Nellie Weldon Cocroft

Ellen "Nellie" Weldon Cocroft (November 4, 1885 – June 27, 1986) was an American composer.
Early life.
Ellen Estelle Weldon was born in Quitman, Georgia, the daughter of Richard Aycock Weldon and Virginia Frances Massey Weldon. Her father was a marble dealer. She was raised in Thomasville, Georgia. She studied piano performance at Brenau College, graduating in 1905.
Career.
Cocroft was a church organist and choir director in Thomasville. Her husband ran a music store, and published her compositions to sell in the shop under the name "N. Weldon Cocroft". After her divorce, she moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she worked in a law office.
Published works by Nellie Weldon Cocroft included "Kute Kids" (1909), "The Pinywoods Rag" (1909), "When the Autumn Turns the Forest Leaves to Gold" (1909), "The Georgia Cracker: March and Two Step" (1910), and "I'se Gwine to Highball" (1910).
Personal life.
Nellie Estelle Weldon married fellow musician Christopher Columbus Cocroft in 1905, in Thomasville. Their son Charles Christopher CoCroft (1910-2001) continued the family's music publishing company until he sold the business in 2000. The Cocrofts divorced in 1924. She died in 1986, aged 100 years.
Music by Nellie Weldon Cocroft is part of the permanent "Jazz & Swing Club" exhibit at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon. Pianist Nora Hulse included Cocroft's "Georgia Cracker" on her "Ragtime Refreshments" (2002), a collection of works by women.