Old-Time Virginia Dulcimer Maker

By Ralph Lee Smith, DPN Archives Vol. 25 No. 2 (1999)

I have been remiss in not paying tribute to old-time Virginia dulcimer maker Samuel F. Russell of Marion, Virginia in this column. Russell is the only person who produced a significant number of Virginia-style dulcimers for sale prior to the post-World-War II folk revival. In his book, “A Catalog of Pre-Revival Appalachian Dulcimers” (University of Missouri Press, 1983, out of print), L. Allen Smith reports that he interviewed Russell’s son, Woodrow, in 1975. Woodrow said that his father had made several hundred instruments. This gives him a reasonable claim to being Virginia’s counterpart to Kentucky’s better-known Uncle Ed Thomas and Jethro Amburgey.

Who Was Russell?

For many years, Russell, a lanky, distinguished-looking man with graying hair and mustache, looked out at me from a wonderful photograph taken by the famous photographer Doris Ulmann. That photo faces page 138 in Allen H. Eaton’s 1937 book, “Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands.” A Virginia dulcimer sits on his lap. There is no information about him in the text.

In time, a certain amount of information turned up in Allen Smith’s book and in the fine booklet accompanying the record, “Virginia Traditions: Ballads From British Tradition” (BRI002), issued by the Blue Ridge Institute, Ferrum, Virginia. On this record, Russell sings “As I Walked Over London’s Bridge,” a version of “Geordie,” Child Ballad #209, in a recording made for the Library of Congress in 1936. The following information is from one or both of the above publications. 

Samuel F. Russell was born in Grayson County, Virginia, in 1860, and died at age 86 in 1946. After his marriage, he moved to Marion in Smyth County, which adjoins Grayson County and lies to the north and west. He learned much of his music from his mother and father. In addition to the dulcimer, he played the fiddle and the fife. Woodrow told Allen Smith that Samuel’s father also made dulcimers, although Woodrow had never seen one of his grandfather’s instruments.

Russell made his living as a carpenter and cabinetmaker. In the 1930s, he played at the Yorktown Centennial and the White Top Folk Festival, a major event that was held from 1931 to 1939. It was apparently at the White Top Festival that he made most of his sales contacts. Woodrow said that his father sold most of his dulcimers to customers in New York and Florida.

In the 1930s, Samuel played in a family band whose members included his son-in-law, Worley Rolling; his son, Joe; and Joe’s son, Robert. A photograph of this ensemble, taken about 1935, which was kindly supplied by the Blue Ridge Institute, accompanies this article.

A Russell Dulcimer Surfaces

Last August, I received an email from Madeline MacNeil, telling me that she had received a message from Seth Austen, who was giving guitar lessons at the Vintage Fret Shop in Ashland, New Hampshire. The Vintage Fret Shop, Seth said, had an old dulcimer hanging on the wall that was for sale. There was a faded, handwritten label inside the lower left soundhole that read, “Made By/S. F. Russell/Marion, Va.” Did Maddie think that Ralph Smith might be interested in it?

Holy Crackers! I called Vintage Fret Shop and bought it over the phone. When it arrived, the dulcimer was accompanied by a letter from David Colburn, proprietor of the Vintage Fret Shop, which read in part as follows: 

“Here’s the Russell dulcimer. We’ve been in business for twenty-eight years, and have sold dozens of used dulcimers, but this is the only one we’ve ever seen that was made before the folk music revival of the nineteen-sixties.

“In my experience, used dulcimers almost never play in tune; we usually modify them so they will, but didn’t alter this one, because I thought it might be historically important. I got the instrument some years ago from a dealer in New York who specialized in wind instruments, and mentioned that he’d had it in stock for longer than he cared to admit.”

Description of the Instrument

The dulcimer is a four-string instrument made of poplar, with a walnut head. It is a near-perfect specimen of Grayson County design, including the “open D” tailpiece. Two round, concentric pieces of wood are attached to either side of the head with small brads, forming the scroll. The tailpiece is tapered, and the pegs are well made and attractive. Russell obviously knew how to work with wood.

In the picture of the family band, Samuel is playing with a quill. When I acquired the dulcimer, I brought it over to Keith Young for a minor repair. Keith shook the dulcimer, and detected a faint sound inside the box. Out of one of the sound holes fell a small splinter of quill!

Russell signed his instruments but didn’t date them. A general guess is that he was principally active as a dulcimer maker in the 1920s and 1930s, although there is the clear possibility that he made at least a few instruments sooner. After all, Russell was 40 years old in 1900, and lived in a dulcimer-rich world.

All right, folks, now you have seen a Russell dulcimer. Please notify this column if you encounter one! We will keep a tally of specimens and will publish reports. 

And thank you, Sam Russell, for making these beautiful instruments. Recognition is overdue.