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Stephen S. Goodrich Compositions

Stephen Silas Goodrich was the youngest child of Silas and Mary Ann Goodrich. He was born 16 June 1842 in Tioga, Tioga County, New York. The following compositions were written by Stephen while he was attending the local district school. Though undated, it is believed they were written when he was about eight or nine years old, which places them in the 1850-51 timeframe. They provide an interesting glimpse into the life of a rural farm boy in mid-nineteenth century Tioga County. These compositions were provided courtesy of Susan Sciacero.

California

Hurra for California! Hurra for the gold diggings! Who is bound for California? – the land whare gold is so plenty as the sand on the sea shore or at least seems so in the eyes of some people. Some go there by the overland route across the rocky mountains and over the wide spreading prairies where nothing but the long waving grass is to be seen as far as the eye can reach. Others go by water to the Isthmus of Darian where they cross on the backs of mules and camels and then get on board ships again and proceed to California. And others go the whole distance by water doubling Cape Horn when they meet with squalls and windy weather. Some make thousands of dollars while others make hardly enough to live upon.

Hurra hurra for the gold diggings
Where men from every clime
Go to find
Gold that they may dine
At some good plase
Or at a jockey race
And have a first rate time.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 9

Autumn

Autumn is generally a cold seson of the year, jack frost then comes and bites boys and girls toes and fingers, and the men gather there apples, and husk there corn, and sometimes have husking bees. Then the boys have a jolly time they carry the corn stouts around a fire and if there is any negroes in the circle of homespuns they will amuse them by singing dar old songs. The leaves and bushes so green are cut down by the grasping teeth of frost and wither and die.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 1

Tobacco

Tobacco is a filthy weed, fit only for the hogs to eat or some other beast that have neither soal or mind to know what a nasty _______ thing it is. Yet man, man the noblist works of God, will stoop so low as to eat with a relish – and some I verily believe wood yeald up there very life – rather than live without that much loved  tobacco. Tobacco grows about three feet high. They pick the leaves and drigh them and make them into plugs and smoking tobacco. The plug tobacco they chew.

S. Stephen Goodrich

Iron

Iron is a hard and brittle mettle that is dug out of the ground and is very useful in many ways. Almost all the farming and mechanical implements are made of iron. Stoves and all the working internals are also made of iron. The boilers and the greater part of the steam engin and the rails that is needed along the trach for them to run is of the same mettle. Iron is useful in steam mills for the boilers and pipes and other things. There is many different kinds of iron – some is hard and brittle and some fine grain and is called steel.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 8

Sheep

The sheep are sometime very tame and when the lambs are young they are very playful. They will run, hop and jump to there mother and when it comes warm wether the men take the sheep and wash them. And when the wool is dry, the men take them and shear them and take the wool to market for clothing.

Stephen Goodrich
Composition No 11

Summer

Summer is a pleasant season of the year, when the grass and grain is ripe the men cut it down and draw it in the barn, and then the grass growes up, the sheep and lambs like to run and skip over the green grass, and when the sun comes out hot they lie down under the shade, and in the summer when the water is warm the men wash the sheep and then they shear them and then they run to find their lambs, good by to summer.

S. S. G.
Composition No 14

Skating

It is almost winter and skating time is coming. It is nice to skate over the ice and sometimes they fall down and hurt them and some brake the ice and get drowned. We must be careful when the ice is thin and the water is deep, but some boys are careless and do not see it and skate over it and brake in.

S. S. Goodrich
Composition No 19

Birds

There are a great many kinds of birds. The chief birds are the crow, the robbin, the black bird, yellow bird, red bird, the whipperwill, the quail, and the ground bird, and a great many more. The crow is black and he will fly through the air and sing caw caw and when the corn is just coming up he will pull it up. The robbin has a red brest and they call them robbin red brest. The black bird will fly around the ploud ground and pick up the worms. And the red bird is very shy. And when it gets cold wether they fly to the south to stay through the winter.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 12

Time

Time is more precious than jewels is an old saying and it has been truly said for what would wealth be to man if he had not life? Time is that mighty destroyer who cuts down every human being and levels to the ground many citys and that have saved many persons from being slain in the war, to look forward to a year it seems like a long time time but day after day passes by and weeks and months till the year is ended.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 2

Summer

June is the first month of summer. In this month the grass and corn is green and the grass will soon be ripe enough for the harvest. In July it is warm and the men cut the grass and spread it around, and when it is dry, they rake it up and draw it into the barn. August it is still hotter and the men cut the oats and wheat, and draw it into the barn, and get redy for autom.

S. Stephen Goodrich
Composition No 10

Winter

Winter is a cold season of the year. When the ground is coverd with snow the Farmers put ther horses and oxen and cows in the barn and feed them hay and oats. The fowls pull on their snow stockings to keep their toes from being frozen. The wind blows cold too, and makes the boys ears cold going to school. The snow comes deep and we have to ride about in sleighs, the horses – pleased by the tinkling of bells – trot away and make the snow fly in all directions. The boys and girls gather together and make a party to some house and play anything they wish to, the boys slide down hill and when the ponds are frozen over they go a skating.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 9

New Year

New years day is the first day of the year. In the churches they have a new years sermon. And the night before new years we hang up our stockings so santy claus can fill them full of good or bad things just as he thinks best, and in the morning when we get up we run to our stockings to know what old santy claus has put into them and wishing them all a happy new year.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 15

Winter

The year is divided in four seasons, winter being the coldest. But it is not as cold here as it is farther north in Greenland where they have to dress in furs to keep them warm but I do not think they mind the cold any more than we do. Sometimes the snow falls deep here and the men and boys get out there sleighs and go a sleigh riding. But this winter is an exception we have not had much snow this winter and I do not think we will have any sleighing.

Stephen S. Goodrich
Composition No 11

Snow

How pleasant it is to see the snow falling gently down filling the air with the flakes. When the snow falls deep, then the boys take their sleighs and climb up the hills and course down them like a bird in the air, running through the snow banks and come out covered with snow from top to toe. Also the Farmers draw the logs to the mill if they have any to be sawed into boards or any thing they wish and in the winter the boys and girls have fine time in taking sleigh rides and sometimes they get tumbled into snow bank, but no matter they say, we’ll jump up and go on, the snow will not hurt us.

Stephen S. Goodrich

Ocean

The ocean is a large expanse of water, there are five of them the Atlantic Pacific Indian  Northern and Southern and they comprise two thirds of the whole earth. The Pacific is the largest Ocean and the Atlantic the next. There are a great many ships on the ocean and there are often dredful hurricanes which make the waves roll mountains high bearing the helpless vessels with them and the poor sailors and all on board are drowned some of them save themselves by catching hold of planks or anything that comes within their reach and perhaps live many days on the water without food or drink.