Nellie Weldon Cocroft

Ellen "Nellie" Weldon Cocroft (November 4, 1885 – June 27, 1986) was an American composer.

Nellie Weldon Cocroft
Born
Ellen Estelle Weldon

November 4, 1885
Quitman, Georgia
DiedJune 27, 1986
NationalityAmerican
Other namesN. Weldon Cocroft
Occupationcomposer

Early life

Ellen Estelle Weldon was born in Quitman, Georgia, the daughter of Richard Aycock Weldon and Virginia Frances Massey Weldon. Her father was a marble dealer. She was raised in Thomasville, Georgia. She studied piano performance at Brenau College, graduating in 1905.[1]

Sheet music for "When the Autumn Turns the Forest Leaves to Gold" (1909) by N. Weldon Cocroft

Career

Cocroft was a church organist and choir director in Thomasville. Her husband ran a music store, and published her compositions to sell in the shop under the name "N. Weldon Cocroft".[2] After her divorce, she moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she worked in a law office.[1]

Published works by Nellie Weldon Cocroft included "Kute Kids" (1909), "The Pinywoods Rag" (1909), "When the Autumn Turns the Forest Leaves to Gold" (1909),[3] "The Georgia Cracker: March and Two Step" (1910), and "I'se Gwine to Highball" (1910).[4]

Personal life

Nellie Estelle Weldon married fellow musician Christopher Columbus Cocroft in 1905, in Thomasville. Their son Charles Christopher CoCroft (1910-2001) continued the family's music publishing company until he sold the business in 2000.[5] The Cocrofts divorced in 1924.[6][7] She died in 1986, aged 100 years.[1]

Music by Nellie Weldon Cocroft is part of the permanent "Jazz & Swing Club" exhibit at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon.[8] Pianist Nora Hulse included Cocroft's "Georgia Cracker" on her Ragtime Refreshments (2002), a collection of works by women.[9]

References
  1. Bill Edwards, "Nellie Estelle Weldon Cocroft" RagPiano.com.
  2. Adams, Elliott. "The Story of Cocroft Music Company" The Rag Times (May 1994): 1-4.
  3. Cocroft, N. Weldon (1900). When the autumn turns the forest leaves to gold. Melbourne : Allan & Co.
  4. Tjaden, Ted. Women Composers of Ragtime.
  5. "Charles Christopher CoCroft". Thomasville Times-Enterprise. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  6. "Superior Court Not in Session Today". Thomasville Daily Times Enterprise. April 17, 1923. p. 5. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  7. "Mr. C. C. Cocroft Awarded First Decree in Divorce Case". Thomasville Daily Times Enterprise. October 21, 1924. p. 5. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Georgia Music Hall of Fame: Permanent Exhibitions". Georgia Tourist Guide. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. Ragtime refreshments: 25 rags by women composers., Nora Hulse, 2002, OCLC 129573472, retrieved 2019-07-21
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