From Civil War to Ruston, Steinway piano returns to local family

When Jeff McGehee was a child, the Ruston native was told the story of a family piano that had been saved during the Civil War. The tale was something of a family legend since no one knew if it actually existed.

Then in 2012, a book was published called, “ Plantations of Wilkinson County.” Within it was a feature on Bowling Green, the Judge Edward McGehee plantation near Woodville, Miss. It included a story about the piano and how it was saved when the house was burned by Union troops.

“In the book it named the current owner,” said McGehee. “Dr. Wesley Lake of New Orleans had it. So I got in contact with his daughter who ended up being a long-lost cousin. We wouldn’t have even known about any of this had it not been for that book.”

Turns out the piano had been in the family for 166 years. When Dr. Lake passed away, the McGehee family were named the heirs and thus acquired the piano. That means it not only remained in the family, it now sits in their antebellum- inspired home in Ruston.

“There are a ton of things we don’t know about it,” McGehee explained. “But you can imagine how many times generations of our family sat around it and listened to music from the player or sung hymns together. However, my favorite part of the story is just the fact that the piano was saved.”

As the story goes, on October 5, 1864, Judge Edward McGehee was having breakfast with his family. Around 70 years old at the time, he still had grown kids at the house including one who was pregnant and bedridden.

Despite supporting the Union during the Civil War, McGehee’s factory provided clothing for the Confederate army. When Union soldiers appeared at the house, he was given 20 minutes to remove his belongings and family out of the mansion before it would be burned. The soldiers ignored his protests over the impossible task and immediately doused the entire house with turpentine while chopping up the furniture.

In less than 20 minutes, it was set ablaze.

During the chaos, the judge’s daughter cried and begged to have her piano saved. The family tried to salvage several other things, but those were immediately carried off and stolen by the Union troops. The only thing they couldn’t carry was the piano. Therefore, it was saved. For Jeff McGehee, having it in his family’s home was important. “Neither my wife nor I play the piano, but it is something that we wanted our kids to be able to do. Now they can have lessons and learn on this grand piano.”

When word got out about the 8-foot Steinway grand piano with 85 keys across a seven octave keyboard coming to Ruston, other family members wanted to see the historic instrument. Plans were then made to host an intimate piano recital at a time when other family would be in town for a wedding.

The April concert featured performances by several McGehee family members along with piano teacher Jeanne Patterson. Having heard about such a rare piano for years, she couldn’t believe her good fortune.

“This is going to be one of my most treasured memories,” Patterson said. “The piano has had quite a journey and now it is at home in Ruston with direct descendents in the Mc-Gehee family. So many tears were shed but they were happy tears. Realizing how blessed I am to get to do what I do for a living, and having been involved with this family for so long, is just a true gift from God. But what got to me the most was how meaningful it was to sing hymns and worship with this family while my former students played.”

Jeff McGehee noted how God moved through the piano concert, adding it turned into a true worship experience. The family sang several hymns together, everything from “ The Old Rugged Cross” to “How Great thou Art.”

For him, “worshiping as a family together was quite powerful.”

As for the piano, Jeff McGehee said the recent “piano party” was such a success and an opportunity to really let the instrument shine. And where does he anticipate the piano will go next?

“We are just keepers of the piano for this generation,” McGehee said. “It will definitely get passed on.”