Captain Pearl R. Nye was a man cut from a bit of different cloth, and his life and the music he loved so dearly are celebrated as part of this wonderful online collection created by the staff members of the Library of Congress's American Memory Project. Nye was born in 1872 and raised on a canal boat on the Ohio and Erie Canal. He was committed to preserving the songs and stories that were part of the Canal's very essence, and this website features recordings of 75 songs sung by Nye. First-time visitors should look over the timeline of related events that span both Nye's personal history and that of the Canal. Then they can also read through the two informative essays offered here, including "An Informant in Search of a Collector: Captain Pearl R. Nye of Ohio", authored by Rebecca B. Schroeder. Visitors should then listen to the songs, which include such ditties as "Lord Vaniford's Life" and "Mr. Frog".