarkable Vernon brothers
that deserves to be added as a coda.

Music was not their only common interest.   

 

* * *

 

 

 

Cleveland OH Plain Dealer
14 May 1903

 

In May 1903 the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a short report on the front page with the headline: "Boy Preacher" is Ordained. From Chardon, Ohio, about 30 miles east of Cleveland, came the news that Rev. Howard A. Vernon was ordained a minister at the Chardon Baptist church. Though the reporter got his birth year wrong, it was 1881, not 1880, Howard A. Vernon became one of the youngest ministers in Ohio. He had begun study for the ministry at age sixteen and preached his first sermon at seventeen. 

 

Two months later in July 1903 it was announced that young Rev. Vernon was offered and accepted the position of assistant pastor at the Trinity Congregational church in Cleveland. The pastor said, "Rev. Mr. Vernon is a talented young man. He has been known as 'the boy preacher,' and has done evangelistic work for a number of years. He possesses unusual ability as a speaker, and undoubtedly will have a brilliant career in the profession which he has chosen. Mr. Vernon comes of a family of preachers, which makes his early success more easy to understand. The fact that he is a member of the Baptist Church will not interfere at all with his usefulness while serving us."

 

There was no mention of the piccolo.

 

 

 

Cincinnati OH Commercial Tribune
10 October 1918

Sometime after that, Rev. Mr. Howard A. Vernon was joined in the ministry by his brother Percy. In October  1918, a photo of Rev. Percival L. Vernon, pastor of the Columbia Baptist church in Cincinnati, Ohio was published with the news that he had been granted a leave of absence to enter war activities. During my research I uncovered his passport application which was needed for his service as a Y.M.C.A. chaplain for the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. 

It was not clear if he took his cello to France.

 

 

Davenport IA Daily Times
23 September 1919

Around this same time, the eldest brother, Sidney Clyde Vernon also took up a ministry position. In September 1919, the Daily Times of Davenport, Iowa, ran photos of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney C. Vernon who would be coming to the First Presbyterian church of Davenport as assistants to the pastor, in charge of young people's work and musical activities. Prior to this Sidney taught violin at the Baldwin-Wallace College conservatory of music. After his ordination, Rev. Sidney C. Vernon served several churches, finishing as the pastor of the Beachland Presbyterian church in Cleveland for over 25 years.

Rev. Sidney C. Vernon died at his home in East Cleveland, Ohio on ! October 1952. He was age 74. 

 

His brother, Rev. Dr. Howard A. Vernon died 17 July 1955 at his cabin on Bass Lake, near Brainerd, Minnesota where he had been the pastor of First Congregational church since 1944. He was 73.

The last and youngest Vernon brother, Rev. Percy L. Vernon, died 19 July 1979 at a nursing home in Natick, Massachusetts. Until his retirement he had been pastor of the United Baptist church in Lewiston, Maine for 19 years. Rev, Percy L. Vernon was 95.

 

 

 

 

It's intriguing to think how performing music influenced the Vernon brothers to each choose a  life of service as a church pastor. Certainly their parents' Christian faith played the most important part in guiding them to a higher calling, but learning music at such young ages taught them useful skills like public speaking and artistic discipline that doubtless proved valuable in their later careers. 

 

Though each brother settled in different parts of the country separated by long distance, I wonder if for special family occasions, did they ever play their instruments as they once had as young boys? Or maybe just whistle an old favorite song?     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where every trio has a story to tell.