William & Frederick Starmer

*Mermaid Waltzes, 1903
*Show the Whites of Yo' Eyes, 1903
*In Zanzibar (My Little Chimpanzee), 1904
*On the Sands at Night, 1904
*My Babe of the Bungalow, 1905
*Over the Waves, 1907
*Under the Jungle Moon, 1907
*Moving Day in Jungle Town, 1909
*Good-bye California, 1911
*My Hula-Hula Love, 1911
*Bird of Paradise, 1912
*I'll Come Back To You My Honolulu Lou, 1912
*Jamaica Jinjer, 1912
*The Madagascar Mangle, 1912
*I'd Like to Be The Isle of Man, 1913
*The Honolulu Hula Boola Boo, 1913
*There Wasn't Any Broadway on Robinson Crusoe's Isle, 1913
*Way Down on Tampa Bay, 1914
*There's a Lonely Little Girl in Honolulu, 1915
*My Hawaiian Sunshine, 1916
*My Honolulu Ukulele Baby, 1916
*On the Hoko Moko Isle, 1916
*Those Sighin' Hawaiian Blues, 1916
*At the Hula Hula Ball, 1917
*In My Dreams of Waikiki, 1917
*Linger Longer Island, 1917
*Myona, 1917
*Since They're Playin' Hawaiian Tunes in Dixie, 1917
*There's a  Garden in Hawaii, 1917
*My Isle of Golden Dreams, 1919
*Mo-Na-Lu, 1922
*Honolulu Blues, 1922
*Kalua Moon, 1923
*Ukulele Sweetheart, 1924
*Give Me a Ukulele, 1926
*Under the Ukulele Tree, 1926

Ellis Island log entry for
William A. Starmer, 1908
Record courtesy of Ellis Island

The name Starmer is very familiar to sheet music collectors, as it appears on thousands of covers from the turn of the century until the early forties. The identity of Starmer was a mystery for many years, until sheet music collector Mike Montgomery discovered an invoice from William A. Starmer to the Jerome Remick Music Company for services rendered, with a heading listing Starmer as an Artist and Medical Draughtsman. That was the first clue in a series of discoveries which has eventually, at least partially, revealed the mystery.

William Austin Starmer and his brother Frederick Waite Starmer were both commercial artists, but we may never know for certain if both of them designed sheet music, or if just William did. Very little is known of these talented siblings  other than census and immigration records.

The brothers were born in Leeds, England to James and Ann E. Starmer. The 1881 England census has the family living at 26 Woodsley Grove in Leeds. James is listed as a Boot and Shoe Maker. William was born in March of 1872, Frederick on September 2, 1878. There was also an older brother, Edwin J. Starmer, who was born in 1868. The family is still at this address in the 1891 census, with William (now nineteen) listed as a Litho-Artist.

It appears William Starmer first came to America in 1898, and Frederick came two years later. William returned to England in June of 1900 to marry his fiance Julitta M. Dawson. The rest of the family arrived in 1904 on the Carpathia from Liverpool. James, Ann, William, and Julitta were all on the ship, and registered at Ellis Island on June 10th of that year. William and Frederick went back to England frequently, perhaps to renew their visitors visas, as there are ship records for them every two or three years up until 1924, when they became naturalized citizens.

The 1910 U.S. Census has the brothers living in Long Island, with William listed as a commercial artist, and Frederick as an illustrating artist. It appears that William and Julitta had a son named William J. in 1907, but he wasn't listed on the census with them. The 1920 census has both brothers living on West 91st street with Julitta, they are both listed as commercial draftsmen.

William's wife Julitta passed away on February 26, 1922.

The 1930 census has William Starmer remarried to Edith Mary, an English woman who first entered America with her family in 1877 at the age of six. They were married in 1925, and were living at 2734 8th Street in Queens. William's son was living with the couple, and was listed as an accountant for a local electric light company. Frederick Starmer is not listed anywhere in the 1930 census. In the mid to late 1930's, William and Edith took yearly trips to England under passport number 288626. Their home is listed as 27-34 8th Street, Astoria, Long Island.

For the time being the trail ends there for the Starmer Brothers, but the colorful and creative legacy of their artwork lives on today.