The Life of STEPHEN C FOSTER

Stephen Collins Foster was born in the community of Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1826. Stephen lived in many parts of Pittsburgh during his life. He was born in the Foster family home at 3600 Penn Avenue, "The White Cottage." In 1935, a dispute arose regarding Stephen's actual birthplace. Henry Ford, a Michigan auto manufacturer, dedicated an ancient cottage in his early American exhibition, Greenfield Village, as the "Birthplace of Stephen C. Foster." This was corroborated by several Foster relatives, the Columbia Broadcasting System and the newspapers. However, it was actually the old William Toman (3414 Penn Avenue) homestead which was built at least two or more years after Foster was born. As a result of the widespread publicity, sent out by the Ford Motor Company, the historic reputation of the actual White Cottage was tarnished. Stephen's education was consistent with that of the sons of other leading Scotch-Irish families in the community. At five, he was sent to an "infant school" and later attended Allegheny Academy. In 1840 and 1841 he was a student at two Bradford County institutions and while attending one of these schools, at only age 14, Stephen composed his first musical work, The Tioga Waltz. He attended Jefferson College at Canonsburg (Washington & Jefferson) but stayed only a week and did not return. At age 17 he composed Open Thy Lattice Love which was published one year later (1844). Oh! Susanna was published in 1848, just after gold was discovered in California. The six years from early 1850 through 1855 were the most successful of Foster's life with songs, compositions, arrangements and translations - more than one hundred and sixty works in all. In the summer of 1863, he summoned his waning strength to write his last song - Beautiful Dreamer. The song was not published until March 1864, two months after Stephen's death. He died at age 37 on January 13, 1864 in New York after a severe fall. At the request of his family, his body was taken to the undertaker and placed in an iron coffin. On the arrival of his wife, Jane Denny McDowell and brothers Henry Baldwin Foster and Morrison Foster, Stephen's remains were taken to Trinity Cathedral in Pittsburgh, where throngs of people came to visit. At the gate of Allegheny Cemetery, the funeral cortege was met by a company of musicians who played "Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming" and "Old Folks at Home". To learn more about Stephen Foster, check out the Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh by clicking on the internet link below.

http://www.pitt.edu/~amerimus/foster.htm

Stephen Foster Suwanee River Folk Culture Center