This blog post was written by former HSMCPA board president, Charles J. Kelly, originally for the celebration of St. Matthew’s 175th Anniversary. He has kindly allowed us to share it with all of you.
If you walk or drive through the St. Matthew’s Parish cemetery in Conshohocken, you may notice a memorial with the last name of Knecht. It fronts Butler Pike in the first row of St. Joseph’s section (right side of the cemetery). Buried in this lot are the remains of long and devoted members of St. Matthew’s Parish and Conshohocken’s most talented family of musicians. The family patriarch was Oscar Knecht. Oscar was born in Baden, Germany, on March 15, 1845. He immigrated to the United States in 1867 and settled in Conshohocken in 1875. He married Eva Voll Schensley on October 12, 1875, with Father Richard Kinahan presiding. Eva was also born in Germany and came to the US at the age of 16. She married Philip Schensley, a baker, who died at age 37 in February 1875. Eva had one son, William, with Philip. Oscar and Eva had two daughters, Elizabeth and Bertha, and a son, Albert. Oscar was a talented musician, composer, conductor, and teacher. He made appearances throughout Delaware Valley. Oscar’s musical expertise had a tremendous influence on all his children.
His stepson, William, played the clarinet. His career began at 14 with the “Little Tycoon Opera Company”. He took up the Saxophone and played with John Philip Sousa’s Band for 15 years. Sousa was known as the “March King” and the author of “Stars and Stripes Forever.” After his career with Sousa, he became an importer of musical instruments and reeds for wind instruments and was considered an authority on them. He headed and toured with the Schensley Saxophone Sextette. At some point he married Anna Collins. The couple had no children. He died on January 8, 1934, and is buried in Chelten Hills Cemetery.
The Knecht’s daughter, Elizabeth, played and taught the piano. She married Joseph Small, a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He participated in the orchestra’s first concert at the Academy of Music on November 16, 1900, under conductor Fritz Scheel. She died on January 13, 1947, at 70. The Smalls had a daughter, Eva.
Bertha, who would remain single, partnered with her father, teaching music at their home at 113 Spring Mill Ave. When St. Matthew’s High School celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary in 1966, Bertha, a 1895 graduate, was the oldest living alumna. She died on December 20, 1974, at 96 years of age.
At the age of 12, Albert regularly played the cornet with the Spring Mill Band. He and his sister Bertha participated in concerts held at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall on West Third Avenue and on Forrest Street. Albert continued his musical career playing the tenor saxophone with John Philip Sousa’s Band from 1905 until 1920. From 1910-1911, Albert participated in the band’s world tour. The tour itself was a financial risk for Sousa and moving 65 people 47,346 miles around the world by ship and train in less than a year was an accomplishment for its time. Albert kept a diary highlighting the band’s activities during the tour. Beyond the band’s activities, Knecht’s daily observations offer a view of the world in the early 20th century. Albert’s entries include the collapse of a stage extension in England, where Sousa himself escaped injury, the tour of Kimberly’s Diamond Mines in South Africa, and the grand parade to celebrate the coronation of England’s King George and Queen Mary in Melbourne. The band’s activities, as chronicled by Knecht, from its departure from New York on December 24, 1910 to the return journey home across the United States ending on December 11, 1911, are published by Paul Edmund Bierly in his book, The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa (University of Illinois Press, 2006).
On April 22, 1913, Albert married Theresa Farley at St. Patrick’s in Norristown. They had a daughter named Elizabeth who married James McCloskey. Albert left Sousa in 1920 and partnered with H. Benne Henton, a saxophone player with the band. They opened the Henton-Knecht Music Store at 1734 Market Street in Philadelphia. The store had several locations, including 24 South 18th Street. When Henton died in 1938, the store’s name was changed to Knecht’s Music Store. In May of 1943, Albert was elected President of the Pennsylvania Bandmasters Association. He also served as Vice President of the Philadelphia Musical Association (now Local 77 AFM). Aside from his employment with Sousa, Albert Knecht also played with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Arthur Pryor’s Band (which was second only to Sousa’s), Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, the W. Paris Chamber’s Band, and the American Saxophone Quartet. He also kept daybooks about the band’s activities and a collection of photographs of the band and its members. Considered an authority on Sousa, Albert organized the Philadelphia chapter of the Sousa Society, made up of area band members. Until the late 1950s, Albert A. Knecht medals were awarded to high school students for outstanding musical achievement. When Albert died on December 5, 1954, he was the last surviving member of the Sousa World Tour.
