Annie Pauline Pindell

Madame Annie Pauline Pindell was born in Exeter, New Hampshire in 1834. When an infant the sound of a musical instrument would cause the most intense excitement in the child, and as she grew older it was discovered that she possessed a remarkable organ in height, depth and sweetness.

In those days the free colored people gave small thought to the cultivation of any talent that they might possess, so nothing was done to develop the girl's great gift.

At nineteen the young girl married Joseph Pindell, a brother of the Baltimore Pindells, so well known in that city, and later in Boston. Proud of his wife's talent he encouraged her to study and improve, and soon Mrs. Pindell became a familiar figure among musical circles in Boston.

In those days there were no great music schools and so Mrs. Pindell studied first with a celebrated German professor and later was under the tuition of Wyzeman Marhsal in elocution, and of his brother in music, vocal and instrumental. Indefatigable in her desire to acquire knowledge and improve in her art, the singer added to her vocal work the study of German, French and Italian, and she also made herself an expert performer on the piano, harp and guitar. She also delighted in original composition and Ditson's house published her songs, of which "Seek the Lodge Where the Red Men Dwell," was the most widely known, becoming a popular "hit" of the day.

Mrs. Pindell went to California in 1860, and for thirty years her magnificent voice was celebrated on the Pacific Coast.

On the occasion of a visit to the Hawaiian Islands during Queen Emma's reign, Mrs. Pindell was presented with a diamond necklace worth fifteen hundred dollars. The compass of this singer's voice was the same as the "Black Swan's," embracing twenty seven notes, from G in bass clef to E in treble clef. Musical critics compared her to Madame Alboni.

Her great uncle was James Monroe Whitfield, an abolitionist and poet. Her niece was not only her namesake, Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins but a famous novelist, journalist, playwright, historian, and editor.

Pindell was the earliest documented black female composer in the United States. Her songs “Seek the Lodge Where the Red Men Dwell” and “Ah, Foolish Maiden” are listed in the Complete Catalogue of Sheet Music and Musical Works, 1870, published by the Board of Music Trade of the United States of America.

Madame Pindell died in Los Angeles, California, May 1, 1901.

Source: Illustration and article appeared in the Colored American Magazine [Nov. 1901, Vol. 4, No. 1 issue].