Introduction

Biography

Claude was the son of George Wash­ing­ton Bot­toms and Su­san Eli­za­beth Col­lins, and hus­band of Ma­ry Eli­za­beth Ri­vers (mar­ried 1910, Clay­ton County, Geor­gia).

Claude was edu­cat­ed in the pub­lic schools, and be­gan stu­dy­ing mu­sic in ear­nest in 1898 under J. M. York. He lat­er con­tin­ued his stu­dies un­der J. Hen­ry Sho­wal­ter.

After at­tend­ing two ses­sions of the Sou­thern Nor­mal Mu­sic­al In­sti­tute (SNMI), he re­ceived his di­plo­ma at the sp­ecial ses­sion held in Dal­ton, Geor­gia, in 1902. He took a post-gra­du­ate course from the SNMI in the ear­ly part of 1904.

He be­gan teach­ing in 1901, the year his first mu­sic was pub­lished in Our Thank­ful Songs.