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Title: American Unitarian Hymn Writers and Hymns
Author: Foote, Henry Wilder
Language: English
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American Unitarian Hymn Writers and Hymns
Compiled by Henry Wilder Foote for the Hymn Society of America for
publication in the Society’s proposed Dictionary of American Hymnology
_Contents_:
(1) Historical Sketch of American Unitarian Hymnody. (Pages 1-11)
(2) Catalogue of American Unitarian Hymn Books. (Pages 12-36)
(3) Alphabetical List of Writers. (Pages 37-39)
(4) Biographical Sketches, with Notes on Hymns. (Pages 40-247)
(5) Index of First Lines of Published Hymns. (Pages 248-270)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
January, 1959
I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Misses Ruth and Orlo
McCormack in the preparation of this compilation.
H.W.F.
_AMERICAN UNITARIAN HYMNODY_
In the first edition of Julian’s _Dictionary of Hymnology_ (1891) F. M.
Bird[1] wrote, “The Unitarians—possessing a large share of the best
blood and brain of the most cultivated section of America—exhibit a long
array of respectable hymnists whose effusions have often won the
acceptance of other bodies,” (pp. 58-59). And in this century Louis F.
Benson[2] in his classic book _The English Hymn_ (p. 460) wrote, “It is
not surprizing that a body including the best blood and highest culture
of Massachusetts shared in the Literary Movement [of the 19^th century]
and succeeded in imparting to its hymn books a freshness of interest in
great contrast to those of the orthodox churches” and that “from their
[the compilers’] hands there proceeded —— a series of hymn books whose
literary interest was very notable” (p. 462).
This succession of Unitarian hymn writers over a period of approximately
150 years can best be traced in the nearly 50 hymn books compiled by
individuals or committees for use in Unitarian churches.[3] The editors
of these books were among the best educated men of their time, who knew
where to look for fresh lyrical utterances of a living faith. The
earliest of them lived in the period when the traditional metrical
psalms which, for more than two centuries, had been almost the only
worship-song of the English speaking world, were being slowly superseded
by the songs of a new age. These songs they chiefly found in the various
hymn-books published for use in English Non-conformist chapels when the
Church of England still generally adhered to the Old or New Versions of
the Psalms. It was from these sources that Jeremy Belknap first
introduced to Americans the hymns of Anne Steele, and included in his
_Sacred Poetry_ (1795) hymns by Addison, Cowper, Newton, Doddridge and
other English contemporaries. When, in 1808, the vestry of Trinity
Church, Boston, impatient at the delay of the General Convention of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in getting out a hymnal, issued one for
their own use, they drew heavily upon Belknap’s collection, saying in
their preface “In this selection we are chiefly indebted to Dr. Belknap,
whose book unquestionably contains the best expressions of sacred poetry
extant.”
Many of the later collections in this series of Unitarian hymn books
have been no less notable for their introduction to use in this country
of new English hymns, such as Pope’s “Father of all, in every age;” Sir
Walter Scott’s “When Israel of the Lord beloved;” translations of hymns
in the Roman Breviary; Sarah Flower Adams’ “Nearer, my God, to Thee”
(only three years after its publication in England); and Newman’s “Lead,
kindly Light;” and for the ability of their compilers to discover fresh
materials near at hand, as when Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson
were the first to notice the hymnic possibilities of Whittier’s poems.
The story of American Unitarian hymnody begins with the publication in
1783 of the _Collection of Hymns—designed for the use of the West
Society of Boston._ This church belonged to the liberal wing of New
England Congregationalism, destined to become known as Unitarian a
generation later. The book contained a small selection of traditional
psalms and hymns by British authors and a number of quaintly didactic
moral ditties in doggerel, presumably contributed by Boston versifiers
who cannot now be identified.
The first group of Unitarian hymn-writers whose names are known and
whose productions have survived did not begin to write until the opening
decades of the 19^th century. Of this group the earliest born was John
Quincy Adams, (1767-1848), best remembered as the sixth President of the
United States. That he was also a hymn writer, and the only president of
the country who was one, has generally been forgotten. Two or three
hymns by him were written earlier but most of them came from the period
following his retirement from the presidency in 1829. Soon after that
event he wrote one for the 200^th anniversary of the First Church in
Quincy, of which he was a member, and later in life he composed a
metrical paraphrase of the whole Book of Psalms. When Dr. Lunt, minister
of the Quincy church, was preparing his _Christian Psalter_, 1841, Mrs.
Adams put into his hands the mss. of her husband’s poems, and Lunt
included in his book five hymns and seventeen psalms by his
distinguished parishioner. None of them rose above the level of
respectable verse but his version of Psalm 43 survived in one or more
hymn books 100 years later.
Rev. John Pierpont (1785-1866) was a poet of considerable abilities
whose verses were in demand for special occasions and whose hymns were
the best lyrical expressions of the developing new thought in religion.
W. Garrett Horder, the English hymnologist, wrote that Pierpont’s hymn
of universal praise was “the earliest really great hymn I have found by
an American author.” It is still in use, as are two others by him.
Prof. Andrews Norton (1786-1853) of the Harvard Divinity School,
published a hymn as early as 1809 and a good deal of verse in later
years, much of it in a rather sombre introspective mood, but with one
fine hymn still in use. He was followed by Rev. Nathaniel Langdon
Frothingham (1793-1870) who wrote a good many hymns for special
occasions, one of which survives today, and by Rev. Henry Ware, Jr.
(1794-1843) who wrote a number of hymns highly valued as utterances of
the religious idealism of the period, but long since dropped from use,
except for an excellent one for the dedication of an organ, probably the
only hymn in the English language written expressly for such an
occasion. William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), a lay man of letters, was
another of the elder members of the famous group of New England poets of
the 19^th century, and as early as 1820 he contributed 5 hymns to
Sewall’s _New York Collection_, published in that year, and he later
wrote others.
The latest born of this first group who attained memorable distinction
in this field was Rev. Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890), whose earliest
hymn, still in use, was written in 1829, but who is best known for his
great translation of Luther’s “Ein’ feste Burg,” and for a fine Good
Friday hymn. He collaborated with Rev. Frederic Dan Huntington[4]
(1819-1904) then the college preacher at Harvard, in compiling _Hymns
for the Church of Christ_, (1853), to which Huntington contributed five
hymns, none now in use. Their book was the last and best of the various
_Collections_ published up to the middle of the century by editors who
belonged to what was becoming the conservative wing of the denomination,
to whom Emerson’s _Divinity School Address_ of 1838 seemed dangerously
radical.
But meantime a new era in Unitarian hymnody was opening with the
publication in 1846 of the _Book of Hymns_ edited by Samuel Longfellow
(1819-1891) and Samuel Johnson (1822-1882), while they were still
studying in the Harvard Divinity School. Both had come under the
influence of the Transcendentalist movement which was liberalizing
Unitarian thought and they eagerly sought out hymns which were fresh
expressions of their youthful outlook on religion. The book was notable
for the new sources of hymns which they discovered, among them the poems
of John Greenleaf Whittier, which they were the first to introduce into
a hymn book.
Their _Book of Hymns_ was followed in 1864 by their larger and even more
influential _Hymns of the Spirit_, which includes most of their own
hymns and many by other Unitarian writers of the period, too numerous to
name here, but whose hymns are listed in the catalogue of writers
appended to this introductory sketch. Samuel Johnson wrote only half a
dozen hymns, but they are among the finest in the language. Samuel
Longfellow wrote many more, the best of which are quite equal to
Johnson’s, and together they made a more important contribution to
American Unitarian hymnody than that of any other writers in the middle
of the 19^th century.
This was the period of “the flowering of New England literature” and two
of its poets, besides those already named, made their contribution to
hymnody. The more important of the two was Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes,
(1809-1894) with half a dozen fine and widely used hymns, and Prof.
James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) who, strictly speaking, was hardly a
hymn writer at all, but from whose poems two or three have been
quarried. Two other writers of this period were Rev. Edmund Hamilton
Sears (1810-1876) and his niece, Miss Eliza Scudder (1819-1896). Sears
wrote two Christmas hymns widely used throughout the English speaking
world. Miss Scudder wrote half a dozen hymns in a mystical vein of the
highest quality, but in temperament and outlook both writers belong more
to the earlier period of Unitarian thought than to that prevalent in
their later lifetime.
In this mid-century period should also be included the famous war-time
hymn by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), “Mine eyes have seen the glory
of the coming of the Lord,” written in 1861 to provide worthier words
than “John Brown’s body” for the popular tune “Glory, Hallelujah”, which
had been composed a few years earlier for a Sunday School in Charleston,
South Carolina.
A third period in Unitarian hymnody began with the appearance of hymns
by three good friends, Rev. John White Chadwick (1840-1906), Rev.
Frederic Lucian Hosmer (1840-1929) and Rev. William Channing Gannett
(1840-1923), who carried forward in the last third of the century the
broadly theistic interpretation of a universal religion to which
Longfellow and Johnson had given utterance. Chadwick’s first hymn was
written in 1864 for the graduation of his class from the Harvard
Divinity School, a great hymn of brotherhood, widely used in England as
well as here. A half-dozen others of fine quality have survived. Hosmer
and Gannett worked together in bringing out their book _The Thought of
God in Hymns and Poems_, 1885, 1894, and _Unity Hymns and Chorals_,
1880, 1911. Neither wrote any hymns while in the Divinity School, but
both began to do so soon after. In 1873 Gannett wrote a fine one which
is probably the earliest in the language to give a religious
interpretation to the then controversial doctrine of evolution, and
later a half dozen others to which deep feeling is expressed in
beautiful lyrical verse. Hosmer, however, was a much more prolific
writer, producing more than 40 hymns which have had some use. He was a
meticulous craftsman who studied the technique of hymn-writing, and
several of his hymns are among the finest in the language. Canon
Dearmer, a leading authority on hymnody in the Church of England,
included seven of them in his _Songs of Praise_ and calls one of them
“this flawless poem, one of the completest expressions of religious
faith,” and says another is “one of the noblest hymns in the language.”
For approximately 40 years, c. 1880-1920, Hosmer was the outstanding
hymn writer in the English speaking world, and he left no successor who
was his equal in the perfection of his finest hymns.
A smaller but important contribution to the Unitarian hymnody of this
period was made by Rev. Theodore Chickering Williams (1855-1915) who,
while still a student in the Harvard Divinity School wrote one of the
best ordination hymns in the language, and, in later years, eight
others, still in use, which are religious poetry of a high order.
The latest period in Unitarian hymnody, covering the last half-century,
is notable for the productions of two writers, Rev. Marion Franklin Ham
(1867-1957) and Rev. John Haynes Holmes, (1879-still living). Although
he had published a volume of poems in 1896 Dr. Ham did not begin to
write hymns until 1911, but thereafter he produced a succession of
beautiful religious lyrics, eight or ten of which have come into use.
Some of them are utterances of a profound mystical insight akin to that
of Eliza Scudder, but others are expressions of a world-wide theism, and
one has been translated into Japanese.
Rev. John Haynes Holmes has been a more prolific writer, author of about
45 hymns, many written for special occasions, but 10 or 15 others have
come into general and widespread use. His hymns are in a quite different
key from those of Dr. Ham’s quiet mysticism, generally being stirring
calls to social justice and the service of mankind, though a few are
hymns of gratitude for the simple joys of life. While he has
infrequently attained the felicity of phrasing which results in a
memorable line his hymns are cast in vigorous and often stirring verse,
expressing a noble altruism and a wholesome attitude towards life.
M. F. Ham and J. H. Holmes are the latest notable figures in this era of
150 years since the beginning of American Unitarian hymnody, throughout
which scores of lesser writers have also contributed their offerings to
the main stream. These writers are far too numerous to name in this
outline sketch but their thumbnail biographies and notations as to their
hymns will be found in the following catalogue. A survey of this whole
era discloses the evolution in liberal religious thought from the period
when the emphasis was on the sinfulness of man and the redemptive
function of the Christian Church, to the vision of a world wide religion
taking in many forms, and manifested in that service of mankind which
found expression in the “social gospel” in the first half of this
century.
The production of so great a number of fine hymns (and of a long series
of hymn books of a superior type) over so long a period, by persons
belonging to one of the smallest Protestant denominations, commonly
considered coldly intellectual rather than emotional in its approach to
religion, is a phenomenon unique in the history of hymnody. When the
first edition of the _Pilgrim Hymnal_ was published in 1910 it listed
both the nationality and the church membership of the authors included,
which led to the disclosure that nearly half the American authors were
Unitarians who had contributed considerably more than half the hymns of
American authorship. In answer to critics Dr. Washington Gladden replied
that this was due to the simple fact that the Unitarians had written a
larger number of the best hymns than had the American writers in other
denominations.
Canon Dearmer in England observed the same fact and was puzzled to
explain it. The explanation, however, is a simple one. With the
exception of a relatively small number of writers born in other parts of
the country and with different backgrounds, these Unitarian authors were
men brought up in the atmosphere of the so-called “New England
Renaissance,” that literary revival of which Boston, Cambridge and
Concord were the chief centres in the 19^th century, and they belonged
by blood, by education and by social ties to the New England literary
group. The majority were also graduates of Harvard College or Harvard
Divinity School, or both, in a period when the spirit of the time was
most favorable to the stimulation of poetic gifts, and in a place where
the intellectual level was high and there was freedom from any dogmatic
control.[5] Thus they had the culture and the warmth of atmosphere
needed, and the Divinity School had the admirable custom of encouraging
students to write a hymn for the annual graduation exercises or for the
School’s Christmas service, and so stimulated their poetic gifts.
Thanks to these favorable circumstances what has been called “the
Harvard school of hymnody” has had no equal in the English speaking
world, the only comparable institution being Trinity College, Cambridge,
England, which, for a much briefer period (1820-1845) was the nursing
mother of a notable succession of Anglican hymn writers. It was this
fact which led W. Garrett Horder, an English Congregationalist who was
also a highly competent hymnologist, to write, “Harvard, like our
English Cambridge, has been ‘a nest of singing birds’. I was struck by
this when editing _The Treasury of American Sacred Songs_. Harvard
provided the bulk —— of the verse I included.” And other orthodox
authorities, notably F. M. Bird and Louis F. Benson, already quoted,
have borne witness to the high achievements of both the editors of the
long succession of Unitarian hymn books and the authors of the hymns
which they included.
_Catalogue of American Unitarian Hymn Books._
compiled by Henry Wilder Foote and reprinted (with revisions) from the
Proceedings of the Unitarian Historical Society, May, 1938, by
permission.
In the 17^th century, and down to the middle of the 18^th, all churches
of the Congregational order in New England used the _Bay Psalm Book_,
first printed in Cambridge in 1640, except for the use of Ainsworth’s
_Psalter_ in the churches of the Plymouth Plantation and in the First
Church in Salem for a part of the 17^th century. In the latter part of
the 18^th century, the _Bay Psalm Book_ was gradually superseded by
either the New Version of the Psalms (Tate and Brady) or, more
generally, by one of the editions of _Watts and Select_, i.e. Isaac
Watts’ _Psalms and Hymns_, with a supplement of hymns selected from
other authors.
The first steps away from the Psalm books in general use were taken by
two churches which were in the vanguard of the rising liberalism of the
last half of the 18^th century. In 1782 the West Church in Boston
published _A Collection of Hymns, more particularly designed for the Use
of the West Society in Boston_ (1),[6] and in 1788 the East Church in
Salem published _A Collection of Hymns for Publick Worship_, (2). These
two books were of only local significance, but they clearly pointed the
way which later publications were to follow. In 1795 Rev. Jeremy Belknap
brought out his _Sacred Poetry_ (3), which was an attempt to produce a
book which should be acceptable to both the liberal and the orthodox
wings of Congregationalism. In this purpose it failed, though it was
widely used by Unitarians. The succeeding books were more definitely
Unitarian in character and illustrate the changing emphasis in religious
thought and practice through five generations of religious liberals.
They form a notable series, for most of them attained a literary
standard and spiritual outlook higher than that of other contemporary
hymn books.
The earlier books in this series were very imperfectly edited, judged by
modern standards. Some of them contain no preface and no indication as
to the identity of the compiler. In other cases, the compiler is
indicated by initials. In some cases the names of the authors of hymns
are not given at all, in others only the surname, when known, and there
are frequent mistaken attributions. Directions as to the music are
usually lacking, the metre of each hymn alone being indicated. In some
cases the names of suitable tunes are given, but only one book (18)
earlier than 1868 included any music, in that case an appendix of
twenty-one tunes in two parts at the back of the book. The first
American Unitarian hymn book to be printed with a tune on each page was
the American Unitarian Association’s _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1868 (34).
Thereafter few books appeared without tunes, but half-a-dozen other
collections with music were published in the next forty years, each of
which had considerable use.
It will be noted that in the course of the 19^th century no less than
thirty-six different hymn-books appeared, a far larger number than any
other American denomination can show for the same period, and
illustrative of the extreme individualism of the Unitarian churches.
Throughout the middle third of the century Greenwood’s _Collection_
(13), the _Springfield Collection_ (14), and the _Cheshire Collection_
(20), had the widest use, followed in the last third of the century by
the _Hymn and Tune Books_ (34) and (36) of the American Unitarian
Association, but all the other collections had some local vogue, in some
cases only for a brief period or only in those churches the ministers of
which had compiled the collections in question. As late, however, as the
beginning of the 20^th century, at least eight different hymn-books were
in use in the Unitarian churches of the United States and Canada. This
diversity of usage declined rapidly after the publication of _The New
Hymn and Tune Book_ (45) in 1914, and had practically disappeared by the
time when that book’s successor, _Hymns of the Spirit_ (48) was
published in 1937.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copies of at least one edition of each of the following books are
in the Historical Library of the American Unitarian Association,
25 Beacon Street, Boston, except in the cases noted.
1. _A Collection of Hymns, more particularly designed for the Use of
the West Society in Boston_—Boston, 1782; 2nd ed., 1803; 3rd ed.,
1806; 4th ed., 1813.
The editor is said to have been Rev. Simeon Howard (1733-1804), (See
Bentley’s _Diary_, II, 371), Jonathan Mayhew’s successor as minister
of the West Church. Mayhew’s congregation was notably liberal and this
book represents the first step away from psalm-books of the
traditional type. It contains 166 hymns, including a number of
classics by Watts, Barbauld, Addison, etc. The tone in general is
ethical rather than theological, and many of the hymns are moral
precepts in mediocre verse, some, at least, probably of local
production, but the authors cannot be identified as no author is
named; there is no preface, and the compiler’s name is not given.
Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy.
There is one in the Congregational Library, 14 Beacon Street,
Boston.
2. _A Collection of Hymns for Publick Worship_—Salem; n.d. (1788)
Edited by Rev. William Bentley (1750-1819) of the East Church, Salem,
Mass., and used there until superseded in 1843 by Flint’s _Collection_
(17). There is no preface and the compiler’s name is not given. There
are no musical directions except the metre of each hymn. The book
consists of two parts, the first containing 40 psalms “according to
Tate and Brady’s Version,” arranged by metre; the second containing
163 hymns of high quality, including many of the classics of the
period. The book is much superior to No. 1, but had little use outside
the church for which it was intended, perhaps because Bentley, though
one of the earliest outspoken Unitarians, was _persona non grata_ in a
Federalist stronghold on account of his political opinions.
Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy.
There is one at The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.
3. _Sacred Poetry: consisting of Psalms and Hymns adapted to Christian
devotion in publick and private. Selected from the best authors, with
variations and additions_—By Jeremy Belknap, D.D., Boston, 1795.
Many editions. Some included a supplement of _Hymns for the Lord’s
Supper, selected and original_, (7) prepared by Rev. Thaddeus M.
Harris, minister of the First Church in Dorchester, 1801. In 1812 an
edition appeared with 28 additional hymns, “Selected by the successor
of the Rev. Author,” i.e. by W. E. Channing.
Dr. Belknap (1744-1798) was the first Congregational minister of the
Federal Street Church (his predecessors having been Presbyterians),
and his immediate successor was William Ellery Channing. Belknap
endeavored to compile a collection which should serve both the
orthodox and the liberal wings of the New England Congregationalism of
his day. In his preface he says, “In this selection, those Christians
who do not scruple to sing praises to their Redeemer and Sanctifier,
will find materials for such a sublime enjoyment; whilst others, whose
tenderness of conscience may oblige them to confine their addresses to
the Father only, will find no deficiency of matter suited to their
idea of the chaste and awful spirit of devotion.” Belknap, however,
failed in his attempt to produce a compromise book, as it found favor
only in the liberal churches, which used it for some forty years.
The book contains 150 psalms, selected from versions by Tate and
Brady, Watts, and others, often “with variations”; and 300 hymns,
widely selected from English sources, including Pope’s “Universal
Prayer” (altered), Helen Maria Williams’ “While Thee I seek,
protecting Power,” hymns by Cowper, Newton, Doddridge, Merrick,
Addison, Anne Steele and others. Belknap introduced Anne Steele’s
hymns to Americans. There are no hymns by Charles Wesley, and the only
hymns of American authorship appear to be Mather Byles’ “When wild
confusion rends the air,” and a metrical version of Psalm 65 by Jacob
Kimball.
There are no musical directions save the metre of each hymn and the
key. “The characters denoting the sharp or flat key are prefixed to
each psalm or hymn, at my request, by the Rev. Dr. Morse, of
Charlestown.”
The book was much the best of its period. When, in 1808, the vestry of
Trinity Church, Boston, impatient at the delay of the General
Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in getting out a hymnal,
issued one for their own use, they drew heavily on Belknap’s, saying
in their preface, “In this selection we are chiefly indebted to Dr.
Belknap, whose book unquestionably contains the best specimens of
sacred poetry extant.”
4. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for public worship._—Boston,
1799; edited by Rev. James Freeman (1759-1825). 2nd ed., 1813.
This was the first of the hymn-books prepared for use in King’s
Chapel, Boston, where it was used for 30 years until succeeded by
Greenwood’s _Collection_ (13). No preface; no musical directions
except that the metre is indicated. The names of some authors are
given in the index of first lines. The book contains 155 psalms, or
parts of psalms, “selected principally from Tate and Brady,” followed
by 90 hymns and 8 doxologies. The collection is decidedly inferior to
that of Belknap (3) in range and quality.
Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy, but
King’s Chapel does.
5. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns_—by William Emerson, A.M., Pastor
of the First Church in Boston; Boston, 1808.
Rev. William Emerson (1769-1811) was the father of Ralph Waldo
Emerson. His book is more handsomely printed than most hymn books of
the period and contains 150 hymns. It was very liberal in tone and was
assailed by the orthodox for having omitted hymns on several of “the
most essential doctrines of Christianity.” Its most notable feature
was its endeavor to improve the singing by “prefixing to each psalm
and hymn the name of a tune, well composed and judicially chosen” as
“a valuable auxiliary to musical bands. No American hymn-book has
hitherto offered this aid to the performers of psalmody.” The key in
which the tune is set and the metre are also indicated at the head of
each hymn. There is also an interesting “Index of Tunes, and Musical
Authors,” with references to the various collections in which the
recommended tunes may be found. As this list of collections of tunes
was prepared by a person particularly interested in promoting good
music it is here reprinted as indicating the best available sources at
the time:
Mass. Com., Massachusetts Compiler; Sal. Coll., Salem Collection; Lock
H. Coll., Lock’s Hospital Collection; Sac. Min., Sacred Minstrel;
B.C.M., Beauties of Church Music; Psal. Evan., Psalmodia Evangelica;
F. C. Coll., First Church Collection; Suff. Selec., Suffolk Selection;
Bos. Selec., Boston Selection; Newb’t Coll., Newburyport Collection;
Mus. Olio, Musical Olio; Col. Repos., Columbian Repository; B. Coll.,
Bridgewater Collection.
While this book thus made the selection of tunes easier than did most
of its contemporaries, it is needless to point out how inconvenient it
was not to have the tunes in the same book with the words. With all
its excellencies the book had small use, being rather too far in
advance of its time.
6. _A Selection of Sacred Poetry consisting of Psalms and Hymns from
Watts, Doddridge, Merrick, Scott, Cowper, Barbauld, Steele and
others_—Philadelphia, 1812; 2nd ed., 1818; 3rd ed., 1828; 4th ed.,
1846.
Edited by Ralph Eddowes (1751-1833) and James Taylor (1769-1844) two
laymen of the church in Philadelphia in which Joseph Priestley had
preached after coming to America, but which remained without a settled
minister until Rev. W. H. Furness was installed in 1825. A good
collection of 606 psalms and hymns, from varied English sources, as
indicated by the following quotation from preface:—“The Society of
Unitarian Christians in Philadelphia, from its first formation, has
used, in its public devotional exercises, the collection of hymns and
psalms made by the Rev. Doctors Kippis and Rees, and Messrs. Jervis
and Morgan.... A late collection by the Rev. Mr. Aspland, of Hackney,
has also afforded assistance, of which advantage has been freely
taken; and by resorting to another, published in 1789 by the Rev.
Messrs. Ash and Evans of Bristol, this work has been enriched with
several pieces of Mrs. Steele’s exquisitely beautiful and highly
devotional poetry.”
7. _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper_, Original and Selected. [edited] by
Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D., Boston; printed by Sewall Phelps, no. 5
Court Street, 1820; 2nd ed., 1821.
In 1801 Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, minister of the First Church in
Dorchester, Mass., printed a few hymns for use at the Lord’s Supper,
and these formed the basis for this enlarged collection published in
1820. This edition contains original hymns by Rev. John Pierpont of
Boston, Rev. Samuel Gilman of Charleston, S. C., and others, none of
them in use today. The booklet probably had more circulation for
private reading than for public use.
8. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, for social and private
worship_—New York, 1820; 2nd ed., 1827; 4th ed., 1845.
Compiled by Dr. Henry D. Sewall, one of the laymen who founded the
First Congregational Society of New York, now All Souls Church, which
was organized in 1819. Commonly called “the New York Collection.” It
contains 504 psalms and hymns arranged in three sections in
alphabetical order of first lines. There are no musical directions
except that the metre of each hymn is indicated. The Collection is
chiefly notable for the inclusion, without the author’s name, of five
original hymns by William Cullen Bryant, a member of the congregation,
who had written them at the instance of Miss Sedgwick.
The fourth edition, 1845, made some substitutions and added 146 hymns
to the original number.
9. _A Selection of Psalms and Hymns, for social and private
worship_—Andover, 1821; 2nd ed., Cambridge, 1824; 11th ed., Boston,
1832.
Edited by Jonathan Peele Dabney (1793-1868), a graduate of Harvard who
had studied for the ministry but was never ordained. The book was
smaller, cheaper and better arranged than Sewall’s (8), and had
considerable use. It contains 385 hymns, and 21 “Ascriptions and
Occasional Pieces,” these last including Henry Ware’s Easter hymn,
“Lift your glad voices,” and Heber’s “From Greenland’s icy mountains.”
There are no musical instructions beyond indication of metres.
10. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Social and Private Worship,
compiled by a committee of the West Parish in Boston_—Boston; printed
by John B. Russell, 1823.
This book was a successor to No. 1. No preface; no copyright; no
indication of the identity of the compilers. It contains 320 psalms
and hymns by Tate and Brady, Watts, Doddridge, Barbauld, Steele and
others. No hymn by Charles Wesley, but it has John Wesley’s “Lo, God
is here,” attributed to “Salisbury Coll.” Also 6 communion hymns; 5
for Christmas, including Tate’s “While shepherds watched their flocks
by night,” attributed to Dr. Patrick; Milton’s “Nor war nor battle’s
sound,” altered by Dr. Gardiner; and Sir Walter Scott’s “When Israel
of the Lord beloved”.
Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy, but
there is one at the Congregational Library, 16 Beacon Street,
Boston, Mass.
11. _A Selection from Tate and Brady’s Version of the Psalms: with
Hymns by various authors_—For the use of the church in Brattle Square,
Boston. Boston: Richardson & Lord, 1825.
Compiled by a committee of that church. The church used the _Bay Psalm
Book_ until 1753; then Tate and Brady’s _New Version_ of the Psalms,
with an appendix of hymns selected by a committee. In 1808 another
committee published another appendix, entitled _A Second Part of
Hymns_. The book issued in 1825, by a committee the membership of
which is unknown, is a revision and enlargement of the original Tate
and Brady and the appendices. It contains 150 psalms and 363 hymns. No
musical directions save indications of metres.
12. _Sacred Poetry and Music reconciled, or a Collection of Hymns
original and compiled_—by Samuel Willard, D.D., A.A.S. Boston: L. C.
Bowles, 1830.
