The Harmoneons

The Harmoneons were a blackface musical singing group in the 19th-century United States. The group began as the "Albino Family" in 1843, and later became the "Harmoneon Family."[1] Principal group members included L.V.H. Crosby;[2] Marshall S. Pike (1818-1901);[2][3] James Power;[2] and John Power[4] Through the years others associated with the group included: F.B. Howe;[5] Francis Lynch;[4] W.H. Mower, manager;[4] T.B. Prendergast;[4] and F.A. Reynolds.[4] In 1847 the Harmoneons performed for President James Polk at the White House.[2] The group sang throughout the U.S., including Baltimore, Maryland (1846-1847, 1850, 1853);[6] Trenton, New Jersey (1847);[7] Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1848);[8] Lowell, Mass. (1849); Salem, Mass. (1849); Belfast, Maine (1850, 1852);[9] and in Boston at the Melodeon (1849), Horticultural Hall (1849, 1851), and other venues. They also toured in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[10]

Harmoneons, 1846

In the 1860s, the tune of their most famous song, "Dearest Mae," became the tune to which the enormously popular college song, "My Last Cigar," was sung. Though James M. Hubbard has always been credited as the composer of "My Last Cigar," its true tunesmith is James Power of the Harmoneons.[11]