Williams, Henry H.

Williams was born near Lexington, KY. A violinist, he was also the first African American dance teacher in Louisville, KY. He formed a cotillion band in 1835 that included other free African Americans, slaves, and German immigrants. Williams is remembered for his composition "Maysville March," which had not been played for more than a century when the sheet music was discovered by Filson Historical Society librarian Pen Bogert. For more see The Encyclopedia of Louisville, ed. by J. E. Kleber; and L. Blackford, "It's pure," Lexington Herald-Leader, 06/14/1998, City&Region section, p. B1.