You are browsing the archives of John Simmons.
Sleeping in Heavenly Peace
Bishop John Freeman Young sleeps in Jacksonville’s Old City Cemetery. While there’s nothing on his tombstone to indicate it, he’s known internationally for his English translation of the world’s favorite Christmas carol – “Silent Night, Holy Night.”
Young was born in Pittston, Maine on October 30, 1820. He graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in April, 1845 [...]
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
Elizabeth Jones Reed Napier was 90-years old when she passed away in 1945. Despite all she must have accomplished during her long life, she’s famous because of a guitar player who was not quite two years old when she died.
The Allman Brothers Band formed in Jacksonville in 1969. The group included guitarist Dickey Betts, who [...]
“Little Martha” Ellis – remembered in stone and song
Martha Ellis was only 12-years old when she died in 1896. Her parents obviously loved and sorely missed her as they erected this marker at her grave. Little Martha is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia.
The cemetery was laid out in the 1880s with the idea that it would be a resting place [...]
Young, John Freeman
John Freeman Young served as priest at Jacksonville’s St. Johns Episcopal Church from 1845-1847. In 1859, while serving as assistant priest at Trinity Church in New York City, Young translated in to English the Austrian hymn, Silent Night, Holy Night. The song has become the world’s favorite Christmas carol. in 1867, Young returned to Jacksonville [...]
Swamp Music Project
Several years ago, on the old North Florida Music Association site, we posted a collection of mp3s. As the Internet is truly international, a Chinese site that links to music found these old songs and has linked to them. There are several hundred downloads a month. So for the rest of you, here’s the original [...]
Beeks, James
Attended Jacksonville’s Douglas Anderson School of the Arts; moved to NYC in ’96, where he joined the Broadway cast of Ragtime. Also toured with the road show of Jesus Christ, Superstar.
Tom Dowd passes away
Tom Dowd passed away Sunday, October 27 at an assisted living facility near his Miami home. Tom was 77.
Words fail in trying to describe Tom’s influence in the music industry, but an internet search nails it. A search on the Barnes and Noble website turns up 332 available CDs with Tom’s [...]
The Macon-Jacksonville music connection
“Half the folks in the Georgia Music Hall of Fame are from Jacksonville,” says Dru Lombar. It may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Dru would know about those musicians. He’s one of them.
