Introduction

Biography

Chauncey was the son of Tho­mas Wy­man and Hul­da Gil­bert. The 1850 and 1860 cen­sus­es show him in Ath­ens, Ver­mont.

Wyman at­tend­ed one of George Root’s nor­mals in North Read­ing, Mas­sa­chu­setts, and mu­sic con­ven­tions in New Hamp­shire and Ver­mont. In late Oc­to­ber 1861, he as­sist­ed Low­ell Ma­son at a con­vent­ion in New­bu­ry, Ver­mont. Ev­ent­ual­ly, he joined Root at con­ven­tions through­out the Am­eri­can north.

In Keene, Wy­man or­gan­ized the choir at the First Church, where a pipe or­gan was in­stalled in 1860.

Chaun­cey mar­ried Jen­nie Lou­isa Al­ex­an­der Sep­tem­ber 12, 1861, in Fitch­burg, Mas­sa­chu­setts. Some sourc­es give her name as Jane. Lat­er in life, she went by her mid­dle name Lou­isa. She be­came the first or­gan­ist of the First Church in Keene.

In Feb­ru­ary 1870, the Wy­mans moved to Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois.

Chauncey was chor­us and ora­tor­io con­duct­or for the Nor­mal Mu­sic­al In­sti­tute ses­sion in South Bend, In­di­ana, in July and Au­gust 1870. It was there that the name Na­tion­al Nor­mal Mu­sic­al In­sti­tute was ad­opt­ed, at the sug­gest­ion of Vice Pre­si­dent Schuy­ler Col­fax.

For a while Wyman taught mu­sic at the State Nor­mal School in South Bend..

Also while in Chi­ca­go, Wy­man be­came di­rect­or of the Far­well Hall choir and tra­veled with Dwight Moo­dy, in ad­di­tion to liv­ing with him.

Wyman in­tro­duced Dan­iel Whit­tle to Phil­ip Bliss, and Whit­tle cred­it­ed Wy­man and Bliss as crys­tal­liz­ing the idea of a preach­er tak­ing along a sing­ing part­ner.

The Wy­mans re­turned to Keene short­ly be­fore Chaun­cey died. His wife re­mained in Keene the rest of her life.

Works

• The Palm (Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: Root & Ca­dy, 1870)

As of 2026, re­cord­ings of Wy­man’s com­po­si­tions are avail­able on YouTube.