The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-02-21
HAVE SUNG TO ROYALTY.
Successful Career of an Oregon Family
of Musical Entertainers.

Successful Career of an Oregon Family
of Musical Entertainers,
The De Moss family are the ex-
tract of continuous line of musi-
clans and entertainers dating back
seven generations or more of Stew
arts in Scotland, who have taken
sacred song for their theme.
The father, the Rev. James De
Moss, minister in the United
Brethren church, early settled near
Sunmerville in Union county,
There among the pines he made
his home, while he preached and
sang the gospel in the little log
school house in the custom of that
time. Salvation was as free as the
air, so the minister supported his
family for several years by driving
ox-teams for the logging camp and
the freight wagon. The typical
preacher of those days was a prac-
tical man, pious in the main-one
who could don clerical attire on
Sunday with the grace and dignity
of bishop, and during the week
could drive the "patient OK with
out the Incorporate use of strong
Saxon. He performed marriage
ceremonies. attended the infare,
ohciated at funerals, and not in
frequently adjusted misunderstand-
fngs as arbiter between his neigh
bors.
One morning the pioneer minis
ter awoke to1earn that large part
of his neighborhood and congre7
CATION had been arrested for COM
p1icity in the LeBur- Wheeler stage
robbery, and soon afterwards he
learned that all the prisoners were
convicted and sent to San Quentin
This ended his efforts at home
building in that locality. So he
moved to Cove.
Henry, George, Minnie and
Lizzie. with two or three younger
children. readily took to the organ,
which was rare instrument in
Eastern Oregon where the piano
was as yet practically unknown.
The family were self instructed.
With neither money or experience
the parents and little ones as early
as 1872 began tour of sacred
concerts. They commenced by
touring the Wal1a Walla valley.
It is related that they did not
have enough coin to pay toll at
Meachem station, SO they offered to
give a concert. Fred Foster, who
was gate keeper, soon organized
himself into an audience, and sat
on a stump up on the mountain
height, while the performers stood
on the spruce stumps before him
and gave their first public perform
ance. The story goes that the, au-
dience was SO well pleased that he
not only RENTED their toll, but
gave them a ten-dol1ar green back
as a token of his appreciation.
This was their first concert money.
The family, however, pushed on
East, giving concerts on the way,
until they finally arrived in Indiana
where they organized an academy
Of music. Afterwards Henry and
George completed course in the
Royal Academy of England.
The family have sung in every
own in the United States, and
nave toured Europe, singing,
Sweet Oregon in all the leading
titles of that country, They were
he official song writers of the
Columbian Exposition, the most !
popular of their compositions being
Sweet Oregon" and "My Little
Home in Arkansas The latter
ong has been adopted as state
ong id Arkansas and is taught in
he public schools of that state.
thirty thousand copies of Sweet
oregon have been sold in this state.
rhe family has also published sew
raj books and much sheet music,
II of which has met with ready
ale.
At De Moss Springs, of this state
hey have farm of twelve hundred !
cres, where the family spend the
ummer with the father who has
ong since retired from the concert
BUSINESS. There they have a mu-
ic printing establishment, and it
nay be said that they practically
'wn the little embryo town at that
,oint. At their home, where there
re frequent visitors from all parts
f America, the family have col
ected many curios, among which
5 the old Hank Monke stage coach
which Mark Twain so humorously
.escribed as to make it historic.
Although the family began con-
ert work thirty-one years ago, the /
haracter of their entertainments
IA steadily improved with the
,rowth of the country. They have