Sunday, July 8, 2012

Enes J. Nokes Genealogy

I get drum emails all the time. And I always enjoy hearing from other collectors or anyone who comes across an old drum. But I recently got a completely unexpected message unlike anything I had received before. The email was from the descendants of Enes J. Nokes, co-proprietor of Boston's Nokes & Nicolai from 1912 - 1926.

Through life events such as early death, second marriages, and children being raised by extended family, the person contacting me had long been separated from the Nokes family tree. But after running a web search for their ancestor, they arrived at my website to find a picture of their great grandfather staring back at them! After providing the emailer with more information and pictures, they remarked that they could see a strong resemblance to their father who was in fact the grandson of Enes J. Nokes.

While my interest in Nokes (or any of the other names behind the Boston Drum Builders for that matter) has never really extended beyond his involvement in the percussion industry, this made me stop and wonder. Who else would be interested in the information I gather beyond drum collectors?
       Enes J. Nokes, ca. 1915