Albert Gumble was born in North Vernon, Indiana a few years after his publisher brother Moses. The family of German immigrant Isaac Gumble and his French wife Rachel included Moses (9/1876), Lillian (7/1878), Albert and Walter (9/4/1883). bolo rag coverIsaac owned a retail drug store in North Vernon, and the family was fairly well off as they also list a domestic in the house, Annie Shulpert. Some sources report Albert's birth year as 1883, but the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census records clearly suggest 1881. His World War One draft record claims 1882 and a birth date of September 20th, while his 1942 draft record gives an even more incorrect 1883 birth year and a date of September 3rd. Since early records average out as more accurate for most composers, 1881 is in all probability the correct birth year. Given that his brother Walter was born on September 4, close to the 3rd, and that Mose was born September 14th, September 20th would also seem like a more likely date for Albert.
Not much is known of his early years in Indiana and Ohio, where the family moved in the 1890s. His father died in the mid-1890s leaving Rachel as a widow. Albert and Mose both received some music education at the Auditorium School of Music with Herman Froehlich (nothing definitive found on Mr. Froehlich). Albert was also a student of Clarence Adler of Cincinnati, who also taught famed composers like Aaron Copland and Richard Rodgers. As of the 1900 census the four siblings were still living in Cincinnati with Rachel. The oldest, Moses, did not list an occupation, even though he was already engaged in music performance in many locales, and Albert and Walter were still listed as in school. Text source : Wikipedia (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
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