The sheet music collection donated by Elizabeth C. Sanders originated from the Virginian ancestors of the donor, and reflects the importance of music in the lives of the women who enjoyed playing and sharing the music. Often, multiple generations would play the same music as it was passed down in the family. The maiden names of women in the Chevallie-Pirkey-Pierce family line are:

Mary Gallego Chevallie (1833-1860) Elise Cabell Chevallie (1862-1935); great niece of Mary G. Chevallie Hennie Scott Pirkey (1885-1961); daughter of Elise Ella Virginia Pirkey (1887-1974); daughter of Elise Elise Chevallie Pirkey (1902-1937); daughter of Elise Elizabeth Carrington Pierce (1921-2013); daughter of Hennie

Pierce began taking ballet and piano lessons at age 6, listening to and learning from her aunt Elise whenever she visited. Upon her aunt's death at age 35, Pierce inherited the collection and eventually passed it along to her daughter, Elizabeth Carrington Sanders. Sanders donated the collection to the Sheridan Libraries in April 2023.