Lillian (Hardin) Armstrong (1898 - 1971)

Born 3 Feb 1898 in Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Louis Daniel Armstrong — married 5 Feb 1924 (to 30 Sep 1938) in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States

Wife of Robert Porter Fitzpatrick — married 9 May 1939 in Porter County, Indiana, United States of America

Died 27 Aug 1971 at age 73 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

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Biography

Lillian (Hardin) Armstrong is Notable.

She was the daughter of William Hardin and Dempsey Martin. She was "the most prominent woman in early jazz." She played piano, composed, and arranged for most of the important Hot Bands from New Orleans. While working at a music store in Chicago, she was invited to play with Sugar Johnny's Creole Orchestra, from there she went to Freddie Keppard's Original Creole Orchestra, and then led her own band at the Dreamland Cafe at 3520 South State Street in Chicago. In 1921 she joined King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band where she met Louis Armstrong. They were married in 1924. Lil was Louis Armstrong's second wife and she is generally credited with persuading Louis to be more ambitious, and leave King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band.

Lil was a major contributor to Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. She played piano and sang occasionally, and composed several of the groups major songs, including "Struttin' with Some Barbeque." Lil was the leader of several other recording groups, including Lil's Hot Shots and the New Orleans Wanderers. She and Louis were separated in 1931 and were divorced in 1938, although they remained friends for life. Lil appeared in several Broadway shows including "Hot Chocolates" and "Shuffle Along."

In the late 1930s Lil recast herself as a Swing vocalist and cut 26 vocal sides for Decca records. In the 1940s she moved back to Chicago and played as a soloist in nightclubs. She continued to record sporadically up until 1963, often with the old gang of New Orleans/Chicago musicians like Johnny Dodds, Red Allen, Zutty Singleton, Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon, Lonnie Johnson, Buster Bailey, Natty Dominque, Lovie Austin, and Sidney Bechet. Lil kept active in the music business for the rest of her life, although far from the limelight. Strangely enough, Lil died while taking part in a Louis Armstrong Memorial Concert in Chicago while playing "St. Louis Blues", just two months after Louis had died."

Lil died 27 August 1971 en route to a hospital in Chicago after suffering a heart attack on stage.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MF-2G24 : Fri Jan 05 22:55:52 UTC 2024), Entry for Lillian Armstrong and Will Hardin, 27 Aug 1971

• 1900 Census: "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSZH-M8Q : accessed 10 February 2018), Lillian Hardin in household of William Hardin, Memphis city Ward 10, Shelby, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 94, sheet 5B, family 141, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,598.
• 1910 Census: "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGFX-TR2 : accessed 10 February 2018), Lillian Harden in household of Dempsey Harden, Memphis Ward 10, Shelby, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 168, sheet 1B, family 22, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1520; FHL microfilm 1,375,533.
• 1920 Census: "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJSV-7H4 : accessed 10 February 2018), Lillian Harden in household of John Miller, Chicago Ward 2, Cook (Chicago), Illinois, United States; citing ED 87, sheet 1A, line 31, family 6, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 307; FHL microfilm 1,820,307.

• ”Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DSFF-TWPZ : Thu Oct 19 19:33:25 UTC 2023), Entry for Robert Porter Fitzpatrick and Lewis Keller, 9 May 1939

See also:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil_Hardin_Armstrong
• "Lil Armstrong Recalls Chicago's 'Swing Time' of the 1920s" - Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 28 Mar 1965, Page 35. Newspapers.com Sharing Link.
• Obituary - "Lil Armstrong Chased Dream — From Memphis To Fame," The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee), 29 Aug 1971, Page 25. Newspapers.com Sharing Link.