Ella Sheppard (1851-1914)

Name

Ella Sheppard (1851-1914)

Date of Birth

February 4, 1851

Date of Death

June 9, 1914

State Assigned Gender

Female

Hometown or Region

Nashville, Tennessee

Freedom Status

Transition

Occupation

Singer

Biography

Member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers and a social reformer in Tennessee.

Ella Sheppard was born enslaved on February 4, 1851 on Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Plantation in Nashville, Tennessee. She was enslaved on the plantation until she was ten years old when she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. There, she learned how to play the piano and became a musician. She moved to Nashville in 1868 where she enrolled at Fisk University and joined the choir. George White, was the choir’s leader and later Ella became co-leader. The school began to go into debt and would close because of funds, however, White believed that The Fisk Singers could tour and raise money to save the school. It took time for The Jubilee Fisk Singers to gain popularity as they sang classic hymns and not the spirituals of their enslaved pasts, but when they saw how their slave songs had a powerful effect on people, they began to put their “Jubilee songs” at the forefront of their concerts. Ella transcribed and led many of their Jubilee Songs.The singers would go on to tour the world, meeting the Queen of England, The U.S. President and other nobilities. The singers raised $165,000 for Fisk at the end of their tour. After Ella finished with The Jubilee Fisk Singers she married Rev. George Moore, who worked for the American Missionary Association. Ella joined her husband's efforts, traveling all over the country to give lectures to educate the country of equality and rights for African Americans. She also continued to lead Jubilee Choruses and worked as an activist until her death on June 9, 1914.

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Student Researcher

Abi Long