Smith, Henderson

Henderson Smith was born in Frankfort, KY, and his family later moved to Warren, OH, where Smith studied music at the Dana Musical Institute. He performed with a number of groups, including Sprague's Original Georgia Minstrels and Haverly's Genuine Colored Minstrels. Smith was also a bandleader and vaudeville entertainer, sometimes passing for white and performing with groups such as Patrick S. Gilmore's Famous Cornet Band. He also worked with Kentucky native Tom McIntosh and led John W. Vogel's "Darkest Africa" band, which toured Australia with the Orpheus McAdoo Company. Smith, who was sometimes referred to as America's Black Sousa, died in Chicago, where he had settled after retiring from the entertainment business. For more see "Henderson Smith" in the Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians, by E. Southern.