This book, “adopted while in manuscript, by the Third Congregational
Society in Hingham,” had little use beyond that parish. It contains
518 hymns, and 7 chants, the latter being a feature not met with in
any earlier book in this series. Tunes are indicated for each hymn,
but the editor had some peculiar theories about the “reconciliation”
of words and music. The editor, Rev. Samuel Willard (1776-1859), had
been minister at Deerfield but had retired on account of blindness and
was temporarily resident in Hingham when this book was published.
13. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship_—Boston:
Carter and Hendee, 1830.
Edited by Rev. Francis William Pitt Greenwood (1797-1843), minister of
King’s Chapel, Boston. _Greenwood’s Collection_, as it was generally
called, containing 560 psalms and hymns, superseded Belknap’s (3) as
the hymn-book most widely used in Unitarian churches in the first half
of the 19^th century. It ran to fifty editions and was used in King’s
Chapel, for which it was prepared, until superseded there by _Hymns of
the Church Universal_, 1890, (39). Based upon Watts, the book contains
the then very recent hymns by James Montgomery, Harriet Auber, Bowring
and Heber, and practically introduced Charles Wesley to American
Unitarians. In _Young Emerson Speaks_, edited by A. C. McGiffert,
1937, pages 145-150, will be found a sermon on “Hymn Books” preached
by R. W. Emerson in 1831, while still minister of the Second Church in
Boston, in which he recommends the church to adopt _Greenwood’s
Collection_ in place of Belknap’s. Emerson, in his Journal for 1847,
noted that _Greenwood’s Collection_ was “still the best.”
14. _The Springfield Collection of Hymns for sacred worship_, by
William B. O. Peabody—Springfield: Samuel Bowles, 1835.
Rev. William Oliver Bourne Peabody (1799-1847) was minister at
Springfield, Mass. His collection contains 509 hymns, admirably chosen
from the accepted classics of the period, Watts and Doddridge
predominant, but with an increasing number of the recent compositions
by Unitarian hymn-writers of the first third of the 19^th century. No
musical instructions beyond indication of metres. On its merits the
_Springfield Collection_ rightly shared with _Greenwood’s Collection_
(13) and _The Cheshire Collection_ (20) the largest measure of
popularity and use among Unitarians in the middle of the 19^th
century.
15. _The Christian Psalter: A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for
social and private worship_—Boston, 1841.
Edited by Rev. William Parsons Lunt (1805-1857), for use in the First
Church in Quincy, Mass. It contains 702 hymns and psalms and
represents a reversion to the older type of hymnody, “but, if
old-fashioned, it was excellent and serviceable.” Lunt included 22
pieces by his parishioner, ex-President John Quincy Adams, whose wife
had put into his hands a complete metrical psalter which Adams had
composed. At least one of Adams’ psalms is still to be found in some
hymn-books.
16. _A Manual of Prayer for public and private worship, with a
collection of hymns_—Boston, 1842.
Edited by Rev. William Greenleaf Eliot (1811-1887). Although printed
in Boston, this book was prepared for The First Congregational Society
of St. Louis, Missouri, of which the editor had become minister in
1834. The Society was the earliest Unitarian church in the Mississippi
Valley, excepting that at New Orleans. The book is primarily a
collection of service materials followed by 272 well-selected hymns
from standard sources. It was the earliest volume of the sort to be
prepared for Unitarian use in the Middle West.
17. _A Collection of Hymns, for the Christian Church and Home_—Boston,
1843.
Edited by Rev. James Flint (1779-1855). The editor was minister of the
East Church in Salem, Mass., and based his book upon the 18^th century
collection of his predecessor, William Bentley (2). He borrowed the
title and much of the contents of James Martineau’s book published in
England in 1840. The book contains 415 hymns.
Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy of
this book. One is in the Congregational Library, 14 Beacon Street,
Boston.
18. _The Social Hymn Book; consisting of psalms and hymns for social
worship and private devotions_—Boston, 1843.
Edited by Rev. Chandler Robbins (1810-1882), minister of the Second
Church in Boston. The book, which contains 350 psalms and hymns, is
based upon Watts and Doddridge, but it introduced new hymns from
various sources, among them about twenty of Bishop Mant’s translations
of “ancient hymns” from the Roman Breviary. Dr. Robbins was one of the
earliest American hymn-book editors to avail himself of the English
versions of Latin hymns which were among the fruits of the Oxford
Movement. His book has an appendix of 21 tunes in two parts, the book
being thus the first in this series to include any printed music.
19. _The Disciples’ Hymn Book; a collection of hymns and chants for
public and private devotions, prepared for the use of the Church of
the Disciples_—Boston, 1844.
Edited by Rev. James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888) for use in the Church
of the Disciples, Boston, which had been organized in 1841 and of
which he was the first minister. The first edition is commonly bound
up with _Service Book: for the use of the Church of the Disciples_. A
revised and enlarged edition appeared in 1852. The collection contains
318 hymns and an appendix of chants. It was notable for its freshness
and progressive outlook, and drew upon the most recent English
sources. It introduced into American use the hymn “Nearer, my God, to
thee,” by Sarah Flower Adams, published in England only three years
earlier, and other hymns by the same author. It also included some of
Clarke’s own hymns, more of which appeared in the second edition.
20. _Christian Hymns for public and private worship. A Collection
compiled by a committee of the Cheshire Pastoral Association_—Boston,
1845.
Edited by Rev. Abiel Abbott Livermore (1811-1892), Chairman; Rev. Levi
W. Leonard (1790-1864), Rev. William A. Whitwell (1804-1865) and Rev.
Curtis Cutler (1806-1874), ministers at Keene, Dublin, Wilton, and
Peterboro, New Hampshire, respectively. The editorial work was chiefly
done by Livermore, who also contributed to it his communion hymn, “A
holy air is breathing round.”
This book, commonly called _The Cheshire Collection_, ran through
sixty editions and was widely used. Its popularity was due in part to
its wide range—908 hymns—and to its provision for special occasions,
but more to the inclusion of fresh material of high quality.
21. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary_—Boston, 1845.
Edited by Rev. George E. Ellis (1814-1894) for use in the Harvard
Church in Charlestown, Mass., of which he was then minister. It
contains 658 hymns and psalms, and is based on _Greenwood’s
Collection_ (13) and _The Springfield Collection_ (14). A Selection
from the Psalms, apparently intended for responsive reading, is bound
up with the hymn-book, of which it is an unusual feature.
22. _Hymns for Public Worship_—Boston, 1845.
Edited by Rev. George W. Briggs (1810-1895), minister of the First
Church at Plymouth, Mass. (1838-1852). The book contains 601 hymns; no
musical directions beyond indication of metres. There is a strong
emphasis on hymns of the inner life, the compiler having sought “to
bring together the most fervent expressions of a profound spiritual
life,” many of which “have never been in familiar use in Unitarian
churches.”
23. _Service Book: for the Church of the Saviour, with a Collection of
Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship_—Boston, 1845.
Edited by Rev. Robert Cassie Waterston (1812-1893), minister of the
Church of the Saviour, Boston. _The Collection of Psalms and Hymns_
bound up with the services is _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) with a
supplement of 116 hymns selected by Waterston, so that the book is
more accurately described as one of the editions of Greenwood than as
an independent publication. The supplement, however, is notable for
the high proportion of good new hymns, not available when _Greenwood’s
Collection_ first appeared. Among them are hymns by Samuel F. Smith,
G. W. Doane, the early and mid-century Unitarian writers, and some
taken from Breviary sources.
No musical instructions beyond indication of the metres.
24. _A Book of Hymns for public and private devotion_—Cambridge:
Metcalf & Company, printers to the University. 1846.
Edited by Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892) and Samuel Johnson
(1822-1882). The editors were, at the time, students in the Harvard
Divinity School (class of 1846), and the book “grew out of an offer to
provide a new book for a minister who found even the recent ones too
antiquated.” It was marked by poetic excellence and freshness, and
introduced to American use “Lead, Kindly Light,” and hymns by
Whittier, Longfellow, Lowell, Jones Very, Mrs. Stowe and others,
besides hymns by the editors themselves. First used in Church of the
Unity, Worcester, Mass., of which Edward Everett Hale was minister;
then in the Music Hall congregation of Theodore Parker, who is said,
on receiving a copy, to have remarked, “I see we have a new book of
Sams.” It ran to a twelfth edition in two years, but its greatest
influence was as a source-book for later editors. A somewhat enlarged
edition appeared in 1848.
25. _Hymns of the Sanctuary_—Boston, 1849.
Edited by Rev. Cyrus A. Bartol (1813-1900), minister of the West
Church in Boston, assisted by Charles G. Loring, Joseph Willard, and
other laymen of the church. The book is a revised and enlarged edition
of the “West Boston Collection” (10) of which the original edition had
been prepared by Rev. Simeon Howard (1). It contains 643 hymns and a
few chants. No musical directions beyond indication of metres.
26. _Hymns for the Church of Christ_—Edited by Rev. Frederic H. Hedge
and Rev. Frederic D. Huntington, Boston, 1853.
Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890) later became a distinguished
professor in the Harvard Divinity School. Frederic Dan Huntington
(1819-1904) later joined the Episcopal Church, in which he attained a
bishopric.
The book contains 872 hymns,—no musical instructions beyond indication
of metres. It is conservative in tone but is marked by high literary
standards, and by a catholic inclusiveness beyond that of most books
in this series. It includes a number of translations of Breviary
hymns, and in it appears, for the first time, Hedge’s translation of
Luther’s “Ein’ feste Burg.” Better printed than most contemporary
hymn-books, it was hailed as “much the best book of hymns yet
published.” Many hymns are listed as “Anon.” and some authors are
given by surname only, making identification doubtful.
27. _Services and Hymns for the use of the Unitarian Church of
Charleston_, S.C., 1854, 1867.
The preface to the first edition, dated “April, 1854,” was signed by
S. Gilman and C. M. Taggart, then joint ministers of the church. No
copy of this edition appears to be extant. A new and enlarged edition,
with an unsigned preface but reprinting the earlier preface signed by
Gilman and Taggart, appeared in 1867, “Printed by Joseph Walker, Agt.,
Charleston.” “Hymns for Christian Worship,” 171 in number, make up the
second half of this volume. Almost all of them are the standard
English hymns in current use in the first half of the 19^th century,
with 10 hymns by American authors, three of which are by Dr. Gilman
and two by his wife, Caroline Gilman, all of which had appeared in
earlier collections.
28. _Hymn Book for Christian Worship_—Boston, 1854.
There is no preface and the name of the compiler nowhere appears. It
was, however, edited by Rev. Chandler Robbins (1810-1882), minister of
the Second Church in Boston, and is, in effect, an enlargement of his
earlier _Social Hymn Book_, (18), with 761 hymns, better adapted to
church use. Like its predecessor, it contained chiefly the older type
of hymns,—107 by Watts, 62 by Doddridge, 40 by James Montgomery, 13 by
C. Wesley, and 20 more called “Wesleyan.”
29. _The Soldier’s Companion: Dedicated to the Defenders of their
Country in the Field, by their Friends at Home_, published as the
issue of _The Monthly Journal_, Boston, for October, 1861, vol. II,
No. 10.
This was a small paper bound collection of a few traditional hymns,
supplemented by a dozen anti-slavery or wartime songs by living
writers, including J. Pierpont, E. H. Sears, and J. R. Lowell, with a
supplement of devotional readings and prayers. Presumably it had some
use in the Army, but copies are now very rare.
30. _Christian Worship_—New York, 1862.
Edited by Rev. Samuel Osgood (1812-1880), then minister of the Church
of the Messiah, New York, and Rev. Frederic A. Farley (1800-1892),
minister of The First Unitarian Congregational Church, Brooklyn, N. Y.
A small collection of 159 hymns, bound up with a liturgical type of
service-book indicating the trend which later took Osgood into the
Episcopal Church.
31. _The Soldier’s Hymn Book, containing a supplement of national
songs for the use of chaplains and soldiers in the army and navy of
the United States_—Prepared by J. G. Forman, Chaplain of the 3d
Regiment Missouri Infantry, Army of the U. S., Alton, Illinois, 1863.
Rev. Jacob G. Forman (d. 1885), the compiler, was at the time minister
of the Unitarian Church at Alton. This little pocket hymnal contains
99 hymns, and 26 additional patriotic songs.
32. _The Soldier’s Hymn Book for Camp and Hospital_—Cambridge, printed
at the University Press, 1863.
There is no indication as to the source of this little book, and the
identity of its compiler has not been discovered. Its contents,
however, indicate that it came from a Unitarian source. It is a pocket
hymnal containing 150 familiar hymns and a few prayers, somewhat
larger and better printed than (31).
33. _Hymns of the Spirit_—Boston, Ticknor & Fields, 1864.
Edited by Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892) and Samuel Johnson
(1822-1882). This is the second and more famous hymn-book compiled by
the editors. It contains 717 hymns and represents their later and more
radical trend of thought, the book being theistic rather than
explicitly Christian in its emphasis. It introduced many hymns by the
editors themselves, and made drastic adaptations or revisions of hymns
by other authors. Like their first book (24), it was more generally
drawn upon as a source-book by later editors than it was used in the
churches. In that respect it was one of the most important books in
this series.
34. _Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and Home_—Boston, 1868.
This book was compiled by a committee appointed by the American
Unitarian Association, but the editorial work was chiefly done by Rev.
Leonard J. Livermore (1822-1886). It is the first hymn-book to be
issued by the Association and the first American Unitarian hymn-book
to be completely furnished with tunes. It contained 740 hymns, about
30 chants, etc., and 299 tunes, a large proportion of which have since
dropped out of use. Regarded as in some measure an authorized
denominational hymn-book, it had wide use, though it “marked no
advance over its predecessors, but its tunes were well up to the
average level and gave it a great advantage,” and stimulated
congregational singing.
35. _Hymns for the Christian Church, for the use of the First Church
of Christ in Boston_—Boston, 1869.
Edited by Rev. Rufus Ellis (1819-1885), minister of the First Church,
Boston. It was based on Lunt’s conservative Christian Psalter (15)
which had been in use in the First Church for 25 years. About 250
hymns were retained from the earlier volume and enough more added to
bring the total to 469. The selections were well made, but, without
music, the book could not compete with the more inclusive _Hymn and
Tune Book_ (34) which the American Unitarian Association had published
the preceding year.
36. _Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and Home_—Revised edition.
American Unitarian Association, Boston, 1877.
The compiler’s name nowhere appears in the book, which was edited by
Rev. Rush R. Shippen (1828-1911), then Secretary of the American
Unitarian Association. It is a thorough-going revision of (34),
virtually a new book. It contains 871 hymns, 14 chants, etc., 316
tunes, a much richer selection than its predecessor, although the
music was still of the mid-century type, with only a few examples of
the newer English tunes which were being introduced into America by
the choirs of Episcopal churches. The book was well adapted to the
general needs of Unitarians and was the most widely used book among
the Unitarian churches for the ensuing forty years.
37. _Unity Hymns and Chorals_—Edited by W. C. Gannett, J. V. Blake, F.
L. Hosmer. Chicago, 1880.
A later and largely revised edition was published in 1911 by Hosmer
and Gannett. The editors, Frederick Lucian Hosmer (1840-1929), William
Channing Gannett (1840-1923), and James Vila Blake (1842-1925), were
hymn-writers and ministers in the Western Unitarian Conference. This
small book, noted for its “split-leaf” arrangement, represented the
point of view of the “left-wing” group in the denomination. In its two
editions it contained most of the hymns by its editors, and a good
many by other authors which appeared for the first time within its
covers. In this respect, as in its radical character, it may be
compared to the hymn-books by Longfellow and Johnson (24 and 33). It
was widely used in the Western Unitarian Conference. Musically it was
mediocre.
38. _Sacred Songs for Public Worship: A Hymn and Tune Book_—Edited by
M. J. Savage and Howard M. Dow. Boston, 1883.
This small book contains 195 hymns and songs for popular use, selected
by Minot J. Savage (1841-1918), minister of Unity Church, Boston,
Mass., and set to music by Howard M. Dow. Forty-two items are from Mr.
Savage’s pen, the rest mostly from familiar sources. It is much more
of a “one-man book” and musically nearer akin to the typical gospel
song-book than any other collection in this series.
39. _Hymns of the Church Universal_—Compiled by the Rev. Henry Wilder
Foote [I]: Revised and edited by Mary W. Tileston and Arthur Foote.
Boston, 1890.
This book was compiled for use in King’s Chapel, Boston, of which Mr.
Foote (1838-1889) was minister, but was not published until after his
death, the editorial work being completed by his sister and brother.
The book superseded _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) in King’s Chapel,
and had considerable use elsewhere. It contained 647 hymns, a number
of chants, and 299 tunes. It introduced many hymns and tunes of the
later 19^th century English authors and composers which were not found
in any earlier American Unitarian collections, and was influential in
setting a standard for later books.
40. _Hymnal: Amore Dei_—Compiled by Mrs. Theodore C. Williams, Boston,
1890. Revised, 1897.
Edited by Mrs. Williams in co-operation with her husband, Rev.
Theodore C. Williams (1855-1915), minister of All Souls’ Church, New
York.
It contained 382 hymns, about 25 chants and responses and 272 tunes. A
collection similar to _Hymns of the Church Universal_ (39) in
utilizing the newer English hymns and tunes of the nineteenth century,
it had many excellencies and considerable use. The biographical
indexes of composers and authors are far more complete than those of
any earlier book in this series.
41. _Hymns for Church and Home_—American Unitarian Association,
Boston, 1895.
Edited by Mary Wilder Tileston and Arthur Foote, it was in effect a
revised and enlarged edition of _Hymns for the Church Universal_ (39),
containing 801 hymns. It was an admirable compilation but rather large
and heavy for handling.
42. _Hymns for Church and Home Abridged_—1902.
An edition of (41) with the number of hymns reduced to 513.
43. _Hymns of the Ages_—Cambridge: The University Press. 1904.
Edited by Louisa Putnam Loring (1854-1924). A book of high literary
and musical standards, based upon the (Harvard) _University Hymn Book_
(1895). It contained 316 hymns and 205 tunes, but it represented a
rather limited and individualistic point of view and did not prove
adaptable to general use.
44. _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book and Candle Light Service_—The Isles of
Shoals Association, 1908.
Edited by Rev. George H. Badger (1859-1954). Since the book was
intended for use at the summer meetings on the Isles of Shoals, off
Portsmouth, N. H., the religious interpretation of nature is strongly
emphasized. The book contains 219 hymns and 96 tunes, mostly selected
from _Hymns for Church and Home_ (41), but nine of them are original
contributions to this book, some with lines referring directly to the
island setting or history. Both words and music represent the highest
standards at the time of publication, and the book is an exceptional
collection of hymns expressing this aspect of religion.
45. _The New Hymn and Tune Book_—American Unitarian Association:
Boston, 1914.
Edited by a commission: Rev. Samuel A. Eliot (1862-1950), Chairman;
Rev. Henry Wilder Foote, (II), (1875-____), Secretary; Rev. Rush R.
Shippen, (1828-1911), Rev. Lewis G. Wilson, (1858-1928).
Nominally a revision of the _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1877 (36), it was
in effect a new compilation, drawing largely upon _Hymns for Church
and Home_ (41), _Amore Dei_ (40) and _Unity Hymns and Chorals_ (37).
It contained 546 hymns, 28 chants, etc., and 268 tunes. It also
included a set of services and responsive readings, prepared by
another committee. It represented a great advance on earlier books and
was more widely adopted than any of them. In its music it was less
progressive than in its selection of hymns, representing the musical
standard and practice of about 1900.
46. _Twenty-five Hymns for Use in Time of War_—The Beacon Press.
Boston, n. d. (1916).
A pamphlet of hymns, more than half of them reprinted from the _Hymn
and Tune Book_ of 1914 (45) for use during the Great War.
47. _Songs and Readings_—compiled and edited by Jacob Trapp and R. T.
Porte. Salt Lake City, 1931.
This booklet contains 58 songs and hymns, without music, and 32
responsive readings for use in the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake
City, of which Mr. Trapp (1899-____) was then minister. Intended for
ministers with “Humanist” leanings.
48. _Hymns of the Spirit_—Beacon Press, 1937.
Edited by a Unitarian Commission: Rev. Henry Wilder Foote, (II)
(1875-____), Chairman; Rev. Edward P. Daniels (1891-____), Rev. Curtis
W. Reese (1887-____), Rev. Von Ogden Vogt (1879-____), working in
co-operation with a Universalist Commission: Rev. L. G. Williams
(1893-____), Chairman; Rev. Prof. Alfred S. Cole, (1893-____), Rev.
Prof. Edson R. Miles (1875-1958), and Rev. Tracy M. Pullman
(1904-____).
The title is borrowed from the second collection, edited by Samuel
Longfellow and Samuel Johnson, 1864, (33). The book is printed with
services and responsive readings prepared by the same two commissions.
It is an extensive revision of the _New Hymn and Tune Book_ (45) of
1914, with special emphasis on “the social gospel” and on hymns
dealing with “man in the universe.” Its most notable advance over its
predecessors is in its music, edited by E. P. Daniels and Robert L.
Sanders. It contains 533 hymns, 42 chants, etc., 366 tunes.
_Alphabetical List of Unitarian Hymn Writers In the Following
Catalogue_
Adams, John Quincy
Alcott, Louisa May
Alger, Wm. R.
Ames, Chas. G.
Anonymous
Appleton, Francis P.
Badger, George H.
Ballou, Adin
Barber, Henry H.
Barnard, John
Barrows, Samuel J.
Bartol, Cyrus A.
Bartrum, Joseph P.
Beach, Seth Curtis
Belknap, Jeremy
Blake, James Vila
Briggs, C. A.
Briggs, LeB. R.
Brooks, Charles T.
Bryant, William Cullen
Bulfinch, Stephen G.
Burleigh, Wm. H.
Cabot, Eliza Lee, see Follen, Eliza Lee
Chadwick, John W.
Chapman, Mrs.
Cheney, Mrs. Edna D.
Church, Edward A.
Clapp, Eliza T.
Clarke, J. F.
Collyer, Robert
Clute, Oscar
Dana, Chas. A.
Dwight, John S.
Emerson, R. W.
Everett, Wm.
Fernald, W. M.
Flint, James
Follen, Eliza Lee
Foote, H. W., I
Foote, H. W., II
Freeman, James
Frothingham, N. L.
Frothingham, Octavius B.
Fuller, Sarah Margaret
Furness, W. H.
Gannett, W. C.
Gilman, Caroline (Howard)
Gilman, Samuel
Goldsmith, Peter H.
Greenough, James B.
Greenwood, Helen W.
Hale, Edw. Everett
Hale, Mary W.
Hall, Harriet W.
Ham, M. F.
Harris, Florence
Harris, Thaddeus M.
Hedge, F. H.
Higginson, T. W.
Hill, Thomas
Holland, J. G.
Holmes, John Haynes
Holmes, Oliver Wendell
Horton, Edw. A.
Hosmer, F. L.
Howe, Julia (Ward)
Huntington, F. D.
Hurlburt, W. H.
Johnson, Samuel
Kimball, Jacob
Larned, Augusta
Lathrop, John Howland
Livermore, A. A.
Livermore, Sarah W.
Long, John D.
Longfellow, Henry W.
Longfellow, Samuel
Loring, Louisa P.
Loring, W. J.
Lowell, J. R.
Lunt, W. P.
Mann, Newton
Marean, Emma (Endicott)
Mason, Caroline A.
Miles, Sarah E.
Mott, F. B.
Newell, Wm.
Norton, Andrews
Ossoli, Margaret, see Fuller
Parker, Theodore
Peabody, Ephraim
Peabody, O. W. B.
Peabody, W. B. O.
Perkins, J. H.
Pierpont, John
Pray, Lewis G.
Prince, Thomas
Putnam, A. P.
Robbins, Chandler
Robbins, S. D.
Sargent, L. M.
Savage, M. J.
Scudder, Eliza
Sears, E. H.
Sewall, C.
Sigourney, Lydia H.
Sill, E. R.
Silliman, V. B.
Spencer, Anna G.
Sprague, Charles
Trapp, Jacob
Tuckerman, J.
Very, Jones
Very, Washington
Ware, Henry
Waterston, R. C.
Weir, R. S.
Weiss, John
Wendte, Chas. W.
Westwood, Horace
Wile, Frances W.
Wiley, Hiram O.
Willard, Samuel
Williams, Theodore C.
Williams, Velma C.
Willis, Love Maria
Willis, Nathaniel P.
Wilson, Edwin H.
Wilson, Lewis G.
Young, George H.
Biographical Sketches
with Notes on Hymns
Adams, Hon. John Quincy, Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, July
11, 1767—February 21, 1848, Washington, D. C. He graduated from
Harvard in 1787. From 1794-1801 he was United States Minister to
England, the Netherlands and Prussia. In 1806 he was appointed
Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard. In 1809 he became United States
Minister to Russia, in 1817 he was Secretary of State, and from 1824
to 1828 he was President of the United States. In 1831 he was elected
to the House of Representatives, in which body he served until his
death.
Most of his verse, both religious and secular, was written after he
had left the Presidency, but he remains the only hymn writer who has
ever been President of this country. In his later years he composed a
metrical version of the Psalms, best described as a free rendering in
fairly good verse of what he felt was the essential idea of each
Psalm. When his minister, Rev. William P. Lunt, _q.v._, of the First
Parish, (Unitarian) Quincy, Massachusetts, undertook the preparation
of his hymn book _The Christian Psalmist_, (1841), Mrs. Adams put the
manuscript of her husband’s metrical Psalms into Mr. Lunt’s hands, and
the latter included 17 of them in his book, and five other hymns by
his distinguished parishioner.
The effect on Adams is recorded in a moving entry in his _Journal_
which reveals an aspect of his character quite unknown to those who
regarded him as an opinionated and uncompromising though sincere and
upright politician. He wrote on June 29, 1845, “Mr. Lunt preached this
morning, Eccles. III, 1. For everything there is a season. He had
given out as the first hymn to be sung the 138^th of the Christian
Psalter, his compilation and the hymn-book now used in our church. It
was my version of the 65^th Psalm; and no words can express the
sensations with which I heard it sung. Were it possible to compress
into one pulsation of the heart the pleasure which, in the whole
period of my life, I have enjoyed in praise from the lips of mortal
man, it would not weigh a straw to balance the ecstasy of delight
which streamed from my eyes as the organ pealed and the choir of
voices sung the praise of Almighty God from the soul of David, adapted
to my native tongue by me. There was one drawback. In the printed
book, the fifth line of the second stanza reads,
‘The morning’s dawn, the evening’s shade,’
and so it was sung, but the corresponding seventh line of the same
stanza reads,
‘The fields from thee the rains receive,’
totally destroying the rhyme. I instantly saw that the fifth line
should read,
‘The morning’s dawn, the shades of eve,’
but whether this enormous blunder was committed by the copyist or the
pressman I am left to conjecture.”
After Adams’ death his verses, both religious and secular, were
published in a small volume entitled _Poems of Religion and Society_,
New York, 1848, which ran to a fourth edition in 1854. This collection
included the five hymns and 17 metrical Psalms printed in _The
Christian Psalmist_, unchanged except that the opening line of each
psalm has been substituted for the number of the psalm as its heading.
Nor was the misprint which Adams lamented amended. Judged by the
conventional standards of his time Adams’ poetry was consistently
respectable verse, but without any notable distinction other than that
lent to it by the fame of the author.
His five hymns are,
1. _Sure to the mansions of the blest_, (Death of Children)
This is part of a piece of 20 stanzas, which appeared in the
_Monthly Anthology and Boston Review_, January 1807. It is
entitled “Lines addressed to a mother on the death of two infants,
19th Sept. 1803, and 19th Decb. 1806.”
2. _Alas! how swift the moments fly_, (The Hour-Glass)
Sometimes given as
_How swift, alas, the moments fly_,
written for the 200^th anniversary of the First Parish Church in
Quincy, September 20, 1839.
3. _Hark! ’tis the holy temple bell_, (Sabbath morning) undated
4. _When, o’er the billow-heaving deep_,
“A Hymn for the twenty-second of December,” i.e., the coming of
the Pilgrim Fathers, undated.
5. _Lord of all worlds, let thanks and praise_,
“Written in Sickness;” undated.
