Miss Elizabeth Garrett
Elizabeth Garrett

Miss Elizabeth Garrett

Elizabeth Garrett (1884-1947) was a nationally acclaimed soprano and composer. She wrote the songs "El Paso" and "O, Fair New Mexico", state song of New Mexico. Garrett had been rendered blind almost from birth by an excessive application of blue vitrol (a copper sulfate chemical) to her eyes. Blue vitrol was used to prevent infection, a common practice in those days. Elizabeth received a high school education and basic training at the Texas School for the Blind in Austin and became a qualified voice and piano teacher. She soon found herself performing in respected theaters in Chicago and New York. She was called the "Songbird of the Southwest", because of her compositions about the far-west land of New Mexico. The New Mexico Legislature was so impressed by her song "O, Fair New Mexico", that they made it the state song in 1917. Her father was Pat Garrett, sheriff of Lincoln County, NM. During that time, he captured and killed Billy the Kid. He served as sheriff in New Mexico before Garrett was appointed El Paso Collector of Customs in 1901. The family stayed in El Paso for 5 years, before they returned to Dona Ana County.

Area: Central / Downtown

Collection: Stout-Feldman Studio Photographs

Source: University of Texas at El Paso Library - Special Collections Department

Reference ID: PH074-1610-2

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

DIGIE El Paso Museum of History, Jan 7, 2015

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.Picture shows entry to ...

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

DIGIE

DIGIE under construction January 7, 2015.

Head Nurse

Photograph of Ms. Christine Bonds who was in charge of the ...

Sister Aloysius Williams - El Paso, Texas

Sister Aloysius Williams administrator of Hotel Dieu School of ...

Ring Around The Sun - El Paso, Texas

While walking around Federal Courthouse on Magoffin, captured ...

Railroad, view towards downtown, 1960

The image shows the railroad tracks and some trains leading to ...

railroads, view to Juarez

The image shows the railroad tracks, a passenger and a ...

railroad in 1960

The image shows the railroad and trains in 1960. They are ...

DIGIE

Digital Wall - January 12, 2015.

DIGIE

Digital Wall - January 12, 2015.

DIGIE

Members of Gibson Group preparing to install the Digital Wall.

DIGIE

Members of Gibson Group preparing to install the Digital Wall.

DIGIE

Digital Wall - January 12, 2015.

DIGIE

Digital Wall - January 12, 2015.

DIGIE

Digital Wall - January 12, 2015. Allan Smith and ...

DIGIE

Digital Wall - January 12, 2015. Front - near the museum's old ...

home.search_collection