Manuel Emilio
Manuel Emilio, born in Spain in 1812, was a band master and abolitionist who formed a band and school in Salem, composed music for a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, and contributed to the establishment of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment before his death in 1871.
Manuel Emilio
Manuel Emilio was born in Cullera Provincia, de Valencia, Valenciana, Spain on May 9, 1812. His parents were Louis Emilio and Frances Grau Emilio. In 1838 he came to America on board the frigate The United States with his future brother in law, Manuel Fenollosa. He was a band master, and upon settling in Salem, formed a band there and a school, together with Fenollosa. In 1844, Manuel Emilio married Isabella Fenollosa. They had six children: Luis F. Emilio, born 1844, Isabel Maria, born 1847, Enrique Victor 1851, Mary Silsbee born 1853, Clara Luisa, born 1855 and Manuel Fenollosa, born 1858.
Manuel Emilio was an active abolitionist. He wrote sheet music to accompany one of john Greenleaf Whittier’s poems: “Little Eva, Uncle Tom’s Guardian Angel.” It was dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. He also contributed to the establishment of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment.
Manuel Emilio died on August 25, 1871, and is buried at Harmony Grove Cemetery, Pansy Ave. Lot 1754, Grave # 1.
Sources Consulted:
- Book: A Brave Black Regiment: The History of the 54th Massachusetts, 1863-1865. Luis F. Emilio. Da Capo Press, NY: 1995.
- Internet:
- Ancestry.com @1997-2022 Manuel Emilio (1812-1871).
- Find A Grave.com/memorial 210385520/manuel __emilio
- Genealogywise.com Manuel Fenollosa, Spanish Immigrant to Salem Massachusetts 1838. Heather Wilkinson Royo, Blog, March 13, 2011.
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