Guide to the Mary Cardwell Dawson Papers, 1916-2001
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Mary Cardwell Dawson Papers
- Creator
- Dawson, Mary Cardwell
- Collection Number
- MSS#440
- Extent
- 1.5 linear feet (3 boxes)
- Date
- 1916-2001
- Abstract
- Mary Cardwell Dawson was an opera singer and arts activist in the Pittsburgh and Washington DC areas. She established the Cardwell School of Music, the Cardwell Dawson Choir and the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC). She established a guild of the NNOC in Washington DC when she moved there in 1943. The Mary Cardwell Dawson Papers are housed in three archival boxes and are arranged into three series. The collection contains primarily newspaper clippings, programs, posters, correspondence, and receipts.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
Mary Cardwell Dawson was a talented opera singer and impresario active in the Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. area. She was born on February 14, 1894 in Madison, North Carolina, to Abraham and Elizabeth Cardwell. (There are conflicting dates for her birth. February 14, 1894 was used in her funeral program.) Dawson was one of five children. The family moved to Homestead, Pennsylvania and eventually to 146 20th Avenue in Munhall. Dawson grew up in a musical family and participated in the choir at the Park Place African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Dawson graduated from Boston's New England Conservatory in 1925. She was also educated at the Chicago Musical College. While in Boston, she met Walter M. Dawson, who she later married in 1927. When Dawson returned to Pittsburgh, she set up the Cardwell School of Music at 7101 Apple Street in Homewood, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh. She also established the Cardwell Dawson Choir, which performed at both the Chicago and New York Worlds Fairs.
In 1941, Dawson created the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC), developed to inspire and motivate young artists. She saw the lack of opportunities for African Americans in the opera world and sought a way to change the situation. The debut performance took place later that year during the convention of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), which Dawson was president of, held in Pittsburgh. Her niece, Barbara E. Lee became her secretary and confidante during this time. When Dawson moved to Washington D.C. with her husband in 1943, she established another guild of the NNOC. Soon there were guilds in New York City, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, and Red Bank, New Jersey. The NNOC repertoire included "Aida," "La Traviata," and "Il Trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi; "Carmen" by Georges Bizet; "Ouanga" by C.C. White; and "Ordering of Moses" by R.N. Dett.
The National Negro Opera Foundation (NNOF) was formed in March 1950 to help the work of the NNOC. The foundation granted scholarships to gifted composers, artists, musicians and music students.
Dawson died on March 19, 1962 in Washington D.C. of a heart attack. At the time of her death, Walter was engaged in a lawsuit against the government for racial discrimination. Without her presence to drive the NNOC forward, the company disbanded.
In 1971, the Dawson Art Guild was founded in New York City by Ann Garrett Greene, a former teacher at the Cardwell School of Music and member of the NNOC. A chapter of the guild was also established in Pittsburgh by Catherine Gardner, Dawson's sister.
In 1987, the Pittsburgh branch of the NANM was reestablished by Peggy Pierce Freeman and is called the Madame Mary Cardwell Dawson Branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc.
In 1994, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated a state historical marker at the site of the Cardwell School of Music, where Dawson founded the NNOC. The petition for the historical marker was initiated by Freeman. These efforts have kept the memory of Mary Cardwell Dawson alive.
Additional materials concerning Dawson and the National Negro Opera Company can be found at the Library of Congress and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Library of Congress collection contains sixty-seven containers of materials on the NNOC and Dawson. The Schomburg collection contains eleven items consisting mostly of awards presented to Dawson along with some programs and correspondence.
Scope and Content Notes
The Mary Cardwell Dawson Papers are housed in three archival boxes and are arranged into three series. The series designated are Personal Materials, Professional Activities and Organizations, and Topical Folders and Other Individuals. The collection contains primarily newspaper clippings, programs, posters, correspondence, and receipts
Series I: Personal Materials (1916-1999) consists of fifteen folders and is arranged alphabetically by folder title. The series has personal papers and materials about Mary Cardwell Dawson. The materials include newspaper clippings, correspondence, receipts, cancelled checks, programs, awards, autograph book, address books, a book, and an important paper holder. The folder on the New England Conservatory contains correspondence with the school and Barbara E. Lee and contains copies of all the information they have on Dawson. The correspondence folder contains cards and correspondence to Dawson. The general receipt folder contains car leases, cancelled checks, a bank statement, and receipts. Folders were designated for receipts from Volkwein Brothers, W.F. Frederick Piano Co., and Dr. S.R. Davis, who rented a space to Dawson. The autograph book in the series contains signatures and brief notes from her siblings, Catherine, Harold, and Sophronia; her husband, Walter Dawson; and other people from her time at the New England Conservatory. The Schomburg folder contains a list of Dawson's items given to the center. The time book listed students, who were given lesson by Dawson, along with their addresses and charges. The "Valuable Paper" holder is a green pocket book designed to hold important papers and is now empty, its original contents consisted of some of the receipts and checks that are now arranged in this series.
Series II: Professional Activities and Organizations (1935-2001) consists of thirteen folders and are arranged alphabetically by folder title. The materials include newspaper clippings, programs, correspondence, and other papers on the Cardwell Dawson Choir, Dawson Art Guild, National Association of Negro Musicians, National Negro Opera Company, and National Negro Opera Foundation. The Cardwell Dawson Choir folder contains programs from events held by the choir. The Dawson Art Guild folder contains materials on the annual teas and other events held by the guild along with correspondence. Materials in the NANM folder deal with the Annual Convention. The folder for the NANM Pittsburgh Chapter contains material on the re-establishment of the chapter along with items from the original chapter. The folders on the National Negro Opera Company contain information on the organization's history, programs from productions given by four of the guilds, finding aid for the Library of Congress NNOC Collection, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Historical Marker. The National Negro Opera Foundation folder contains correspondence from Dawson and the foundation along with programs from events held by the foundation.
Series III: Topical Folders (1935-2001) contains eleven folders and are arranged in alphabetical order by folder title. The materials include correspondence, newspaper clippings, interviews, articles from the internet, business cards, and programs. Some of the folder topics include famous African Americans along with relatives of Dawson. Additionally there are folders for business cards, Park Place AME Church, and a WQED interview. The miscellaneous folder contains newspaper clippings, notes, and a program of which the significance and importance is unknown.
Arrangement
- The Mary Cardwell Dawson Papers are housed in three archival boxes and are arranged into three series. The series designated are Personal Materials, Professional Activities and Organizations, and Topical Folders and Other Individuals. The collection contains primarily newspaper clippings, programs, posters, correspondence, and receipts.
Conditions Governing Access
No Restrictions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ms. Barbara E. Lee in 2004.
Preferred Citation
Mary Cardwell Dawson Papers, 1916-2001, MSS#440, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Jacklyn Esposito on July 12, 2006.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Separated Materials
One box of photographs have been separately arranged and described as MSP# 440.
Eight folders of oversized materials have been separately arranged and described as MSO# 440.
Subjects
- Cardwell School of Music (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Cardwell Dawson Choir (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- National Negro Opera Company (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- National Association of Negro Musicians
- Dawson Art Guild (New York, Ny.)
- National Association of Negro Musicians (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Dawson, Mary Cardwell
- Anderson, Marian
- Hairston, Dr. Jester
- Opera--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh