Stephen Collins Foster was born on July 4, 1826 in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. His childhood was spent in a middle class family. His father, William B. Foster and mother, Eliza T. had ten children. Although Foster had almost no formal training in music, he became one of the most prominent songwriters of the 19th century. Indeed, some of his songs - including Oh! Susanna,Camptown Races, and Beautiful Dreamer, are still well known today. He wrote minstrels and ballads that were referred to as Ethiopian songs. Stephen Foster referred to these as American Melodies. His musical work was not particularly profitable, because in this time period there was no legal protection for his works. Many songs were sold for a flat amount. In the 1860s, he wrote songs with George Cooper. A couple of these were: There Are Plenty of Fish in the Sea (1863) and Kissing in the Dark (1863). At the time of his death on January 13, 1864 in New York City, he had precisely 37 cents to his name.