His metrical versions of the Psalms follow:—
6. _Blest is the mortal whose delight_, Ps. 1
7. _Come let us sing unto the Lord_, Ps. 95
8. _For thee in Zion there is praise_, Ps. 65
9. _My Shepherd is the Lord on high_, Ps. 23
10. _My soul, before thy Maker kneel_, Ps. 103
11. _O, all ye people, clap your hands_, Ps. 47
12. _O God, with goodness all thine own_, Ps. 67
13. _O heal me, Lord, for I am weak_, Ps. 6
14. _O, judge me, Lord, for thou art just_, Ps. 26
15. _O Lord my God! how great thou art_, Ps. 104
16. _O Lord, thy all-discerning eyes_, Ps. 139
17. _O that the race of men would raise_, Ps. 107
18. _Send forth, O God, thy truth and light_, Ps. 43
19. _Sing to Jehovah a new song_, Ps. 98
20. _Sing to the Lord a song of praise_, Ps. 149
21. _Turn to the stars of heaven thine eyes_, Ps. 19
22. _Why should I fear in evil days_, Ps. 49
A few of these hymns and psalms found their way into other
collections. Nos. 2 and 3 were included in _Lyra Sacra Americana_; no.
18 is in _Hymnal for American Youth_ and the _American Student
Hymnal_; no. 16 is in the Jewish _Union Hymnal for Worship_, 1914.
J. 16, 1647
H.W.F.
Alcott, Louisa May, Concord, Massachusetts, November 29, 1833—March 5,
1888, Concord. She was the author of widely known books for children,
_Little Women_, _Little Men_, and others. Julian’s _Dictionary_, p.
1602, records her hymn,
_A little kingdom I possess_,
and cites Eva Munson Smith’s _Women in Sacred Song_ as quoting a note
from Miss Alcott dated “Concord, Oct. 7, 1883,” in which she says that
this is “the only hymn I ever wrote. It was composed at thirteen - - -
and still expresses my soul’s desire.” Notwithstanding this statement
another hymn attributed to her, apparently written for use by young
people and beginning,
_O the beautiful old story!_
is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.
J 1550, 1602
H.W.F.
Alger, Rev. William Rounsville, Freetown, Massachusetts, December 28,
1822—February 7, 1905, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the
Harvard Divinity School in 1847 and in the same year became minister
of the Mount Pleasant Society, Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1855 he was
settled over the Bulfinch Place Church, Boston. He was a popular
lecturer and the author of numerous articles and several books, the
most notable of which was his _History of the Doctrine of the Future
Life_, 1864, and later editions.
His Christmas hymn
_Jesus has lived! and we would bring_,
written in 1845 while he was still a student, is included in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.
Other poems by him, including a hymn for the graduation of his class
from the Divinity School in 1847 and another for the ordination of
Thomas Starr King, are included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, but
have had no further use.
H.W.F.
Ames, Rev. Charles Gordon, Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1828—April 15,
1912, Boston, Massachusetts. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in
1849 and spent some years as a home missionary in Minnesota. In 1859
he joined the Unitarian denomination and served several churches, his
last pastorate being with the Church of the Disciples, Boston. In 1905
he wrote a hymn for the dedication of the new edifice of that Society
beginning,
_With loving hearts and hands we rear_,
which is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.
A hymn beginning
_Father in heaven, hear us today_,
is attributed to him in the Universalist _Church Harmonies_: _Old and
New_, 1898, but is not found elsewhere.
H.W.F.
Anonymous
In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853,
there is no Index of Authors, but in its Index of First Lines the name
of the author, (often only his or her surname) is given in most
instances. The Index also lists 57 hymns as “Anon.” or, more often,
with no word as to authorship. The source of several of these hymns
can be traced in Julian’s _Dictionary_ or in Putnam’s _Singers and
Songs of the Liberal Faith_, but I have been unable to identify the
author or source of the following hymns, or to check their later use,
if any.
H.W.F.
_Hys. Ch. Ch._
509 Abba, Father, hear thy child,
758 Alas! how poor and little worth,
602 Behold, the servant of the Lord,
73 Blest is the hour when cares depart,
510 Come, let us who in Christ believe
288 Come, O thou universal good!
581 Come to the morning prayer,
707 Gently, Lord, O gently lead us,
868 God of the mountain, God of the storm,
437 God of the rolling year! to Thee
765 Go to thy rest, fair child!
305 Head of the church triumphant,
860 Hear, Father, hear our prayer
691 He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower
686 I cannot always trace the way
763 In the broad fields of heaven,
37 “Let there be light!” When born on high
255 Lord, in thy garden agony,
409 Lord, may the spirit of this feast,
861 Meek and lowly, pure and holy,
573 Meek hearts are by sweet manna fed,
798 Mortal, the angels say,
856 My feet are worn and weary with the march,
481 O’er mountaintops, the mount of God,
294 On earth was darkness spread,
742 O speed thee, Christian, on thy way,
506 O Thou, who hearest prayer,
803 O why should friendship grieve for them
56 O wondrous depth of grace divine,
307 Saviour and dearest friend,
312 Saviour, source of every blessing,
539 Sovereign of worlds! display thy power,
757 Swift years, but teach me how to bear,
611 Take my heart, O Father, take it,
75 There is a world, and O how blest,
276 Thou art the Way, and he who sighs,
768 Thou must go forth alone, my soul!
155 ’Tis not Thy chastening hand I fear,
247 Wake the song of jubilee.
528 When shall the voice of singing,
846 Why come not spirits from the realms of glory?
448 Why slumbereth, Lord, each promised sign?
Anonymous Hymns
_Come, Holy Spirit, hush my heart_,
C.M. 3 stas. 3 _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
_Come thou Almighty King!_
The widely used hymn to the Trinity which begins with this line
was written about 1757 in England. It has often been mistakenly
attributed to Charles Wesley, and research has failed to discover
who its author was. Perhaps he thought it prudent not to disclose
his name because both his words and the tune by Felice di Giardini
to which it was set in 1769 offered so marked a contrast to the
British national anthem, in the same unusual metre, which had come
into popular use about 1745 with the words _God save our lord the
King_. American Unitarians in the 19^th century could sing the
first stanza of the hymn, addressed to the “Father all glorious,”
but not the trinitarian stanzas which followed. An unknown writer
produced two additional stanzas in a carefully revised version
which was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841; in the
1851 _Supplement_ to Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_,
1846; and in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. This version,
however, was not satisfactory to later Unitarians and was again
largely rewritten in the form in which it has been included in
most of the Unitarian hymn books of more recent date. This version
will be found in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns
of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
_For mercies past we praise thee, Lord_,
Given as Anonymous in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_,
1846, in 4 stas. of 4 l. It was repeated in their _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864, and in the (Unitarian) _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868.
J. 1564
_My life flows on in endless song_,
8.7.8.7.D. 3 stas. _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
_Now, when the dusky shades of night retreating_,
This is a free translation in five stanzas of the Latin hymn,
_Ecce jam noctis tenuatar umbra_ by Gregory the Great, c. 600,
included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853, as anonymous. It passed into Beecher’s _Plymouth
Collection_, 1855, and into many other hymn books, British and
American, often with the 3^d and 4^th stanzas omitted. There is no
clue as to its author though Julian (p. 320) points out that the
first stanza appears to be an altered form of W. J. Copeland’s
translation from the Latin, published in 1848. The three stanza
form of the hymn is included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_,
1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 819
H.W.F.
_We follow, Lord, where thou dost lead_,
L.M. 5 stas. Attributed to “Book of Hymns,” in _Isles of
Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
Appleton, Rev. Francis Parker, Boston, Massachusetts, August 9,
1822—June 14, 1903, Cohasset, Massachusetts. He graduated from the
Harvard Divinity School in 1845, and was minister to the Unitarian
church, in South Danvers, (now Peabody) Massachusetts from 1846 to
1853. He then left the ministry for secular occupations. His hymn,
_Thirsting for a living spring_,
was included, anonymously, in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of
Hymns_, 1846, and, attributed to him, in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864.
It is included in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908; in _The New
Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937. His
hymn,
_The past yet lives in all its truth, O God_,
was also included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and in _The New Hymn
and Tune Book_, 1914, but has now dropped out of use.
J. 1551, 1606
H.W.F.
Badger, Rev. George Henry, Charlestown, Massachusetts, March 27,
1859—May 11, 1953, Orlando, Florida. He was educated at Williams
College, A.B. 1883, at Andover Theological Seminary and the Harvard
Divinity School, receiving the degree of S.T.B. from the latter
institution in 1886. He served several Unitarian churches in New
England. From 1912-1918 he was a minister in San Antonio, Texas; from
1919-1936 in Orlando, Florida. The preface to _The Isles of Shoals
Hymn Book_, 1908, is signed with his initials as editor. That book
contains three hymns of which he was author:—
1. _God of the vastness of the far-spread sea_,
2. _Lord, I believe, and in my faith_,
3. _Thy way, O Lord, is in the sea_,
In 1910 he wrote a hymn beginning,
4. _O Thou who art my King_,
which was included in The _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914. None of
these hymns have passed into later collections.
H.W.F.
Ballou, Rev. Adin, 1803-1890. Without much formal education, but
gifted in mind and spirit, he was ordained in 1827 as a Universalist
minister, but in 1831 joined the Unitarian denomination in which he
served a number of New England parishes. He wrote a hymn beginning,
_Years are coming—speed them onward!_
_When the sword shall gather rust_
which was included in Universalist hymnbooks and in _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Barber, Rev. Henry Hervey, Warwick, Massachusetts, December 30,
1835—January 18, 1923, Jacksonville, Florida. He was educated at
Deerfield (Massachusetts) Academy, and at Meadville Theological School
from which he graduated in 1861. After pastorates in two New England
churches he became in 1881 a professor in Meadville Theological
School, a position from which he retired in 1904. His hymn beginning,
_Far off, O God, and yet most near,_
dated 1891, had considerable use and was included in _The New Hymn and
Tune Book_, 1914.
H.W.F.
Barnard, Rev. John, Boston, Massachusetts, November 6, 1681—January
24, 1770, Marblehead, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in
1700, and was installed as minister of the Congregational Church in
Marblehead in 1716, which he served with distinction through the rest
of his life. A number of his sermons were printed, and in 1752 he
published _A New Version of the Psalms of David_, 278 pp., printed in
Boston, the result of his own endeavor to produce a fresh metrical
translation. It is listed in Julian’s _Dictionary_, p. 929, under
_Psalters, English_. His book was used in his own church, but not
elsewhere, and is now very rare. His own annotated copy is in the
Harvard College Library and the original ms. is in the Massachusetts
Historical Society.
H.W.F.
Barrows, Rev. Samuel June, New York, New York, May 26, 1845—April 21,
1909, New York. He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1875
and in 1876 was ordained minister of Mount Pleasant Church,
Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he served until 1881. He was editor
of the _Christian Register_ from 1881 to 1897, and was a member of
Congress, 1897-1899.
A hymn beginning
_Enkindling Love, eternal Flame_
is attributed to him in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
H.W.F.
Bartol, Rev. Cyrus Augustus, D.D., Freeport, Maine, August 30,
1813—December 16, 1890, Boston. He graduated from Bowdoin College in
1832 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1835. After lay preaching
for a year in Cincinnati he was ordained in 1837 as successor to Rev.
Charles Lowell (father of James Russell Lowell) in the West Church
(Unitarian) in Boston. He retired in 1889. He was author of several
books and of a large number of printed sermons and addresses. He, with
others, edited _Hymns for the Sanctuary_, Boston, 1849, commonly
called “Bartol’s Collection”, in which was included an anonymous hymn
beginning
_Be thou ready, fellow-mortal_ (Readiness for Duty)
This hymn passed into the _Supplement_ to Hedge and Huntington’s
_Hymns of the Church of Christ_, Boston, 1853, and into other
collections. Its authorship has never been disclosed, but its theme
and mode of expression suggest that it may have been written by
Bartol.
J. 120
H.W.F.
Bartrum, Joseph P., a Unitarian layman living in the 19^th century,
who published _The Psalms newly Paraphrased for the Service of the
Sanctuary_, Boston, 1833, from which his version of Psalm CVI,
_O from these visions, dark and drear_,
was taken for inclusion in several Unitarian collections in Great
Britain and America and in the Universalist _Church Harmonies, New and
Old_, 1895. His version of Psalm LXXXVII,
_Amid the heaven of heavens_,
is included in Holland’s _Psalmists of Britain_, 1843, vol. II, p.
339, with a critical note.
Neither hymn is found in use today.
J. 116
H.W.F.
Beach, Rev. Seth Curtis, D.D., near Marion, Wayne County, New York,
August 3, 1837—January 30, 1932, Watertown, Massachusetts. He
graduated from Union College, Schenectady, New York in 1863, and from
the Harvard Divinity School in 1866. From 1867 to 1869 he served the
Unitarian Church in Augusta, Maine. Ill health then led him to take up
a farm in Minnesota for four years. In 1873 he returned to New
England, where his longest pastorates were at Bangor, Maine,
1891-1901, and at Wayland, Massachusetts, 1901-1911, when he retired
to Watertown. His hymn,
1. _Mysterious Presence! Source of all_,
was first printed in the “Order of Exercises at the Fiftieth Annual
Visitation of the Divinity School, July 17, 1866,” having been written
for that occasion.
In 1884 he wrote
2. _Thou One in all, thou All in one_ (God in Nature)
These two hymns were included in the Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune
Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937. His third hymn
3. _Kingdom of God! The day how blest_,
is included in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
J. 1581
H.W.F.
Belknap, Rev. Jeremy, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, June 4, 1744—June
20, 1798, Boston. He graduated from Harvard College in 1762; taught
school for four years; in 1766 accepted a position as assistant to
Rev. Jonathan Cushing of Dover, New Hampshire, and in 1767 was
ordained, serving that parish until 1786. In 1787 he became minister
of the Federal Street Church, (now the Arlington Street Church)
Boston, which he served until his death. Harvard gave him the honorary
degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1792. He was the author of a three
volume _History of New Hampshire_; of a petition (1788) for the
abolition of the slave trade; and of other books and essays; and
formed the plan for the Massachusetts Historical Society, organized in
1791. He wrote no hymns but made an important contribution to American
hymnody in his collection _Sacred Poetry: consisting of Psalms and
Hymns adapted to Christian devotion in public and private. Selected
from the best authors, with variations and additions_, by Jeremy
Belknap, D.D., Boston, 1795, which ran to many editions. His intention
was to provide a book acceptable to both the conservative and the
liberal wings of Congregationalism, to bridge the widening gap which
resulted in the formation of the Unitarian denomination a generation
later. In this he failed, for only the liberal churches accepted it,
though it was widely used by them for 40 years, being much the best of
the period. It includes 300 hymns from the best English sources, and
was the first to introduce to Americans the hymns by Anne Steele. The
only American hymns in the collection are Jacob Kimball’s metrical
version of Psalm 65 and Mather Byles’ _When wild confusion rends the
air_.
H.W.F.
Blake, Rev. James Vila, Brooklyn, New York, January 21, 1842—April 28,
1925, Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Harvard College in 1862 and
from the Harvard Divinity School in 1866, and served Unitarian
churches in Massachusetts and Illinois, his last and longest pastorate
being at Evanston, Ill., 1892-1916. Author of a number of books. He
shared with W. C. Gannett, _q.v._ and F. L. Hosmer, _q.v._ in the
compilation of the first edition of _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, 1880,
which included his hymn,
_Father, Thou art calling, calling to us plainly_,
included also in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937. The latter book also includes his hymn of the
church universal,
_O sing with loud and joyful song_.
H.W.F.
Briggs, C. A.
A hymn beginning,
_God’s law demands one living faith_ (Law of God)
is attributed to a person with this name in Hedge and Huntington’s
_Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853. It is probable, but not
certain, that the author was Rev. Charles Briggs, Halifax,
Massachusetts, January 17, 1791—December 1, 1873, Roxbury,
Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1815 and from the
Divinity School in 1818, was minister of the First Church in
Lexington, Massachusetts, 1818-1834, and secretary of the American
Unitarian Association, 1835-1848.
H.W.F.
Briggs, LeBaron Russell, LL.D., Salem, Massachusetts, December 11,
1855—April 24, 1934, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Harvard
College in 1875, A.M., 1882; served as tutor, then as professor of
English, and as dean from 1891-1925. Harvard gave him the degree of
LL.D. in 1900, as did Yale in 1917, and Lafayette University gave him
the degree of Litt.D. For the celebration of the 300^th anniversary of
the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, December 21, 1920, he wrote a
poem which is introduced by a prayer in three stanzas, 11.10.11.10,
offered by “The Pilgrim”, beginning,
_God of our fathers, who hast safely brought us_,
It is a fine hymn of thanksgiving for religious freedom and it was
included in the program celebrating the 300^th anniversary of the
“Cambridge Platform” in October 27, 1948. It deserves wide use.
H.W.F.
Brooks, Rev. Charles Timothy, Salem, Massachusetts, June 20, 1813—June
14, 1883, Newport, Rhode Island. He graduated from Harvard College in
1832 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1835. He was ordained as
the first minister of the Unitarian Church in Newport, Rhode Island,
on January 1, 1837, and served there until 1873. He was author of a
number of books, most of them translations from German poets and
novelists. After his death a volume entitled _Poems, Original and
Translated_, was published. The only hymn with which his name is
associated was in two stanzas beginning,
_God bless our native land!_
said to have been written while he was a student in the Divinity
School. Part of the first and almost the whole of the second stanza
were rewritten by J. S. Dwight, _q.v._, and Putnam, in _Songs of the
Liberal Faith_, states that it was first published in this form in one
of Lowell Mason’s song books in 1844. It was included, with further
alterations, in Hedge and Huntington’s_ Hymns of the Church of
Christ_, 1853, and with yet other changes in Longfellow and Johnson’s
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. In the 20^th century collection also
entitled _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, the hymn appears in 3 stas. of
which the first is by Brooks, the second by Dwight, and a third, of
which the first 3 lines are those introduced by Longfellow and
Johnson, the remaining four lines from a later unknown source, and its
authorship is attributed to “Composite: based on Charles Timothy
Brooks and John Sullivan Dwight.” The complicated history of this hymn
is traced in Julian, 184, 1566, 1685.
H.W.F.
Bryant, William Cullen, Cummington, Massachusetts, November 3,
1794—June 12, 1878, New York, New York. He was a student at Williams
College for two years, then studied law, and was admitted to the bar
at Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1815, where he practised until
1825 when he removed to New York. There he devoted himself to
journalism as editor of _The New York Review_ and of the _New York
Evening Post_, reserving part of his time, especially in later years,
to literary pursuits at his retreat at Roslyn, Long Island, where he
wrote addresses, essays and reviews as well as poems. In point of time
he was the first of the famous group of New England poets of the
nineteenth century. He began writing verses when a child and composed
his noblest poem, _Thanatopsis_, when only eighteen years of age. His
first volume of poems, containing one entitled _The Ages_ delivered
before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard, and some others, was
published in 1821. In 1832 a volume entitled _Poems_, complete to that
date, was published, for which Washington Irving secured republication
in England, where it brought him wide recognition. Many successive
editions of Poems, each with some additional items, were published in
later years, and after his death a complete edition of the _Poetical
Works of William Cullen Bryant_ appeared in 1879. He also had
privately printed a little volume of his _Hymns_, 1869.
The following pieces by him have been included in various collections
of hymns, some of them having considerable use in Great Britain as
well as in this country.
1. _All praise to him of Nazareth_ (Communion)
Dated 1864. Included in Hatfield’s (British) _Church Hymn Book_,
1874, in 3 stanzas, and in _Songs of the Sanctuary_ and in
Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc. in 5 stanzas.
2. _All that in this wide world we see_ (Omnipresence)
Dated 1836, but Beard, in his _Collection_, (British) 1837, gives
it as an original contribution, thus fixing the date of first
publication. Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., notes that it was
“Written, probably, for some church in England,” information which
sounds like the aged poet’s vague recollection many years after he
had responded to Beard’s request. Included in Lunt’s _Christian
Psalter_, 1841.
3. _All things that are on earth_, (Love of God)
Included in Beard’s _Collection_, 1837.
4. _Almighty! hear thy children raise_, (Praise)
One of five hymns written by Bryant at the request of Miss
Sedgwick for inclusion (without the author’s name) in Sewall’s
_Collection_, 1820, compiled for use in the First Congregational
Society of New York (Unitarian), now All Souls Church. In Beard’s
_Collection_, 1837, the first line is altered to read
_Almighty, listen while we praise_,
and in the Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, Boston, 1868, it is
altered to
_Almighty, hear us while we praise_,
5. _As shadows cast by cloud and sun_,
Written for the Semi-Centennial of the Church of the Messiah,
Boston, March 19, 1875. Included in the Methodist Episcopal
_Hymnal_, New York, 1878.
6. _Close softly, fondly, while ye weep_ (Death)
Included in H. W. Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_, 1855.
7. _Dear ties of mutual succor bind_ (Charity)
Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, 1874, p. 130, says, “Mr. Bryant has
kindly sent us, as an additional contribution to this volume, the
following exquisite lines, which were written about forty years
since, for some charitable occasion, and which he lately found
among some old papers. They are not among his published poems.”
Included in the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, 1878.
8. _Deem not that they are blest alone_ (Mourning)
Written for Sewall’s _Collection_, 1820, _vide supra._ Included in
Beard’s _Collection_, 1837, and, the first line altered to read,
_O deem not they are blest alone_,
in Martineau’s _Hymns of Prayer and Praise_, 1873, and in _Songs
for the Sanctuary_, New York, 1865-1872.
9. _Father, to thy kind love we owe_, (God’s Loving Kindness)
One of the five hymns, written by Bryant for inclusion in Sewall’s
_Collection_, New York, 1820. Included in the _Hymn and Tune
Book_, Boston, 1868, and in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873. In Putnam’s
_Singers and Songs_, etc. the first line reads,
_Our Father, to thy love we owe_.
10. _How shall I know thee in the sphere which keeps?_ (Future
life)
A memorial poem in 9 stanzas rather than a hymn, but included in
part in the supplement of devotional readings in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853. Complete text
in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc., pp. 125-126.
11. _Look from Thy sphere of endless day_ (Home missions)
Dated 1840. Included in _Songs for the Sanctuary_, New York, 1865;
in Horder’s (British) _Congregational Hymns_, 1884, and in the
_Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935.
12. _Lord, who ordainest for mankind_ (Thanks for Mother Love)
Written at the request of Rev. Samuel Osgood of New York for
inclusion in his _Christian Worship_, 1862, and included in
Martineau’s _Hymns_, etc., 1873.
13. _Mighty One, before whose face_ (Ordination)
Dated c. 1820. It was included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_,
etc. 1853, H. W. Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_, 1855, and
elsewhere.
14. _Not in the solitude_, (God in the city)
Dated 1836. Included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.
15. O God, whose dread and dazzling brow (God’s compassion)
Included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc. 1853, and in the
_Hymn and Tune Book_, Boston, 1868.
16. _O North, with all thy vales of green!_ (Reign of Christ)
Included in the author’s privately printed _Hymns_, 1869, undated.
It passed into several British collections, e.g., the Scotch
_Church Hymnary_, 1898; _Worship Song_, 1905; _The English
Hymnal_, 1906; and is included in the American Episcopal _Hymnal_,
1940.
17. _O Thou, whose love can ne’er forget_ (Ordination)
One of Bryant’s early hymns, perhaps written for the ordination of
Rev. William Ware, December, 1821, as minister of the First
Congregational Society of New York, (now All Souls Church).
Included in Beard’s English _Collection_, 1837.
18. _O Thou Whose own vast temple stands_ (Opening of a house
of worship)
Written in 1835 for the dedication of a Chapel in Prince Street,
New York. The building was soon afterwards destroyed by fire. This
hymn is the most widely used of all those written by Bryant. It
was included in Beard’s English _Collection_ in 1837, and in
Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873. In Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc.,
the opening line reads,
_Thou, whose unmeasured temple stands_,
and in this form it was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_,
1861, and in the American Presbyterian _Psalms and Hymns_,
Richmond, 1867; in Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, London, 1884;
and elsewhere.
19. _Standing forth in life’s rough way_ (On behalf of
children)
Included in Dr. Allon’s (British) _Children’s Worship_, 1878; in
Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884; and elsewhere.
20. _Thou unrelenting past_ (The Past)
Dated 1836. A poem of 14 stanzas, a few of which were included in
Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.
21. _When doomed to death the Apostle lay_ (On behalf of
Drunkards)
Included in the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, 1878.
22. _When he who from the scourge of wrong_ (Hope of
Resurrection)
Written for Sewall’s _Collection_, 1820. Included in _Lyra Sacra
Americana_, 1868.
23. _When this song of praise shall cease_ (Anticipation of
Death)
Written for a collection of hymns printed at the end of a _Sunday
School Liturgy_, prepared by James Lombard, of Utica, New York, in
1859. Included in Bryant’s privately printed _Hymns_, 1869, and in
Stevenson’s (British) _School Hymnal_, 1889.
24. _When the blind suppliant in the way_ (Opening the eyes of
the blind)
Dated 1874. Included in the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, New
York, 1878.
25. _Whither, midst falling dew_, (Divine Guidance)
This is one of Bryant’s best known poems, entitled “To a
Waterfowl,” and dated 1836, and is in no sense a hymn, although
included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.
26. _Wild was the day, the wintry sea_, (The Pilgrim Fathers)
Included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864.
Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., p. 123 reports a hymn beginning
_Ancient of Days! except Thou deign_,
“written for the dedication of Rev. R. C. Waterston’s church in
Boston,” and another hymn beginning
_Lord, from whose glorious presence came_,
written “at the request of a friend, Mr. Hiram Barney, for the opening
of an Orthodox Congregational Church,” but does not print the text of
either, and neither appears to have been included in any Collection.
As indicated in the foregoing list, the text of several of Bryant’s
hymns is found with the opening line altered from the original, either
by the author himself, or, presumably, with his consent, so that it is
impossible to say which is the correct or authorized form, and
frequently no more than approximate date of composition can be given.
The early flowering of Bryant’s gifts as a poet, promoted by a
fortunate combination of circumstances, quickly brought him widespread
recognition in both Great Britain and America, which deepened into
respect for his fine character as he advanced in age. The writings of
no other American poet of his period were so eagerly searched by
compilers of hymn books, who sometimes included verses which were
meditative, poems rather than hymns, e.g., nos. 8, 10, 20 and 25 in
the above list. Bryant’s mind was cool and meditative, and his hymns
are correct and smoothly flowing, but seldom touched with lyric fire,
and none of them quite reach the highest level. They express an
attitude towards religion characteristic of the intellectual life of
his time but now largely passed away. No. 16 is still included in
several leading hymn collections of the 20^th century; nos. 11 and 18
are in the Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914; and nos. 12 and
18 are in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 189-190, 1682
H.W.F.
Bulfinch, Rev. Stephen Greenleaf, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, June
18, 1809—October 12, 1870, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was son of
Charles Bulfinch, a leading architect, and received his early
education in Washington, D.C., returning to Cambridge to enter the
Harvard Divinity School, from which he graduated in 1830. He was
ordained in January, 1831, as assistant to Rev. Samuel Gilman, _q.v._,
of Charleston, South Carolina, and later served Unitarian churches in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Nashua, New Hampshire;
Dorchester, Massachusetts and East Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a
voluminous writer in both prose and verse. Most of his hymns first
appeared in his books _Contemplations of the Saviour_, Boston, 1832;
_Poems_, Charleston, 1834; and _Lays of the Gospel_, 1845. The first
of these was reprinted in England, where 19 of his hymns were included
in Beard’s _Collection_, 1837, and where they had widespread use.
His best known hymns are as follows:
1. _Benignant Saviour: ’twas not thine_, (Compassion of
Christ)
From his “Contemplations of the Saviour,” altered in Horder’s
_Congregational Hymns_, 1884, to read
_Most gracious Saviour: ’twas not thine_.
2. _Burden of shame and woe_, (The Crucifixion)
3. _Hail to the Sabbath day_, (Sunday)
4. _Hath not thy heart within thee burned_, (Evening)
5. _Holy Son of God most high_, (Christ)
6. _How glorious is the hour_, (The New Life)
7. _In the Saviour’s hour of death_, (Good Friday)
8. _It is finished! Glorious word_, (Good Friday)
9. _Lord, in this sacred hour_, (Worship)
10. _O suffering friend of all mankind_, (Passiontide)
11. _There is a strife we all must wage_, (Life’s Duty)
12. _Toiling through the livelong night_, (Miracle of
fishes)
13. _What power unseen by mortal eye_, (Miracle)
These hymns are well written contemplations of gospel episodes, as
viewed by the conservative piety of the author’s period. Several were
included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846-1848; nos.
6 and 10 are in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853; and most of them in one and another 19^th century
collection. Only No. 4 has survived in present-day use, being found in
_The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 191, 1555 revised
H.W.F.
Burleigh, William Henry, Woodstock, Connecticut, February 12,
1812—March 18, 1871, Brooklyn, New York. He was an editor and
publisher working successively in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1837-1843;
in Hartford, Connecticut, 1843-1849; in Syracuse, New York, 1849-1854.
From 1855-1870 he was Harbor Master of New York. He was a member of
the Second Unitarian Church in Brooklyn and an ardent advocate of
anti-slavery and temperance reforms. Early in life he began writing
hymns and other poems which were printed in various periodicals, but
for many of which the date and occasion are impossible to determine.
They were collected for publication in a volume entitled _Poems_,
Philadelphia, 1841, and this book, enlarged with his later poems, was
republished in 1871 after his death, with a biographical notice by his
wife. Some of the best were included in the British collection _Lyra
Sacra Americana_, 1868, the editor of which, Dr. Cleveland, said,
“Most of these beautiful hymns of Mr. Burleigh’s were given to me in
ms. by the author.” From this publication they were taken for
extensive use in British hymn books.
1. _Abide not in the realm of dreams_, (The Harvest Call)
Included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., is a poem of 10
stanzas from which a cento consisting of the first two lines of
stanza 1 combined with the second two lines of stanza 2, followed
by stanzas 3, 6, 7 and 10 are taken to form a hymn in the _New
Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
2. _Fades from the west the farewell light_ (Night)
This poem, entitled “A Psalm of Night,” is given in his _Poems_,
New York, 1871. Although not in the first edition of _Poems_,
1841, stanzas selected from it came into use as early as 1844. The
original is in 5 stanzas of 8 lines. From it the following centos
have come into use.
(a) _Day unto day uttereth speech_,
This consists of stanzas III-V, and is given in the _Christian
Hymns_ of the Cheshire Pastoral Association, 1844, as an “Evening
Hymn.”
(b) _O Holy Father, mid the calm_
This cento consists of stanzas IV-V, and is given in Longfellow
and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, and in their _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864.
(c) _Not only doth the voiceful day_,
Composed of stanzas II-III, in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1864. Another arrangement beginning with the same
stanza is in _Lyra Sacra Americana_.
(d) _The brightening dawn and voiceful day_,
In the British _Hymnary_, London, 1872, an altered form of (c),
with the addition of a doxology.
In these various forms the use of this hymn was very extensive.
3. _Father, beneath thy sheltering wing_, (Trust and Peace)
Printed in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864,
in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Included in the British _Baptist Hymnal_,
1879; in Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884; and others; and in
many American collections.
4. _Father, thy servant waits to do thy will_ (Ordination)
“Written for the ordination of Mr. J. W. Chadwick, as pastor of
the Second Unitarian Church, in Brooklyn, New York, 1864.”
Included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc.
5. _For the dear love that kept us through the night_ (Morning)
Taken from the author’s _Poems_, 1871, for inclusion in Horder’s
_Congregational Hymns_, 1884.
6. _From the profoundest depths of tribulation_ (Lent)
A meditative poem rather than a hymn, included in the Supplement
to Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns of the Church of Christ_, 1853.
7. _Lead us, O Father, in the paths of peace_ (Divine Guidance)
In _Lyra Sacra Americana_ headed “A Prayer for Guidance.” This is
one of the author’s best known and most widely used hymns.
Included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
8. Not in vain I poured my supplication (Lent)
A continuation of the same thought as no. 6, preceding, which it
follows in the Supplement to Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc.
9. _O deem not that earth’s crowning bliss_, (Morning)
In his _Poems_, 1871; in _Lyra Sacra Americana_ from which it
passed into the British _Baptist Hymnal_, 1879, and Horder’s
_Congregational Hymns_, 1884, and others. In the Methodist
Episcopal _Hymnal_, New York, 1878, the hymn beginning
_From lips divine the healing balm_
is a cento from this poem.
10. _Still will we trust though earth seems dark and dreary_,
(Faith)
From _Lyra Sacra Americana_ this passed into many non-conformist
collections in Great Britain where it was the most widely used of
all of Burleigh’s hymns. It had a much more limited use in this
country. Included in Putnam’s _Singers & Songs_, etc.
11. _There is a beautiful land by the spoiler untrod_, (Heaven)
Dr. Cleveland, editor of _Lyra Sacra Americana_ says “This piece
was first published in the _Independent_, Jan. 18, 1866.”
12. _They who have kept their virgin whiteness_, (Purity)
In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.
13. _Thou who look’st with pitying eye_ (Lent)
In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.
14. _Through the changes of the day_ (Evening)
From his Poems, 1841. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_; in S.P.C.K.’s
_Psalms and Hymns_, 1852; in Thring’s _Collection_, and other
British books.
15. _We ask not that our path be always bright_, (Trust in God)
From _Lyra Sacra Americana_ this passed into Horder’s
_Congregational Hymns_, 1884.
16. _When gladness gilds our prosperous day_ (Good in all)
From _Lyra Sacra Americana_ this passed into Horder’s
_Congregational Hymns_, 1884.
The above hymns have had much less use in this country than in Great
Britain. Nos. 7 and 10 are in the Universalist _Church Harmonies_,
1895; nos. 1 and 7 in _Hymns of the Spirit_. 1937, no. 7 in _The
Hymnal_, 1940; and no. 3 in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_. The
others, though very acceptable expressions of the religious thought
and feeling in the era in which the author lived, have now dropped out
of use.
J. 195-6
Revised H.W.F
Chadwick, Rev. John White, Marblehead, Massachusetts, October 19,
1840—December 11, 1904, Brooklyn, New York. After two years of study
at the Bridgewater Normal School, and a shorter period at Phillips
Exeter Academy, he entered the Harvard Divinity School, from which he
graduated in 1864. He received the degree of A.M. 1888. In December,
1864, he was ordained minister of the Second Unitarian Church,
Brooklyn, where he remained until his death. He was an influential
preacher and a prolific author in both prose and verse, his principal
publications being a _Book of Poems_, 1876, _Nazareth Town_, 1883
(poems), the two being later combined and republished in 1888 with the
earlier title; _The Bible Today_, 1879: _Old and New Unitarian
Belief_, 1894; and first-rate biographies of _Theodore Parker_, 1901,
and _William Ellery Channing_, 1903. After his death a small volume
was published entitled _Later Poems_, 1905, and his printed sermons
have been collected in 14 volumes. As a young man he became a close
friend of W. C. Gannett, _q.v._, and F. L. Hosmer, _q.v._, both of
whom were also born in 1840, though not his classmates in the Divinity
School, and his hymns are expressions of a theological outlook similar
to theirs, notably in his endeavor to give a religious interpretation
to the then disputed doctrine of evolution. Although several of his
hymns are of exceptionally fine quality, he often wrote in haste,
lacking the patience with which his two friends sought for the precise
word to convey their meaning, but he often abbreviated or re-wrote his
verses at the request of hymn-book editors, or willingly accepted
their proposed alterations. The result is that some of his hymns now
appear in forms which depart considerably from their original texts.
His secular poems, mostly the utterances of a nature lover, are often
the too hastily written verse of a minor poet.
His _Book of Poems_, 1888, and _Later Poems_, 1905, include all his
hymns, three of which had little use, viz:
1. _A gentle tumult in the earth_, (Easter) 1876
2. _Everlasting Holy One_, (Invocation) 1875
3. _O God, we come not as of old_, (Worship) 1874
His best known hymn was written for the Visitation Day exercises at
the Harvard Divinity School, 1864,
4. _Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round_,
It has been widely used in Great Britain and in this country. Other
hymns by him have had considerable use, as follows:
5. _Another year of setting suns_, (New Year’s) 1873
This was written in ten stanzas beginning
“That this shall be a better year,”
but in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, only stas. 5, 6, 7, and 10 are
given, beginning as above.
6. _It singeth low in every heart_, (Commemoration) 1876
Written for the 25^th anniversary of the dedication of his church
in Brooklyn, and widely used.
7. _Now sing we a song of the harvest_, (Thanksgiving Day) 1871
8. _O Love Divine, of all that is_, (A song of Trust) 1865
9. _O Thou, whose perfect goodness crowns_, (Anniversary Hymn)
Written in 1889 for the 25^th anniversary of his ordination.
10. _Thou glorious God, before whose face_, (Anniversary Hymn)
Undated.
11. _Thou whose spirit dwells in all_, (Easter)
Written in 1890.
12. _Thy seamless robe conceals Thee not_, (Jesus)
Written in 1876. Included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914,
but not in later publications.
13. _What has drawn us thus apart_, (Unity of Spirit)
Written in 1891.
Several of the above hymns, as printed in current hymn-books, consist
of selected stanzas, or have been slightly altered from their original
forms, in most cases by Gannett and Hosmer, for inclusion in their
collection _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, 1880, 1911. Two others included
in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, were not written as hymns but have
been quarried out of verses in _Later Poems_, by permission of the
author’s widow, viz:
14. _Spirit of God, in thunder speak_, (Summons to Duty)
This arrangement combines stanzas 13 and 16 in the poem entitled
“A Missionary Chant”, used as the first two stanzas of the hymn,
with stanzas 8 and 9 of the poem to “William Cullen Bryant” as the
third and fourth stanzas of the hymn, both poems being found in
_Later Poems_, 1905.
15. _Thou mighty God, who didst of old_, (Communion of Saints)
This is arranged from the same sources. Stanzas 1 and 2 are the
first two stanzas in “William Cullen Bryant,” the last three
stanzas are stanzas 11, 7, and 8 in “A Missionary Chant,”
considerably altered. These arrangements were made by H. W. Foote,
with the coöperation of F. L. Hosmer and W. C. Gannett, for
inclusion in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.
Of the hymns listed above _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937 includes Nos. 4,
5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15.
J. 216, 1619
Revised by H.W.F.
Chapman, Mrs. (No information available).
An anti-slavery hymn beginning
_O God of freedom! Hear us pray_,
is attributed to “Mrs. Chapman” in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for
the Church of Christ_, 1853.
H.W.F.
Cheney, Mrs. Ednah D. (Dow) Boston, Massachusetts, June 27,
1824—November 19, 1904, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. She married Seth
Wells Cheney. She was the author of several books, including _The Life
and Letters of Louisa May Alcott_. She wrote a hymn on “the larger
prayer,” beginning
_At first I prayed for Light_,
in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each, printed in the _Riverside Record_ and
reprinted in the _Boston Gazette_, February 4, 1882. Enough lines have
been taken from this hymn to make a much shorter one in 5 stanzas of
four lines each, C.M. for inclusion in Unitarian hymn-books. It has
also been considerably rewritten, but since this revised form is not
marked as “altered” it is probable that the changes were made by the
author or at least with her permission. It is included in _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Church, Edward Alonzo, Boston, Massachusetts, —— 1844—January 29,
1929, Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was a business man who wrote in 1904,
for the laying of the cornerstone of a new edifice for the Church of
the Disciples (Unitarian), Boston, of which he was a member, a hymn
beginning,
_Almighty Builder, bless, we pray,_
_The cornerstone that here we lay,_
The next year, for the final service in the old edifice which the
congregation was leaving, he wrote one beginning,
_O Thou to whom in prayer and praise_
_We here have turned with constant heart._
Both hymns were included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and
the first is also in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Clapp, Eliza Thayer, 1811-1888. She was a resident of Dorchester,
Massachusetts. She was author of _Words in a Sunday School_, of
_Studies in Religion_, New York, 1845, and of later essays on religion
and of poems posthumously collected in a volume entitled _Essays,
Letters and Poems_, privately printed in Boston, 1888. At the request
of her friend R. W. Emerson she contributed three hymns and two poems
to The _Dial_, 1841. From one of the hymns in 9 stanzas of 4 lines,
published in The _Dial_, July, 1841, and entitled “The future is
better than the past,” is taken the hymn beginning
_All before us is the way_, (Onward with confidence)
included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_,
1853, where it was erroneously attributed to Emerson, an error which
was repeated in several other collections which included it.
J. 234
H.W.F.
Clarke, Rev. James Freeman, D.D., Hanover, New Hampshire, April 4,
1810—June 8, 1888, Boston, Massachusetts. He was named for his
step-grandfather, Rev. James Freeman, _q.v._ He graduated from Harvard
College in 1829 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1833. He
served as minister of the Unitarian Church in Louisville, Kentucky,
from 1833 to 1840. In 1841 he returned to Boston where he gathered a
group of persons interested in the more radical social and religious
reforms of the day into a church which he named the Church of the
Disciples (Unitarian) of which he remained minister until his death.
He became one of the most distinguished ministers of his period in
Boston, greatly beloved and admired for his courage as well as his
piety, his wisdom as well as his wit. He was the author of several
books (and many short printed articles) the best known of which were
his _Orthodoxy: its Truths and Errors_, and _Ten Great Religions_. The
latter is an amplification of lectures on Comparative Religion which
he gave at the Harvard Divinity School as early as 1854, and again for
several years in the eighteen-seventies, the earliest course in this
field of study to be given in any American theological school. In 1844
he published a _Service Book_ for use by his congregation, which
included a small selection of hymns, among them Sarah Flower Adams’
_Nearer my, God, to Thee_, which had appeared in England only three
years earlier and was now introduced for the first time to an American
congregation, whence it quickly passed into numerous other
collections. In 1852 a revised and enlarged edition of the _Service
Book_ was published entitled the _Disciples Hymn Book_, which included
five hymns by the compiler. A few of his poems are included in
Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_, and the following
hymns by him have come into some use.
1. _Brother, hast thou wandered far?_ (The Prodigal)
First printed in the _Service Book_, 1844. It appeared in
abbreviated form as
_Hast thou wasted all the powers?_
(beginning with the second stanza) in _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853; in Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_, 1855, and in
other American and British books.
2. _Dear Friend, whose presence in the house_, (Jesus at Cana)
Dated 1855. A tender poem rather than a hymn, included in the
British _Lyra Sacra Americana_.
3. _Father, to us Thy children humbly kneeling_ (Aspiration)
About 1833, after arrival in Louisville, Clarke wrote a poem
entitled “Hymn and Prayer” beginning _Infinite Spirit, who art
round us ever_, which was published in _The Dial_ for January,
1841. Five stanzas beginning
_Unseen, yet not unfelt!—if any thought_
were taken from this form of the poem for inclusion in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, but already
Clarke had taken from his poem, and largely rewritten, three
stanzas to make the hymn beginning as above. In this later form it
was included in his _Service Book_, 1844, in Longfellow and
Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, in the _Disciples Hymn Book_,
1852, and in many later collections down to the present day.
4. _For all thy gifts we bless Thee, Lord_
Written for a Unitarian Convention in New York City, held on
October 22, 1845, and included in _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853.
5. _Hast thou wasted all the powers_,
Included in _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.
6. _To him who children blessed_ (Christening)
7. _To Thee, O God in heaven_ (Christening)
Both of these tender and beautiful hymns for a christening
appeared in the _Service Book_, 1844, and have passed into a good
many other collections, although hymns are now seldom sung at such
a service.
Of the above no. 3 was included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of
Hymns_, 1846, attributed to Clarke, and nos. 1, 5 and 6 were included
as Anonymous. In their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, these hymns were
correctly attributed to Clarke. He was the author of a limited
quantity of pleasing religious verse acceptable to his many friends
rather than a hymn writer of distinction, his best ones being nos. 3,
5 and 6. _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, includes nos. 3 and 6;
_The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935, includes nos. 3 and 5; _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937, has only no. 3.
J. 235, 1556
Re-written, H.W.F.
Collyer, Rev. Robert, D.D., Keighly, Yorkshire, England, December 8,
1823—November 30, 1912, New York, New York. His education in childhood
was very limited, and in early manhood he became a blacksmith, which
had been his father’s trade. He joined the Methodist Church in 1847
and three years later sailed for America, settling at Shoemakertown,
Pennsylvania, where he was both a blacksmith and a preacher. Having
become acquainted with Dr. W. H. Furness, _q.v._, of Philadelphia, he
accepted Unitarian beliefs and left the Methodist Church. His great
intellectual abilities and natural gifts as a preacher brought him an
invitation in 1859 to go to Chicago to take charge of the newly
organized Unity Church in that city, which he served until 1879, when
he accepted a call to the Church of the Messiah (Unitarian), New York.
He was a widely popular lecturer and author of many published sermons,
other articles, and a few occasional verses. The church of which he
was minister was destroyed by the great Chicago fire of 1870 but was
soon rebuilt. For the dedication of the new building in December 3,
1873, he wrote his one fine hymn beginning,
_With thankful hearts, O God, we come_,
which altered to
_Unto thy temple, Lord, we come_,
has had wide use in Unitarian hymn books and is included in the _New
Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 1623
H.W.F.
Clute, Rev. Oscar, Bethlehem, New York, March 11, 1837—January 27,
1902, Sawtelle, California. He took the degree of M.S. at Michigan
State College, and then studied at Meadville Theological School,
1867-1868. In the latter year he was ordained as minister of the
Unitarian Church at Vineland, New Jersey, where he remained for five
years. He served churches in Keokuk, Iowa, 1875-1878; Iowa City,
1878-1888; and Pomona, California, 1888-1889. From 1889 to 1893 he was
president of Michigan State Agricultural College, and president of
Florida Agricultural College from 1893 to 1897, when he moved to
California.
He wrote a hymn beginning,
_O Love of God most full,_
_O Love of God most free,_
which is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, in _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937, and in _The Hymnal_ (Presbyterian), 1935, the
Handbook to which describes it as “a rhapsody of gratitude for the
love of God.”
J. 1682
H.W.F.
Dana, Charles Anderson, Hinsdale, New Hampshire, August 8,
1819—October 17, 1897, Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. He was one of
the leaders in the Brook Farm Association, 1842; then became a
journalist and man of letters; on the staff of the New York _Tribune_,
1847-1862; Assistant Secretary of War, 1863-1864; editor of the New
York _Sun_, 1868.
The hymn beginning
_Work, and thou shalt bless the day_ (Joy in Labor)
which Hedge and Huntington included in their _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853, and attributed to “C. A. Dana” was probably written
while he was engaged in the Brook Farm experiment.
H.W.F.
Dwight, Rev. John Sullivan, Boston, Massachusetts, May 13,
1812—September 5, 1893. He graduated from Harvard College and from the
Harvard Divinity School, and entered the Unitarian ministry, but after
six years turned to literary pursuits, and was for nearly 50 years
editor of the Journal of Music. A meditative poem by him in seven
stanzas, entitled “True Rest,” beginning
_Sweet is the pleasure_,
is included in the Supplement in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the
Church of Christ_, 1853, but it is not a hymn and his only connection
with hymnody was his part in re-writing the hymn beginning
_God bless our native land!_
by his friend, C. T. Brooks, _q.v._ In most versions of this much
altered hymn the second stanza is in the form given it by Dwight.
J. 1560, 1631
H.W.F.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, LL.D., Boston, Massachusetts, May 25, 1803—April
27, 1882, Concord, Massachusetts. He was the son of Rev. William
Emerson, _q.v._, minister of the First Church of Boston (Unitarian)
who, though not himself a hymn writer, published in 1808 the excellent
small collection entitled _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns_ (5).
R. W. Emerson graduated from Harvard College in 1821 and after further
study in the Harvard Divinity School took his A.M. in 1827. He was
ordained in 1829 as minister of the Second Church of Boston
(Unitarian). He served the church for three years but resigned in
1832, feeling that his pastoral work was inadequate and that he was
not in accord with his parishioners’ views about the Communion
Service. A volume of his sermons, selected and edited by A. C.
McGiffert, Jr., was published in 1938 under the title _The Young
Emerson Speaks_. Although he preached occasionally for several years
thereafter he never held another pastorate, but retired to Concord and
devoted himself to lecturing and authorship. As an essayist and poet
he rose to great and lasting distinction. He published _Orations,
Lectures, and Addresses_, 1844; _Poems_, 1846; _Representative Men_,
1850; _English Traits_, 1856; and a succession of later volumes. His
_Collected Works_ were published after his death, in 12 volumes.
Perhaps his most famous essay was his epoch-making _Divinity School
Address_, delivered in 1838. In 1833 he wrote his hymn
_We love the venerable house_ (The house of God)
for the ordination of his successor, Rev. Chandler Robbins, _q.v._, in
the Second Church, though it is more a commemorative poem than an
ordination hymn. It was included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1864; in Martineau’s _Hymns of Praise and Prayer_,
printed in England in 1873; and in later Unitarian and other hymn
books down to the present day. Four stanzas selected from this poem,
beginning with the second,
_Here holy thoughts a light have shed_,
were included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853, though without the author’s name, and the same
collection erroneously attributed to Emerson a hymn beginning,
_All before us is the way_,
the author of which was Eliza T. Clapp, _q.v._, an error which was
repeated in various other collections.
Part of Emerson’s poem entitled _The Problem_, beginning
_Out of the heart of nature rolled_ (The Everlasting Word)
originally printed in the _Dial_, July, 1840, and then in his _Poems_,
1846, was also included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and in
Martineau’s _Hymns_, but has since dropped out of use.
Another poem of two stanzas beginning
_Not gold, but only men can make_
was attributed to Emerson in the later book called _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937, probably mistakenly. These verses are listed as
Emerson’s in Granger’s _Index to Poetry and Recitations_, under _A
Nation’s Strength_, and Granger states that they are to be found in a
publication of The Penn Publishing Company of Philadelphia. They are
not to be found, however, in the _Centenary Edition of Emerson’s
Poems_ nor in Hubbell’s _Concordance to the poems of Emerson_ (N. Y.,
Wilson, 1932). It is therefore doubtful whether the attribution to
Emerson is well-founded.
J. 329
Revised by H.W.F.
Everett, William, Watertown, Massachusetts, October 10, 1839—February
16, 1910, Quincy, Massachusetts. Son of Hon. Edward Everett. He
graduated from Harvard College in 1859; took the B.A. degree at
Cambridge University, England, in 1863; and the degrees of A.M. and
LL. B. at Harvard in 1865. He received the honorary degree of Litt.D.
from Williams College in 1889 and the degree of LL.D. from the same
college in 1893 and from Dartmouth in 1901. After graduation from the
Harvard Law School he did not enter the legal profession but served
the College as tutor and then Assistant Professor of Latin for several
years. In 1872 the Boston Association of Ministers licensed him as a
lay preacher and thereafter he spoke frequently in Unitarian pulpits
in New England, but he was never ordained as a settled minister. He
served Adams Academy in Quincy, Massachusetts as headmaster from 1877
to 1907, with an interruption of two years when in 1893 he was elected
a member of the House of Representatives in Washington. In 1866 _The
Christian Register_ printed his hymn beginning
_Deal gently with us, Lord_,
and three years later he wrote “for the Unitarian Festival at the
Music Hall [Boston], May 27, 1869” a hymn beginning
_Almighty Father, Thou didst frame_
These hymns, and four others by him, are included in Putnam’s _Singers
and Songs, Etc._
J. 1634
H.W.F.
Fernald, Woodbury Melcher, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, March 21,
1813—December 10, 1873, Boston, Massachusetts. He entered the
Universalist ministry in 1835 and served churches of that denomination
in Newburyport and Chicopee, Massachusetts, and elsewhere, for a few
years. He then became a Unitarian, without entering the ministry of
that denomination, and eventually joined the Swedenborgian Church of
the New Jerusalem in Boston. He did some travelling on behalf of this
body, as far west as Wisconsin, in intervals of employment at the
Custom House and, later, at the Post Office in Boston. He was author
of books and essays, most of them expositions of Swedenborgian
doctrine, and of a small amount of occasional verse, published in the
periodicals of the day but never collected in a printed volume. In his
private collection of his poems are a few hymns, only two of which
appear to have had any public use. One beginning
_Great Source of being, truth and love_,
was written for the ordination of Rev. Thomas C. Adam as pastor of the
West Universalist Society in Boston, March 12, 1845. The other,
_When Israel, humbled of the Lord_,
a protest against slavery published in the _Boston Journal_, in July,
1861, was included, in part and considerably re-written, in _The
Soldier’s Companion: Dedicated to the Defenders of their Country in
the Field, by their Friends at Home_. This was published as the Army
Number of the _Monthly Journal_, Boston, October, 1861, vol. II, no.
10, a small Unitarian collection of hymns and devotional readings. In
this collection the hymn begins,
_When Israel’s foes, a numerous host_,
and is attributed to “Rev. W. M. Fernald,” though it is not included
in this form in the author’s private collection of his verse. None of
his hymns appear to have had any further use.
H.W.F.
Flint, Rev. James, D.D. Reading, Massachusetts, December 10,
1779—March 4, 1855. He graduated from Harvard College in 1802, and was
ordained an orthodox Congregational minister at East Bridgewater in
1806, where he soon adopted more liberal beliefs, and carried most of
his congregation with him. In 1821 he accepted a call to the East
Church (Unitarian) Salem, Massachusetts, where he served until his
death. In 1843 he published _A Collection of Hymns for the Christian
Church and Home_, to replace the earlier collection (1788) by Rev.
William Bentley, _q.v._, for use in the East Church. Flint’s
_Collection_ included several hymns by himself. One of them, “On
leaving an old house of worship,” beginning
_Here to the high and holy One_
was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841, as was a second,
written in 1840 for the 200^th anniversary of the incorporation of the
town of Quincy, Massachusetts, beginning,
_In pleasant lands have fallen the lines_
_That bound our goodly heritage._
This second hymn has been included in a number of later hymnbooks,
among them _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937.
J. 379
H.W.F.
Follen, Mrs. Eliza Lee (Cabot), Boston, Massachusetts, August 15,
1787—January 26, 1860, Brookline, Massachusetts. In 1828 she married
Dr. Charles Follen, a German scholar who had sought freedom in this
country and who was then teaching German Literature and Ecclesiastical
History at Harvard. Later he was minister of the Unitarian Church (now
called the Follen Church Society) at East Lexington, Massachusetts.
Mrs. Follen both before and after her marriage contributed verse and
prose articles to various periodicals and published a number of small
books, including _Hymns for Children_, Boston, 1825; _Poems_, 1839,
and, while she was in England in 1854, another small volume for
children, entitled _The Lark and the Linnet_. These books contain some
translations from the German and the versions of a few Psalms.
Her best known hymns are
1. _How sweet to be allowed to pray_, (Resignation)
This first appeared in _The Christian Disciple_, September 1818,
then in her _Poems_, 1839, entitled “Thy will be done.”
2. _How sweet upon this sacred day_ (Sunday)
In _The Christian Disciple_, September, 1828, and in _Poems_,
entitled “Sabbath Day.”
3. _Lord deliver, thou canst save_, (Prayer for the Slave)
In _Songs of the Free_, 1836; in Adams and Chapin’s (Universalist)
_Hymns for Christian Devotion_, Boston, 1845; in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853; and in other
collections, but not included in her _Poems_.
4. _God, thou art good, each perfumed flower_, (God In Nature)
This first appeared in _Hymns for Children_, Boston, 1825,
beginning with a defective line (7s instead of 8s)
(a) _God is good! each perfumed flower_
and altered as above in her _Poems_ and in _The Lark and the
Linnet_.
This hymn underwent further transformations in England. In Emily
Taylor’s _Sabbath Recreations_, 1826, it was included as an
original piece never before printed, and signed “E.L.C.”, the
initials of Mrs. Follen’s maiden name. Possibly she sent a ms.
copy to Miss Taylor before it appeared in Boston. In J. R. Beard’s
British Unitarian _Collection of Hymns_, 1837, it appears as
(b) _Yes, God is good! each perfumed flower_,
J. H. Gurney, the Anglican hymn writer and editor, included it in
his Lutterworth _Collection of Hymns for Public Worship_, 1838,
but, while retaining Mrs. Follen’s opening stanza, rewrote about
half of the remaining four stanzas, and in his later _Marylebone
Collection_, 1851, rewrote it further, beginning it
(c) _Yes, God is Good.—in earth and sky,_
and in a note appended to the Index of first lines he wrote that
he had found the hymn “in a small American volume —— well
conceived, but very imperfectly executed,” and that because of
“successive alterations—the writer has not scrupled to put his
name to it, J.H.G.” In these altered forms the hymn had
considerable use in England (For further details see Julian,
_Dictionary_, 1298).
5. _Will God, who made the earth and sea_, (Child’s Prayer)
In _Poems_, 1839. In Dr. Allan’s (English) _Children’s Worship_ it
is erroneously attributed to “H. Bateman.”
The only one of Mrs. Follen’s hymns in present use is 4_c_, in _The
Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908, but several of her poems are
included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_.
J. 380, 1298
H.W.F.
Foote, Rev. Henry Wilder (I), Salem, Massachusetts, June 2, 1838—May
29, 1889, Boston, Massachusetts. Educated at Harvard, A.B. 1858; A.M.
