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FOSTER, STEPHEN COLLINS (1826-1864) , American song and ballad writer, was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania , on the 4th of July 1826. He was the youngest child of a merchant of Irish descent who became a member of the state legislature and was related by marriage to President Buchanan. Stephen early showed talent for music, and played upon the flageolet, the guitar and the banjo; he also acquired a fair knowledge of French and German. He was sent to school in Towanda, Pennsylvania , and later to Athens, Pennsylvania, and when thirteen years old he wrote the song " Sadly to Mine Heart Appealing." At sixteen he wrote " Open thy Lattice, Love "; at seventeen he entered his brother's business house , Cincinnati, Ohio , where he remained about three years, composing meanwhile such popular pieces as " Old Uncle Ned," " O Susannah!" and others. He then adopted song-writing as a profession. His chief successes were songs written for the negro melodists or Christy minstrels. Besides those mentioned the following attained great popularity: " Nelly was a Lady," " Old Kentucky Home," " Old Folks at Home," " Massa's in de Cold, Cold Ground," &c. For these and other songs the composer received considerable sums, " Old Folks at Home " bringing him, it is said, 15,000 dollars. For most of his songs Foster wrote both songs and music. In 1850 he married and moved to New York , but soon returned to Pittsburg. His reputation rests chiefly on his negro melodies, many of which have been popular on both sides of the Atlantic and sung in many tongues. " Old Black Joe," the last of these negro melodies, appeared in 1861. His later songs were sentimental ballads. Among these are " Old Dog Tray," " Gentle Annie," " Willie, we have missed you," &c. His " Come where my Love lies Dreaming " is a well known vocal quartet. Al-though as a musician and composer Foster has little claim to high rank, his song-writing gives him a prominent place in the modern developments of popular music. He died at New York on the 13th of January 1864.
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