Born in Brockville, July 11, 1844

“Little Mac” was the stage name under which Ebenezer Nicholson performed with shows such as Dan Bryant’s Minstrels during the 1860s.

Small in stature but big in talent, this local boy gained fame all over North America. Ebenezer Nicholson, born in Brockville, and known as“Aben” by his family and friends, made his theatrical debut in the United States with”Dan Bryant’s Minstrels” who travelled around the continent, when minstrel shows were all the rage. At some point he adapted the stage name of “Little Mac.” This was also the derogatory nickname given to Union General, George B. McClellan at the time of the Civil War.

This well-dressed young man from Brockville was a well-known performer the day he posed for a New York photographer. Ebenezer Nicholson grew up in Brockville, and later became a Minstrel Show performer.

This is Aben Nicholson in his stage costume and make-up for his role as "Little Mac".

While home in Brockville visiting his parents, Aben went to the photographer’s studio to have his picture taken with his friend, Mike Reid.

[These photographs can be viewed full size in a separate window by double clicking on the picture on this page until you reach the enlarged version further in the system]

Sources: This set of photographs was originally owned by Michael J. Reid, one of Ebenezer Nicholson’s friends in Brockville. They were handed down in the Reid family. The shot of Aben in his dark suit was taken in the Clarke’s Union Photographic Gallery, 643 Broadway Ave, New York. The two photos of “Little Mac” were taken in the studio of D. Frederick’s & Co., 587 Broadway Ave., New York. You might notice he’s wearing two different costumes, so they were probably taken on two separate occasions. The fourth picture is taken here in Brockville at the International Gallery owned by A.C. McIntyre. Michael J. Reid and Aben Nicholson are posed against the classical backdrop which started to show in photographs taken in 1866 by the McIntyre Studio.

The first book I recommend for anyone looking to learn more about the history of the dance is Frankie Mannings autobiography, Ambassador of Lindy Hop, released earlier this year. While it may not be a comprehensive look at the development of jazz dance as a whole, it is the most inviting to the casual reader. Frankie Manning is an innovator and pioneer in the lindy hop community and has helped return the dance from a lost art to the strong and growing community it is now. It has a colloquial ease; full of anecdotes and memories of ballrooms and bands from the jazz era that make it hard to put down. It was co-authored by Cynthia Millman and there are small sidebars throughout the book with historical snippets on locations and various dances.

For a more historical perspective on the development of vernacular jazz dance Marshall Stearns Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance is a good choice. It lays out the history of the dance in a slightly haphazard manner from buck dancing and minstrel shows to the dance crazes of the twenties including charleston, black bottom, turkey trot and moves into the development of lindy hop and tap. It is more academic in nature than Frankie Manning's book including Laban movement notation on how to perform various steps. There is also a companion book on the history of Jazz music by Marshall Stearns which follows a similar method in examining the development of jazz as a musical tradition.