1861; graduated at the Harvard Divinity School, 1861. He was minister
of King’s Chapel (Unitarian), Boston, from 1861 until his death, and
his book, _The Annals of King’s Chapel_ (vol. I, 1882, vol. II, 1896,
completed by others) gives an authoritative account of the religious
controversies in Colonial Boston. At the time of his death he had in
preparation a hymnbook to replace the _Collection of Psalms and Hymns_
which his predecessor, Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, _q.v._, had published
in 1830. His hymnbook was completed by his widow, his sister Mrs. Mary
W. Tileston, (_q.v._) and his brother Arthur Foote, and was published
in 1891 as _Hymns of the Church Universal_. It was notable for its
scholarly catholicity and helped to introduce to American
congregations the then popular English hymn tunes of the “cathedral
school” by Barnby, Dykes, Stainer, Sullivan and others. The book
included the hymn which Mr. Foote had written for the Visitation Day
(graduation exercises) at the Divinity School in 1861,
_O Thou with whom in sweet content_
This hymn has also been included in _Hymns for Church and Home_, 1896,
in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
J. 1604
H.W.F.
Foote, Rev. Henry Wilder (II), D.D., Litt.D., Boston, Massachusetts,
February 2, 1875—still living. Son of the above; educated at Harvard,
A.B. 1897; A.M. 1900; S.T.B. 1902. He entered the Unitarian ministry
and has served churches in New Orleans, Louisiana; Ann Arbor,
Michigan; Belmont, Massachusetts and Charlottesville, Virginia. From
1914-1924 he was an assistant professor at the Harvard Divinity School
where he gave a course on the history of Christian hymnody. He was
secretary of the committee which edited _The New Hymn and Tune Book_,
published in 1914 by the American Unitarian Association, and was
chairman of the committee which edited _Hymns of the Spirit_,
published in 1937 by the Beacon Press (to be distinguished from the
earlier _Hymns of the Spirit_ by S. Johnson and S. Longfellow, 1864).
This later book includes one hymn by Dr. Foote beginning,
_Thou whose love brought us to birth_,
Dr. Foote also edited the words in _The Concord Anthem Book_, 1924,
and in _The Second Concord Anthem Book_, 1936, for which Professor
Archibald T. Davison selected and edited the music. He is the author
of several books and articles on the cultural or religious aspects of
American colonial history, one of which, _Three Centuries of American
Hymnody_, 1940, covers the period from the publication of the _Bay
Psalm Book_ in 1640 to the late nineteen-thirties.
Freeman, James, D.D., Charlestown, Massachusetts, April 22,
1759—November 14, 1835, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1777. In March, 1776, Rev. Henry Caner, rector of
King’s Chapel, Boston, left with the British troops when they
evacuated the town, accompanied by many of his leading parishioners.
The remaining members of the church in September, 1782, engaged James
Freeman as a lay “Reader” to conduct worship. The prayers for the King
and royal family of England had been dropped and Freemen soon began to
omit references to the Trinity, expecting soon to be dismissed as
Reader. Instead the congregation voted to revise the liturgy in
accordance with his beliefs and in 1785 published the first edition of
the “Book of Common Prayer according to the Use of King’s Chapel.”
This action led Bishop Seabury, after his arrival in America, to
refuse ordination to Freeman, whereupon the congregation ordained him
according to Congregational usage. Freeman thus became “the first
avowed preacher of Unitarianism in the United States.” He remained
active pastor of the Chapel until 1826. He edited a _Collection of
Psalms and Hymns for public worship_, published in 1799. It included
155 psalms “selected chiefly from Tate and Brady,” followed by 90
hymns, and remained in use in the Chapel until the publication in 1830
of the much better _Collection_ edited by his successor, Rev. F. W. P.
Greenwood, _q.v._ Freeman wrote one hymn
_Lord of the worlds below_ (The Seasons)
which first appeared in his _Collection_, from which it passed to a
number of later ones. It is an adaptation for congregational use of
Thomson’s “Hymn on the Seasons.” See Putnam, _Singers and Songs of the
Liberal Faith_.
J. 389
Revised by H.W.F.
Frothingham, Rev. Nathaniel Langdon, D.D., Boston, July 23, 1793—April
4, 1870, Boston. He graduated from Harvard in 1811, and after a brief
period of further study and as tutor in the College, he entered the
Unitarian ministry and in 1815 was settled as minister of the First
Church in Boston, where he served until 1850, when ill-health and
approaching blindness caused his resignation. He was one of the most
distinguished Boston ministers of his period, and the author of a good
deal of verse, published in his _Metrical Pieces, Translated and
Original_, 1855, and in a second volume with the same title in 1870.
In 1828 he wrote his finest hymn,
1. _O God, whose presence glows in all_
for the ordination of his friend, W. P. Lunt, _q.v._, as minister
of the Second Unitarian Congregational Church, New York, on June
19, of that year.
In 1835 he wrote
2. _We meditate the day_
for the installation of Mr. Lunt as Co-pastor with Rev. Peter
Whitney of the First Church at Quincy, Massachusetts, and in 1839
he wrote
3. _O Lord of life and truth and grace_,
for the ordination of Henry Whitney Bellows in New York.
His later hymns were
4. _O Saviour, whose immortal word_,
“Written for the Dedication of the Church of the Saviour, Boston,
November 16, 1847.”;
5. _Remember me, the Saviour said_, (Communion Service)
6. _The Lord gave the word,_
_’Twas the word of his truth._
7. _The patriarch’s dove, on weary wing_,
8. _They passed away from sight_, (Death and Burial)
9. _When I am weak, I’m strong_ (Spiritual Strength)
Of these hymns the first two were included in Lunt’s _Christian
Psalter_, 1841; nos. 1, 2, 6 and 7 were included in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_ (1853); and all but no.
8 are included in the author’s _Metrical Pieces_, 1855. No. 5 had
considerable use in the 19^th century, but no. 1 alone survives in
20^th century Unitarian collections.
J. 400, 1564
Revised H.W.F.
Frothingham, Rev. Octavius Brooks, son of Rev. Nathaniel Langdon
Frothingham, D.D., _q.v._, Boston, November 26, 1822—November 27,
1895, Boston. He graduated from Harvard College in 1843, and in 1846
from the Harvard Divinity School, where, for the graduating exercises
of his class, he wrote his fine, and only, hymn,
_Thou Lord of Hosts, whose guiding hand_, (Soldiers of the
Cross)
which was included in the _Book of Hymns_ prepared by his classmates,
Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson, published later in the same
year. He served as minister of the (Unitarian) North Church, Salem,
Massachusetts from 1847 to 1855, and became minister of the Third
Congregational Church in New York City, resigning in 1879. He was a
bold, outspoken, eloquent speaker, and the author of many printed
discourses and of several important biographies.
J. 400, 1638
H.W.F.
Furness, Rev. William Henry, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, April 20,
1802—January 30, 1896, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1820 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1823,
and was given the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Harvard in 1847. In
1825 he was ordained minister of the First Unitarian Church in
Philadelphia where he served for 50 years before becoming pastor
emeritus, his connection with the church covering a period of 71
years. He was an accomplished scholar, and attained distinction as a
preacher, an author and a worker in social reforms. His publications
include _Notes on the Gospels_, 1836; _Jesus and his Biographers_,
1838; _The History of Jesus_, 1850; _a Manual of Domestic Worship_,
1840, in which his earlier hymns were printed; a translation of
Schiller’s _Song of the Bell_; and other translations from the German.
His collected _Verses, Translations and Hymns_ appeared in 1886. The
following hymns by him have had considerable use.
1. _Father in heaven, to Thee my heart_,
Appeared in The _Christian Disciple_, 1822. It was printed in this
form in several collections, including the Unitarian _Hymn and
Tune Book_, 1868. In Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_,
1846, it reads
_Father in heaven, to whom our hearts_
and was reprinted in this form in their _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1864, and in Martineau’s _Hymns of Praise and Prayer_, 1873.
This hymn has sometimes been attributed to “H. Ware,” in error.
2. _Feeble, helpless, how shall I_,
Included on the Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844, and in later
19^th century Unitarian publications; also in the British _Lyra
Sacra Americana_, 1868, and Thring’s _Collection_, 1882.
3. _Have mercy, O Father_,
Contributed to Martineau’s _Hymns of Praise and Prayer_, 1873.
4. _Here in a world of doubt_, (Psalm XLII)
Contributed to the New York Lutheran Coll., 1834, and included in
the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840 and in Martineau’s
_Hymns_, 1873.
5. _Here in the broken bread_,
Included in the _Appendix_ to the Philadelphia Unitarian
_Collection_, 1828; in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the
Church of Christ_, 1853; and in a few later collections, among
them _The Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868.
6. _Holy Father, Gracious art Thou_,
Contributed to Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.
7. _I feel within a want_,
Included in the Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844; in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853; and in a few
other collections.
8. _In the morning I will praise_ (pray)
In the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840, this hymn
began
_In the morning I will raise_
and was thus included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873, but in
Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, and later American
collections the first stanza is dropped and the hymn begins
_In the morning I will pray_
9. _O for a prophet’s fire,_
Included in the _Appendix_ to the Philadelphia Unitarian
_Collection_, 1828, and in the Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844.
10. _Richly, O richly have I been_,
Written in 1823 and included in the author’s _Manual of Domestic
Worship_, 1840. In Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846,
and in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, it is altered to begin
_O richly, Father, have I been_
In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853,
and most later Unitarian and other collections, the opening stanza
is dropped and it begins with the second stanza,
_Unworthy to be called Thy son_,
11. _She is not dead, but sleepeth_
Included in the author’s _Verses, Translations and Hymns_, 1886.
12. _Slowly by Thy [God’s] hand unfurled_
Written in 1825 and included in the author’s _Manual of Domestic
Worship_, 1840. In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853, the first line was changed to read,
_Slowly by God’s hand unfurled_,
and was thus printed in the Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868.
In Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873, and in most later American Unitarian
collections, the original reading has been retained.
13. _That God is Love, unchanging Love_,
Written in 1892 and included in _Hymns for Church and Home_, 1896,
and in _The Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
14. _Thou only Living, only True_,
An ordination hymn, dated 1868, included in Martineau’s _Hymns_,
1873.
15. _Thou who dost all things give_
Written in 1869. Included in the author’s _Verses, Translations
and Hymns_, 1886; in _The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1904; and in Horder’s
_Treasury of American Sacred Song_, 1896.
16. _To the High and Holy One_,
This is printed in full in _Lyra Sacra Americana_, 1868. In
Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, the first
stanza is dropped and it begins with the 2^nd stanza,
_To the truth that makes us free_,
17. _What is the world that it should share_,
Printed in the _Christian Disciple_, 1822, and in Martineau’s
_Hymns_, 1873. It begins with the second stanza of a hymn of which
the opening line reads,
_Here in Thy temple, Lord, we bow_,
In _Lyra Sacra Americana_ it is altered to read
_Oh, is there aught on earth to share_
18. _What is this that stirs within_?
Printed in the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840; in the
Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844, in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns
for the Church of Christ_, and in a good many other American
collections.
Dr. Furness’s hymns, though creditable religious verse of the period
and widely esteemed because of the author’s distinction, nowhere
attain a very high level of poetic beauty, and almost all of them have
passed out of use. Only nos. 8, 10, and 12 were included in the
Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and only no. 12 survives in
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 402, 1638
Revised by H.W.F.
Fuller, Sarah Margaret, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 23, 1810—July
16, 1850, in a shipwreck south of New York. In 1847 she married the
Marchese Ossoli in Rome. She did educational work in Boston and in
Providence, Rhode Island, edited _The Dial_ in 1840, and was noted
locally for her intellectual brilliance. Memorials of her by R. W.
Emerson, W. H. Channing and J. F. Clarke appeared in 1851, her _Works_
in 1874.
Her hymn beginning
_Jesus, a child his course began_, (Christ the Pattern of
Childhood)
from _Life Without and Life Within_, 1859, p. 404, had some use in
Great Britain as well as in America.
J. 1585
H.W.F.
Gannett, Rev. William Channing, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, March 13,
1840—December 15, 1923, Rochester, New York. He graduated from Harvard
College in 1860; taught school in Newport, Rhode Island one year; and
spent four years on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, as agent for
the New England Freedmen’s Society doing relief and educational work
with the thousands of Negro refugees gathered there. In 1865 he
studied for a year in Europe, then entered the Harvard Divinity School
from which he graduated in 1868. His first pastorate was in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, 1868-1871. He then spent several years writing a biography
of his father, Ezra Stiles Gannett, who had been William Ellery
Channing’s successor as minister of the Federal Street Church, Boston.
He was minister of Unity Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1877-1883;
served the Western Unitarian Conference for four years; was minister
at Hinsdale, Illinois, 1887-1889; and of the Unitarian Church in
Rochester, New York, 1889-1908, where he remained as minister-emeritus
until his death. Throughout his professional career he was closely
associated with Frederick Lucian Hosmer, _q.v._ Together they
published three small collections entitled _The Thought of God in
Hymns and Poems_, the first in 1885, the second in 1894, the third in
1918; and together they also edited _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, 1880,
revised edition in 1911. James Vila Blake, _q.v._, was co-editor of
the first edition. This little hymn book is a markedly individualistic
production with many of the older hymns altered to conform to the
beliefs of the editors.
In these publications, in which most of their own hymns were first
published, and in the careful workmanship with which their thought was
brought to a perfection of poetic utterance, Gannett and Hosmer may be
compared to Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson whose _Book of
Hymns_, 1846, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, had appeared a
generation earlier.
Dr. Gannett’s hymns are listed, with annotations “based upon ms. notes
kindly supplied by the author” in Julian’s _Dictionary of Hymnology_,
pp. 1638-9, as follows:
1. _Bring, O morn thy music! Night thy starlit silence!_ (God
Everlasting)
Written in 1892, and printed in _A Chorus of Faith_, being an
account and resumé of the Parliament of Religions, held in
Chicago, 1893. Included in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd Series,
1894, and again in several hymnals.
2. _Clear in memory’s silent reaches_, (Memory)
Written in 1877 for a Free Religious Association Festival, and
published in _The Thought of God_, 1^st Series, 1885.
3. _From heart to heart, from creed to creed_, (Faith)
Written in 1875 for 150^th anniversary of the First Religious
Society of Newburyport, and given in _The Thought of God_, 1^st
Series, 1885.
4. _He hides within the lily_, (Divine Providence)
“Consider the lilies, how they grow.” Written in 1873, and printed
for use at the Free Religious Association Festival, May 30, 1873.
Published in _The Thought of God_, 1^st Series, 1885, in 4 st. of
8 l. The most widely used of the author’s hymns.
5. _I hear it often in the dark_, (The Voice of God)
Written at Milwaukee in 1870, and published in _The Thought of
God_, 1^st Series, 1885. Sometimes it begins with St. iii, “O God
within, so close to me,” as in _Hys. for Church and Home_, Boston,
1895.
6. _Praise to God and Thanksgiving_, (Harvest)
Written in 1882 for a Harvest Festival at St. Paul, Minnesota,
where he was then a pastor, and included in _The Thought of God_,
1^st Series, 1885. In the Boston _Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1904, and in
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, it begins
_Praise to God, and thanks we bring_,
7. _Sleep, my little Jesus_, (Christmas Carol)
Written for the Sunday School, St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1882, and
given in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd Series, 1894, as “Mary’s
Manger Song.”
8. _The Lord is in His holy place_ (Dedication of a Place of
Worship)
Written for the Dedication of the Rev. C. W. Wendte’s Church,
Chicago, April 24, 1873, and published in _The Thought of God_,
1^st Series, 1885. It is one of the most popular and widely used
of the author’s hymns.
9. _The morning hangs its signal_, (Morning)
This is dated by the author “Chicago, July 30, 1886,” and printed
in _Love to God and Love to Man_, being no. 28 of the Chicago
“Unity Mission” series of hymns, n.d. It is also included in _The
Thought of God_, 2^nd Series, 1894. Although a morning hymn it is
adapted for use in Advent. It is usually known as “The Crowning
Day.”
Of the hymns thus listed in Julian’s _Dictionary_ Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8
and 9 have been widely used and are included in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937. No. 1 was written to be set to J. B. Dykes’ tune _Nicaea_, to
which it is usually sung. No. 4 is probably the earliest hymn in the
English language to give a religious interpretation of the then novel
and controversial doctrine of evolution. No. 9, as included in _Hymns
of the Spirit_, 1937, is attributed to “William Channing Gannett and
others”, being an arrangement from one of his poems.
Another fine hymn by Dr. Gannett beginning,
10. _God laid his rocks in courses_,
is unaccountably missing from the above list in Julian’s
_Dictionary_. It is dated 1888 and was written for the dedication
of the church in Hinsdale which was erected shortly before his
pastorate there came to an end.
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, also includes as a hymn beginning,
11. _It sounds along the ages_,
an arrangement of stanzas from one of Dr. Gannett’s poems entitled
“The Word of God.”
Finally, mention should be made of his part in giving form to the
great hymn beginning
12. _Praise to the living God! All praiséd be his name!_
This is a metrical version of the Yigdal, a summary of the Jewish
faith attributed to Daniel Ben Judah who lived about the 14^th
century A.D. About 1760 Thomas Olivers, a Methodist preacher
visiting a Jewish synagogue in London, heard it chanted in Hebrew
by the cantor Leoni (Meyer Lyon) to a traditional melody. Much
impressed he secured a prose translation which he turned into the
hymn beginning
_The God of Abraham praise_,
to be sung to the same tune, to which he gave the name Leoni. His
version, however, did not follow the original text at all closely,
for he gave it a Christian interpretation. (A detailed account of
this episode will be found in Julian’s _Dictionary_, pp.
1149-1151.) This hymn soon became, and has remained, widely
popular. In the 1880’s Rabbi Max Landsberg of Temple Berith Kodesh
in Rochester, New York, a friend of Rev. Newton Mann, _q.v._ then
minister of the Unitarian Church in Rochester, asked Mr. Mann if
he could not make a metrical version of the Yigdal in English
which would be a more exact translation. Mr. Mann did so, but not
in the metre of the tune to which the Hebrew text was sung. After
Dr. Gannett had succeeded Mr. Mann in Rochester, Rabbi Landsberg
asked him to recast Mr. Mann’s version in the same metre as the
tune. Dr. Gannett did so, and his version in 5 stas. was included
in the Jewish _Union Hymnal_, 1910, from which, with one stanza
omitted and some other alterations which in most cases are not
improvements, it has come into a number of Christian hymn books.
The unchanged version in 4 stas. will be found in _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937, where it is recorded as “Revised version of the
Yigdal of Daniel Ben Judah” and the tune is called “Yigdal
(Leoni)” and is described as “Jewish Melody, arr. by Meyer Lyon.”
Dr. Gannett never claimed this version as his, and it is now
impossible to discover how much of its wording is due to Mr.
Mann’s earlier verse, but its poetic perfection is highly
suggestive of Dr. Gannett’s craftsmanship, which assuredly has
contributed much to its present form.
H.W.F
Gilman, Mrs. Caroline (Howard), Boston, Massachusetts, October 8,
1794—September 18, 1888, Washington D. C. She married Rev. Samuel
Gilman, _q.v._, on October 14, 1819, and after his death in 1858 lived
for a time in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later in Tiverton, Long
Island, New York.
She began to write stories and poems at an early age, many of which
were published in “The Rosebud,” later called “The Southern Rose,” a
juvenile weekly paper published in Charleston, South Carolina, which
she edited for several years, beginning in 1832. Her book entitled
“Verses of a Lifetime” was published in 1854, as were a number of
other books which gave her a considerable reputation as an author.
Five of her poems are included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc.
Two of her hymns had considerable use,
1. _Is there a lone and dreary hour_, (Providence)
This was contributed to Sewall’s _Collection_, 1820, in 4 stanzas
of 4 lines, to which in 1867 she added a fifth stanza for
inclusion in the Charleston _Services and Hymns_. This hymn had
wide use in both British and American collections in the 19^th
century.
2. _We bless Thee for this sacred day_ (Sunday)
Also contributed to Sewall’s _Collection_, 1820, in 4 stanzas of 4
lines, to which she added a fifth stanza, when included in the
Charleston _Services and Hymns_, 1867.
Neither of these hymns is in current use.
J. 423
Revised by H.W.F.
Gilman, Rev. Samuel, D.D., Gloucester, Massachusetts, February 16,
1791—February 9, 1858, Kingston, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1811, served the College as tutor in mathematics
for two years, and studied in the Harvard Divinity School. On December
1, 1819, he was ordained minister of the Unitarian Church in
Charleston, South Carolina, which he served with great distinction
until his death, which occurred while on a visit to Massachusetts. His
wife, Caroline Howard Gilman, _q.v._, was a writer noted in her day.
He wrote a good many poems and essays, published in magazines; a book,
“Memoirs of a New England Village Choir,” 1829, which ran to three
editions; and in 1856 a volume of his miscellaneous essays, entitled
“Contributions to Literature, Descriptive, Critical, Humorous,
Biographical, Philosophical and Poetical.” His two best known songs
were _The Union Ode_, composed for the Union party of South Carolina
and sung there on July 4, 1831, during the Nullification excitement,
and later in the North during the Civil War; and the college hymn
_Fair Harvard_, which he wrote in 1836. He had come to Cambridge for
the twenty-fifth anniversary of his graduation and the 200^th
anniversary of the founding of the College. On the eve of the
celebration, having already an established reputation as a poet, he
was asked to write a song for the occasion and it was sung at the
meeting on September 8, 1836, to a tune popular at the time, composed
for the song “Believe me, if all those endearing young charms.”
Harvard gave him the honorary degree of D.D. in 1837.
He wrote a number of hymns of minor importance.
1. _O God, accept this sacred hour_ (Communion)
was contributed to Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris’s _Hymns for the
Lord’s Supper_, 1820, and was republished in Sewall’s New York
Collection of the same year, in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for
the Church of Christ_, 1853, and other collections.
2. _This child we dedicate to Thee_ (Christening)
In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_ the
author’s name is not given and the piece is attributed to the
_West Boston Collection_, 1823. Putnam, in _Singers and Songs_,
etc., p. 73, gives four of its original stanzas, and says that it
is a translation from the German, but the original has not been
traced.
3. _We sing Thy mercy, God of love_, (Communion)
Contributed to _Hymns of the Lord’s Supper_ and included in
Sewall’s New York _Collection_.
4. _Who would sever freedom’s shrine?_
A song supporting the Union cause, of which Gilman was a strong
advocate, written at the time of the Nullification agitation.
Several stanzas from it, beginning as above, were included in _The
Soldier’s Companion_, 1861.
5. _Yes, to the [that] last command_ (Communion)
Like no. 1 and 3 included in _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper_ and in
Sewall’s _Collection_.
All these hymns have long since passed out of use.
Gilman (with C. M. Taggart) edited the _Charleston Collection_ in
1854, under the title _Services and Hymns for the use of the Unitarian
Church of Charleston, S.C._, a second and enlarged edition of which
appeared in 1867. It included three of his hymns, nos. 1, 3 and 5,
listed above, and the two by his wife, Caroline Gilman, _q.v._, listed
under her name.
J. 423, 1592
revised—H.W.F.
Goldsmith, Rev. Peter Hair, D.D. (1865-1926) was born in Greenville,
South Carolina. He was educated at the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, and served several Baptist churches
before transferring his membership to the Unitarian denomination,
after which he served as minister to the First Church in Salem,
Massachusetts, 1903-1910, and to the church in Yonkers, New York,
1910-1917.
In 1912 he wrote a hymn beginning,
_Holy, holy Lord,_
_We with one accord,_
which was included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, but has not
passed into other collections.
H.W.F.
Greenough, James Bradstreet, Portland, Maine, 1833-1901, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1856, was
appointed tutor in 1865, assistant professor in 1873, and professor of
Latin in 1883. In 1884 he wrote the Latin hymn in four stanzas
beginning
_Deus omnium creator_,
for the tune _Harvard Hymn_ which his friend, John Knowles Paine,
professor of music at Harvard, had composed in 1883 for use at the
Harvard Commencement dinner.
It is included in _The University Hymn Book_, 1896, and in _The
Harvard University Hymn Book_, 1926.
H.W.F.
Greenwood, Helen Woodward, Leominster, Massachusetts, April 18,
1880—April 2, 1959, Leominster. She was for many years engaged in
secretarial work for the General Alliance of Unitarian Women at 25
Beacon Street, Boston. A hymn by her, beginning
_As once again we gather here_
is included in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
H.W.F.
Hale, Rev. Edward Everett, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, April 3,
1822—June 10, 1909, Roxbury, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard
College in 1839, the youngest member of his class. He did not go to
the Divinity School, but taught in the Boston Latin School and studied
for the ministry under the direction of Rev. S. K. Lothrop and Rev. J.
G. Palfrey. He was licensed to preach by the Boston Association and in
1846 was ordained as minister of the Church of the Unity (now the
First Unitarian Church), Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1856 he moved to
Boston, where he served the South Congregational Church (Unitarian) as
minister and minister emeritus until his death. He was a voluminous
writer. One of his stories entitled “A Man Without A Country,” and
another, “In His Name,” brought him wide reputation. He was a
distinguished preacher and a greatly beloved pastor, an ardent
advocate of peace who as early as 1871 proposed a “United States of
Europe,” and in 1889 outlined a plan for an “International Tribunal.”
In 1858 he wrote a hymn “For the dedication of a Church” beginning,
_O Father, take this new-built shrine_,
which was included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1864, from which Martineau took it for his _Hymns of Praise and
Prayer_, London, 1873.
J. 481
H.W.F.
Hale, Mary Whitwell, Boston, Massachusetts, January 29, 1810—November
17, 1862, Keene, New Hampshire. Most of her life she was a school
teacher in Boston, later in Taunton, Massachusetts, and, for her last
20 years, in Keene. She wrote a good deal of verse. Two of her poems,
one on “Home,” and the second on “Music” were written for a juvenile
concert in the Unitarian Church at Taunton, April, 1834. A number of
her later hymns and poems appeared in _The Christian Register_, signed
by Y.L.E. (the final letters of her name), and in 1840 a volume
entitled _Poems_ was published in Boston. Several of her poems are
included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc.
Four of her hymns were included in the _Cheshire Collection_, 1844,
viz:
1. _Praise for the glorious light_,
Written for a Temperance meeting.
2. _This day let grateful praise ascend_ (Sunday)
3. _Whatever dims the sense of truth_
In Putnam, Singers and Songs, this is entitled “A Mother’s
Counsel,” with a quotation from John Wesley’s mother.
4. _When in silence o’er the deep_ (Christmas)
Of these nos. 2 and 3 were taken from her _Poems_, and nos. 1 and 4
were written for the _Cheshire Collection_. No. 4 is in _Church
Harmonies_. 1895, but none of her hymns are in current use.
J. 481
H.W.F.
Hall, Harriet Ware, Boston, Massachusetts, September 15, 1841—March
18, 1889, Boston. She was a lifelong resident of Boston, a member of
King’s Chapel. Two small books by her were privately printed, one a
collection of poems entitled _A Book for Friends_, 1888, the other
entitled _Essays_, printed posthumously in 1890. The first book
contains a hymn beginning
_Lord, beneath thine equal hand_,
in three stanzas, 7.7.7.7.D., dated February 10, 1869, and written for
the installation of Rev. E. H. Hall at Worcester, Massachusetts, in
1869. It is included in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908, the
first line altered to read,
_Lord, beneath whose equal hand._
H.W.F.
Ham, Rev. Marion Franklin, D.D., Harveysburg, Ohio, February 18,
1867—July 23, 1956, Arlington, Massachusetts. He was educated in the
public schools at Harveysburg, but as a youth moved to Chattanooga,
Tennessee to find employment. There he joined the Unitarian Church
and, after serving it as a lay reader for several years, was ordained
in 1898 as its minister, serving it until 1904. He later served
Unitarian churches in Dallas, Texas, 1904-1909; in Reading,
Massachusetts, 1909-1934; and in Waverley, Massachusetts, 1934-1939.
He began to write verse in 1888, and many of his poems appeared in
newspapers and periodicals, some of them being widely reprinted. His
collected poems were published in book form in 1896, entitled _The
Golden Shuttle_, which reached a fourth edition in 1910. He then
turned to hymn writing, and four of his earliest hymns were included
in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, viz:—
1. _I hear Thy voice, within the silence speaking_, (1913)
2. _O Lord of life, Thy kingdom is at hand_, (1912)
3. _O Thou whose gracious presence shone_ (Communion) (1912)
4. _Touch Thou mine eyes, the sombre shadows falling_, (1911)
These are also included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, as are five
later hymns by him, viz:—
5. _As tranquil streams that meet and merge_ (1933)
6. _From Bethany the Master_, (Palm Sunday) (1935)
7. _Heir of all the waiting ages_, (Advent) (1937)
8. _Ring, O ring, ye Christmas bells_ (1932)
9. _The builders, toiling through the days_ (Church dedication)
(1925)
In April, 1936, he wrote an Easter hymn
10. _Oh, who shall roll the stone away?_
which first appeared in the Boston _Transcript_. It is included in
_The Hymnal_, 1940.
