Death of Stephen Foster 

US #879 was issued in Bardstown, Kentucky, where Foster was inspired to write “My Old Kentucky Home.”

On January 13, 1864, Stephen Foster, the “father of American music,” died in New York City.

Stephen Collins Foster was born on July 4, 1826, in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania.  The youngest of nine children, Foster attended private schools and taught himself to play the clarinet, violin, guitar, flute, and piano.

Foster never received a formal education in musical composition but wrote his first song, “Tioga Waltz,” when he was just 14 years old. He published his first song, “Open Thy Lattice Love,” three years later. Foster briefly attended college, but took a trip to Pittsburgh and never went back to school. Instead, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to work as a bookkeeper for his brother’s steamship company.

US #879 – Classic First Day Cover

While in Cincinnati, Foster wrote his first successful songs between 1848 and 1849.  Among these songs was “Oh! Susanna,” which became a popular anthem of the California Gold Rush.  Also during this time, he published Foster’s Ethiopian Melodies, which included “Nelly Was a Lady,” popularized by the Christy Minstrels.

US #2636 pictures My Old Kentucky Home State Park, named after Foster’s famed song.

After that success, Foster moved back to Pennsylvania and signed a contract with the Christy Minstrels.  This would lead to perhaps his most successful musical period.  In the early 1850s, he wrote several now-famous songs, including “Camptown Races,” “Nelly By,” “Ring de Banjo,” “Old Folks at Home” (also known as “Swanee River”), “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Old Dog Tray,” and “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.”  Many of Foster’s songs had southern themes, though he never lived there and only visited once.

After the Civil War broke out and Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers, Foster set the poem “We Are Coming, Father Abra’am” to music.  There is little information about Foster’s final years, though he wrote the song “Beautiful Dreamer” sometime between 1862 and 1864.  In January 1864, he had a bad fever and fell, suffering a gruesome wound.  After he was discovered and taken to the hospital, Stephen Foster died on January 13, 1864, at just 37 years old.

US #2636 – Colorano Silk First Day Cover Picturing Stephen Foster

In the years since his death, Foster’s music went on to become even more widespread and popular.  Title 36 of the US Code names January 13 as Stephen Foster Memorial Day.  There are two state parks named in his honor, and another in honor of one of his songs: My Old Kentucky Home State Park.  “My Old Kentucky Home” is the state song of Kentucky and “Old Folks at Home” is the state song of Florida.

Click here to listen to some of Foster’s songs.

You asked, and we listened…  FREE printable This Day in History album pages are now available!

Click here to download a PDF of today’s article.  

It’s two pages.  The first page has a border so you can print it on whatever paper you want.  The second page doesn’t have a border so you can print it on Mystic’s blank supplement pages.  

And click here if you need a binder, or other supplies to create your This Day in History album.  You’ll find handy mount grab bags, or you can get the mounts you need on each individual US stamp page.  

Let us know if you like these pages and want us to keep creating them.  

And remember – you can purchase any of the stamps, covers, or coins in these articles.  Just click on the pictures and add them to your cart.

Click here to see what else happened on This Day in History.

Did you like this article? Click here to rate:
Share this Article

One Comment

  1. My parents had a set of 8 jelly glasses each with a Stephen Foster song on it.
    That was in the late 1940’s.
    What a talented young man. I still love his songs to this day.
    Thanks for the memories Mystic
    Blessings to all

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *