Charlotte Milligan Fox facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charlotte Milligan Fox
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by Allison photographers (cropped)
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| Born |
Charlotte Olivia Milligan
17 March 1864 Omagh, County Tyrone
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| Died | 25 March 1916 (aged 52) London
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| Occupation | composer, music collector |
Charlotte Olivia Milligan Fox (born March 17, 1864 – died March 25, 1916) was a talented Irish musician. She was a composer, meaning she wrote music. She also loved collecting traditional folk songs and writing about them.
Contents
Charlotte's Early Life and Education
Charlotte Milligan was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, on March 17, 1864. Her parents were Seaton F. Milligan and Charlotte Burns. She was the oldest of eleven children. Nine of them grew up, including her sisters Alice Milligan and Edith Wheeler, who became poets.
All the children went to the Methodist College in Belfast. Charlotte studied piano and learned how to compose music. She went to famous music schools in London, Frankfurt, and Milan.
Moving to London and Collecting Music
In 1892, Charlotte married Charles Eliot Fox and moved to London. She had a big passion for Irish traditional music. In 1904, she started the Irish Folk Song Society in London. She worked as the main helper for the society.
Charlotte traveled around Ireland to find and collect old Irish songs and tunes. From 1909 to 1910, she went on trips to County Antrim with her sisters, Edith and Alice. They listened to Irish singers, wrote down their songs, and then shared them in The Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society.
In 1910, Charlotte visited the east coast of America. She helped start a branch of the Irish Folk Song Society in New York. She also collected and arranged music for a play called The Bardic Recital, which was performed in Washington.
Rediscovering History and Her Legacy
Charlotte made an important discovery: she found the old papers of Edward Bunting. He was a famous musician who collected Irish harp music a long time ago. After Charlotte passed away, her will made sure these papers went to Queen's University Belfast.
Based on these papers, she wrote a book called The Annals of the Irish Harpers in 1911. This book helped people become interested in the Irish harp and Edward Bunting's work again. Charlotte's sister, Alice Milligan, took care of her before she died in London on March 25, 1916.
After her death, people remembered Charlotte in different ways. The Irish Booklover wrote about her, and The Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society published a poem and a special memory of her by her sister Alice.
Charlotte as a Composer
Charlotte Fox wrote many songs. Some of her songs were based on traditional Irish tunes. Her sisters, Alice Milligan and Edith Wheeler, often wrote the words for her music. She also composed music for a play called The Last Feast of the Fianna, which was written by her sister Alice.
The Irish Folk Song Society
In 1904, Charlotte Fox helped start the Irish Folk Song Society in London with Alfred Perceval Graves. This society was connected to the Folk Song Society, which had started earlier.
The main goal of the Irish Folk Song Society was to find, collect, and publish Irish songs and ballads. They also held talks and concerts about Irish music. Many important people were involved, including the Earl of Shaftesbury as President. Charlotte was a key member of the publication committee, which created the Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society. This journal shared the songs and research they collected.
Remembering Charlotte Fox
In 2010 and 2011, the Ulster History Circle placed special plaques to honor famous people from Ulster. Charlotte Milligan Fox and her sister Alice Milligan have a plaque on the Omagh Library in County Tyrone. This helps people remember their important contributions to Irish music and culture.
Her Published Works
Charlotte Fox wrote a significant book and many articles.
Book
- Annals of the Irish Harpers (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1911)
Articles in the Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society
Charlotte Milligan Fox helped edit the early issues of the Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society. She wrote many articles for each issue, sharing the songs and tunes she collected. For example, she contributed:
- In volume 1, she shared three airs: "A Kerry Caoine", "Lament of a Druid", and "Lament, on leaving Glendowan". She noted where she heard these songs.
- In volume 2, she shared the ballad "Moorlough Mary" and the tune "Catherine Ogie".
- In later volumes, she continued to publish ballads and airs she collected with her sister Edith Wheeler. She also included songs from the Bunting manuscripts with both Irish and English words.
Her articles often included notes about where she found the songs and who sang them. She also wrote reviews of other music collections and notices about the society's concerts.
Some of Her Compositions
Charlotte Fox composed many pieces, mostly songs for voice and piano. Here are a few examples:
- After Aughrim (1898)
- My Prayer for You (1898)
- The Flower of the Flock (1899)
- The Ramblin' Irishman (1901)
- Ochanee. Ulster Folk Song (1903)
- Songs of the Irish Harpers (1910)
- Three Irish Folk-Songs (1913)
She also wrote some chamber music, like Three Waterford Airs for violin and piano (1915).
