Thank you Steve Ball! LORENA The story of the tune “Lorena” begins in 1850, in the town of Zanesville, Ohio. A young lady by the name of Martha Ellen Blocksom, born December 8, 1828, comes to live with her sister and brother in law after the death of her parents. Martha, age 22, is from a wealthy, affluent background; in 1850, she is a college graduate, a rarity for a woman in 1850. Her sister is married to a gentleman by the last name of Blandy; the Blandy family lives in a beautiful stone house on the eastside of the Muskingum River just North of Zanesville, on a point known as Hamline Hill. At the bottom of Hamline Hill, a new Unitarian church is built. With the new church comes a new minister, Henry DeLafayette Webster, born June 27, 1824. Henry is a bit older than Martha, and not nearly as wealthy. Martha joins the new church, sings in the choir, teaches Sunday school, and she and Henry begin a courtship. Henry falls deeply in love with Martha, and he knows to be permitted to marry such a woman of means, he must have the ability to support her in the manner her family would expect. He tells Martha that the congregation of the new church will surely grow, and in a short time, he will be in solid financial condition that they can marry, and he can support her in the proper fashion. Nearly two years later, the congregation is the same size. Henry is still financially unable to guarantee the life Martha’s family would expect her to live. Martha’s family, realizing that Martha is growing old (24!) and might possibly be wasting her life waiting on Henry, sits her down, and explains that even though Henry is a man of God, he will not be able to give her the affluent life her parents would expect her to have, and to continue the courtship would be a waste of her time. Martha, being the submissive young lady of the day, goes to Henry, and breaks off the courtship. Martha moves on quickly, unshaken by what has taken place. Henry does not, as he is truly heartbroken, his world shattered by the turn of events. Some six years later, still missing Martha with all of his heart, Henry writes a beautiful six verse poem all about their ill-fated courtship. However, he does not want anyone to think the poem is about him and Martha, so he entitles the poem “Bertha”, and the poem is printed in the church newsletter. Enter a composer by the name of Joseph Philbrick Webster. J.P. Webster (no relation to Henry) sees the poem in print, and he believes he can set the poem to music, and make a beautiful love song out of it. He discusses this possibility with Henry Webster, and Henry grants permission to do so, but composer Webster tells Henry the name Bertha will not be a good title for a love song. Henry tells J.P. Webster that he can use any name except Martha. As the legend goes, J.P. Webster takes letters from each of Martha Ellen Blocksom’s name, and comes up with “Lorena”. “Lorena” is first published in 1857, with a beautiful color lithograph cover, and becomes an instant hit song of the period. The tune becomes popular throughout the United States prior to the American Civil War, and as a result, is a favorite of both the Union and Confederate armies. It is often told that many Confederate commanders forbid the tune to be played and sung later in the war, as they felt it helped encourage desertion by making the men homesick for that special loved one back home. In 1863, with the popularity of “Lorena” soaring across the nation, both Henry Webster and J.P. Webster decide to collaborate once again, hoping to capitalize on the popularity of “Lorena”, and they write a tune entitled “Paul Vane”, also known as “Lorena’s Answer”. Since “Lorena” is written from the rejected male point of view, both men believe a tune to reveal the female’s thoughts would also be a hit. It was not. Although a well written tune with both pleasing melody and well written lyrics, “Paul Vane” was a flop, or a “potboiler” as was the term for a tune that went nowhere in regards to popularity. The sheet music for this tune was printed one time, making it, as well as original copies of “Lorena” very rare. Henry D. Webster moved on. He served as a medic or nurse as the position was called at the time all four years of the Civil War in the Union army. He married, fathered four children, and finally settled in Chicago Illinois, the minister of a large Unitarian church. He passed away in 1896, and is buried in Chicago. J.P. Webster was never a healthy person, he was rejected by the Union army because of poor health. He did have a successful song writing career, and in 1863 wrote one of the best known gospel tunes in history, “In the Sweet Bye and Bye”. In 1867, he wrote a tune entitled “I’ll Twine Mid the Ringlets”, that became known as “The Wildwood Flower”. This tune was performed by the Carter Family live on the radio from the Grand Old Opry in 1927, and made the Carter Family and the tune famous in the annals of country music in America. J.P. Webster passed away in 1875, and is buried in Wisconsin. Martha Ellen Blocksom, following her family’s advice, moved on from the courtship with Henry, and met and married a man by the name of William Johnston. Willam Johnston was a wealthy man, and became a Supreme Court justice for the State of Ohio. The marriage produced two children, neither surviving childhood. William Johnston passed away in March 2, 1889. Martha Johnston was always well aware of the fact “Lorena” was written about the courtship between her and Henry D. Webster. Reportedly, her nickname that she detested along with the tune was “The Sweetheart of the Civil War”. Martha outlived all of the people involved with the tune “Lorena”, passing away in Marietta Ohio March 3, 1917 at the age of 89. She is buried beside her husband and two children in Ironton Ohio, in Woodland Cemetery. In 1961, a writer by the name of Ernest Emurian, who had researched and written a series of books on American stage plays, American gospel tunes, American Christmas carols, discovered the story of “Lorena”. He wrote a wonderful little book detailing the lives of all mentioned above, including pictures of all involved in their youth, later years, and pictures of their final resting places. I’m sure no malice was intended when he titled the book “The Sweetheart of the Civil War”. One of the interesting facts about the tune is in the last measure of the second verse as the lyrics say “Up the hilly slope we climbed to watch the dying of the day, and hear the distant church bells chime”. The two young lovers would walk to the top of Hamline Hill, watch the sunset over the Muskingum River valley, and hear the church bells in downtown Zanesville Ohio. Today, you can go to the top of Hamline Hill, watch the sunset, and hear the church bells in Downtown Zanesville, 164 years later.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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