Corn Meal

New Orleans is famed for its street musicians, but who was the first to gain a name?

How do you buy corn meal? Do you drive to the grocery store and buy a 4lb bag of Martha White? Are you old enough to remember the milkman? I’ll bet you’re not old enough to remember the corn meal man.

In the late 1830s, a figure made his appearance on the New Orleans streets and in the pages of the Picayune.

An old black man drove through the streets in his horse-drawn cart, selling corn meal door-to-door, and singing as he drove. He had a peculiar range of bass and falsetto, and a repertoire of songs, including “Old Rosin the Bow”, “Coal Black Rose” and “Sitch a Gittin Up Stairs”.

The original “Jim Crow” was American actor Thomas Darmouth Rice, who brought his blackface act to London in 1836. Black actors were unheard of; only blackface performers were allowed on-stage to caricature the white impression of black people.

The most popular playwright in America was Nathaniel Bannister. He came to New Orleans in 1837 at the age of 24, heard of Corn Meal, and quickly wrote the melodrama “Life In New Orleans.” It was performed at the St Charles Theater for the first time on May 13 1837, and starred Corn Meal singing his songs, complete with his horse and cart on-stage. The advertisement hoped that putting an actual black person on-stage would “give offense to none.”

The evening was a “benefit” for the Bannister’s, where a portion of the box office was given to the beneficiaries; Bannister died ten years later at the age of 33.

The Picayune said that every man, woman and child, white, black and colored, knew Corn Meal. New Orleans was the 3rd largest city in the United States, with a population of 100,000, with about 23,000 slaves and 19,000 free people of color, who were known as f.m.c (men) and f.w.c (women).

The performance was such a hit, that it was repeated 3 days later as a benefit for the actor Radcliffe.

The Picayune was not impressed by the puritanical review of Corn Meal by the Reverend Lawrence, editor of the Observer.

Before the telegraph, news traveled slowly between cities: crew or passengers on steamships would bring newspapers down the river from a distant city, and the local newspaper would reprint the news. Ships arrived at the Levee, and the Picayune hired Corn Meal to deliver papers and mail to them on top of his corn meal. The joke in the article below is that all of the news events mentioned had happened years before 1838.

Mardi Gras was already a long established holiday in New Orleans; Corn Meal marched with the revelers in 1839, but the giraffe did not.

Of all the outlandish turn outs it has ever been our lot to witness the one which graced our streets yesterday takes the lead. It was longer, broader, further through, and larger round than any procession that has preceded it in this goodly city, and occasioned an excitement and drew together a crowd of people such as has never before congregated in New Orleans within our knowledge.

By half past three every window, balcony, stoop and door-way in Royal street was filled. The knowledge that the masqueraders were to move up that street, drew everybody there, and the beauty of the day, the beauty of the ladies, together with the general interest manifested by all, rendered the scene uncommonly exciting.

About four, the grand procession, with banners, fish poles, morus multicaulis [mulberry] trees, badges, and music, took up the line of march. We can only say this much of the music; it was of a species decidedly republican, every one having an instrument adapted to his fancy, and playing such tune as came first in his head, or no tune at all. Of the procession, some rode in splendid barouches, some on drays; some were mounted on splendidly caparisoned Arabians, others on surly-looking, dogged donkeys. There were, so far as dress went, heathen and Christians, Turks and kangaroos, ancient Greeks and modern Choctaws; friars and beggars; knights and princesses, hard-favored ones at that; polar bears and chicken-cocks; “Old Corn Meal” and somebody we took for Mrs. Trollope – in short, we saw everybody and every living thing in the moving mass except the giraffe, and even that might have been along in disguise, as there were several tall customers.

The grand squad moved up St. Charles to Julia and then down Camp, directly by our office to Chartres street. Where or how they broke up is more than we can say. We understood it to be their intention to join in the masquerading scene of Gustavus IIl, which was performed last evening at the Theatre d’Orléans. They were well dressed for at it any rate.

Thus has passed “Mardi Gras,” and may we all live to see fifty more just like it. The whole affair was got up by some of our most public spirited young men, whose design was not only to create sport and merriment, but they also had a charitable object in view, as whatever sum was raised, over and above the expenses, is to be given to the Orphan Asylum or some other institution of a similar character.

Times Picayune February 13 1839

The giraffe had arrived in December, and was on exhibit alongside the armless man Sanders Nellis.

Corn Meal was missed if his songs were not heard.

Corn Meal was esteemed as an original.

We like to contemplate a character — to note the working of the ruling passion within, and mark the eccentricities which it sends forth — with men who counterfeit the actions or plagiarise the behavior of others, we hold no fellowship. Originals only find a place in the portfolio of our esteem. It is not the barrel-looking body, the happy phiz, the aguish go-cart, nor the pig-like squeak of his falsetto voice that commends Old Corn Meal to our esteem; he has won our regard because he is an original.

Times Picayune, June 19 1839

Old Corn Meal was singing merrily through the streets yesterday, the rain all the while pouring in torrents. Nothing can damp his spirits.

Times Picayune, November 24 1839

Corn Meal continued to work both the streets and the stage.

Corn Meal for the last time!

Even on the streets, he was triumphant.

John Norton bested Alessandro Gambati in a famous trumpet duel at Niblo’s Garden in New York City on August 10 1834.

The Editor of the Picayune was particularly fond of Corn Meal’s serenades.

Corn Meal began to expand his repertoire, including tunes from The Duenna, by English playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Corn Meal needed a source for his corn meal. Throughout the city, slaves woud spend their days grinding corn, which their owners would sell to merchants and vendors such as Corn Meal.

One named Ozy grew tired of corn and ran away in early 1842. His owner Thomas Alonzo died nine months later; when his estate was probated eight years later, Ozy was still listed as a runaway, so he likely made his way north to freedom.

Corn Meal died on Friday May 20 1842, and was memorialized in verse in the Picayune.

The youngster who took his place was scorned; the whole world was degenerating.

Mrs Corn Meal died penniless on January 2 1843, and was buried at the city’s expense.

So who was Corn Meal? All we know is that his son-in-law was Peter Palmer.

The 1840 Census for New Orleans shows that Peter was aged 24-35, with a wife (a free woman of color) aged 24-35, and that he owned one female slave aged 24-35. There is no further trace of this Peter, nor of Corn Meal, and so they vanish into the unknown.