In his later years he published, or had privately printed, several
small booklets containing these and other poems by him: _Songs of the
Spirit_, 1932; _Songs of Faith and Hope_, 1940; _Songs at Sunset_,
1951; _Songs of a Lifetime_, 1953; and _In a Rose Garden_, 1956. Of
these, _Songs of a Lifetime_ contains what he regarded as his best
poems, as well as his latest hymns, among them one widely used on
United Nations Sunday, beginning,
11. _Freedom, thy holy light_,
and a fine national hymn,
12. _O my country, land of promise_,
A number of his hymns have been included in the hymnals of several
denominations, and No. 2 was translated into Japanese.
Dr. Ham’s hymns manifest a deep spiritual insight expressed with
literary craftsmanship of a high order, which make them among the most
notable contributions to American hymnody in the first half of the
20^th century.
H.W.F.
Harris, Florence, (Mrs. Robert G. Hooke) (1891-1933) wrote in 1907,
for the tenth anniversary of Unity Church (Unitarian), Montclair, New
Jersey, of which she was a member a hymn entitled “The Founders,”
beginning,
_Like pilgrims sailing through the night_,
which was included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Harris, Rev. Thaddeus Mason, D.D. (1768-1842). He graduated from
Harvard in 1787, entered the ministry and served the First Church in
Dorchester, Massachusetts (Unitarian) from 1793 until his resignation
in 1836. Librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society. In 1801 he
printed a leaflet with a few hymns, which formed the basis for a
larger collection of _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper, original and
selected_, [edited] _by Thaddeus Mason Harris. D.D. Boston; printed by
Sewall Phelps, No. 5 Court Street, 1820_. A second edition was printed
in 1821. This booklet contains original hymns by Rev. John Pierpont,
_q.v._, Rev. Samuel Gilman, _q.v._, and others, none of them in use
today.
H.W.F.
Hedge, Rev. Frederic Henry, Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 12,
1805—August 21, 1890, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Son of Professor Levi
Hedge of Harvard, he was a very precocious child, ready to enter
college at 12 years of age, but his father wisely sent him to Germany,
with a tutor, George Bancroft, later a noted historian, where he
studied in German schools for 5 years. He then returned to Harvard
College, graduating in 1825, followed by a period of study in Harvard
Divinity School, where he became an intimate friend of R. W. Emerson.
He was ordained minister of the First Congregational Parish
(Unitarian) in West Cambridge (now Arlington) Massachusetts in 1829.
In 1835 he moved to Bangor, Maine, where he served the Independent
Congregational Society until 1850, then serving the Westminster
Congregational Church, Providence, Rhode Island, 1850-1856. In the
latter year he was called to the First Parish in Brookline,
Massachusetts, which he served until 1872. His removal to Brookline
enabled him to serve as a nonresident professor of ecclesiastical
history in the Harvard Divinity School. He retired from the ministry
in 1872 and moved to Cambridge, where he was appointed professor of
German language and literature, retiring in 1882. He was a man of
extraordinary intellectual ability, one of the most learned of his
time, and a pioneer in bringing to this country an acquaintance with
German literature and metaphysics. Harvard gave him the degree of D.D.
in 1852, and that of LL.D. in 1886. He was one of the editors of the
_Christian Examiner_, author of _The Prose Writers of Germany_, 1848,
of _Reason in Religion_, 1865, of a volume of _Metrical Translations
and Poems_ in 1888, and of a large number of essays and sermons. He
was president of the American Unitarian Association 1860-1863. He
collaborated with Dr. F. D. Huntington, _q.v._, in editing _Hymns for
the Church of Christ_, Boston, 1853, to which he contributed three
translations from the German:
1. _A mighty fortress is our God_, (Ein’ feste Burg)
2. _Christ hath arisen!_ (Goethe’s Faust)
3. _The sun is still forever sounding_ (Goethe’s Faust)
The Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book for Church and Home_, 1868,
includes his translation from the Latin,
4. _Holy Spirit, Fire Divine_, (Veni, Sancte Spiritus)
Translated 1862.
His original hymns included in _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853,
are,
5. _Beneath thine hammer, Lord, I lie_,
Undated but “Written at a time of severe trial and deep
depression.”
6. _Sovereign and Transforming Grace_,
Written for the ordination of H. D. Barlow at Lynn, Massachusetts,
December 9, 1829. This fine hymn is appropriate to a service of
worship and, with the omission of one stanza, has been widely
used.
7. _’Twas in the East, the mystic East_,
A Christmas hymn, written about 1853.
8. _’Twas the day when God’s anointed_,
Written for a service in Bangor, Maine, held on Good Friday, 1843,
in six stanzas, the last three of which, beginning
_It is finished, Man of sorrows!_
had considerable use in Great Britain and this country. The whole
six stanzas were included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of
Hymns_, 1846, as “Anonymous.” The last three stanzas are in
Martineau’s _Hymns_ and in many other collections.
He also wrote a hymn beginning
9. _Lo! another offering,_
_To Thy courts this day we bring,_
for his own ordination at West Cambridge in 1829, which was also
used at the ordination of F. A. Whitney, at Brighton,
Massachusetts, on February 24, 1844, but which passed into no
collections.
All these hymns, and two other religious poems, are included in
Putnam’s Singers and _Songs of the Liberal Faith_. Most of them had
gone out of use by the end of the 19^th century, but nos. 1, 6 and 8
(beginning _It is finished, Man of sorrows_,) are in _The New Hymn and
Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
By far the best known of Hedge’s hymns is his fine and accurate
translation of Luther’s great chorale _Ein’ feste Burg_ (no. 1). This
is the version accepted by almost all the Protestant denominations in
this country, whereas in Great Britain Thomas Carlyle’s earlier
translation (1831) is generally used, although James Martineau
included Hedge’s version in his _Hymns of Praise and Prayer_, 1873,
mistakenly attributing it to Samuel Longfellow. Putnam, _op. cit._,
214, says that it was first printed in W. H. Furness’s _Gems of German
Verse_, which appeared in Philadelphia, without date but undoubtedly
in the latter part of 1853, a second edition following in 1859. That
Hedge should have sent his translation of the chorale to Furness
without delay was natural, because the two men were close friends with
a common interest in German literature, and Putnam was the younger
contemporary of both, in a position to know that Furness’s little book
had appeared on the market a few days, or weeks, ahead of the
collection of hymns which Hedge and F. D. Huntington were editing and
which they published late in 1853 as _Hymns for the Church of Christ_.
The earliest record of the hymn, however, is to be found in the
autograph letter (now in the Harvard University Library) which Hedge
wrote to Rev. Joseph H. Allen, his successor in the pulpit at Bangor,
Maine, asking him to recommend hymns for inclusion in the book on
which he and Huntington were working. This letter is dated
“Providence, March 27th, 1853.” In the course of it Hedge wrote, “I
have made a new translation of Luther’s splendid psalm ‘Eine feste
Burg ist unser Gott’ Carlyle’s translation not being available.” This
statement is followed by the four stanzas of his translation. That
book contained no printed tunes, only citing the metre at the head of
each hymn as a guide to the organist, but in his letter Hedge goes on
with the surprizing statement, “The original is much sung in Germany
and therefore I suppose that it will not be difficult to find a tune
for it.” Since he must have become familiar with both the words and
the music of the famous chorale when he was a youthful student in
Germany this remark indicates that the tune was still unknown in
America, and that he took little interest in introducing it.
J. 504, 1647
Revised by H.W.F.
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 12,
1822—May 9, 1911, Cambridge. He graduated from Harvard College in 1841
and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1847. Entering the Unitarian
ministry he served churches in Newburyport, Massachusetts, 1847-1850,
and in Worcester, Massachusetts, 1852-1858. He was an ardent
Abolitionist and when the Civil War came he entered the Union Army, in
which he rose to the command of a Negro regiment. After the war he
became a man of letters and published several books and numerous
essays. While still a student in the Divinity School he contributed to
the _Book of Hymns_, 1846, which his friends Longfellow and Johnson
were preparing, four hymns, which they marked with an asterisk, viz:
1. _No human eyes Thy face may see_ (God known through love)
2. _The land our fathers left to us_ (American Slavery)
3. _The past is dark with sin and shame_, (Hope)
4. _To thine eternal arms, O God_, (Lent)
The last two have had considerable use. Both express the pessimistic
mood with which the young man viewed the evils of the time.
One of his later poems of social justice has also had some use as a
hymn,
5. _From street and square, from hill and glen,_
_Of this vast world beyond my door._
His four hymns in the _Book of Hymns_, with other poems by him, are
included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs, of the Liberal Faith_, 1875.
Of the above hymns those listed as 3 and 5 are included in _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 521, 1711
H.W.F.
Hill, Rev. Thomas, D.D., L.L.D., New Brunswick, New Jersey, January 7,
1818—November 21, 1891, Portland, Maine.
He graduated from Harvard College in 1843 and from the Harvard
Divinity School in 1845. He served as minister of the First Parish
(Unitarian) in Waltham, Massachusetts from 1845 to 1859; was president
of Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 1859-1862; president of
Harvard University, 1862-1868; and minister of the First Parish of
Portland, Maine, 1873 to 1891. He was distinguished as a
mathematician.
In the earlier part of his career he wrote or translated many hymns
which found publication in current periodicals, usually anonymously or
signed only with cryptic initials. One by him, beginning,
_All holy, ever living One,_
was included in a few hymn books of the 19^th century, but has dropped
out of use. A few others, mostly written for special occasions, are in
Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_, but none have found
other use.
J. 524
H.W.F.
Holland, Joseph Gilbert, Belchertown, Massachusetts, July 24,
1819—October 12, 1881. A newspaper man on the staff of the
_Springfield Republican_ who became editor of _Scribner’s Magazine_ in
1870. Author of several books and some poetical pieces. One of the
latter, beginning
_For summer’s bloom, and autumn’s blight_, (Praise in and
through all things)
from his _Bitter Sweet_, 1858, was included in the Unitarian _Hymn and
Tune Book for Church and Home_, Boston, 1868.
J. 529
H.W.F.
Holmes, Rev. John Haynes, D.D.; Litt. D.; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
November 29, 1879—still living. He graduated from Harvard, _summa cum
laude_ in 1902, and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1904. He
received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Jewish
Institute of Religion in 1930, from St. Lawrence University in 1931,
and from Meadville Theological School in 1945; Doctor of Letters from
Benares Hindu University, India, in 1947, and Doctor of Humanities
from Rollins College, Florida, in 1951. He was installed as minister
of the Third Religious Society (Unitarian), Dorchester, Massachusetts
in 1904, and went to New York in 1907 as associate and successor to
Rev. Robert Collyer, _q.v._, minister of the Second Congregational
Unitarian Society, (Church of the Messiah, now called the Community
Church of New York) of which he became pastor emeritus in 1949. He
withdrew from the Unitarian fellowship in 1919, not on theological
grounds but because he preferred a position independent of any
denominational label. Throughout his career in New York he has been an
outspoken leader in many causes for social betterment, and a prolific
author in prose and verse who has published a large number of books,
religious and biographical, and of printed sermons. No other American
author of his period has written so many fine hymns which have been
widely used in this country, in England, and in Japan.
1. _Accept, O Lord, this precious gift_
8.6.8.6. 3 stas.
Written for dedication on October 31, 1943, of Chapel in the
rebuilt Community Church.
2. _Accept, O Lord, this temple_,
7.6.7.6.7.6. 3 stas.
Written on the occasion of the rededication of the Community
Church, December 31, 1922.
3. _All hail the pageant of the years_,
8.6.8.6.8.8. 5 stas. Undated
Included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
4. _Almighty God, beneath whose eye_
C.M.D. 4 stas.
An early hymn written for Labor Day Sunday in 1910.
5. _Almighty God, to whom the dark_
C.M.D. 3 stas. 8 l.
A Vesper hymn written in 1906.
6. _America triumphant! Brave land of pioneers._
7.6.7.6.D. 5 stas.
Written during World War I, in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
7. _Behold, O God! our holy house_,
C.M. 5 stas. September, 1919
Written on the occasion of the burning of the Community Church,
September 11, 1919.
8. _Be with us, Father, in this place._
Dated 1945.
9. _Bless, thou, O God, this fellowship_
8.6.8.6.D. 3 stas.
Written for the Installation of Rev. Dana McLean Greeley, B.D.,
D.D. as President of the American Unitarian Association on October
7, 1958.
10. _Bright visions glow across the sky_,
8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6. 3 stas.
Written by Mr. Holmes in 1947 on the occasion of his 40^th
anniversary as Minister of the Community Church.
11. _God of the nations, near and far._
C.M. 6 stas.
Written before this country entered World War I, for a hymn
contest sponsored by the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in
America, for use on Peace Sunday. This hymn was widely sung in
churches of many denominations.
Included in _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937, with alteration in 2^nd sta.
12. _God save the people’s cause._
6.6.4.6.6.6.4. 3 stas.
Written in 1939.
13. _Great Spirit of the speeding spheres_,
L.M. 6 stas.
Written in 1932 on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of Mr.
Holmes as minister of the Community Church.
14. _Joy to our hearts! Again we meet!_
8.6.8.8.6.6.6.4. 3 stas. 8 l.
A Hymn of reunion, 1920, set to the tune of Antioch.
15. _O blessed isle of quiet_,
7.6.8.6.D. 3 stas.
Written at the Isles of Shoals in the summer of 1930, and set to
an original tune by Robert B. Buxton.
16. _O Father, Thou who givest all_
L.M. 4 stas.
Written for _The Beacon Song and Service Book_, Beacon, 1908;
included in _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937.
17. _O God of field and city_,
7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6. 3 stas. Prompted, in 1917, by the darkly
unfolding experiences of World War I.
18. _O God of light and darkness_,
7.6.7.6.D. 3 stas. 8 l. Undated.
19. _O God, whose law from age to age_
8.6.8.6.D. 4 stas. 1910.
20. _O God, whose love is over all_,
8.6.8.6.D. 3 stas. 1909.
21. _O God, whose smile is in the sky_
8.6.8.6.D. 4 stas.
Written in 1907 for the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908, in 4
stas., C.M.D. Included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, in 5
stas. of 4 l. with revisions approved by the author, and in _Hymns
of the Spirit_, 1937.
22. _Old Jubal twanged the bow-string_
7.6.7.6.D. 3 stas.
Written for the 25^th anniversary of Clifford Demarest as organist
of the Community Church, May 10, 1936, based on Genesis 4.21.
“Jubal,—father of all such as handle the harp and the pipe.” An
interesting _tour de force_ on the rise of music in praise of God.
23. _Onward still and upward_
6.5.6.5.D. 3 stas.
Written in 1950, and dedicated to the American Unitarian
Association in celebration of the 125^th anniversary (1825-1950)
of its founding.
24. _O Thou who in chaotic night_,
8.8.8.8.8.8. 4 stas.
Written in war time, 1918.
25. _O Thou, whose presence moved before_
C.M.D. 6 stas.
Written for use on the 10^th anniversary of his installation as
Minister of the Community Church, February 4, 1917.
26. _O’er continent and ocean_
7.6.8.6.D. 3 stas.
Written for a “Service of Commemoration of a Century of British
American Peace,” held in the Church of the Messiah, Montreal,
Canada, at a meeting of Unitarian General Conference on September
25, 1917. In _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
27. _Show us thy way, O God!_
6.6.8.6. 4 stas.
Printed in _The Christian Century_ in 1936, included in _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937, with a correction by the author.
28. _The Bethlehem stars are dim tonight_
8.6.8.6.D. 3 stas. Dated 1925
29. _The voice of God is calling_
7.6.7.6.D. 4 stas.
Written in September, 1913 for the Young People’s Religious Union
of Boston. In _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914. In _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937; widely used in the United States, England,
translated into German, Japanese and Spanish.
30. _Thou God of all, whose presence dwells_
8.8.8.8. 4 stas.
Written some time after World War I. Intended as a protest against
nationalistic theism which induced both belligerent nations to
claim a monopoly of God.
31. _Thou God of all, whose Spirit moves_
8.6.8.6.D 3 stas.
Printed in _The Christian Century_, May 29, 1940 and in _The
Christian Register_, August, 1940.
32. _Thy voice, O God, in every age_
8.6.8.6.D. 3 stas.
Written for the Installation of Rev. Donald Harrington at the
Community Church of New York on November 19, 1944.
33. _To earth’s remote horizons_
7.6.7.6.D. 4 stas.
Written in 1949 and first sung on November 27th of that year at a
special service in commemoration of the retirement of Mr. Holmes
from the active ministry.
34. _To Thee, O God, be homage_
7.6.7.6.D. 3 stas. 1945.
35. _When darkness, brooding o’er the deep_
8.6.8.6.D. 4 stas.
Written in 1925 on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the
founding of the Community Church of New York.
36. _Why trust we not our God?_
6.6.8.6. 5 stas.
Of the hymns listed above, Nos. 3, 6, 11, 18, 20, 23 and 29 have had
the most widespread use.
H.W.F. in collaboration with J.H.H.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, M.D., LL.D., Cambridge, Massachusetts, August
29, 1809—October 7, 1894, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard College in the famous Class of 1829, studied medicine and
became a practitioner in Boston, and was appointed Professor of
Anatomy in the Harvard Medical School in 1847. Although distinguished
as a physician his fame is that of a man of letters gifted with a
sense of humor which made him one of the wittiest men of his time.
Besides important medical treatises he wrote essays, novels,
biographical sketches, and poetry which brought him a great reputation
in this country and in Great Britain. Much of his poetry is occasional
verse, which he was often called upon to write, such as his
“International Ode” to be sung to the tune “America” (“God Save the
Queen”) on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1860.
Oxford University gave him the honorary degree of D.C.L. in 1886. He
was a member of Kings’ Chapel, (Unitarian) Boston, and two of his
poems are about that church. He contributed The _Autocrat at the
Breakfast Table_ to the opening issues of _The Atlantic Monthly_,
1857-58, published _The Professor at the Breakfast Table_ in 1859,
_The Poet at the Breakfast Table_ in 1872. He wrote _Elsie Venner_,
1861, and two other novels. His poetry was published in _Songs in Many
Keys_, 1861; _Humorous Poems_, 1865; _Before the Curfew_, 1888; and in
his _Complete Poetical Works_, in 1895.
Although he made a greater contribution to American hymnody than did
any other of the “New England poets” of his era, except Bryant and
Whittier, his hymns were incidental literary by-products, for he was
not primarily a hymn writer. They include:
1. _Angel of peace, thou hast tarried too long_
Written in 1869.
2. _Father of mercies, heavenly Friend_,
A prayer in time of war. Undated but between 1861 and 1865.
3. _Lead where the banners wave last to the sea_,
Written as an American national anthem. It appeared in his _Songs
in Many Keys_, 1861, entitled “Freedom, our Queen.”
4. _Lord of all being, throned afar_, (God’s Omnipotence)
Included in _The Autocrat at the Breakfast Table_, 1848, under the
title of “A Sun-day Hymn.” This is his finest hymn and has had
widespread use in many collections.
5. _O Lord of hosts, Almighty King_,
Entitled “Army Hymn,” and published in _The Soldier’s Companion_,
a hand-book of hymns and scripture readings issued in the fall of
1861, by the American Unitarian Association, for use by soldiers
in the Union Army. It is a fine hymn, but with several lines
directly referring to the immediate situation which make it
unsuitable for present use and which cannot be altered or dropped
without mutilating the hymn. In the same collection he wrote an
“Additional Verse” appended to “The Star-Spangled Banner,”
beginning
_When our land is illumined with Liberty’s smile_,
6. _O Love Divine, that stooped to share_,
Written in 1859, a hymn of trust in time of doubt and sorrow.
7. _Our Father, while our hearts unlearn,_
_The creeds that wrong thy name,_
Written for the 25^th Anniversary of the Boston Young Men’s
Christian Union, May 31, 1893.
8. _Thou gracious Power whose mercy lends_,
Written in 1869 for the 40^th anniversary meeting of the Harvard
Class of 1829. In the Methodist Hymn Book, 1904, altered to read
_Thou gracious God_, etc.
Of these hymns nos. 4 and 6 have had the most widespread use. Those
two, and no. 1 are included in _The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935, and nos. 4,
6, 7 and 8 are in the Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and In
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 530, 1649, 1713, rewritten by
H.W.F.
Horton, Rev. Edward Augustus, Springfield, Massachusetts, September
28, 1843—April 15, 1931, Toronto, Canada. He studied at the University
of Chicago and at Meadville Theological School, from which he
graduated in 1868. He served Unitarian churches in Leominster,
Massachusetts, 1868-1875; Hingham, Massachusetts, 1877-1880; and the
Second Church in Boston, 1880-1892. Thereafter he was active in the
work of the Unitarian Sunday School Society. In 1912 he wrote an
“Anniversary Hymn” beginning,
_We honor those whose work began_,
which was included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.
H.W.F.
Hosmer, Rev. Frederick Lucian, D.D., Framingham, Massachusetts,
October 16, 1840—June 7, 1929, Berkeley, California. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1862, and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1869.
In October of that year he was ordained minister of the First
Congregational Church (Unitarian), Northborough, Massachusetts, where
he served for 3 years. He served the Unitarian Church in Quincy,
Illinois, 1872-1877; then spent sixteen months in Europe, returning
late in 1878 to serve the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland, Ohio,
1878-1892; the Church of the Unity, St. Louis, Missouri, 1894-1899;
and the First Unitarian Church, Berkeley, California, 1900-1915, where
he remained as minister-emeritus until his death. In 1887 Buchtel
College gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
While in the Divinity School he formed a close life-long friendship
with William C. Gannett, _q.v._ Neither wrote any hymns until early
middle life, Dr. Gannett’s earliest having been written in 1873, Dr.
Hosmer’s in 1875, but thereafter they worked together for nearly four
decades to make a contribution to American hymnody comparable to that
made by Samuel Longfellow, _q.v._, and Samuel Johnson, _q.v._, a
generation earlier. Of the two men it has been well said that “Gannett
was the better poet, Hosmer the better hymn writer,” and many more of
his hymns than of those by Gannett have come into widespread use.
Working together they edited _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, published in
1880, a revised edition of which appeared in 1911. (J. V. Blake,
_q.v._, was also an editor of the first, but not of the revised
edition). In 1885 they published a small collection of their poems
entitled _The Thought of God in Hymns and Poems_, followed by later
collections with the same title, 2^nd Series 1894, 3^rd Series 1918.
In 1908 Dr. Hosmer gave a series of lectures on hymnody at the Harvard
Divinity School, repeated at the Pacific Unitarian School for the
Ministry, in Berkeley, California, but these have not been published.
Julian’s _Dictionary_, pp. 1650-51, lists 27 hymns by Dr. Hosmer, with
“annotations—from ms. notes supplied—by the author,” as follows:—
1. _Father, to Thee we look in all our sorrow_ (Trust in God)
Written in 1881 upon the death of a member of the author’s
congregation, and published in _The Thought of God_, 1^st Series,
1885.
2. _From age to age how grandly rise_ (Unity)
Written for the annual festival of the Free Religious Association,
Boston, June 2, 1899, and first published in _Souvenir Festival
Hys._ 1899. Subsequently altered by the author to “From age to age
the prophet’s vision.”
3. _From age to age they gather, all the brave of heart and
strong_, (Victory of Truth)
Written in 1891 for the Dedication of Unity Church, Decorah, Iowa,
and published in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd Series, 1894.
4. _From many ways and wide apart_, (College or School Reunion)
Dated in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd Series, 1894, as having been
written in 1890.
5. _Go not, my soul, in search of Him_, (God within)
Written in 1879, printed in the Boston _Christian Register_, May
31, 1879, and included in _The Thought of God_, 1^st Series, 1885,
with the title “The Indwelling God.”
6. _I cannot think of them as dead_ (Eternal Life)
Written in 1882 and first published in _The Thought of God_, 1^st
Series, 1885, and entitled “My Dead.” In the English collections
it is usually given as “We cannot think of them as dead.”
7. _I little see, I little know_, (Trust)
“A Psalm of Trust” written in 1883, first appeared in the Boston
_Christian Register_, and again in _The Thought of God_, 1^st
Series, 1885.
8. _Immortal, by their deed and word_ (The Spirit of Jesus)
Written in 1880, and first published in _Unity Hys. and Carols_,
Chicago, Illinois, 1880, and then in _The Thought of God_, 1^st
Series, 1885.
9. _Many things in life, there are_ (Mystery in All Things)
Written in 1885 and first published in _The Thought of God_, 1^st
Series, 1885, with the title “Passing Understanding”, and the
quotation “the Peace of God which passeth all understanding.”
10. _Not always on the Mount may we_ (On the Mount)
This lesson from the _Transfiguration_ was written in 1882, and
published in the _Chicago Unity_, April 1, 1884. After revision by
the author, it was included in the 1^st Series of _The Thought of
God_, 1885.
11. _Not when, with self dissatisfied_, (Lent)
Written in 1891, and given in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd Series,
1894, p. 33. It is in _The Public School Hymn Book_, 1903, and
others.
12. _O beautiful, my country_, (National Hymn)
As “Our Country,” written in 1884, and published in the _Chicago
Unity Festivals_, 1884, and again in _The Thought of God_, 1885.
13. _O Light, from age to age the same_, (Dedication
Anniversary)
Written in 1890 for the fiftieth anniversary of the Second
Congregational Church (Unitarian), Quincy, Illinois. Included in
_The Thought of God_, 2^nd Series, 1894, and entitled “From
Generation to Generation.”
14. _O Lord of Life, where’er they be_, (Life in God)
“Written in 1888 for Easter service in Author’s own church,” and
first published in the _Chicago Unity_, and again in _The Thought
of God_, 2^nd Series, 1894. The “Alleluia” refrain, which is added
in some collections to each verse, is appended, in the original,
to the last verse only.
15. _O Name, all other names above_, (Trust in God)
Under the title “Found. ‘They that know Thy name will put their
trust in Thee’,” this hymn, written in 1878, was given in _The
Thought of God_, 1^st Series, 1885.
16. _O Prophet souls of all the years_ (Unity)
“Written in 1893 for, and sung at, the Unitarian gathering in
connection with The World’s Parliament of Religions (World’s Fair)
Chicago, Sep. 1893,” and included in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd
Series, 1894, and entitled “One Law, One Life, One Love.”
17. _O Thou, in all Thy might so far_, (God All in All)
This hymn, given in _The Thought of God_, 1^st Series, 1885, with
the title “The Mystery of God,” was written in 1876, and first
published in the _New York Inquirer_.
18. _O thou in lonely vigil led_,
This encouragement for lonely workers was written for the “Emerson
Commemoration, W.U.C. 1888,” and included in _The Thought of God_,
2^nd Series, 1894.
19. _O Thou, who art of all that is_, (Divine Guidance)
Under the title “Through unknown paths,” this hymn was included in
_The Thought of God_, 1^st Series, 1885; it was written in 1877.
20. _O Thou, whose Spirit witness bears_, (Dedication of a
Place of Worship)
Written for the Dedication of the First Unitarian Church, Omaha,
February 6, 1891, and published in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd
Series, 1894, with the title “The Inward Witness”, and the
subscription “For T.K. Omaha, 1891.”
21. _On eyes that watch through sorrow’s night_ (Easter)
A Carol for Easter Morn, written in 1890 for the author’s
congregation, and published in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd Series,
1894.
22. _One thought I have, my ample creed_, (The Thought of God)
This is the initial hymn to the collection _The Thought of God_,
1^st Series, 1885, and supplies the title to the work. It was
written in 1880, and first published in the _Chicago Unity Hymns
and Carols_, 1880, and then in _The Thought of God_, 1885.
23. _The rose is queen among the flowers_, (Flower services)
Written in 1875, first published in _The Sunnyside_, a songbook
for Sunday Schools, and again in _The Thought of God_, 1^st
Series, 1885, under the title “Flower Sunday.”
24. _Thy kingdom come—on bended knee_, (Missions)
“Written in 1891 for the Commencement of the Meadville Theological
School (Meadville, Pa.) June 12, 1891, and pub. in _The Thought of
God_, 2^nd Series, 1894.” under the title “The Day of God,” and
the subscription “M.T.S., June 12, 1891.”
25. _We pray no more, made lowly wise_
_For miracle and sign._ (Greater Faith Desired)
“Written in 1879, and first pub. in _The Christian Register_
(Boston) Mar. 22 of that year, under the title ‘The Larger
Faith.’” Included under the same title in _The Thought of God_,
1^st Series, 1885. Sometimes given as “Made lowly wise, we pray no
more.”
26. _When courage fails, and faith burns low_, (Victory of
Truth)
Under the title “Loyalty,” this hymn was given in _The Thought of
God_, 1^st Series, 1885. It was written in 1881.
27. _Where men on mounts of vision_,
_Have passed the veil within_. (Dedication of a Place of
Worship)
“Written in 1891 for the Dedication of First Unitarian Church,
Oakland, California.” Included in _The Thought of God_, 2^nd
Series, 1894, entitled “Holy Place”, and subscribed “For C.W.W.,
Oakland, Cal. 1891.”
This account of Hosmer’s hymns, copied verbatim from Julian’s
_Dictionary_, may be accepted as authoritative as to the date and
occasion for each hymn listed, but Canon Julian presumably added the
descriptive notations in brackets, and fell into minor inaccuracies,
as when he wrote _Unity Hymns and Carols_ for _Unity Hymns and
Chorals_ (cf. nos. 3 and 22), and cited the periodical _Unity_,
published in Chicago, as _Chicago Unity_. By way of further
clarification it should be noted that the opening line of no. 12, _O
beautiful my country_, was taken from J. R. Lowell’s great
Commemoration Ode, and that Hosmer always wanted it printed ‘_O
Beautiful my Country_’, in recognition of its source. No. 18 was
written for the observance by the Western Unitarian Conference of the
fiftieth anniversary of Emerson’s famous _Divinity School Address_.
The person initialed as “T.K.” for whom no. 20 was written on February
6, 1891, probably was Thomas Kilpatrick, a layman who did much to make
possible the erection of the church in Omaha, which was not dedicated
until December 15 of that year. The person initialled “C.W.W.”, for
whom no. 27 was written, was Rev. Charles W. Wendte, then minister of
the First Unitarian Church in Oakland, California.
Julian’s account of Hosmer’s contribution to hymnody, though no doubt
as satisfactory as could be expected at the time it was written, is
incomplete in two respects. The latest hymn listed is dated 1899, yet
at least three earlier hymns by Hosmer are unaccountably missing,
(viz, nos. 32, 33, 41, noted below), presumably because he neglected
to send Julian any information about them. More important than these
are several later occasional hymns which he wrote in the last three
decades of his life, too late for any inclusion in Julian’s
_Dictionary_, and which form a notable addition to the earlier list.
Some of them were included in the revised edition of _Unity Hymns and
Chorals_, 1911, and all of them in _The Thought of God_, 3^rd. Series,
1918, as follows:
28. _Across a century’s border line_,
Written for the centennial commemoration of W. E. Channing’s
famous “Baltimore Sermon” at the General Unitarian Conference,
September 26, 1917.
29. _All hidden lie the future ways_,
Written as a hymn at the christening of children. Not dated.
30. _Forward through the ages, in unbroken line_,
A hymn of the church universal, written in 1908 for an
Installation Service, set to Sullivan’s tune St. Gertrude. In some
collections it has replaced Baring Gould’s _Onward, Christian
Soldiers_.
31. _Hear, hear, O ye nations, and hearing obey_, (Reign of
Peace)
Written in 1909 and included in _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914,
and, with one word altered in the last stanza, in _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1937.
32. _I came not hither of my will_, (Divine Providence)
Written in 1883.
33. _Lo, the day of days is here_, (Easter)
Written in 1890.
34. _Lo, the Easter-tide is here_, (Easter)
Written in 1914.
35. _Now while the day in trailing splendor_ (Evening)
Written in 1902, published in Louisa Loring’s _Hymns of the Ages_,
1904.
36._ O blest the souls that see and hear_,
Written for the National Conference of Unitarian Churches,
Chicago, September 27, 1909, in 5 stanzas, beginning “From many
ways and far apart.” In _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, this first stanza has been dropped,
and the remaining four stanzas printed, beginning as above.
37. _O day of light and gladness_ (Easter)
Written in 1903, published in Louisa Loring’s _Hymns of the Ages_,
1904, and, slightly revised, in _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, 1911.
38. _The outward building stands complete_,
Written for the Dedication of Unity Church, St. Louis, Missouri,
October 7, 1917.
39. _Through willing heart and helping hand_,
Written in 1909 for the Dedication of the Parish House of the
First Unitarian Church, Berkeley, California.
40. _Thy kingdom come, O Lord._
Written in 1905.
41. _Today be joy in every heart_, (Christmas)
Written in 1877.
42. _Uplift the song of praise_,
The first two stanzas of this hymn were written in 1904 and were
included in Miss Louisa Loring’s _Hymns of the Ages_, published in
that year. At a later date Dr. Hosmer wrote two additional stanzas
and the hymn was thus printed in _The Thought of God_, 3^rd
Series, 1918. In _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937, it is set to the tune Yigdal.
43. _When shadows gather on our way_,
Written in 1904 and published in Miss Louisa Loring’s _Hymns of
the Ages_, 1904.
44. _When the constant sun returning_,
Reginald Heber in 1827 wrote a single stanza hymn beginning, “God
that madest earth and heaven.” In 1912 Hosmer wrote for _The New
Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, a second stanza, the first line of
which is quoted above, to complete the thought. This composite two
stanza hymn has since been included in _The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935,
and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
The period of Dr. Hosmer’s hymn writing covered more than 40 years
(1875-1917) and during the latter half of that time he was widely
recognized by hymn lovers as the most distinguished hymn writer of his
time. Many of his hymns found their way into the collections of
various denominations in both this country and Great Britain. Canon
Dearmer included 8 in the British collection _Songs of Praise_, and in
the accompanying handbook, _Songs of Praise Discussed_, calls the hymn
_O Thou, in all thy might so far_, (no. 17) “this flawless poem, one
of the completest expressions of religious faith,” and the hymn _Thy
kingdom come, on bended knee_, (no. 24) “one of the noblest hymns in
the language.”
All of Hosmer’s hymns in recent use will be found in both the
Unitarian collections—_The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns
of the Spirit_, 1937, except where initials indicate one or the other
book, as follows:—Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 (N.H.T.B.), 8, 10 (N.H.T.B.),
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 (H.S.), 29
(H.S.), 30, 31, 32, 34 (H.S,), 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43. Nos.
10, 17, 24, 30 and 40 are included in the Protestant Episcopal
_Hymnal_, 1940.
J. 1650
H.W.F.
Howe, Mrs. Julia (Ward), New York, New York, May 27, 1819—October 17,
1910, Boston, Massachusetts. Married Samuel Gridley Howe on April 26,
1843. She was a woman with a distinguished personality and intellect;
an Abolitionist and active in social reforms; author of several books
in prose and verse. The latter include _Passion Flower_, 1854; _Words
of the Hour_, 1856; _Later Lyrics_, 1866; and _From a Sunset Ridge_,
1896. She became famous as the author of the poem entitled “Battle
Hymn of the Republic,” beginning,
_Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord_, which, in
spite of its title, was written as a patriotic song and not as a hymn
for use in public worship, but which has been included in many
American hymn books. It was written on November 19, 1861, while she
and her husband, accompanied by their pastor, Rev. James Freeman
Clarke, _q.v._, minister of the (Unitarian) Church of the Disciples,
Boston, were visiting Washington soon after the outbreak of the Civil
War. She had seen the troops gathered there and had heard them,
singing “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave” to a
popular tune called “Glory, Hallelujah” composed a few years earlier
by William Steffe of Charleston, South Carolina, for Sunday School
use. Dr. Clarke asked Mrs. Howe if she could not write more uplifting
words for the tune and as she awoke early the next morning she found
the verses forming in her mind as fast as she could write them down,
so completely that later she re-wrote only a line or two in the last
stanza and changed only four words in other stanzas. She sent the poem
to _The Atlantic Monthly_, which paid her $4 and published it in its
issue for February, 1862. It attracted little attention until it
caught the eye of Chaplain C. C. McCabe (later a Methodist bishop) who
had a fine singing voice and who taught it first to the 122d Ohio
Volunteer Infantry regiment to which he was attached, then to other
troops, and to prisoners in Libby Prison after he was made prisoner of
war. Thereafter it quickly came into use throughout the North as an
expression of the patriotic emotion of the period.
J. 1652
H.W.F.
Huntington, Rt. Rev. Frederic Dan, D.D., Hadley, Massachusetts, May
23, 1819—July 11, 1904, Hadley, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Amherst College in 1839 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1842.
He was minister of the South Congregational Church (Unitarian),
Boston, 1842-1855, and from 1855 to 1859 he was Professor of Christian
Morals and University Preacher at Harvard College. In 1859 he was
ordained priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church and served as
rector of Emmanuel Church in Boston from 1860 to 1869, when he was
consecrated Bishop of Central New York. In 1853 he collaborated with
Rev. Frederic Henry Hedge, _q.v._, in editing their Unitarian
collection, _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, to which he contributed
three hymns,
1. _O Love Divine, lay on me burdens if Thou wilt_
(Supplication)
2. _O Thou, in whose Eternal Name_ (Ordination)
3. _O Thou that once on Horeb stood_ (God in Nature)
The hymn beginning
_Father, whose heavenly kingdom lies_,
in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, is a cento
taken from no. 2. _Hymns for the Church of Christ_ also includes a
good many anonymous hymns, some of which may be by him, though there
is no proof that such is the case. Dr. Huntington also collaborated
with Dr. Hedge in editing a collection of sacred poetry entitled
_Elim: Hymns of Holy Refreshment_, Boston, 1865, which includes a
funeral hymn beginning
_So heaven is gathering one by one_,
This hymn has been mistakenly attributed to Huntington, but is an
altered form of a hymn by E. H. Bickersteth beginning
_Thus heaven is gathering one by one_.
Although Dr. Huntington is known to have written occasional verses in
religious themes later in life for his own edification he is not
credited with any published hymns after his resignation from his
professorship at Harvard, and none of the three listed above are in
present use.
J. 544, 1714
Revised by H.W.F.
Hurlburt, (Hurlbut, Hurlbert) William Henry. Charleston, South
Carolina, July 3, 1827—September 4, 1895, Cadenabbia, Lake Como,
Italy. (His family name is spelled Hurlburt in records at Charleston
but at Harvard he was registered as Hurlbut, and in later years he
changed the spelling to Hurlbert). He graduated from Harvard College
in 1847 and from the Divinity School in 1849. He preached in Unitarian
pulpits for a few months but was never ordained as a settled minister;
then he studied in the Harvard Law School for a year; then turned to
journalism in New York City. After 1883 he spent most of his time in
Europe, his last few years in Italy. As a student at Harvard he was a
contemporary of Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson and contributed
three hymns to their _Book of Hymns_, edition of 1848, which they also
included in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, viz:
1. _My God, in life’s most doubtful hour_,
2. _We pray for truth and peace_,
3. _We will not weep, for God is standing by us_
In both books his surname is spelled Hurlbut.
J. 545
Revised by H.W.F.
Johnson, Rev. Samuel, Salem, Massachusetts, October 10, 1822—February
19, 1882, North Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard
College in 1842 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1846. He
served from 1853-1870 as minister of the Independent Church, Lynn,
Massachusetts which he organized and which ceased to exist when he
resigned. He refused to identify himself with any denomination, though
in belief he was a Unitarian and in the public mind was associated
with the churches which adhered to the liberal wing of the
Congregational order. He was author of a book on _Oriental Religions_,
one of the earliest American studies in the History of Religions. In
1846 he and his classmate in the Divinity School, Samuel Longfellow,
_q.v._, while still students, prepared their _Book of Hymns_, because
they and some of their friends thought the Unitarian hymn books then
in use were too traditional. This book appeared in enlarged edition in
1848, and made a notable contribution to American hymnody in its
freshness of outlook and its inclusion of hymns by hitherto
unrecognized writers, notably John Greenleaf Whittier. Johnson
contributed 7 hymns to the edition of 1846, viz:
1. _Father [Savior] in Thy mysterious presence kneeling_
(Worship)
2. _Go, preach the gospel in my name_ (Ordination)
3. _Lord, once our faith in man no fear could move_, (In Time
of War)
4. _Onward, Christians, though the region_ (Conflict)
Altered in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, to
_Onward, onward though the region_
5. _Thy servants’ sandals, Lord, are wet_ (Ordination)
In the edition of 1848 he included
6. _God of the earnest heart_, (Trust)
which he had “Written for the Graduating Exercises of the Class of
1846, in Cambridge Divinity School.” In 1864 he and Longfellow
published their second and no less important collection, _Hymns of the
Spirit_, (not to be confused with the book of the same title published
in 1937 by the American Unitarian Association). To this volume he
contributed 7 more hymns, viz:
7. _City of God, how broad, how far_, (The Church Universal)
8. _I bless Thee, Lord, for sorrows sent_ (Purification through
suffering)
This was “Written at the request of Dorothea L. Dix for a collection
made by her for the use of an asylum.” (Miss Dix was engaged in a
notable reform of institutions for the insane.)
9. _Life of Ages, richly poured_ (Inspiration)
10. _Strong-souled Reformer, whose far-seeing faith_ (Jesus)
11. _The Will Divine that woke a waiting time_ (St. Paul)
12. _Thou whose glad summer yields_, (Worship)
13. _To light that shines in stars and souls_, (Dedication of a
Place of Worship)
A number of these hymns have had widespread and long-continued use.
Numbers 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9 are included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937,
and stand out as some of the finest examples of American hymnody in
their lyrical quality and depth of religious feeling. A few of
Johnson’s hymns have found acceptance also in England, the most
notable example being No. 7, sung at the consecration of the new
Anglican cathedral at Liverpool in 1924, an occasion which the words
fitted to perfection. But, since even the existence of the obscure
minister in Lynn, Massachusetts, was quite unknown to all but very few
of those present, the Samuel Johnson to whom it was attributed was
commonly supposed to be the famous 18^th century English
lexicographer, and the hymn is mistakenly assigned to him in the
latest edition of Bartlett’s _Familiar Quotations_! Following its use
at Liverpool it was sung in Westminster Abbey at a service for the
League of Nations in 1935; at the jubilee service for the 25^th
anniversary of the coronation of George V; and was one of seven hymns
included in the special service prepared by the Archbishops of
Canterbury and York for use in parish churches throughout England at
the time of the coronation of George VI. Probably no other hymn of
American authorship is so widely known or used in British dominions.
J. 604-5, 1583, 1681, 1711
H.W.F.
Kimball, Jacob, Topsfield, Massachusetts, February 15, 1761—July 24,
1826, Topsfield. He graduated from Harvard in 1780, studied law,
taught school, and tried to make a living at various other
occupations, with small success except in the field of music where he
was regarded as the outstanding singer, teacher, and composer of his
period. He edited _Rural Harmony_, (Boston, 1793) which he followed
with _Essex Harmony_, (1800) and _Essex Harmony_, Part II, (1802),
which included the only tunes of his own composition which can now be
identified as his, except those in the popular _Village Harmony_
(1795) the later editions of which, down to 1821, were probably edited
by him. There is evidence that he also wrote poetry, including a
number of hymns, some of them perhaps the anonymous ones, otherwise
unknown, included in the above-mentioned song books. The one hymn
which can be attributed to him with assurance is his excellent
metrical version of Psalm 65 which Jeremy Belknap included in his
_Sacred Psalmody_ (1795), entitled “A New Version” and beginning
_Thy praise, O God, in Zion waits._
The only other hymns by an American author in Belknap’s Collection is
Mather Byles’
_When wild confusion wrecks the air_,
republished in 1760.
See _Jacob Kimball: A Pioneer American Musician_, Essex Institute
Historical Collections, XCII, no. 4.
H.W.F.
Larned, Augusta, Rutland, New York, April 16, 1835—1924. Author of six
volumes of stories for children and of one on Greek mythology and
another on Norse mythology. Contributor to various periodicals and for
20 years correspondent and editorial writer with _The Christian
Register_, Boston. She published in 1895 a book of poems entitled _In
the Woods and Fields_ from which was taken her hymn on peace of mind,
_In quiet hours the tranquil soul_,
for inclusion in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn-Book_, 1908; _The New Hymn
and Tune Book_, 1914 and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Lathrop, Rev. John Howland, D.D., Jackson, Michigan, June 6,
1880—still living. He graduated from Meadville Theological School in
1903, then entered Harvard where he took an A.B. in 1905. He also
studied at the University of Chicago, and the University of Jena. He
served as minister of the First Unitarian Church of Berkeley,
California, 1905-1911, and the First Unitarian Congregational Church
of Brooklyn, New York, 1911 to 1957, when he became pastor emeritus.
In 1935 he wrote a hymn for Palm Sunday beginning,
_Hosanna in the highest! Our eager hearts acclaim_,
which was included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, set to St.
Theodulph.
H.W.F.
Livermore, Rev. Abiel Abbot, D.D., Wilton, New Hampshire, October 26,
1811—November 28, 1892, Wilton, New Hampshire. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1833, and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1836.
He was ordained minister of the Unitarian Church at Keene, New
Hampshire, in November, 1836, and remained there until 1850, when he
accepted a call to Cincinnati, Ohio. After a period in New York he was
elected president of the Meadville Theological School in 1862, and
served in that capacity until 1890, when he retired to his ancestral
home at Wilton. He received the degree of D.D. from Harvard in 1888.
He was author of a number of books, and of several hymns, printed in
Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_. He was the chief editor of the Cheshire
Pastoral Association’s _Christian Hymns_, 1844, one of the finest and
most widely circulated American Unitarian collections, to which he
contributed his Communion hymn beginning,
_A holy air is breathing round_,
This hymn was included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873, in most American
Unitarian collections, and appears in slightly altered form in _The
New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 680
H.W.F.
Livermore, Sarah White, Wilton, New Hampshire, July 20, 1789—July 3,
1874, Wilton. She was an aunt of A. A. Livermore, _q.v._, and was a
school teacher for most of her life. She contributed two hymns to the
_Cheshire Collection_, 1844, viz:
1. _Glory to God, and peace on earth_, (Christmas)
2. _Our pilgrim brethren, dwelling far_, (Mission)
These passed into a few other collections.
She wrote a number of others for various church occasions, but they
have never been collected for publication.
J. 680
H.W.F.
Long, Hon. John Davis (1838-1915) was born in Buckfield, Maine,
October 27, 1838, and died in Hingham, Massachusetts on August 28,
1915. Harvard, A.B. 1857, L.L.D. 1880. He was Governor of
Massachusetts, 1880-1883, and Secretary of the Navy, 1897-1902. A
member of the First Parish (Unitarian) in Hingham, he wrote one hymn
beginning,
_The evening winds begin to blow_
which was included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, but which
has not passed into other books.
H.W.F.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, D.C.L., Portland, Maine, February 27,
1807—March 24, 1882, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Bowdoin College in 1825. After four years of study in Europe he was
appointed to the Chair of Modern Languages at Bowdoin, but removed to
Harvard in 1835, upon his election as professor of Modern Languages
and Belles-Lettres in the latter College. He retained that
Professorship until 1854, when he retired to give himself time for
authorship in prose and verse. He became one of the most widely read
and beloved poets in the English-speaking world, and after his death a
marble bust commemorating him was placed in Westminster Abbey. In the
strict sense of the term he was not a hymn-writer, his brother, Samuel
Longfellow, _q.v._, twelve years his junior, far surpassing him in
this field, but hymn-book editors have culled selections from his
poems which they could use, as follows:
1. _Ah, what a sound! The infinite fierce chorus_,
From his poem “The Arsenal at Springfield,” published in _The
Belfry of Bruges_, 1845. Four stanzas, beginning as above, are
included in _The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935. In S. Longfellow’s and
Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1848, the selected stanzas from this
poem begin
_Down the dark future through long generations_,
and the hymn appeared in this form in other collections.
2. _Alas, how poor and little worth_,
Tr. from the Spanish of Don Jorge Manrique, (d. 1479), in
Longfellow’s _Poetry of Spain_, 1833.
3. _All are architects of fate_,
The first three stanzas of Longfellow’s poem, “The Builders,”
written in 1846. Included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
4. _All is of God; If he but wave his hand._
From the poem “The Two Angels,” in his _Birds of Passage_, 1858;
included in S. Longfellow’s and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1864.
5. _Blind Bartimeus at the gate_,
From _Miscellaneous Poems_, 1841. Included in G. W. Conder’s 1874
_Appendix_ to the (British) _Leeds Hymn Book_.
6. _Christ to the young man said, “Yet one thing more.”_
Written in 1848 for the ordination of the poet’s younger brother,
Samuel Longfellow; published in the author’s _Seaside and
Fireside_, 1851, and in H. W. Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_,
1855, altered to read,
_The Saviour said, “Yet one thing more”_
In spite of the occasion for which it was written it is not a hymn
but a hortatory poem of five stanzas in a most unusual 10.6.10.6
metre, for which it must have been difficult to find any singable
tune.
7. _I heard the bells on Christmas Day_
This carol was written in 1864, for the Sunday School of the
Unitarian Church of the Disciples, Boston, of which Rev. James
Freeman Clarke was minister. The entire poem, entitled “Christmas
Bells,” has seven stanzas, of which 1, 2, 6 and 7 are in _The New
Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, and in
_The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935. The omitted stanzas contain references
to the Civil War, in progress when the carol was written.
8. Into the silent land,
A translation from the German poem “Ins Stille Land! Wer Leitet
uns hinüber,” by J. G. Salis-Seewis, 1808. Published by Longfellow
in _Voices of the Night_, 1840. Included in Hedge and Huntington’s
_Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, and other American
collections.
9. _Tell me not in mournful numbers_,
Published in _Voices of the Night_, 1839, as “A Psalm of Life;
What the heart of the Young Man said to the Psalmist.” Included in
several hymnals in Great Britain and America. In some collections
it begins with the second stanza
_Life is real! Life is earnest_
10. _There is no flock, however watched and tended_
A cento from the author’s _Seaside and Fireside_, 1849.
11. _We have not wings: we may not soar._
In 1850 the poet wrote “The Ladder of St. Augustine,” a poem in
twelve stanzas, based upon a quotation from Sermon III, De
Ascensione, by St. Augustine of Hippo, “De vitiis nostris scalam
nobis facimus, si vitia ipsa calcamus.” (We shall make a ladder
out of our vices, if we tread those vices under foot.) The three
stanzas of the hymn are, respectively, the seventh, tenth and
second stanzas of the poem.
H.W.F.
Longfellow, Rev. Samuel, Portland, Maine, June 18, 1819—October 3,
1892, Portland, was the youngest of the eight children of Stephen and
Zilpah (Wadsworth) Longfellow. Stephen Longfellow had graduated from
Harvard and had become one of the most prominent citizens of Portland.
His son Samuel entered Harvard with the Class of 1839, just after his
brother, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, more than twelve years his
senior, had returned from Europe to begin his professorship at
Harvard.
Samuel entered the Harvard Divinity School, from which he graduated in
1846, and served as minister of the Unitarian Church in Fall River,
Massachusetts, 1848-51; the Second Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, New
York, 1853-1860; and the Unitarian Church, Germantown, Pennsylvania,
1878-1883. In the intervals between these pastorates he did much
occasional preaching, and, having independent means and no marital
ties, made several prolonged visits to Europe. He had an attractive
personality, was witty and highly intelligent, and was an acceptable
though outspoken preacher, but he is now remembered for his
contribution to American hymnody through the hymns which he wrote and
the books which he edited. His accomplishment in this field was
greater and more lasting than that of any other American in the middle
period of the 19^th century. Its development can best be traced in the
books which he published.
The first of these was _A Book of Hymns for Public and Private
Devotions_, which he and his classmate in the Divinity School, Samuel
Johnson, daringly compiled while still students in the School. A not
improbable story of the origin of the book reports that their friend,
Rev. Francis Parker Appleton, then a young minister at Peabody,
Massachusetts, had complained to them about the antiquated hymn-book
which he found in use in his church, to which they replied that they
would prepare a book for him which would express the religious
aspirations of the rising generation. The book appeared in 1846,
before either of the young editors had been ordained, and was an
immediate success. It was first used in the First Unitarian Church at
Worcester, Massachusetts, where Longfellow’s classmate and lifelong
friend, Edward Everett Hale, had just been ordained at a service for
which Longfellow wrote the ordination hymn, and it was promptly
adopted by Theodore Parker for his congregation in Music Hall. The
book was re-published in somewhat revised and enlarged form in 1848,
and ran to 12 editions. It marked a new epoch in American hymnody
because it was the product of young and adventurous but well-trained
minds seeking to give utterance to the emotions stirred by the
intellectual and political ferment of the times, and because of the
new sources to which they turned. They were the first to see and make
use of the hymnic possibilities of the poems of John Greenleaf
Whittier, and to include in an American hymn-book Newman’s “Lead,
kindly Light,” which they had found printed in a newspaper without the
author’s name, though they altered the first line to read “Send kindly
Light,” and another line further down. From their book it passed into
other collections, with variant readings.
In 1859 Longfellow published a little collection entitled _Vespers_,
hymns for use at the vesper services which he had instituted in his
church in Brooklyn. In 1860 he published _A Book of Hymns and Tunes
for the Sunday School, the Congregation, and the Home_, and in 1864 he
and Samuel Johnson brought out their second notable book, _Hymns of
the Spirit_, (not to be confused with the hymn book with the same
title published by the Beacon Press in 1937). This book contained most
of the later hymns written by the two editors, and a good many new
hymns by other authors who were glad to contribute them. Its literary
level was higher than that of their first book, but it had less
popular success, in part, perhaps, because they failed to set the
words to tunes, which had become the common practice in the period
since their earlier book appeared. In 1876 he brought out _A Book of
Hymns & Tunes for the Congregation & the Home_, a revision of his
earlier book with a similar title, in which several of his earlier
hymns appear in revised form. In 1887 he printed privately _A Few
Verses of Many Years_.
After his death a small volume entitled _Hymns and Verses by Samuel
Longfellow_ was published in 1894 with a very brief introductory note
by his niece, Miss Alice M. Longfellow. It included 41 hymns which she
thought were his, followed by 30 short poems of no outstanding
excellence. Some of the “hymns” included seem never to have come into
use as such; some of her attributions were mistaken; she omitted some
hymns which he wrote or adapted but cited in his books as “Anonymous”
because based on the work of others; and she did not always print the
best of extant variant readings. This book, therefore, must be used
with caution in compiling the list of Longfellow’s hymns, whether
original or adapted.
Before listing his hymns it should be noted that he wrote or edited
several other literary works. In 1853 he and his classmate Thomas
Wentworth Higginson published a beautiful collection of sea-poems
entitled _Thalatta_. He wrote a memoir of his friend, Rev. Samuel
Johnson, 1883; was the author of a _Life of Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow_, 1886; and edited _Final Memorials of Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow_ in 1887. A volume of his own _Essays and Sermons_, edited
by Joseph May, was published in 1894.
_Alphabetical List of Hymns written or adapted by Samuel Longfellow_
_Abbreviations_:
Bk. Hys. = The Book of Hymns, 1846 or 1848.
H. and V. = Hymns & Verses by Samuel Longfellow, 1894.
Hys. Sp. = Hymns of the Spirit, 1864.
J. (followed by page number) = Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnology.
S. L. = Samuel Longfellow
1. _A voice by Jordan’s shore._ (Advent)
Printed in Hys. Sp. 1864, under title of “John and Jesus”; in H. &
V., no date.
2. _Again as evening’s shadow falls._ (Evening)
Published in _Vespers_, New York, 1860, headed “Nox et tenebrae,”
in 2 stas. of 8 l., and reprinted in Hys. Sp. 1864, with the title
“Vesper Hymn,” in 4 stas. of 4 l.; also in H. & V. in which it is
the fourth and concluding hymn of a group called “Vesper Hymns,”
and dated 1859, the 3^d and 4^th of which were included in Hys.
Sp., 1864.
3. _Beneath the shadow of the cross._ (Sacrifice)
Written in Fall River, 1848, and published in the _Supplement to A
Book of Hymns, Second Edition_, Boston, 1848, with the title “The
New Commandment,” in 3 stas. of 4 l.; in H. & V.
4. _Eternal One, Thou living God._ (Anniversary)
Written in 1875 for a church anniversary, possibly for the 25^th
anniversary of the Preble Chapel in Portland, Maine; 5 stas. of 4
l. In H. & V. the original reading of the last two lines,
“Afloat upon its boundless sea,
Who sails with God is safe indeed.”
are changed to the inferior reading,
“That truth alone can make us free;
Who goes with God is safe indeed.”
