February, 2021:

I’ve taken this article offline in order to do a complete rewrite with corrections and much more information…plus an image of an original c.1900 specimen!

Note that it may take quite a while. One big error was confusing the inventor Joseph Behee with his son Joseph Behee Jr. (Frank Behee, the second “star of the story” remains the same).

I also had a LOT of hypothetical scenarios and questions, many (though not nearly all) I’ll be able to better answer.
Much help has come from Behee descendants (Lee Thomasson and Ron Behee in particular) along with descendants of Behee-playing musicians.

Hope you come back for it!