Foster's First Published Song
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Foster's First Published Song  |
Open Thy Lattice, Love! written at sixteen years of age and dedicated to Susan Pentland. It was not published until two years after it was written, and then by George Willig of Philadelphia. It is said that the words are anonymous and taken from a daily paper, The New Mirror. It must be remembered that this was not Stephen's first attempt at composition, as it followed the famous Tioga Waltz and Sadly to My Heart Appealing. It showed a distinct improvement over the latter. It is an example, in fact, of the spontaneous, melodic flow which characterizes the best of Foster's works. The original manuscript is one of the treasures displayed at the Foster Memorial Home in Pittsburgh.
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daughter of Captain Pentland, whose family occupied half of the house facing the Common on Union Avenue in Allegheny City. The house was also the home of the Fosters after they moved from Lawrenceville. Records prove that Susan was Stephen's first sweetheart, although it was probably not a romance of great proportions, since Susan was only eleven and Stephen sixteen. This young lady remained a friend of Stephen Foster's during practically his whole life. In later years, we find that he took his first trip to the South in 1852, on his brother Dunning's steam boat, The James Millinger, and that Susan Pentland was one of the party on this trip; she was then married to Andrew L. Robinson. This pleasure trip extended to New Orleans and it is surprising that, with the exception of Kentucky, the composer of famous Southern melodies should have made only one trip to Dixie Land. (Photo: Courtesy of City of Pittsburgh, Pa.)
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