The Gant Family

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Gant family, out of Travis County. Now, some families leave a mark on a place. And some families — well, they leave a mark on the whole country, whether the country ever quite knew their names or not.

The Gants were that second kind. George and Maggie Gant pulled into Austin in 1932 with seven children and everything a family carries when drought and the Great Depression have had their way with you. They were migrant Southern farmers, and in that sense their story ran parallel to a lot of heartbreaking stories from that era.

But the Gants had something that set them apart from the moment you were in earshot of them. They brought the tales and songs of Appalachia and the old world right down into the Texas hill country, and they could play. They started making themselves known around Austin — performing at local folk festivals, working their way into the fabric of the place.

And their oldest son, Nephi, he sang on local radio shows. Word travels in musical circles, and eventually the right word reached the right ears. John A.

Lomax — noted folklorist, Texas-raised, and at that time serving as curator of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress — he heard about this family. Lomax and his son Alan had made a kind of mission out of crisscrossing the United States and the world, recording folk songs for the Library of Congress music catalogue. They had an instinct for the real thing.

And so, somewhere between 1934 and 1936, the Lomaxes came to the Gants' home near Deep Eddy Pool. Right there, in that house, they recorded fifty traditional songs performed by the Gant family. Fifty songs.

Five of those made it into the Lomax book Our Singing Country. The family's recordings went into the Library of Congress music collection in Washington, D.C., placing them in an elite group of musicians documented by Lomax — music preserved for anyone who ever wanted to know what American folk sounded like at its roots. By 1936, the Gants were well-known throughout the state.

They performed at the Texas Centennial celebration that year. It should have been a high-water mark — a family of migrant farmers who had come through hardship and strife and arrived, somehow, at a moment of genuine recognition. But 1936 also brought something that no recognition could balance out.

Nephi — the oldest son, the one who sang on the radio, the voice that had helped open that door with Lomax — Nephi was murdered in Austin that same year. And his death forever changed the family. They never recorded together again.

Eventually they left Austin and dispersed throughout the country. What they left behind, though, has never really scattered. Their songs have since been recorded by generations of diverse artists.

Their influence transcended Texas. And somewhere in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., fifty songs from a house near Deep Eddy Pool are still waiting for anyone who wants to hear what the Gants brought with them out of Appalachia and into the hill country — songs that outlasted the drought, the Depression, and every hard thing that followed.

What the marker says

The Gant family is part of an elite group of musicians documented by the noted folklorist John A. Lomax and included in the Library of Congress music collection in Washington, D.C. The Gants brought tales and songs of Appalachia and the old world to the Texas hill country. They overcame hardship and strife, and played a significant role in the rise of the folk music scene in Austin. The family’s influence has transcended Texas, and their songs have since been recorded by generations of diverse artists. George and Maggie Gant and their seven children arrived in Austin in 1932. They were migrant Southern farmers directly affected by drought and the Great Depression. Their story was similar in many ways to that of other families of the era, but their musical abilities set them apart. They often performed at local folk festivals, and their oldest son, Nephi, sang on local radio shows. It was the family’s musical gift that attracted John Lomax, who grew up in Texas and was curator of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. Along with his son, Alan, Lomax traveled throughout the U.S. and the world to document and record folk songs for the Library of Congress music catalogue. Between 1934 and 1936, the Lomaxes recorded fifty traditional songs performed by the Gant family in their home near Deep Eddy Pool. Five of their songs were published in the Lomax book Our Singing Country. The Gant family was well-known throughout the state, and performed at the Texas Centennial celebration in 1936. Tragically, Nephi was murdered in Austin that same year, and his death forever changed the family. They never again recorded together and eventually left Austin and dispersed throughout the country. 175 years Texas Independence * 1836 – 2011