1865

This chapter presents developments in 1865, a crucial year that saw “Liza Jane” lyrics and performances spread throughout the country. In the early days of January, a Kansas newspaper printed the first known date-stamped refrain for any “Liza Jane” tune. From Ohio to Indiana, from Nebraska to Nevada, transcontinental railroad workers, newspapermen, and minstrel performers embraced the “Liza Jane” family, carrying the songs to new audiences and readership. In particular, a celebrity-scoundrel by the name of Johnny Tuers performed a “Liza Jane” variant in Gold Hill, Nevada, a few years before he killed a man in California. In 1865, the “Liza Jane” songs begin to enter the larger American consciousness.