UNION — John Sheehy never met the late Ehrman Hall but he passionately enjoys keeping the musical legacy of the World War I veteran alive.

Sheehy, who lives in Union, wakes up the echoes of Hall’s past each time he plays an instrument Hall owned before he was killed in 1918 on a battlefield in France. Sheehy plays Hall’s pianoette, a small instrument that is like an autoharp, which is rarely heard at concerts today. The sound of Hall’s pianoette will be heard on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in Union at a Sheehy Family Band concert for Union County Museum’s Third Tuesday series.

Sheehy’s pianoette will be heard publicly for one of the few times in recent years. He knows that Hall will be in the forefront of his mind during the concert.

“We have kind of a spirit together,” Sheehy said. “It feels like we are on the same team.”

Because of his apparent love for music and his tragic life story, Hall brings out strong emotions in Sheehy.

“I have a lot of sympathy for that man,” he said of Hall, who graduated in 1914 from Union High School.

Few, if any, pianoettes are made today, but 110 years ago, when Hall was growing up in Union, the instrument was hot.

“They were very popular,” Sheehy said. “They were kind of a fad.”

Now, pianoettes are relatively difficult to find.

“It is especially hard to find ones that are playable,” Sheehy said.

Hall’s parents kept their son’s pianoette on a shelf in their Union home for 67 years after his death, until their home was sold in 1985. Next, the pianoette was passed on to several individuals, including members of Sheehy’s family, before it fell into his lap.

“It just ended up in my hands,” he said. “It is great to have since it has such an interesting history.”

The musician, after receiving the pianoette, began the delicate and sometimes arduous task of tuning it.

“That was very difficult because the strings were so old,” he said.

The instrument has its original wood and string.

“We want to keep it pretty original,” Sheehy said.

Sheehy will be one of five family members to play at the Sept. 19 concert. He will be joined by his guitarist son, Brennan, and his wife, Brianna, a fiddle player; his brother, Tim, on the mandolin; and his niece, Maggie, who plays bass. The band will perform a variety of numbers from the 1850s, including “Hard Times” by Stephen Foster and “Wayfaring Stranger.”

“These are good, old, old songs,” Sheehy said. “We have a blast. We enjoy performing together.”

The Sept. 19 concert will begin at 7 p.m at the Little White Church, 366 S. Main St., Union.