Knowing the authors of the book, I gave them a heads-up with regard to the comments in this thread. Judy Sacks asked me to post her comments...

-Greg

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Hello all,

It's great to hear the lively discussion concerning our book, Way Up North in Dixie. May I add a few comments:

The Snowden parents, not their children, were age peers to Dan Emmett. If any learning of the song transpired between these artists, it would more likely have been with the Snowden parents. The two surviving Snowden musicians, the brothers Ben and Lew, were teenagers, not children, when Emmett was first in the county. If someone looks into the census records over several decades (not taking just one), he or she can see that the ages are correctly stated in the book. Also, Emmett continued to return periodically in later years, when the Snowden children were older. At no point do we suggest that Emmett learned from children, although he could have, if children continued their family's musical knowledge.

Concerning the remark about "academic wishful thinking": linking the Snowdens to "Dixie" is an exploration of the oral tradition of a particular community in Ohio, not something we cooked up to serve a private agenda. Over at least four generations, these people have asserted that the Snowdens are sources for "Dixie." So the "wish," if any, belongs to this community. In addition, it was blackface minstrels themselves--including Emmett--who claimed that they drew their material directly from black sources, so we were following their lead in asking, "yes, but from whom? And how?"

African Americans who've responded to our work know well the legacy of borrowing and exploitation of black creativity in American music (think Paul Whiteman/Patti Page/Elvis/Pat Boone/Vanilla Ice/Eminem etc). For many, this is an old, old tale.

Regards, Judy Sacks