Emma Cecilia Thursby

Emma Cecilia Thursby (born Feb. 21, 1845, Williamsburg [now in Brooklyn], N.Y., U.S.—died July 4, 1931, New York, N.Y.) was an American singer and educator who enjoyed a popular concert career in both Europe and the United States in the 1870s and ’80s. Thursby began singing in church at the age of five. Her musical training began at the Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) Female Seminary (now Moravian College) in 1857. In 1859 her schooling ended when her...