Kentucky Death Certificate
Death Date: 20 Nov 1937
Death Location: Metcalfe
Residence Location: Metcalfe
Age: 77
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black
Birth Date: 8 Jan 1860
Birth Location: Barren, Kentucky
Spouse's Name: Setta Shirley
Father's Name: John W Shirley
Father's Birth Location: Metcalfe, Kentucky
Mother's Name: Martha Price
Mother's Birth Location: Metcalfe, Kentucky
married Setta/Lucetta ______
She was born about
1868 in the 1910 census
children:
2(i). Ida Shirley born about 1889, age 21 in 1910 census
2(ii). Arthur Shirley born about 1893, age 17 in 1910 census
2(iii). James C Shirley born about 1895, age 15 in 1910 census
2(iv). Orvie Shirley born about 1896, age 14 in 1910 census
2(v). Thomas B Shirley born about 1897, age 13 in 1910 census
2(vi). Dewey Shirley born about 1899, age 11 in 1910 census
2(vii). Irving Ewing Shirley
born 22 July 1900 KY;
occupation: chauffeur; living in Indiannapolis in 1930 census
age 29 with wife and no children having been married 4 years;
He died on 29 Janary 2000 Detroit, Wayne Co, Michigan
married Daisy Bell on 11 January 1925 Marion Co Indiana
children:
3(i). George Irving Shirley born 18 April 1934 in Indianapolis,
Indiana; He is a renowned tenor opera singer.[photograph from
Wikipedia]
[biography on Wikipedia] At
the age of 6, his family relocated to Detroit, Michigan, 
where he began music
lessons. He became active as a vocalist at churches in the area
and as a baritone-horn player in a local band.
Shirley entered Wayne State
University in Detroit as a music education major, receiving his
bachelors degree in 1955. He was drafted into the military the
following year and became the first African-American member of
the United States Army Chorus. After his discharge in 1959, he
continued studying voice with Therny Georgi, then he moved to
New York where his professional career began.
He made his debut with a small
opera troupe at Woodstock, New York, as Eisenstein in their production
of Die Fledermaus. He went to Italy to make his European debut
as Rodolfo in the Puccini opera, La bohème.
In 1961, he won the Metropolitan
Opera Auditions by performing Nessun dorma, beginning an eleven-year
association with the house. While at the Met, he sang a twenty-eight
different roles from twenty-six operas, especially those of Mozart,
Verdi, Puccini, Strauss and Wagner. From 1961 (in La bohème)
to 1977, he also sang at the New York City Opera. In 1977 he
sang the title role in the complete recording of Orlando Paladino,
by Haydn, and conducted by Dorati, for the Decca label.
Shirley received a Grammy
Award in 1968 for singing the role of "Ferrando" in
the RCA recording of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He has made
numerous other recordings, including one of Debussy's Pelléas
et Mélisande, with Pierre Boulez. He is also a member
of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America.
From the 1960s to the present,
Shirley has performed on the concert stage, singing recitals
and oratorios. He has premiered several works during his career,
on both the concert and operatic stages. In recent years, he
again became involved with education.
He taught at the University
of Maryland College Park from 1980 until he accepted a position
at the University of Michigan in 1987. He currently serves there
as Director of the Vocal Arts Division, Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished
University Professor of Music.
married Gladys Lee Ishop in 1956;
children:
4(i). Olwyn Shirley
4(ii). Lyle Shirley
2(viii). Eva Shirley born about 1904, age 6 in 1910 census
2(ix). Vela Shirley born about 1906, age 4 in 1910 census
2(x). Jack Shirley born about 1908, age 2 in 1910 census
2(xi). Cloyd Shirley born about 1910, age 0 in 1910 census
John W. Shirley