Cheryl Keneaster Nelson Collection

Collection

Identifier: A-0324

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Cheryl Keneaster Nelson Collection offers an insight into music that was popular in the first half Twentieth Century in America, specifically in Texas and the area around Houston, via a collection of piano sheet music published in America between 1909 and 1976. (Very few pieces after the mid-fifties.) Music styles represented are varied, including a number of romantic ballads, ragtime and blues, patriotic songs, novelty pieces, and a wide variety of dance pieces such as waltzes and foxtrots. The years around The World Wars are particularly well represented. Cultural concerns surrounding the wars are apparent in song titles: patriotic tunes such as “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” novelties such as “The Ragtime Soldier Man,” nostalgic longings for home such as “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” and romantic fears of separation such as “Someone Else May Be There While I’m Gone.” The 1920s and 30s are also well represented, showing the evolution of American popular music through showtunes, jazz, and regional “hillbilly music” of Texas. Post-WWII is less well represented, with most entries representing nostalgic songs in the style of previous decades, reprints of old songs, or material that would be popular to more traditional listeners, such as showtunes. While representing only a small portion of the collection, there are several pieces showcasing common prejudices against African Americans at the time, including minstrel show songs, racial slurs in song titles, and images of performers in blackface. The collection is organized chronologically. Overall, the collection will prove very useful to researchers interested in the evolution of popular culture, performance, and music during the first half of the Twentieth Century.

Dates

Creation: 1909-1984

Conditions Governing Access

Open for Research.

Biographical / Historical

Ethel (Porter) Heinze was born on July 10, 1898 in Tyler, Smith County, Texas, to William E. Porter and Emma Porter. She married Louis D. Heinze on June 1, 1921, and they had two daughters and one son. Louis died in 1963. In 1975 she married Alexander McCambridge. Ethel died on August 15, 1997 at the age of 99. She played the piano in a band, and continued to play in her church into her 80s, even after going blind.

Marie L. (Heinze) Keneaster was born on March 19, 2022 in Houston, Texas, to Louis D. Heinze and Ethel (Porter) Heinze. She married Kenneth K. Keneaster on January 17, 1942, and they had three sons and two daughters. She moved to Nacogdoches in 2004 after the death of her husband, and died on April 2, 2006, at the age of 84. She learned piano from her mother.

Cheryl Keneaster Nelson was born November 19, 1943 in Houston, Harris County, Texas, to Kenneth K. Keneaster and Marie L. (Heinze) Keneaster. She Married Jack Nelson in 1964, and they had two sons. She died in Nacogdoches, Texas, on October 7, 2013 at 69 years of age. She learned piano from her mother and grandmother

Extent

2.25 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Bibliography

“Cheryl Nelson Obituary,” Laird Funeral Home, October, 2013, Accessed April 2, 2026, https://www.lairdfh.net/obituary/Cheryl-Nelson.

“Ethel Marie McCambridge [Ethel Marie Porter],” Case Number 87171, August 15, 1997, Texas Death Indexes, 1903-2000, Texas Department of Health, Austin, Texas, accessed via Ancestry.com April 2, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4876/records/3756678.

“Ethel Porter,” Line 46, Sheet 1A, Enumeration District 3, Population Schedule, Angelina County, Texas, 1910 U.S. Census, Bureau of the Census, NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives, Washington, D.C., accessed via Ancestry.com April 2, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/records/136572392.

Handwritten note from the Nelson family included in the folder for the Cheryl Keneaster Nelson Collection, Cheryl Keneaster Nelson Collection, A-324, East Texas Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.

“Kenneth K. Keneaster,” Dwelling Number 148, Sheet 13, Enumeration District 263-714, Population Schedule, Houston, Harris County, Texas, 1950 U.S. Census, Bureau of the Census, NAID: 43290879. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, Record Group 29. National Archives at Washington, DC., accessed via Ancestry.com April 2, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/records/188330556?tid=&pid=&queryId=62aef0c9-5292-45e7-8cb9-f4cd0d898a9b&_phsrc=RlQ169&_phstart=successSource.

“Louis D. Heinze,” Household Number 469, Sheet 20A, Enumeration District 101-22A, Population Schedule, Harris County, Texas, 1940 U.S. Census, Bureau of the Census, T627, 4,643 rolls, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., accessed via Ancestry.com April 2, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442/records/158371669.

“Marie Keneaster Obituary,” Legacy Remembers, Legacy.com, Apr. 5, 2006, accessed April 2, 2026, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/marie-keneaster-obituary?id=26966795

“Marriage License of L. D. Heinze and Miss Ethel Porter,” Number 51441, Page 244, Book 26, Harris County, Texas, Marriage Records, 1921-1922, Harris County Clerk's Office; Houston, Texas, accessed via Ancestry.com April 2, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9168/records/926231335.

“Marriage License of K. K. Keneaster and Miss Marie Louise Heinze,” Number 62880, Page 251-33-1172, Harris County, Texas, Marriage Records, 1941-1942, Harris County Clerks Office, Houston, Texas, accessed via Ancestry.com April 2, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9168/records/926072475.

“Memorial Page for Ethel Marie Porter McCambridge,” gravestone located in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, Texas, accessed via findagrave.com, memorial ID 241184885, April 2, 2026, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/241184885/ethel_marie-mccambridge#source.