Finding aid for the Edwin Arthur Kraft Photographs

Biography of Edwin Arthur Kraft and Marie Simmelink Kraft

Edwin Arthur Kraft (1883-1962) was the first organist of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio, a position he held for over fifty years. He was born January 8, 1883 in New Haven, Connecticut to John Jacob and Maria Krohne Kraft. He studied music at Yale University from 1897 to 1901. He also studied music in Germany and Paris under Franz Grunicke, Charles W. Widor, and Alexander Guilmant from 1903-1905. In 1954, he received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Music from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Music in 1957.

From 1905-1907, Kraft was the organist and choir master at St. Matthews Church in Wheeling, West Virginia. He accepted the position at Trinity Cathedral in 1907 and remained there until 1959, excepting eighteen months in 1914-1915 when he was the Municipal Organist in Atlanta, Georgia. Kraft also served as Director of Music at Lake Erie College from 1933-1951 and directed the Singers Club of Cleveland from 1921-1924. During the same years, he headed the organ department at the Cleveland Institute of Music and conducted the choir and Glee Club at Laurel School.

Edwin Kraft married Nancy L. Lovis of Cleveland on December 1, 1909, and the couple had three children before Nancy Kraft's death in 1925. Edwin Kraft married Marie Simmelink on May 17, 1926.

Marie Simmelink Kraft (died 1967) was born in Cleveland, Ohio where she attended Gordon School and West High School. Her vocal career started during her school years, and she sang at her own graduation in 1922 from Western Reserve University where she received a B.A. in Music. From 1920-1934 she was a soloist with the First Baptist Church choir in Cleveland and, in 1934, she became soloist at The Temple.

Marie Kraft was appointed to the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1937. She was the associate head of the vocal department from 1945-1949 and head of the department from 1949 until her retirement in 1963.

Marie Kraft was well known as a recitalist and made many appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra. She frequently sang works of two Cleveland composers, Arthur Sheperd and Herbert Elwell. Elwell's "Pastorale" for voice and orchestra was written for her at the request of George Szell.

Scope and Content

The Edwin Arthur Kraft Photographs, ca. 1910-1960, consist of photographs relating to the family, life, and career of Edwin Kraft, musician and organist of Cleveland, Ohio. Photographs include portraits of Kraft, his wife, Marie Simmelink Kraft, his parents, the interior and choir of Trinity Cathedral, the Kraft home, and group portraits of the Trinity Cathedral Choir. The collection includes 144 black and white and color photographs that measure 10 x 14 inches and smaller; and 21 black and white negatives that measure 4.75 x 6.75 inches and smaller.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of religion and music in Cleveland, Ohio, in the twentieth century.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult 3619 Edwin Arthur Kraft Papers.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 121 Edwin Arthur Kraft Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

These photographs were removed from MS 3619 Edwin Arthur Kraft Papers. Gift of Russell Hehr in 1972.

Detailed Description of The Collection