Fiddle Diddle Geneology

After our meal I made a cup of tea and asked questions, and one in particular that I'd been meaning to ask for ages.

"How exactly did you find Henry Reed?"

It was 1966 and Alan was in Durham, N.C. doing graduate work. He'd go up into the mountains to meet with old fiddlers, record their music and learn their reportoire, and then return to share whatever he found with the rest of the world. He worked with one old man, Oscar Right, who seemed to have a particular style of tunes under his belt. When Alan asked where Oscar had learned his repertoire, Alan was given Henry Reed's name and then sent over the mountain to meet with him. It was supper time when he showed up, and he was invited in....

And that's how it began, how he found his pot of gold. Now, in the field of folklore, people refer to "the big find," "the thing that makes you," as your "Henry Reed."

Henry reed was 81 when Alan met with him. He was born in 1850-- before the golden pin was driven in the transcontinental railroad, before the official close of the frontier. I continued asking Alan questions. I wanted to know what it was like meeting with Henry, and if he was sent to meet with other fiddlers.

"No, Henry was too old by that time... but he talked about older fiddlers before him. And he sure talked a lot about Quince Dillion."

Quince Dillion (commonly known as Quince Dillon, but his name is really Dillion) was born in 1826! As an older man, Dillion was Henry Reed's main mentor.

That blew my mind.

1826, Quince Dillon. Fought in the Mexican War and Civil War, taught Henry Reed.... who taught Alan.

Such a lovely link