How Do You Spell That Name?

The Life and Times of Noble Sissle: An American History Lesson

Host Noble Sissle, Jr. and his sister Cynthia Sissle explain the origins of the family name and how their grandfather, Reverend George A. Sissle, born in 1852, managed his family of 6 children. However, the story begins with George's father Richard both living as freemen in Lexington, KY and both becoming ministers. The family lore of how the name Sissle came to be is explained by Cynthia who has become the Sissle family genealogist and has copies of original documents that explains it all. This episode also features a song performed by Noble Sissle with his parter Eubie Blake and even contains some spoken words by Sissle regarding his minister father.