74 issue 5 IF
TALES FROM THE CRYPT
S
TEXT & PHOTOS BY ADELE MEYER & ANNA RASSHIVKINA
TEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER 1826-1864 (SECTION 21, LOT 30)
Foster was born and bred in Lawrenceville and is now considered the “Father of American Music.” Although he had almost no musical education (he dropped out of Washington & Jefferson after a week), Foster composed his first work, “The Tioga Waltz,” at fourteen and “Open Thy Lattice Love” three years later. At 21, he wrote his famous “Oh! Susanna,” which everybody can hum but not many can attribute to his name. Between 1850 and 1855, Foster wrote over 160 works. However, musical legalities were not what they are now, and Foster was unable to properly copyright his music. He made only a hundred dollars for “Oh! Susanna.” In 1860, he moved to New York City, seeking greater opportunity in his field. His wife, Jane Denny McDowell, and daughter, Marion, left him and returned to Pittsburgh soon after. Foster fell victim to the alcoholism that had ruined his father but managed to compose “Old Black Joe.” In 1863 he composed his last great work, “Beautiful Dreamer,” before he died from a head injury in New York’s Bellevue Hospital with only 38 cents and a scrap of paper that read “dear friends and gentle hearts” in his pocket.
HARRY KENDALL THAW 1871-1947 (SECTION 16, LOT 119) He would proudly introduce himself: “I am Harry Thaw of Pittsburgh!” He didn’t really need much of an introduction, though. Thaw was born to one of Pittsburgh’s wealthiest families in 1871. He transferred from the Western University of Pennsylvania (Pitt’s forerunner) to Harvard, where he was said to have majored in poker and made his chief extracurricular activities binge drinking and
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