Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - July 5, 1998
By Raula Wright
Vigo County Historical Society

Foster’s music well-known

"Way down upon the Swanee River. . ." So begins one of the best-known songs of Stephen Collins Foster.

Foster was born in Lawrenceville, Pa., now part of Pittsburgh, on July 4, 1826. The 10th of 11 children, he was born into a prominent Scotch-Irish family.

Foster was different from his brothers and sisters; he was a dreamer and he loved music.

He had very little formal training in music and was self-taught in both music and composition.

At age 15, he wrote his first piece of music, titled "The Tioga Waltz."

Foster briefly attended Jefferson College in Cannonsburg, Pa. In 1846, he went to Cincinnati to help his brother with his steamboat agency. Foster tried bookkeeping, hoping to make his family happy by forgetting about music. He was a good bookkeeper but his heart was with his music.

Foster left Ohio in 1850. "Oh, Susanna," written in 1848, quickly caught on and became the marching song of the Forty-Niners on their way to the California gold field.

As a result of his success, Foster realized his music could earn him a living. Now, he would afford to get married and have a family. On July 22, 1850, Stephen Foster and Jane McDowell were married. They had one daughter Marion.

In 1851, "Old Folks at Home" was written. The song was composed for E.P. Christy minstrel shows.

Foster was a dreamer, improvident and temperamentally difficult but he also was generous, sociable and lovable. He made a good living but spent more than he made.

In 1860 he settled many of his debts and moved to New York. His wife soon followed, and they lived in various boarding houses throughout the city.

To escape reality, Foster started drinking and became an incurable alcoholic. After September 1861, it appears the Fosters no longer lived together.

In January 1864 Foster was living in New York. He was very ill and may have had tuberculosis. He dies January 13, 1864. He was 37 years old.

Foster spent his life in the north but his fame rests with his songs about the southern black slaves of the pre-Civil War Days.

Foster’s beautiful music can be heard Saturday at the "Homecoming Celebration" presented by the Vigo County Historical Society.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.