I recently got temporary access to the archives of a number of Louisville Kentucky newspapers going back as far as the 1860s and earlier, and the first thing I did was to search for my Bannon and Kollros ancestors. One of the things that I learned was that my great-grandfather was working as a professional musician earlier than I had thought. In searching for, “Kollros” in the newspaper archives I located a string of hits beginning in the summer of 1862. These were for an advertisement that appeared in the Louisville Daily Journal with the heading LOUISVILLE SILVER BAND. The advertisement states “Eichorn and Kollros will furnish music for parades, funerals, balls, parties, picnics, serenades, etc., at the shortest notice. Orders left at the Apollo Hall, corner of first and Jefferson streets will be promptly attended to. Signed Eichorn and Kollros leaders.”

Eichorn no doubt refers to my great great grandfather’s, brother-in-law, Erhardt Eichorn. And Kollros is my great-great-grandfather, Constantine Kollros. In 1862, Constantine was 24 years old and a year away from marrying my great-great-grandmother, Mary A. Eichorn.

I don’t know when exactly Eichorn and Kollros formed marching bands and orchestras but the two men were well-established musicians and conductors up and down the Ohio River Valley for the latter half of the 19^th century and the first decade of the 20^th century.