Speaker Series
Parlor Music of the Civil War Era

     In Lincoln’s time, music played a major role in households where many owned one or more instruments to provide entertainment in the home. For the April MCHS Speaker Series, Wild Columbine, an ensemble that specializes in the music of that era, will demonstrate instruments, give a little history and play a lot of music. The event is on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at 2 P.M. at the Main Street Community Center at 1003 N. Main Street in Edwardsville, Illinois. “Parlor Music of the Civil War Era” is a free program and open to the public.

     Wild Columbine, consisting of musicians William Furry, Sally McDaniel-Smith, and Megan Thornberry, specializes in 18th and 19th century traditional and parlor music. They perform their repertoire on acoustic instruments of the period, violin, flute, mandolin, guitar, concertina, harmonium, whistles, and bodhran. The trio is from central Illinois and plays often in the Springfield area as well as throughout the state. Collectively the musicians have more than 80 years of performance experience.

     The musicians also provide context and commentary to explain the background, composers, and other relevant information for each selection. Programs in this series combine the arts and history to provide depth and a greater understanding of the past.

     Wild Columbine is the first performance in a series from the Illinois State Historical Society (IAHS) called “The Arts, Historically Speaking.” MCHS is grateful to be one of seven Illinois county historical societies chosen for various programs in the series that is funded by the Illinois Arts Council’s (IAC) Creative Catalyst grant program. The Illinois Arts Council has been supporting the arts in Illinois for more than sixty years.   

      This is the 13 th season for the Madison County Historical Society’s Speaker Series. Still ahead this year is
a program with historian Kathrine Harris as Harriet Tubman on June 22, and historian Stacy Lynn will tell stories about her new book on Lincoln and women on August 10. For further information on programs, contact MCHS at 618-656-1294.

   MCHS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has been preserving the stories, photographs, and artifacts of Madison County for more than a century. The Society owns and operates the Madison County History Museum and Archival Library at 715-801 N. Main Street in Edwardsville, and provides educational programming throughout the county. To learn more about the Madison County Historical Society, visit their website at https://madcohistory.org/ or call 618-656-7569.