Mary Hissem
The National Encyclopedia of American Biography Vol
XIV-James F White & Co
Mary Hissem-DeMoss, singer, was born at California, Ky. July 27,
1871, daughter of Martin Luther and Rachel (Galloway) Hissem, and a descendant
of Martin Hissem, a native of Holland who came to American early in the
seventeenth century and settled in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His
son Levi, born in Pennsylvania in 1816 moved to Campbell County in 1870, along
with his son, Martin L who is the father of the subject of this sketch.
She also traces her descent from Andrew Galloway, her great grandmother, a native of Scotland, who settled in Baltimore, MD, early in the seventeenth century.
Mrs. DeMoss was educated in the public schools of New Richmond, Ohio, and having developed vocal powers at an early age, she was sent to the College of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio and was graduated there in 1893. While at this college she gave instruction in singing and remained until 1895, having received a scholarship for the voice, and taking a two years post-graduate course.
Her first position was as soloist at Christ Episcopal Church in Cincinnati. In 1900 she moved to New York City and became soloist at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Probably no singer of recent years has made more rapid strides in the oratorio and concert field than Mrs. DeMoss, who since her debut she has become known as one of the best equipped sopranos in America. She has sung under the baton of Theadore Thomas, Walter Damrosch, Emil Paur, Victor Herbert and Frank van der Stucken, and in 1898 she made a tour to the Pacific coast with the New York Symphony orchestra under Walter Damrouch.
Her voice is a clear soprano of excellent quality, full of mellowness with almost unlimited power in the upper register, brilliant in tone, elastic in quality and always under control. H E Krehbiel, musical critic of The New York Tribune has referred to her as "a sympathetic personage with a voice at once lovely in quality, flexible and penetrating, a taste that seems the fruit of musicianly instincts. And although but a few years before the public she has already reached the very first rank of American singers. She has appeared as leading soloist at the Worcester Music Festival, the Cincinnati May Festival and the Bethlehem Bach Festival. She has also sung with the Boston Handel & Baybin, and Apollo club, the Apollo club of Chicago, the St. Cecelia Society of Boston, and with the Boston Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, the New York Symphony, Philadelphia Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Brooklyn Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony orchestras.
She was married at Newport March 29, 1894, to Lacy M DeMoss.
Kentucky Post, March 14, 1904, page 5
Successful Singer is From Newport
Mrs. Hissem De Moss Making a Decided Hit
Mrs. Mamie Hissem De Moss, formerly of Newport but now of New York is making a decided hit in concerts. Sig. leno Mattiololi, of the College of Music, Cincinnati, received a list of his former pupils engagements as follows: March 15, Providence RI, recital; March 17, Pittsburg, Mozart Club; March 20, New Haven CT, Bach "Passion"; April 10, Washington, "Elijah"; April 12, Chattanooga, Tenn. "Elijah"; April 15, Covington Ky. Polyshoic Club; April 19, Derby Ct. Choral Club; April 28, Pittsburgh, Appollo Club; April 5, Brooklyn "Persian Garden" Brooklyn Institute.
Mrs. De Moss was formerly a singer in the First Presbyterian Church, Newport and has been the soloist at the Fifth Avenue Methodist Church, New York, and has just been engaged at the Methodist Church at East Orange NJ. She is one of the most popular church and concert singers in the East, and Newport friends are delighted with her success.