McDaniel, the youngest of 13 children, was born in 1893 to formerly enslaved parents in Wichita, Kansas. Her mother, Susan Holbert, was a singer of gospel music, and her father, Henry McDaniel, fought in the Civil War with … See more

McDaniel was a songwriter and performer. She honed her songwriting skills while working with her brother Otis McDaniel's carnival company, a minstrel show. McDaniel and her sister Etta Goff launched the McDani… See more

McDaniel married Howard Hickman on January 19, 1911, in Denver, Colorado. He died on March 3, 1915. She married her second husband, George Langford, in 1922. He died of a gunshot wound a little while after t… See more