Mary Sands
| Mary Sands | |
|---|---|
Mary Sands circa 1920
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mary Bullman Sands |
| Also known as | Singing Mary |
| Born |
April 8, 1872 Madison County, North Carolina, United States |
| Died | April 2, 1949 (aged 76) |
| Genres | Folk ballads |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
Mary Bullman Sands (April 8, 1872 – April 2, 1949), from Allanstand in Madison County, North Carolina, was a singer of old traditional ballads during the early part of the 20th century. She was known locally as "Singing Mary" due to her singing talent and extensive knowledge of the words and melodies of many old-time traditional songs that had been passed down through previous generations. In 1916, English folklorist Cecil Sharp visited Madison County to collect and record traditional folk songs being sung in America that would have originated generations earlier in the British Isles. Sands sang 25 songs for him, 23 of which he included in his book, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians.
Mary Sands née Bullman was born on April 8, 1872 in the Laurel section of Madison County, North Carolina. Her parents were John Wesley Bullman (1847–1895) and Rosannah Shelton (aka Franklin) (1836–1909). She had a twin sister, Martha Bullman (1872–1897), who died while in her twenties. She also had an older sister, Melvina ("Jane") Bullman (c. 1865 – c. 1930) and an older brother, Christopher Columbus ("Sonny") Bullman (1869–1935). John Wesley Bullman (called "Wesley") was the second husband of Rosannah. Her first husband, Hugh Wallin (1826–1864), was killed in the U.S. Civil War. Rosannah and Hugh Wallin had five sons - Sands's half brothers - some of whom also became well-known traditional ballad singers.
In 1892, Mary Bullman married James Monroe Sands (1849–1923), who had moved to Madison County from Danville, Virginia. Together they had ten children, none of whom are currently living.
When Cecil Sharp came to Madison County in 1916 as part of his project to collect old English ballads, Sands was 44 years old and was eight and a half months pregnant with her tenth child. Of the 39 different Madison County singers that sang for Sharp, Sands provided him the second largest number of songs, 25, with Jane Hicks Gentry of Hot Springs, North Carolina providing him the most, a total of 70, 40 of which were published in his book English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. After Sharp's visit, Sands continued to sing, became very active in her church and wrote a number of unpublished religious songs. She was a lifelong resident of Madison County, except for brief stays with her children during the latter part of her life as her health began to fail.
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