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It was probably April 22, 1867, when the Metropolitan Theatre of Sacramento, California, was filled with an anxious crowd of eight hundred or more human beings to witness the public beginning of two young Afro-American singers whose joint reputation since that time has stood without possibly a parallel in American history. These two young sisters, so often called the "Hyers Sisters," Anna Madah and Emma Louise Hyers,



exhibited an aptness to imitate operatic performers when quite young. This peculiar and yet very natural quality led their parents to give them a chance. Opportunity at home was afforded with which the girls made such remarkable progress that professional teachers were soon a necessity.

Mr. James M. Trotter makes the following statement concerning them and their teachers: