From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Brown, Tull Edward
(born: 1889 - died: 1954) Tulle E. Brown was a pianist, an organist, a professor, a lawyer, he owned several pieces of real estate, and he was a contractor in Indianapolis, IN. He was a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, and a member of the American Guild of Organist. There are many notices about his performances in the Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis Star, and the Freeman newspapers. He was very well known in Indianapolis. While still in Kentucky, in 1906, Tull E. Brown married Alberta Ross, who was also from Kentucky [source: Indiana, Selected Marriages Index (Ancestry)]. The marriage did not last, and in 1909, he married Hattie P. Renix, who was from Louisville, KY. In 1913, Tull E. Brown and his wife Hattie, a singer, were living on Walnut Street in Louisville when they sailed to Europe to perform [source: List of U.S. Citizens (Ancestry)]. The couple would continue to perform for churches, at concerts, and at various other events in Indianapolis, IN, while also holding down their other jobs. In 1920, Tull E. Brown joined the faculty of Metropolitan School of Music in Indianapolis, IN. He was also a practicing lawyer, according to the 1920 U.S. Census. His wife Hattie was employed as a teacher, and Hattie's mother, Mary Renix lived with them on Columbia Avenue. Ten years later, not much had changed. Tull E. Brown was still practicing law in 1930, according to the U.S. Census. He had his own office. His wife was still a schoolteacher and her mother still lived with them on Columbia Avenue. Tull E. Brown was a faculty member of the Senate Avenue Branch of the YMCA School of Music in 1937.Tull E. Brown was born in Versailles, KY, the son of Lucinda Fountain and William Brown [source: Indiana Death Certificate #3933 28119]. He was murdered in 1954 during a robbery at his home.
[Sources: The Musical Courier, December 10, 1920, v.81, p.10. Online at Google Books; Y. M. C. A. Notes," Indianapolis Recorder, 10/09/1937, p.4. Online at Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program.; The New Music Review and Church Music Review, v.22, issue 260, p. 343. Online at Google Books.; "In recital," Indianapolis Recorder, 11/10/1928, p.5; "Indiana contractor murdered in unfinished home," Jet, Sep 30, 1954, p.4; and Brown, Admr, etc. v. Montgomery. 125 Ind. App. 395 (1955). Online at Justia.]