Estelle Ricketts

Personal life

Ricketts lived in Darby, Pennsylvania, which is now a suburb of Philadelphia. She lived with her mother, her younger brother, and her father, who operated a boarding stable. She was the only one in her family who could read and write.

Career

Estelle Ricketts' 1893 parlor piano piece, “Rippling Spring Waltz,” is the earliest known piano solo written by a black woman. Estelle Rickets is mentioned in a book entitled "The Work of the Afro-American Woman," written by Mrs. Gertrude Bustill Mossell. This book highlights the achievements of African American women in all different disciplines, and was published in 1908.