Edward Parks McMurray (1855-1946) was born in Hardin County, Illinois. He devoted his life to music education in Pontiac, Illinois, also making a living as a music dealer in that town. He once recollected a visit he made to Abraham Lincoln’s law office in Springfield with his grandfather, Beaumont Parks, who taught school in a log house north of the city and tutored Abraham Lincoln privately in English, anecdotally the basis of Lincoln’s ability as a speaker.

All are mixed chorus unless noted; some contain divisi.