A fundraising effort to place a tombstone at the unmarked grave of world famous 19th century soprano Madame Anna Bishop buried in St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery. Across six continents and for over four decades, Madame Anna performed to the delight of her audiences.
7562 U.S. 9
Red Hook, NY 12571
(845) 758-1920
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Remember Anna
Remember Anna
In the 1850s, Rock City native and gold and diamond speculator Martin Schultz was on a ship to Australia on business when he met Anna Bishop. Soon after, he became her business manager and they were married in 1858. In September of 1859 the couple visited his relatives in Red Hook and prominent citizens formed a committee to formally ask Madame Anna Bishop (as she was always known) to hold a performance in town. Committee members included such names as Allendorf, Barringer, Elseffer, Fraleigh, Hendricks, Hevenor, Losee, Martin, Massonneau, Pier, and VanBuren. [Red Hook Journal, September 23rd, 1859] Locally, between 1859 and 1881, she graced stages in Red Hook at the Lutheran and Methodist churches, and Gedney’s Hall, in Upper Red Hook at St. John’s Reformed church, and in Rhinebeck at the Starr Institute.
140 years…
…without epitaph. This lonely, unmarked marble post is often missed by all but the keenest eye looking for Anna’s grave.
Click here for a 1917 recording of Amelita Galli-Curci singing Anna’s signature song, composed by Anna’s first husband, “Home, Sweet Home”
In 1884, when Martin Schultz and Maria Phelan, Anna’s dear friend, brought Madame Anna Bishop’s remains from Manhattan to Red Hook, some of the same men who asked her to perform 25 years prior were her pall bearers and “all the prominent places of business were closed in respect to the memory of the deceased while the funeral services were being conducted.” - Poughkeepsie News Press, March 1st, 1884
Life lived large
Many may wonder how someone this famous could have gone 140 years without a proper tombstone. A combination of the fact that the couple lived large and two of Anna’s three children with Bishop lived far away and one predeceased her contributed to the grave being neglected.
It was said that “Anna Bishop Schultz, like most great artists, spent her money freely, and her husband assisted her ably in this diversion…When the cantatrice died in 1884…there was scarcely money enough left to give her a suitable burial.” -The New York Times, January 27th, 1893
Image at right: Graeme Skinner (University of Sydney), "Anna Bishop and Nicholas Bochsa in Australia", Australharmony (an online resource toward the early history of music in colonial Australia): https://sydney.edu.au/paradisec/australharmony/bishop-and-bochsa.php; accessed 24 August 2024
The Remember Anna fundraising committee members are Sarah K. Hermans and Bonnie Wood. It’s Bonnie’s family connection to Anna Bishop that was the impetus for the project.
“From world travel and shipwreck to speculation in gold and diamonds to scandal and romance, I listened closely to the tales of how my Great Uncle Martin had married world renowned soprano Madame Anna Bishop. The tales became even more fantastical while I viewed a lithograph of Madame Anna Bishop hanging on my great grandfather, unofficial local historian and writer Burton Coon’s living room wall. He left a legacy of history in his Trail’s End Farm up in Milan, and I never lost the desire to share these stories. Read my article “Passages: Madame Anna Bishop & Martin Schultz” for the rest of the story about the world famous soprano whose final resting place was unmarked in Red Hook. Remember Anna.” - Bonnie Wood
Tall and proud
The marker that will replace the post will reflect the style of that of Richard E. Barringer, the plot owner and Bishop’s husband’s niece’s husband. The new marker will be carved from durable grey granite and simply carved with large, easy to spot lettering.
If you would like to inquire about further details of the project, email Bonnie Wood at bonniesresearch@gmail.com.