BUFFALO, NY - This is a Western New York story, that oddly enough, was unearthed in a Cincinnati attic. Mark Jessee had been cleaning his mother's home when he discovered a treasure chest of musical history. Through newspaper clippings, advertisements and show flyers, he was able to piece together the tale of a person who can best be described as a 19th century rock star. "He came over from Ireland, he did harp solos, he taught harp, he taught guitar, he taught violin." Jessee's great- grandfather, Peter Marks was one of the premier traveling minstrel musicians in America during the Civil War. He thought this was an important piece of music and American history and went on a mission to tell his great-grandfather's story.
He finally he got some interest, from the Smithsonian Institution. He received a call from Smithsonian research expert Craig Orr. "He told me that the nation thanks me. He said that was actually the oldest bit of music history that is attributed to an owner that the Smithsonian had." Orr adds, "The most amazing thing about the collection, when I got there, and from Mark's description, was that it was collected by someone who was in the shows."
What he also discovered through his research is that history includes the Queen City. The Smithsonian was able to establish that Peter Marks spent some of his life here. One key piece of evidence was an advertisement drawn on the back of a piece of music paper, listing his address as 268 Seventh Street, Buffalo.
Mark Jessee was told by his mother that Peter Marks also apparently hobnobbed with the stars of the day. "My mother said that he she had heard that he had met Mark Twain and Buffalo Bill. " Of course Mark Twain, called then Samuel Clemens, lived in buffalo at the time, and Bill Cody brought his Wild West Show to the area dozens of times during the same time frame.
Peter Marks died at the age of 40 in 1883, and his musical journey is now documented in the Smithsonian.