I have found very little
information about Laura Slade Innis. According to this site,
which reproduces data from the United States Census, she was born in 1894, was
married to Clarance P. Innis, and had two children. The image of the original 1920
census form shows that Clarance (or Clarence) was a lawyer. I believe that his
middle initial is R rather than P; Laura’s stationery is printed “Mrs. C.R. Innis,”
and “C.R. Innis” is also listed in 1912 as a claim
agent for the St. Joseph Railway, Light, Heat, & Power Co. The obituary
of Innis’s daughter, Laura Virginia Innis Moseley and that
of another daughter, Mary Innis Campbell, provide some additional
information, indicating that the Innises moved to Seattle some time around 1925.
Clarence can be found as a lawyer in some cases there in the 1930s. The 1940
census also shows the Innises in Seattle.
Worldcat has Innis listed as
“L.S. Innis,” and lists three compositions under this name, “Enchantment,” “A
Tree at Dusk,” and “My Riches.” They are held only at the British Library at
St. Pancras. “My Riches” is the Schmidt publication, which can be previewed here.
A British Library staff member confirmed that the other two are also songs for
voice with piano accompaniment, published by Boosey in 1925 (“Enchantment” by
Laura Slade-Innis) and Schirmer in 1929 (“A Tree at Dusk” by Laura Slade Innis).
Although Innis published only
“My Riches” with the Schmidt Company, her letters (dated from March 1922 to
April 1924) refer to submissions of another thirteen pieces. Innis focused
primarily on solo songs, as ten of her fourteen pieces are referred to as
songs, two more as children’s songs specifically aimed at music appreciation
lessons, and one as a hymn (“Evening Hymn,” the only other piece for which
Innis names the title). One additional submission has its genre unspecified.
The Schmidt Company’s replies to Innis refer only to “My Riches”; there are no
letters about any of the other submitted pieces. This is anomalous; most
other composers’ folders dating from this period contain letters in which the
company rejects submissions.[1] I have
found no reason why this might be different in Innis’s case, and will refrain
from speculating at present.
[1] In earlier correspondence
around the turn of the century, the Company’s replies are often not included in
the folders, but they are included in bound letterbooks in many cases.