Thomas Payne Westendorf (February 23, 1848 – April 19, 1923) was an American songwriter, composer, and educator. Westendorf wrote around 500 musical pieces and songs, but was most famous for his hit song, "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen." It was the only Westendorf song that lived long enough to receive rights protection renewal. It was republished many times throughout the years and sung by singers including Elvis Presley, Mitch Miller, Bing Crosby, and Johnny Cash. "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" was listed among the most popular American ballads in 1887, and gained recognition as one of the most beloved songs in music history. It was included in a number of musical collections and used in motion pictures, including Mrs. Parkington and Magic Town. It even made a brief appearance on an early episode of "Star Trek" (September 29, 1966).
Despite the fact that Westendorf became recognized in musical circles and received income from composing, he choose to continue his career in education.
As an educator, Westendorf occupied positions of a teacher, musical tutor, and superintendent in a number of reformatory schools across the U.S. His longest position was as superintendent at Chehalis Reform School. He was one of the first educators to start teaching music in reformatory schools. Westendorf led successful boy choruses, male quartets, and glee clubs in many institutions. His work at reform schools received mixed feedback and often drew controversy. On one hand, many children who studied under Westendorf's supervision were paroled and led successful lives. By some accounts, he managed public funds responsibly and the institutions under his management were praised as model schools. On the other hand, in many cases Westendorf was forced to resign his positions, and often moved from state to state. The reasons for his resignations were unclear, controversial, or accompanied by unspecified "charges."
Early life
Westendorf was born in Bowling Green, Virginia on February 23, 1848 into the family of John B. Westendorf, a German immigrant, and Mary Margaret Parham, who was born in Virginia.
In 1850, Westendorf, his parents, and other members of the family were listed in the census of Caroline County; after that, the family moved to Chicago. They lived in a poor neighborhood, where poverty and "petty thievery" was commonplace. In 1863, Westendorf and his friend were caught stealing goods and money from a local store. Because he was a minor, Westendorf was sent to reform school.
In 1865 and 1866, Westendorf studied law, piano, and violin in Chicago, and later the family moved to Delavan in Walworth County, Wisconsin.
Music career Gaining recognition
In his younger years, Westendorf wanted to be a songwriter, but couldn't find a publisher. Around 1870, Westendorf met fellow musician George Persley (George W. Brown), who encouraged Westendorf's abilities as a composer and later played a big role in making Westendorf's hit song, "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen." They became friends and worked together on multiple occasions.
Westendorf and Persley collaborated on about 28 songs together. According to conflicting research, the musicians may have had equal responsibilities–Westendorf wrote the lyrics and Persley the music–but there was a possibility that it was Westendorf who wrote the majority of songs while Persley made only "minor revisions of the music." Regardless, their first collaboration, published in 1872, became the first official milestone in Westendorf's musical career.
Westendorf didn't write anything else until 1875–1876, when several new songs came out, including "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," which brought him recognition in musical circles and among a number of music publishers. John Church and Company bought the rights to the song and owned it for 56 years. In around 1930, the original version of "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" reverted to public domain, but was difficult to find. By 1947, the song had been re-made into 40 different arrangements, owned by 27 different publishers. During the partnership with John Church and Company, Westendorf received a salary of $50 per month as payment for his work and investment into any future material. As a vast array of other publishers started to publish his songs, between 10 and 45 Westendorf songs were published every year for a span of 15 years.
Decline of musical career and other activity
Starting in 1876, there was a high demand for Westendorf's songs and he wrote steadily, publishing a vast array of songs each year. His peak activity as a composer came in 1880, when he published 45 works (20 of which were piano pieces for children). In 1888, he was seen as a successful musician with several pieces "having an extensive sale."
After that, the number of Westendorf's compositions decreased yearly. He kept publishing until 1894, then paused and later published six new pieces between 1899 and 1904.
In 1889, Westendorf led the song service of a religious convention in Marion, Kentucky. He visited the first Southern Convention of Christian Workers as the director of the "daily exercises in Rudimentary Music" and "the study of the Bible and methods of Christian work" and held a public choir class.
Famous songs and dedications
Westendorf often dedicated songs to friends, family members, or to people he had just met to set up communication. In the course of his life, Westendorf wrote around 500 musical pieces and songs, including the following:
"Our Little Darling's Grave," published in Plainfield in 1875 "Jeanie is My Bonnie Lassie" a campaign song "Vote Like You Shot Boys," written and presented in Chicago in 1876 "Write to Me Often, Darling" "Gingham Quickstep," a piece written for and dedicated to the Amateur Orchestra and later performed by them on the local concert "The Shamrock I Brought from Old Erin," written and composed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1884, and dedicated to Rev. Father M. W. Whelan, a spiritual adviser of St. Joseph's Infirmary "To Love and Be Loved" "The Bridge that Burned at Chatsworth," written after the Chatsworth train wreck of 1887 "The Face I Used to Know," written in 1893 and dedicated to a Chehalis singer, Tima P. Misserly "Riding on the Old Cayuse," written for Westendorf's son-in-law Joe Gabel "That Old Sweetheart of Mine," written in 1894 "There, Little Girl, Don't Cry," from the James Whitcomb Riley poem "Little Boy Blue," the adaptation to music of the poem by Eugene Field "I Want to Hear Their Happy Songs Again," dedicated to Adaline J. Coffman, wife of the president of the Coffman–Dobson Bank.
