Timeline
| 1815 | October 29 - Daniel Decatur Emmett is born in Mount Vernon, Ohio |
| 1830 | Performs his first composition OLD DAN TUCKER during a July celebration on the village green in Mount Vernon |
| 1832 | Joins the US Army |
| 1835 | July 8 - Discharged from the Army |
| 1836 | Joins the Spalding and Rogers circus as a drummer |
| 1842 | Forms the Virginia Minstrels Troupe. |
| 1843 | February 6 - Virginia Minstrels make their debut at the New York Bowery Amphitheatre |
| 1844 | Virginia Minstrels travels to England, only to return to the US a year later penniless. |
| 1847 | After the Virginia Minstrels breaks up, Emmett joins the Dan Bryant Minstrels |
| 1853 | Marries Catherine Rives in New York |
| 1859 | DIXIE, written by Emmett, is introduced by the Dan Bryant Minstrels during a tour of the south |
| 1875 | Wife dies |
| 1878 | Enters semi-retirements and moves back to Mount Vernon |
| 1879 | Marries Mary Louis Bird, a widow with two daughters. |
| 1895 | Appears on stage with the Al G. Fields Minstrels to perform DIXIE. Was his last appearance on stage |