Maggie Porter

Maggie Porter was one of three daughters born in Lebanon, Tennessee to a slave family belonging to Henry Frazier.

[1] At the start of the Civil War, Frazier moved to Nashville, taking Maggie's family with him, and when Union soldiers took and occupied the city, Frazier freed Maggie and her family after the publication of the Emancipation Proclamation.

[1] In the winter of 1870, Maggie was asked to sing the title role in Handel's "Cantata of Esther" by George White, a musical and choral director at Fisk.

[2] Her success in the role led to her being offered a position with the new Fisk Jubilee Singers.

[2] She and her husband later moved to Detroit where they raised their family and continued to remain involved with local music.