parents' home in disgrace. Musical career Early career In 1876 Dresser secured a job as an organist and singer with the Lemon Brothers, a traveling minstrel group from Marshall, Illinois. Dresser stayed with the group for more than a year, performing as an actor and singer, before they disbanded near the end of 1877. Next, Dresser went to Chicago, where John Austin Hamlin hired him to sing and perform in his traveling shows marketing Wizard Oil, a patent medicine.> Dresser composed his first songs while working for Hamlin. They were marketed as the Paul Dresser Songster (a songbook of sheet music) and sold to audiences after his performances. Few details are known of Dresser's life between 1878 and 1880. Around 1878 Dresser may have taken a job with Barlow, Wilson, Primrose, and West, a prominent traveling minstrel group that was among the most famous in the nation at the time. After traveling with minstrel shows, Dresser went to New York City around 1879. According to an 1898 interview, he hoped to find work in Augustin Daly's theatre. By 1881 Dresser had returned to Indiana and took a job at the Apollo Theatre in Evansville. At the Apollo he occasionally acted, but normally provided music for the plays. Growing popularity In Evansville, Dresser honed his skills as a musician and eventually became a nationally renowned talent. He also wrote a "humor-and-advice" column for a local newspaper, the Evansville Argus. By the time he left Evansville in 1886 he was "a local favorite" who toured the country giving performances. In March 1881 Dresser went to Chicago, where he headlined his own act. He also starred as one of the featured acts in a benefit concert for Daniel Decatur Emmett (the composer of "Dixie") at the Chicago Academy of Music. Dresser's act was a success and he was able to secure appearances in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City as well as a number of smaller cities, including Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. Between shows Dresser returned to Evansville, where he had purchased a home. In 1882 he visited his family, whom he had not communicated with in more than three years. Through correspondence, Dresser learned they were in a desperate financial situation. His father and the family's older children were living in Terre Haute, while his mother and the younger children worked on a farm in Sullivan. Known for his generosity, Dresser