Stefania Neonato

The Granger Homestead Society requests the pleasure of your company for an afternoon of Clementi music
295 North Main Street, Canandaigua, NEW YORK

Sunday, May 3 2009 at 4 o’clock

In concert: Stefania Neonato.

Reception to follow with refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres

$25/person or $45/couple

RSVP: 585-394-1472

In 1822 in London, England, Muzio Clementi, a composer and maker of fine pianos, made the beautiful and now fully restored pianoforte now on display in the Granger Homestead’s North Parlor. But how did this fine instrument get from London to Canandaigua? According to Edward Swenson, the instrument’s restorer, this piano was either a concert instrument or was in the home of a very wealthy family. In the early 19th century, pianos were often the centerpiece in a wealthy family’s parlor around which family and guests could gather for musical entertainment. A number of Canandaigua’s citizens at that time had the financial means to own such an instrument. By doing some historical sleuthing we may be able to surmise who first owned it, and how, when and why this piano made its way here.

The Granger Homestead received the beautiful Clementi piano from Miss Anna McKechnie (1890-1977) in 1956 when she moved to a smaller home from 210 North Main Street (Elm Manor). She wrote in a letter (Oct. 27, 1972): “I inherited it from my mother, [Anna Marshall McKechnie (1849-1936) (Mrs. John D.)] who had received it as a gift from an old family friend Fanny Paul, whose family had had it sent from England about 1830, as near as we can figure it.” The McKechnie family had lived at 210 N. Main since 1885 and was part of the brewery family dynasty. The piano graced one of the parlors of this residence for at least 60 years.

Who was Fanny Paul and how did she come to own this fine piano? Fanny Paul (Frances) (1843-1928) was the daughter of Francis Wilson Paul (1808 – 1865) and Mary Hepburn Home (1809-1883), and was one of 8 children. Both parents were born in Scotland, and all of their children were born in Ontario County – probably Canandaigua. The Pauls were married in February 1834 probably in Scotland. By 1835, they were in Ontario County as Francis had applied for citizenship in Ontario County in 1835, receiving it in 1841. The piano probably came with them or shortly thereafter when they moved to this country. Upon arrival in America, the piano probably was shipped to Western New York by packet boat on the Erie Canal. The family lived at 39 North Main Street which Francis and Mary Paul purchased for $3,000 from members of the Sibley family in 1852. They may have resided in this house for several years prior to purchase.

Fanny’s father, Francis Paul was financially successful. He was a farmer and an entrepreneur – he owned a sawmill in the late 1830s and was later president of the Canandaigua and Corning Railroad. He most likely had strong economic and social ties with other Scottish families in Canandaigua such as the McKechnies, the Jeffreys, and the Greigs. Census records in 1850 and 1860 indicate the family was well off: in 1850, Francis Paul’s real estate was valued at $25,000. Francis died in 1865 and his wife Mary died in 1883. Family members continued living in the house until the last heir, Frances (Fanny) Paul died in 1928. None of the eight Paul children had any surviving children of their own.

The Clementi Piano most likely was in the Paul residence when Fanny was born in 1843, indicating that one of her parents was an accomplished pianist and/or was from a background of sufficient wealth to own such an instrument. While there is no documentation, it is possible that the piano belonged to Fanny’s mother, Mary Hepburn Home Paul. In the probate record for Fanny Paul (d. 1928) is a letter from a cousin, Lewis Oleon Home, a physician living in Missouri. He wrote: “Mary Hepburn Home Paul, mother of Frances C. Paul and my grandfather, Sir James Home, Bart., were brother and sister.” The Home family was part of Scottish peerage, whose principal heirs carried the title of Earl. At present it is not clear how Sir James fit into this family, but Mary Home’s family in Scotland most likely had the means to purchase such a piano for her. Although we will never know, it is interesting to speculate if the piano was given to her as a gift when in her teens – she would have been about 13-14 in 1822 when the piano was made. These were the years when she would have been trained in both practical household matters and artistic accomplishments in preparation for marriage and family responsibilities. At present, no family history for Francis Paul’s heritage has been found to determine if the piano came from his family.

Fanny Paul probably gave the piano to Anna Marshall McKechnie after Fanny’s mother, Mary, died in 1883. Assuming it was Mary’s piano, it is unlikely that it would have been given away prior to her death. This gift would have coincided with the time when Anna and husband John McKechnie moved into their home at 210 North Main Street. There the piano stayed until Miss Anna McKechnie donated it to the Granger Homestead in 1956.

We will never be certain who actually first purchased this Clementi piano as all of the early documentation for orders was burned in a warehouse fire in London in the 1960s. Fortunately, the Granger Homestead Society now has the honor of owning this fine instrument and sharing its stunning musical qualities with others.