Morris Township near Frederickstown in Knox County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Snowden Family Band
Photographed by Craig Doda, September 27, 2025
1. Snowden Family Band Marker
Inscription.
Snowden Family Band. . The Snowden Family Band was an acclaimed African - American stringband who performed in and around Knox County for nearly seventy years, from the 1850s into the 1920s. Buried in Morris Chapel Cemetery are Thomas Snowden (1803-1856), his wife Ellen Cooper Snowden (1817-1894), and their nine children: Oliver, Sophia, Mary, Ben, Lew, Phebe, Martha, Elsie, and Annie. Born into slavery in Maryland, Thomas and Ellen separately relocated to Knox County and to freedom during the 1820s. They married in 1834. In the 1850s, the six surviving children formed a band under Ellen's direction. Talented musicians, the Snowden Family performed banjo and fiddle music for public events and at their homestead near Mount Vernon. Many believe that the song "Dixie," attributed To minstrel Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904), originated with the Snowden Family Band.
The Snowden Family Band was an acclaimed African - American stringband who performed in and around Knox County for nearly seventy years, from the 1850s into the 1920s. Buried in Morris Chapel Cemetery are Thomas Snowden (1803-1856), his wife Ellen Cooper Snowden (1817-1894), and their nine children: Oliver, Sophia, Mary, Ben, Lew, Phebe, Martha, Elsie, and Annie. Born into slavery in Maryland, Thomas and Ellen separately relocated to Knox County and to freedom during the 1820s. They married in 1834. In the 1850s, the six surviving children formed a band under Ellen's direction. Talented musicians, the Snowden Family performed banjo and fiddle music for public events and at their homestead near Mount Vernon. Many believe that the song "Dixie," attributed To minstrel Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904), originated with the Snowden Family Band.
Erected 2023 by Morris Township Trustees - Ohio History Connection. (Marker Number 18-42.)
W. Marker is near Frederickstown, Ohio, in Knox County. It is in Morris Township. It is at the intersection of Hyatt Road (County Road 399) and Divelbiss Road (County Road 279), in the median on Hyatt Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15323 Hyatt Road, Mount Vernon OH 43050, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Amish Country. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 28, 2025, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 92 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on September 28, 2025, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
