Susan McFarland Parkhurst
Encyclopedia
Susan McFarland Parkhurst (5 June 1836 – 4 May 1918) was an American
writer and composer.
, Massachusetts
, and composed popular songs and parlour piano solos during the 1860s. She was first recorded as an accompanist and soloist at a Methodist concert in New York
in 1860.
She married E.A. Parkhurst and had a daughter Effie but her husband died in action in 1864 during the Civil War
. She took a job at Waters’s Music Store where she met Stephen Foster
and began to write songs, mostly on topical and religious themes. She and her daughter performed her song Father's a Drunkard and Mother is Dead, in concert and it became a standard at temperance meetings in New York. Parkhurst died in Brooklyn
, New York
.
Stephen Foster's New York publisher Horace Waters printed a Select Catalogue of Mrs. E.A. Parkhurst’s Compositions in 1864. She also provided songs for Horace Waters' hymnals. Original prints of her songs are housed in the Music Division of the New York Public Library
and her instrumental works are archived at the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester
, Massachusetts.
In September 1916 she published "Personal Recollections of the Last Days of Stephen Foster" in The Etude magazine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and composer.
Life
Susan McFarland was born in LeicesterLeicester, Massachusetts
Leicester is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,970 at the 2010 census.-History:Leicester was first settled in 1713 and was officially incorporated in 1714....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and composed popular songs and parlour piano solos during the 1860s. She was first recorded as an accompanist and soloist at a Methodist concert in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1860.
She married E.A. Parkhurst and had a daughter Effie but her husband died in action in 1864 during the Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. She took a job at Waters’s Music Store where she met Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
and began to write songs, mostly on topical and religious themes. She and her daughter performed her song Father's a Drunkard and Mother is Dead, in concert and it became a standard at temperance meetings in New York. Parkhurst died in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Stephen Foster's New York publisher Horace Waters printed a Select Catalogue of Mrs. E.A. Parkhurst’s Compositions in 1864. She also provided songs for Horace Waters' hymnals. Original prints of her songs are housed in the Music Division of the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
and her instrumental works are archived at the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, Massachusetts.
Works
Parkhurst was noted for songs on themes such as themes as temperance and abolition, and also wrote sacred songs. Selected works include:- Father's a Drunkard and Mother is Dead
- New Emancipation Song (1864)
- There are voices (1864)
- Spirit Voices (1864)
- Weep no more for Lilly (1864)
- The Athenaeum (1863)
- The Golden Harp (1863)
- Zion’s Refreshing Showers (1867)
In September 1916 she published "Personal Recollections of the Last Days of Stephen Foster" in The Etude magazine.