Call Number:

003.004

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

0.1 linear ft. (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Thomas S. Downing Jr. songbook (HCS.003.004), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1869–1872, 1882 (inclusive)

Creator:

Downing, Thomas Stalker, Jr., 1852–1926

Form:

songbooks

Abstract:

This small volume contains songs and poems collected by Thomas S. Downing Jr. (1852–1926) during his time at Haverford College. Downing, the son of a prosperous farmer in West Whiteland, Chester County, Pennsylvania, attended Haverford from 1869 through 1872. After graduating, Downing returned to Chester County and became a farmer. Various Haverford students wrote verses in Downing's songbook, some traditional and some original compositions. They cover a wide variety of topics and offer insight into the attitudes of Haverford students in the early 1870s.

Thomas Stalker Downing Jr. was born in March of 1852, to Thomas Stalker Downing Sr. (b. 1813) and Elisa S. Downing (b. 1827), residents of West Whiteland, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Thomas Downing Sr. was a farmer and the son of Joseph M. Downing (b. 1787), a miller. Thomas Downing Jr. was one of six children; his siblings were Joseph Miller Downing (b. 1846), Mary A. Downing (b. 1850), Debbie Downing (b. 1854), Henry D. Downing (b. 1857), and Sarah H. Downing (b. 1860). The household seems to have been prosperous, for the family employed four servants and two farm hands. Downing attended Haverford College from 1868 through 1872; after graduating he returned to West Whiteland and became a farmer. According to census data, Downing never married. He died on February 24, 1926. A record of his death appears in the minutes of the Uwchlan Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends, suggesting that Downing was a Quaker.

Thomas Downing Jr. was not the first in his family to attend Haverford. His older brother, Joseph Miller Downing, entered the college in 1861 and graduated in 1865. When Joseph had a son in 1883, he named the boy Thomas Stalker Downing after the child's uncle or grandfather. This Thomas Downing matriculated at Haverford in 1901 and graduated in 1905.

This small volume contains songs and poems that Thomas S. Downing Jr. collected from his peers at Haverford College between 1869 and 1872. The verses, some traditional and some original compositions, cover a wide range of topics and give insight into the attitudes of Haverford students in the early 1870s. A number discuss college life, such as "To the Class of 1872," or "Uncle John." Some songs are narrated from the point of view of women, and some deal with African-Americans, Germans, or Native Americans. On at least one occasion, in 1872, Downing also used the songbook as a journal. A program from alumni day in 1882 is pasted into the book, and someone has compiled an index of the songs in the back.

The songs in the book are roughly arranged by their contributor's class year and last name.