The Gant Family
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Gant family is part of an elite group of musicians documented by the noted folklorist John A. Lomax and included in the Library of Congress music collection in Washington, D.C. The Gants brought tales and songs of Appalachia and the old world to the Texas hill country. They overcame hardship and strife, and played a significant role in the rise of the folk music scene in Austin. The family’s influence has transcended Texas, and their songs have since been recorded by generations of diverse artists. George and Maggie Gant and their seven children arrived in Austin in 1932. They were migrant Southern farmers directly affected by drought and the Great Depression. Their story was similar in many ways to that of other families of the era, but their musical abilities set them apart. They often performed at local folk festivals, and their oldest son, Nephi, sang on local radio shows. It was the family’s musical gift that attracted John Lomax, who grew up in Texas and was curator of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. Along with his son, Alan, Lomax traveled throughout the U.S. and the world to document and record folk songs for the Library of Congress music catalogue. Between 1934 and 1936, the Lomaxes recorded fifty traditional songs performed by the Gant family in their home near Deep Eddy Pool. Five of their songs were published in the Lomax book Our Singing Country. The Gant family was well-known throughout the state, and performed at the Texas Centennial celebration in 1936. Tragically, Nephi was murdered in Austin that same year, and his death forever changed the family. They never again recorded together and eventually left Austin and dispersed throughout the country. 175 years Texas Independence * 1836 – 2011
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When George and Maggie Gant and their seven children arrived in Austin in 1932, they were just one more Southern farm family driven west by drought and the Great Depression — but the ballads they carried from Appalachia and the old world set them apart. From their home near Deep Eddy Pool, folklorist John Lomax and his son Alan recorded some fifty traditional songs for the Library of Congress between 1934 and 1936, and five appeared in the Lomax book 'Our Singing Country.' The family performed at the 1936 Texas Centennial, but the murder of their eldest son Nephi that same year scattered them, and they never recorded together again.
Why it matters
The Gants show how the oral folk tradition of ordinary migrant families became the raw material for America's twentieth-century folk revival, preserved in the national archive and re-recorded by later generations of artists.
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Related people
- · John A. Lomax
- · Alan Lomax
- · George Gant
- · Maggie Gant
- · Nephi Gant
Related events
- · Great Depression
- · Texas Centennial (1936)
Themes & tags
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