(fl. late 19th, early 20th century), musician. (J. H. Hyde, John H. Hyde, perhaps Harry Hyde, commonly known as Professor Hyde) Born in England. He is said to have been in the pre-North American stage of his career a member of the band of the Coldstream Guards. It is not known when he came to North America. Some small evidence suggests he lived in the United States before he came to Canada. At any rate, he went to St. Catharines, Ont., about 1879, and remained there till the late 1890s. While in St. Catharines, he worked as a a musician and music teacher, as well as operating a sweets shop. One of his duties in St. Catharines was conducting the orchestra at the Grand Opera House. By 1899, for whatever reason, he had moved to Grimsby, Ont., which is not far from St. Catharines.

     In early Dec. 1899, it was reported in Alexandria that the work was now afoot of reviving Alexandria’s dormant brass band, and that promoters of the project were currently in touch with J. H. Hyde, of Grimsby. By February, it was agreed that J. H. Hyde, described as being from St. Catharines, was to be employed as the bandmaster of the reorganized Alexandria brass band. (Glengarry News 8 Dec. 1899, 9 Feb. 1900) Thereafter, for some years, he was a major figure in the musical life of Alexandria. He composed a Mass in E flat, which was to be performed by the St. Finnan’s choir, with orchestral accompaniment, at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, 1902. (GN 22 Dec. 1902) At the end of Jan. 1906, a fancy dress carnival was held at a skating rink in Alexandria, with the Citizens’ Band, conducted by Prof. Hyde, providing the music through the evening. Again, at the end of July that year, the Citizens’ Band, conducted by Prof. Hyde, gave a band concert. (GN 2 Feb & 3 Aug. 1906)

     When retired, he lived on Lot 35, 2nd Concession of Lochiel Township, just outside Alexandria, in a five-room log house (also termed a cabin) originally built by Col. Alexander Chisholm as a house for a gardener. Hyde and his wife were living there when Roderick McCormick bought this property in 1910. Not long after the death of his wife, Prof Hyde was sent to the House of Refuge in Cornwall. It must have been at the House of Refuge that he died, but his date of death has not been found. A St. Catharines newspaper article of 1921, whether correctly or not, named him among those of the Grand Opera House musicians who were “still in the land of the living.” If he died in the House of Refuge, it may be suspected that his body was sent for medical research instead of being buried in a local cemetery. (See Allan MacRae)

     J. H. Hyde got the name Prof. Hyde, by which he was known both in St. Catharines and Alexandria, from the contemporary practice of giving music teachers the informal title of professor.

     Hyde was co-author in the following sheet music publications: (1) “Strathcona’s Horse or The Mount Royal.” Words by John Blair. Music by J. H. Hyde. Published by John Blair, Grimsby, Ont., 1900. Pp. 5. Copies in National Library of Canada and the British Library, London (2) “Don’t Be Looking Around.” Song by John Blair. Music by J. H. Hyde. Published for the Author by Success Music Company, Chicago, 1904. Pp. 5. Copy in Library of Congress. Hyde is said also to have been the author of a work remembered as the “Grand Opera House March,” published in Boston in 1890 and popular through the U. S. and Canada. However, St. Catharines-based attempts in the 1990s to find a printed copy of this march appear to have been unsuccessful. It is hard to guess now what was meant by a statement (Alexander, 1967) that “his books of band music provided a tidy income.” It seems unlikely, at any event, that he actually compiled or published books of band music. He is also said to have written and played marches for the famous George M. Cohan (1878-1942); no evidence has come to light to support his connection with Cohan, but it is far from certain that in such a case any documentary evidence would have survived. He is also said to have composed a presidential march for President McKinley. Hyde’s name does not appear in the principal collection of McKinley’s papers in the Library of Congress; however, further research elsewhere may turn up some clue about this intriguing possibility.

     Hyde is said to have been brought to Alexandria through his contacts with Henry R. Cuddon (H. R. Cuddon, Harry R. Cuddon), who was born in England and was a jeweller in Alexandria, and who had lived in St. Catharines during the time when Hyde was there. Cuddon came to Alexandria in 1896 (Clarence Ostrom) or more likely late 1898 (Glengarry News 9 Dec. 1898) from St. Catharines. He died unexpectedly in Chislehurst, England, on 27 June 1913, when revisiting his home country in the company of his daughter Margaret. The daughter Margaret (d. 29 March 1940, aged 68), never having married, continued his jewellery business in Alexandria until about 1926.

Biographical sketch (the main source) in McCormicks 219, 227, 238 * St. Catharines city directories, 1881-82, 1887-90, 1893, 1895, 1896-98 * Grand Opera House, with refs. to Hyde: St. Catharines Standard 9 May 1921 (portrait), 10 Jan. 1976 (by Vera Alexander, repr. from 1967), & 24 Dec. 1983 (portrait) * search for Grand Opera House March: Toronto Star, 11 Dec. 1994 (letters) & St. Catharines Standard 7 Oct. 1995 (portrait) * Cuddon: dies, Glengarry News 4 July 1913; Ostrom 110; Cuddon family gravestone, St. Finnan’s cemetery * GN 5 Oct. 1923 pp. 5, 6, on current composition of “The Alexandria Citizens’ Band”; Prof. Thomas Eldridge is bandmaster