However, only two of his songs become widely known: "Oh Gib Me That Watermelon" and "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," the latter being the only song in Westendorf's career to merit the renewal of its copyright period after its first 28 years of protection.
The story behind "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen"
In an article written in 1887, the song "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" was listed among the most popular American ballads; research in 1969 stated that the song had "proved to be one of the most beloved ballads of all time." The song was called "one of the immortal American ballads" by Thomas A. Edison. He sent Westendorf a letter with a check for $250, as payment for using the song. Another famous person of that time, Henry Ford, was reported to be hunting for an autographed copy of the sheet music for the Ford Museum. The song's first public performance was on an organ in the Family Four Cottage, and later by a band in the Plainfield, Indiana Town Hall. The song was often republished by different owners, added to a number of musical collections, and arranged by different musicians, including Elvis Presley, Mitch Miller, Bing Crosby, and Johnny Cash. It was used in a radio program, Orphans of Divorce, and in motion pictures, including Mrs. Parkington and Magic Town.
There are many contradictions in regard to where and when the song was written and the inspiration behind it. Academic research states its place of origin as Plainfield, Indiana, in 1875, which is supported by a number of other journalistic sources. However, as Westendorf frequently moved from state to state as he changed jobs, some 20th century sources tried to tie the creation of the song to their own town or state. For example, at the time of Westendorf's death, local Washingtonian newspapers promoted the story that the song was written in Washington State. This story was later debunked in an academic article. Other sources tied the song to Louisville, Kentucky, but this was also discredited by later research.
According to a number of academic and other sources, the song was written in 1875. However, there are multiple local accounts dating the creation of the song to other years in an attempt to tie the composition of this popular music to their locality. These accounts arose in 1883, 1876, and even the 1890s. In fact, in 1883, the song was already routinely included in musical collections thus rendering these local accounts erroneous.
As for the story behind the song, academic sources and a number of newspapers agree that the song was written by Westendorf during the time he and his wife Jane were first separated after their wedding, due to her desire to visit her family in New York. The inspiration came from the composition written by George Persley (George W. Brown), "Barney, Take Me Home Again." Persley was considered one of the most famous composers of his time. Westendorf often collaborated with him on compositions and they "appeared to be close friends." The fact that Westendorf's song was inspired by Persley's was partially confirmed by Westendorf himself in a letter published in a Boston Sunday Globe article in 1893.
Other stories are dismissed as "parochial legends." These stories include one that stated Westendorf had an Irish wife named Kathleen, who got ill after the loss of their newborn baby and missed her homeland; in the story, Westendorf took her home and dedicated the song to her. Other stories were similar, though they excluded the detail about the baby, stating that Mrs. Westendorf was persuaded by her parents to return to New York, or that Kathleen missed Memphis, Tennessee, from where, the story went, the couple had moved to Washington State. When it became widely known that the real name of Westendorf's wife was Jane, the stories mutated into different versions. In one, she was German, and Kathleen was her pet name, given by the husband; in another, the song, inspired by a "frayed copy of an old composition" ("Barney, I'll Take You Home Again" by George Parsley) was written after the Westendorfs' baby died. In yet another, Westendorf's wife Jane, whose pet name was Kathleen, allegedly went ill and was homesick for New York and her family. However, all these stories were eventually dismissed.
Teaching career
Schools in Chicago and Plainfield (1871– 1876)
Despite Westendorf's musical talent, he was always interested in teaching. He pursued a career in education, combining it with music and working as a musical teacher. Starting in 1871, Westendorf became a band teacher at the Chicago Reform School. He was credited with organizing the first juvenile band in Chicago and being one of the first educators to teach music to children in reformatory schools. Westendorf led boy choruses, male quartets, and glee clubs in different states, including Washington, Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
After the Chicago Fire of 1871, Westendorf went to Plainfield, Indiana, and was listed as living there in 1875. He worked as a music instructor at the Indiana House of Refuge for Juvenile Offenders (later Indiana Boys' School), and, according to other articles, was assistant superintendent and an officer there. In Plainfield, Westendorf met his future wife, Jane, a teacher in Plainfield public schools.