5. _Every bird that upward springs._
Included in _Supplement to Bk. Hys._, 1848, attributed to Neale,
and also in Hys. Sp., 1864. It is in fact S.L.’s adaptation of
part of a hymn by Neale for St. Andrew’s Day, included in his
“Hymns for Children”, 1842; see pp. 360-1 of the _Collected Hymns,
Sequences and Carols of J. M. Neale_, 1914. S.L. used stas. 4, 5,
6 and 7 of Neale’s hymn in 8 stas. Of the 16 lines in S.L.’s
version 9 are taken unchanged from Neale, 6 contain part of
Neale’s wording, and only 1 is wholly S.L.’s. S.L. writing in 1880
said, “I may say that hymn 585, [i.e. Every bird, etc.] is mine—I
did not put my name because two lines were not mine—“. (see H. W.
Foote, _The Anonymous Hymns of Samuel Longfellow_, Harv. Theol.
Rev. Oct., 1917.) This letter illustrates the fallibility of human
memory. In the 32 years which had elapsed since he had adapted
Neale’s verses for the _Supplement to Bk. Hys._ his own
contribution to the final result had come to bulk much larger than
it really was. S.L. was right in ascribing the hymn to Neale, as
he did in 1848 and 1864, tho he might properly have marked it as
“Neale, altered.”
6. Father, give thy benediction. (Dismissal)
One stanza, 8 lines, printed anonymously in Hys. Sp.; described by
S.L. as “of no importance”, but included in his H. & V. Listed as
“Anon.” in the first edition of the _Pilgrim Hymnal_. Included in
the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908. (H. W. Foote, _The
Anonymous Hymns of Samuel Longfellow_, Harv. Theol. Rev. October,
1917). See J. 1563.
7. _Go forth to life, O child of earth._ (Life’s mission)
Written in 1859, included in his _Book of Hymns and Tunes for the
Sunday School_, and in Hys. Sp. 1864, under title “Life’s
Mission.” 4 stas. of 4 l.
8. _God of the earth, the sea, the sky._ (Divine Immanence)
Printed anonymously in Hys. Sp. 1864, under title “God, through
all and in you all”; included in H. & V. with l. 2 in sta. 1
altered; no date. (H. W. Foote, _The Anonymous Hymns of Samuel
Longfellow_, Harv. Theol. Rev. October, 1917).
9. _God of Truth! Thy sons should be_,
No. 550 in Hys. Sp. 1864, where it is listed as “Anon,” because,
as he later wrote, it was “founded on a H. of Wesley” though
“nearly all mine.” (H. W. Foote, _The Anonymous Hymns of Samuel
Longfellow_, Harv. Theol. Rev., October, 1917).
10. _God’s trumpet wakes the slumbering world._ (Courage)
Printed anonymously in Hys. Sp. 1864 under title “On the Lord’s
Side”; in H. & V., no date. 5 stas. of 4 l.
11. _He, who himself and God would know._ (Silent worship)
Printed in Hys. Sp. 1864 as “From Martineau” under title of “Be
still, and know that I am God.” This is S.L.’s versification of a
passage from Martineau’s sermon, “Silence and Meditation”, no. 17
in “Endeavors after the Christian Life,” in which Martineau
paraphrased a few sentences in Pascal’s “Thoughts”, no. 72. Not
dated; not included in H. & V. (H. W. Foote, _The Anonymous Hymns
of Samuel Longfellow_, Harv. Theol. Rev. October, 1917.)
12. _Holy Spirit, Truth [Light] Divine._
Included in Hys. Sp. under title “Prayer for Inspiration”; also in
H. & V., without date. In the introductory note to H. & V. it is
stated that this hymn “bears some resemblance to one by Andrew
Reed, but after careful investigation they appear to be quite
distinct.” In spite of this disclaimer it is clear that the theme
of the hymn as a whole, and several of its lines, are borrowed
from the hymn, “Holy Ghost, with light divine” by Andrew Reed,
1817. Furthermore, S.L.’s arrangement of this hymn is found in two
different versions, the one in H. & V. beginning, “Holy Spirit,
Truth divine,” the other, and superior one, beginning, “Holy
Spirit, Light divine.” It will be found in this latter form in
_The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937, in both of which it is attributed to both Reed and
Longfellow.
13. _Holy Spirit, source of gladness._
S.L.’s adaptation of Jacobi and Toplady’s version of Gerhardt’s “O
du allersusste Freude”; included in _Supplement to Bk. Hys._ 1848,
and in altered form in Hys. Sp. 1864; set down as “Anon.” in both;
not included in H. & V.
14. _I look to Thee in every need_, (Trust)
In Hys. Sp., 1864, with title “Looking Unto God,” and listed as
“Anon.”, but included in H. & V. as Longfellow’s. He had not
claimed it because its opening stanza was strongly reminiscent of
a love-song by Thomas Haynes Bayly, as indicated by S.L.’s
pencilled notation in his copy of Hys. Sp. now in the library of
Union Theological Seminary, New York, reading “V. 1, T. H. Bayley,
alt.” Bayly (not Baylēy) (1797-1839) was an English composer of
popular sentimental songs one of which began,
I turn to thee in time of need
And never turn in vain;
I see thy fond and fearless smile
And hope revives again.
It gives me strength to struggle on,
Whate’er the strife may be;
And if again my courage fail
Again I turn to thee.
This song, though one of Bayly’s best, is not included in his
collected works, but a copy, with his name as its author, is in
the Harvard University Library. It was published by C. Bradlee,
107 Washington St., Boston, n.d., the words set “to a favorite
Neapolitan melody”, and must have still been well remembered when
S.L. was inspired to transfigure the thought of its opening stanza
by giving it a profoundly spiritual interpretation. He made no use
of Bayly’s second and third stanzas, and changed the metre from
8.6.8.6. double to six line stanzas, 8.6.8.6.8.8., thus making
sure that his words would be sung to another tune than the
“Neapolitan melody.”
15. _In the beginning was the word._ (The Word of God)
This was printed in _The Liberty Bell_, Boston, 1851, in 6 stanzas
of 8 lines, and dated “Fall River, Sept. 1850.” Two stanzas are
included in Hys. Sp. 1864; also in H. & V., undated.
16. _Life of all that lives below._
An adaptation from Charles Wesley; not in Bk. Hys. or Hys. Sp.
17. _Life of God, within my soul._ (God in the soul)
Only found in H. & V., undated, entitled “A Prayer.” 4 stas. of 4
l.
18. _Light of ages and of nations._ (Inspiration)
Dated 1860 in H. & V. in which it begins as above with title “In
all ages entering holy souls.” It was first printed, however, in
Hys. Sp. 1864 as “God of ages,” under title “The word of the Lord
abideth forever.” 3 stas. of 8 l.
19. _Lo! the earth is risen again._ (Easter)
In H. & V. the first line reads “Lo the earth again is risen,”
with no date, but Dr. Louis F. Benson owned a copy of the book in
which a ms. note was appended to this hymn reading
“In memory of C.J.
July 6, 1864
May 12, 1886.
Written for the first anniversary of her death, May 12, 1887.”
Several other lines besides the opening one have been re-written,
presumably by S.L., to make the later and improved version of the
hymn included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
20. _Love for all! and can it be?_ (The Prodigal Son)
Included in Hys. Sp. 1864 under title “Father, I have sinned”;
also in H. & V. without date. 6 stas. of 4 l.
21. _Now on land and sea descending._ (Evening)
This is the 3^d of the Vesper Hymns in H. & V. 2 stas. of 8 l.
(See note under “Again as evening’s shadow falls.”)
22. _Now while we sing our closing psalm._ (Close of worship)
In H. & V., no date; not in Bk. Hys. or Hys. Sp.
23. _Now with creation’s morning song._ (Morning)
In Hys. Sp. 1864, ascribed to “Breviary”; it is S.L.’s adaptation
of E. Caswall’s trans. of “Lux ecce surgit aurea”, beginning “Now
with the rising golden dawn”; see Julian’s Dict. pp. 820-821.
24. _O church of freedom and of faith._ (Installation)
Written in 1891, presumably for the installation of Rev. John
Carroll Perkins as minister of the First Parish in Portland in
that year. Included in H. & V. Not found elsewhere.
25. _O Father, fix this wavering will._
No. 368 in Hys. Sp. 1864, “Anon.” but later acknowledged by S.L.
as his though “of no importance.” (H. W. Foote, _The Anonymous
Hymns of Samuel Longfellow_, Harv. Theol. Rev., Oct., 1917.)
26. _O God! a temple to thy name._
“Hymn for the dedication of the new chapel of the First Parish,
Haverhill.” Dated 1848 in H. & V., but not found elsewhere. 5
stas. of 4 l.
27. _O God! Thy children gathered here._ (Ordination)
“Hymn for the ordination of Edward Everett Hale” at Worcester,
Massachusetts in 1846. Bk. Hys. 1848; H. & V. 1894. 6 stas. of 4
l.
28. _O God, thou giver of all good!_ (Gratitude)
Included in Hys. Sp. 1864, and in H. & V., without date, under
title “Give us this day our daily bread.” 4 stas. of 4 l.
29. _O God unseen, but ever near._
S.L.’s adaptation of hymn by E. Osler, printed in Hys. Sp. 1864,
in 3 stas of 4 l., entitled “At the fountain”. Anon, in index. “It
is, in fact E. Osler’s hymn rewritten, 7 of its 12 lines being
Osler’s.” The expanded form in later books is attributed to S.L.,
but should be “E. Osler alt. by S.L.” See Julian’s Dict. pp. 1665,
1681, 833.
30. _O holy, holy, holy,_
_Art Thou, our God and Lord._ (Praise)
This hymn in two stanzas, 8 lines, is found only in C. W. Wendte’s
book _The Carol: for Sunday School and the Home_ (1886), where it
is attributed to Samuel Longfellow and dated 1886.
31. _O Life that maketh all things new._
Written under the title “The light that lighteth every man,” for
the 2^d Social Festival of the Free Religious Association 1874, in
2 stas. of 8 l.; afterwards published in _A Book of Hymns and
Tunes for the Congregation and the Home_, Cambridge, 1876, with
the title “Greeting”, in 4 stas. of 4 l.; included in H. & V.
under title “Behold, I make all things new”, and there incorrectly
dated 1878. For use of first line see note under “O Thou whose
liberal sun and rain.”
32. _O still in accents sweet and strong._ (Ordination)
Printed in Hys. Sp. 1864 under title “Behold the fields are
white.” H. & V., no date. 4 stas. of 4 l.
33. _O Thou, in whom we live and move._
In Hys. Sp. 1864, this begins, “O God, in whom we live and move,”
5 stas. of 4 l. headed “God’s Law and Love.” In H. & V. it begins,
“O Thou, in whom we live and move,” the form in which the hymn has
passed into later use.
34. _O Thou, whose liberal sun and rain._ (Church anniversary)
Included in Hys. Sp. 1864, and in H. & V. no date. 3 stas. of 4 l.
(Note the last line, “To Him who maketh all things new”, used
later for first line of hymn “O Life that maketh all things new.”)
35. _One holy church of God appears._ (The church universal)
Dated 1860 in H. & V.; included in Hys. Sp. 1864. 5 stas. of 4 l.
36. _Out of every clime and people._ (Christmas)
This hymn in two stanzas, 8 lines, with chorus, is found only in
C. W. Wendte’s _The Carol: for Sunday School and the Home_ (1886)
where it is attributed to S.L. (except chorus).
37. _Out of the dark, the circling sphere._ (Hope and courage)
Based on a hymn written in 1856 for the 25^th anniversary of the
American Anti-Slavery Society, with the title “What of the night?”
and beginning, “A quarter of the circling sphere.” See H. & V. for
the original version, which S.L. rewrote for Hys. Sp. 1864, in 5
stas. of 4 l. The misplaced comment by Putnam in _Singers and
Songs of the Liberal Faith_, p. 429, that it was “founded on a
passage in one of Mr. Martineau’s sermons,” refers not to this
hymn but to “He who himself and God would know,” cited earlier in
this listing.
38. _Peace, peace on earth, the heart of man forever._ (Peace
on earth)
Included in Hys. Sp. 1864 and H. & V., no date. 2 stas. of 4 l.
39. _Sing forth his high eternal name._ (Praise)
Written by request for words to tune “Coronation.” In H. & V.
under title “The Lord of all”, no date, 6 stas. of 4 l.
40. _Spirit divine attend our prayer._
This hymn appeared in Hys. Sp. 1864, as “Anon.” It is S.L.’s
adaptation of a hymn by Andrew Reed, 1829, about half the lines
having been re-written. It should be credited to both writers as a
joint production.
41. _The loving Friend to all who bowed._ (Jesus)
Included in Hys. Sp. under title “Jesus of Nazareth”; no date in
H. & V. 5 stas. of 4 l.
42. _The summer days are come again._
H. & V. includes a song in three 8-line stanzas headed “Summer
Rural Gathering”, dated 1859, each stanza beginning, “The sweet
June days are come again.” In Hys. Sp. 1864, the second and third
stanzas of this song are taken to form a hymn for summer, each
beginning, “The summer days are come again”, the concluding
quatrain of the last stanza re-written.
43. _’Tis winter now; the fallen snow._
Dated 1859 in H. & V. In Hys. Sp., 4 stas. of 4 l.
44. _Thou Lord of life, our saving health._ (Dedication of
hospital)
“Written for dedication of Cambridge Hospital.” In H. & V., 4
stas. of 4 l., dated 1886.
45. _We sowed a seed in faith and hope._
“Written for the 25^th anniversary of the first meeting of the
Second Unitarian Society of Brooklyn”, included in H. & V. under
title “The truth shall make you free.” No further use.
46. _When from the Jordan’s gleaming wave._ (Baptism)
Dated 1848 in H. & V., but it was included in Bk. Hys. 1846, 5
stas. of 4 l.
There are also five hymns, composite in origin and listed as
“Anonymous” in Hys. Sp. 1864, which in style and sentiment so closely
resemble S.L.’s writings as to suggest that he gave them the form in
which they are there printed, viz:—
47. _As darker, darker fall around_
_The shadows of the night._
This is printed in 6 stas., the first four of which are taken from
“The Hymn of the Calabrian Shepherds,” printed in William Young’s
_Catholic Choralist_, 1842, but there beginning, “Darker and
darker fall around.” The 5^th and 6^th stas. may be by S.L. since
he referred to this hymn as it appeared in Hys. Sp. as “founded
upon the Hymn of the Calabrian Shepherds,” tho he did not state
that he wrote them. (H. W. Foote, _The Anonymous Hymns of Samuel
Longfellow_; and Julian, _Dictionary_, p. 1627.)
48. _Come, thou Almighty Will_
This hymn in three stanzas was included as Anon. in Longfellow and
Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. Its theme was obviously
suggested by Ray Palmer’s five stanza translation of the 12^th
century Latin hymn _Veni Sancte Spiritus_, beginning _Come, Holy
Ghost, in love_, published in 1858, from which three lines are
borrowed intact, with as many more which only slightly alter
Palmer’s words. Since the religious outlook expressed is
characteristic of Samuel Longfellow, and the hymn first appeared
in _Hymns of the Spirit_, it seems certain that he was the author
but listed it as _Anon_, because of its composite form. It was
included in several later Unitarian hymn books, most recently in
_The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937. (J. 1623 H.W.F.)
49. _Give forth thine earnest cry._
Printed in three 4-line stas. There is no evidence as to the
authorship of this hymn, but its sentiment is completely in line
with Longfellow’s. Included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and in
_The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.
50. _God is in his holy temple._
Printed in four 4-line stas. One line is almost identical with one
found in S.L.’s earlier hymn “Written for the dedication of the
New Chapel of the First Parish, Haverhill, Mass.”, which had had
no use beyond the occasion for which it was written, but which
Miss Longfellow included in _Hymns and Verses_. The recurrence of
this line in the hymn here listed suggests the probability that
the whole hymn is by S.L. though he preferred to cite it as
“Anon.”
51. _Supreme disposer of the heart._
This appeared in the 1848 edition of the _Book of Hymns_, where it
is cited as from “Breviary”, and was included by Miss Longfellow
in _Hymns and Verses_ with the same citation. She probably assumed
that it was a translation by S.L. from a Latin hymn. It is,
however, a largely rewritten version of John Chandler’s
translation of the hymn _Supreme motor cordium_, in his _Hymns of
the Primitive Church_, 1837, p. 31. Longfellow retained the
general pattern of Chandler’s five stanzas, and kept a few of his
lines unchanged, or altered by only a word or two, but rewrote the
rest, the fourth and fifth stas. being wholly S.L.’s, differing
from Chandler’s in both phrase and significance, and even further
from the Latin original.
The _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908, contains a hymn in two stanzas,
8.6.8.6.D., beginning
52. _The heavens thy praise are telling_,
Given as “Anon.” but Mrs. Emma Marean, _q.v._, who was
exceptionally well informed about that book, attributed it to
“Spitta-Longfellow,” i.e., by S. Longfellow based on a German hymn
by C. J. P. Spitta. It is possible that this is the case but the
original by Spitta has not been traced and Longfellow did not
claim this arrangement.
H.W.F.
Loring, Louisa Putnam (1854-1924) of Boston and Pride’s Crossing,
Massachusetts, compiled _Hymns of the Ages_, published in 1904. Her
literary and musical standards were high, and the book was handsomely
printed, but its appeal was limited and it had to compete with several
other excellent hymnbooks then on the market for use among Unitarians.
It included Miss Loring’s own morning hymn beginning,
_O Thou who turnest into morning_, (1902)
also included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.
H.W.F.
Loring, William Joseph, Boston, Massachusetts, October 8, 1795—1841,
Boston. He graduated from Harvard College in 1813 and went into
business in Boston. He was a lay member of the Unitarian denomination;
was president of the Washington Benevolent Society; and was a member
of the Horticultural Society. He was probably the author of the hymn
beginning,
_Why weep for those, frail child of woe_,
attributed to “W. J. Loring” in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the
Church of Christ_, 1853.
H.W.F.
Lowell, James Russell, LL.D., Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 22,
1819—August 12, 1891, Cambridge. Son of Rev. Charles Lowell, minister
of the West Church (Unitarian), Boston, he graduated from Harvard
College in 1838, and entered upon a literary career as a poet,
essayist and scholar. In 1855 he succeeded H. W. Longfellow as
Professor of Belles Lettres at Harvard and spent the next two years in
Europe to increase his knowledge of southern European languages and
literature. On his return he was the first editor of _The Atlantic
Monthly_, 1857-1862, then editor of _The North American Review_,
1863-1872. He was United States Minister to Spain, 1877-1880, and to
Great Britain, 1880-1885. He wrote many essays, addresses and poems.
These last were published in a succession of volumes, “A Year’s Life,”
1841; “Poems,” 1844-1854; “The Vision of Sir Launfal,” 1845; “A Fable
for Critics,” 1845; “The Biglow Papers,” 1848 and 1867; “The
Commemoration Ode,” 1865; “Under the Willows,” 1868; and later
volumes, his “Complete Poems” appearing in 1895. Though some of his
poems show deep religious feeling he made only a slight and indirect
contribution to American hymnody, writing only one hymn and one
Christmas carol, although stanzas quarried out of his poems have been
used as hymns, as follows:—
1. _Men who boast it is that ye_
_Come of fathers brave and free_,
The 1^st, 3^d and 4^th stanzas of his anti-slavery poem, “Stanzas
on Freedom,” written in 1844. It was included in this form in _The
Soldier’s Companion_, 1861, in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1864, and in part in _Songs of the Sanctuary_, N. Y.
1865, beginning
_They are slaves who will not choose_,
2. _Once to every man and nation_,
In December, 1844, Lowell wrote a poem in 18 stas. of 5 l.
entitled “The Present Crisis,” a protest against the war with
Mexico. The English hymnnologist, Rev. V. Garrett Horder, took
from this poem a number of lines sufficient to make a hymn of 4
stas. which he included, with a few verbal alterations, in his
_Hymns Supplemental_, 1896, and then in his _Treasury of Hymns_.
The _English Hymnal_ included the hymn in 1906, and from this it
passed into many collections. In the form commonly used in this
country, stanza 1 is that of sta. 5 in the original poem; sta. 2
is that of original sta. 11; sta. 3 is no. 13, original; and sta.
4, part of sta. 6 and part of sta. 8 original. In this form it has
had considerable use in this country.
3. _Our house, our God, we give to Thee_,
Hymn for the dedication of the First Church (Unitarian),
Watertown, Massachusetts, on August 3, 1842, in a service in which
Rev. Samuel Ripley made the dedicatory prayer and the sermon was
preached by Rev. Convers Francis, who had recently left Watertown
to accept a professorship at the Harvard Divinity School. Lowell’s
Cambridge residence at “Elmwood” was only a short distance from
the Watertown line, and Miss Maria White, whom he married in 1844,
belonged to the Watertown parish, which suggests the possibility
that it was she who persuaded him to write the hymn. It was not
included in any of his published works but has been found on the
only known copy of the printed program of the service, now owned
by the Huntington Library, San Marino, Pasadena, California. It
probably was used only on the occasion for which it was written.
4. _The ages one great minster seem_,
Taken from a poem “Godminster Chimes” which was “Written in aid of
a chime of bells for Christ Church, Cambridge,” and published in
“Under the Willows,” 1868. From this poem of 7 stas. 8 l., enough
lines have been selected and arranged, with a few verbal
alterations, to make a hymn on the theme of the Church Universal,
in 4 stas. of 4 l.
5. _What means this glory round our feet?_
A Christmas carol written in 1866 “For the children of the Church
of the Disciples”, Boston, (Unitarian), of which Rev. James
Freeman Clarke, _q.v._, was minister. Of the original 7 stas.,
five have come into considerable use.
Of the above listed hymns all except no. 3 are in current use in
various hymn books. Nos. 2 and 5 are in _The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935;
nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864.
J. 698
H.W.F.
Lunt, Rev. William Parsons, D.D., Newburyport, Mass., April 21,
1805—March 31, 1857, Akabah, Arabia. He graduated from Harvard College
in 1823, and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1828. On June 19,
1828 he was ordained as the first settled minister of the Second
Unitarian Congregational Society in New York, where he served for five
years. On June 3, 1835, he was installed as associate minister of the
First Church in Quincy, Mass., where he became the sole minister in
1843 and served until his death while on a journey to Palestine. After
his death his hymns and occasional poems were printed in a small
volume entitled _Gleanings_, but none of them have been included in
later books. His contribution to American hymnody was made by the
publication of his collection entitled _The Christian Psalter_, 1841,
for his congregation at Quincy, but its fine quality brought it into
much wider use. It is chiefly remembered today because it included 5
hymns and the metrical version of 17 psalms by his distinguished
parishioner, John Quincy Adams, _q.v._
J. 703
H.W.F.
Mann, Rev. Newton, Cazenovia, New York, January 16, 1856—July 25,
1926, Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Cazenovia Academy, and
during the Civil War served as head of the Western Sanitary
Commission. He then entered the Unitarian ministry and was ordained as
pastor of the church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which he organized and
served for three years. He later served churches in Troy, New York,
1868-70; Rochester, New York, 1870-1888; and Omaha, Nebraska,
1888-1908, after which he retired to Chicago. His only connection with
hymnody was his versification of an English translation of the Jewish
creedal statement known as the Yigdal. His verse, which has not
survived, was later recast by Rev. W. C. Gannett, _q.v._, to form the
great hymn
_Praise to the living God! All praiséd be his name!_
concerning which detailed information will be found under Dr.
Gannett’s name. In its present form the hymn is probably mostly the
work of Gannett, but Mann should be credited with having drafted its
earlier form. See also Foote, _Three Centuries of American Hymnody_,
339-340.
H.W.F.
Marean, Mrs. Emma (Endicott), Boston, Massachusetts, January 20,
1854—October 17, 1936, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She married Joseph
Mason Marean January 20, 1876. Two hymns by her were included in _The
Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_ (Unitarian), 1908,
1. _Grateful for another day_, (An Island Morning)
2. _Set from the restless world apart_ (An Island Hymn)
Neither has been included in later hymn books but both are in her
small volume of poems, _Now and Then_, Cambridge, 1928.
H.W.F.
Mason, Mrs. Caroline Atherton (Briggs), Marblehead, Massachusetts,
July 27, 1823—June 13, 1890, Fitchburg, Massachusetts. In 1853 she
married Charles Mason, a lawyer living in Fitchburg. She published in
1852 a volume of poems entitled _Utterance: or Private Voices to the
Public Heart_, and after her death another collection was published,
her _Lost Ring and Other Poems_, 1891.
Three of her hymns have had considerable use.
1. _I cannot walk in darkness long_, (Evening)
This begins with stanza V of her poem on _Eventide_, “At cool of
day with God I walk,” in her _Lost Ring_, p. 165.
2. _O God I thank Thee for each sight_, (The Joy of Living)
A cento of 4 stanzas, from her poem “A Matin Hymn” beginning “I
lift the sash and gaze abroad,” in her _Lost Ring_, p. 164.
3. _The changing years, eternal God_, (Adoration)
Written for the Bicentennial of the First Congregational Church,
Marblehead, August 13, 1884. In her _Lost Ring_ it begins “The
changing centuries, O God,”.
Of these hymns no. 2 has had considerable use. It is included in
_Hymns of the Church Universal_, 1891; the _New Hymn and Tune Book_,
1914; the _Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935; _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 1669
H.W.F.
Miles, Sarah Elizabeth (Appleton) Boston, Massachusetts, March 28,
1807—January 3, 1877, Brattleboro, Vermont. She married Solomon P.
Miles. In 1827 she printed in the _Christian Examiner_ a hymn
beginning,
_Thou, who didst stoop below_,
which passed into a number of hymn books of the period, and in 1828,
in the same periodical she printed a poem in 4 stanzas, C.M.D., which
S. Longfellow and S. Johnson, in their second hymn-book, _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864, divided into two hymns, of 2 stanzas each, the first
beginning
_The earth, all light and loveliness_,
the second
_When, on devotion’s seraph wing._
They also included another of her hymns, consisting of the second,
fourth and fifth stanzas of her poem entitled “In Affliction,”
beginning
_Thou, infinite in love._
These, and some other religious poems, are included in Putnam’s
_Singers and Songs_, etc. None of her hymns are now in use.
H.W.F.
Mott, Rev. Frederick B., England, 1856-1941, England. When a young man
he emigrated to this country and on September 30, 1887 was ordained
minister of the Barton Square Church (Unitarian) in Salem,
Massachusetts. In 1892 he became minister of the Third Religious
Society in Dorchester, Massachusetts, which he served till 1903. In
1904 he returned to England and was installed as minister of the
Unitarian Chapel at Southport, and later moved to London as editor of
the periodical _Christian Life_. Two hymns in the Universalist _Church
Harmonies_, 1895, are attributed to him, viz:—
1. _Take our pledge, eternal Father_,
2. _The spirit of the Lord has stirred_,
but appear to have had no further use.
H.W.F.
Newell, Rev. William, D.D., Littleton, Massachusetts, February 25,
1804—October 28, 1881, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1824 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1829.
He was ordained minister of the First Parish in Cambridge on May 19,
1830, where he served until his retirement on March 31, 1868. He was
author of many commemorative sermons and memoirs, and received the
honorary degree of D.D. from Harvard in 1853. A number of his poems
are included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc. His hymn beginning,
_All hail, God’s angel, Truth_ (Thanksgiving)
is included in G. Horder’s _Worship Song, with Tunes_, London, 1905,
but is not found in American collections.
J. 1676
H.W.F.
Norton, Prof. Andrews, Hingham, Massachusetts, December 31,
1786—September 18, 1853, Newport, Rhode Island. He graduated from
Harvard in 1804. In 1811 he was appointed tutor in the College, in
1813 librarian and Lecturer on the Bible, and in 1819 Professor of
Sacred Literature in the Harvard Divinity School, a post which he
resigned in 1830 to devote himself to literary and theological
pursuits. In 1837 he published the first volume of his famous book
_The Genuineness of the Gospels_, followed in 1844 by the second and
third volumes. This was the earliest scholarly work on the New
Testament by an American author, and expressed the conservative
Unitarian thought of his period. He wrote several other books, and
numerous articles. His few poems were printed in a small volume soon
after his death, including six hymns, some of which have had
considerable use.
1. _Another year, another year_, (Close of the Year)
Appeared in the _Christian Examiner_, Nov.-Dec. 1827, in 11 stas.
of 4 l. In the Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868, a cento from
it begins with sta. 6,
_O what concerns it him whose way_
2. _Faint not, poor traveller, though thy way_, (Fortitude)
Printed in the _Christian Disciple_, July-Aug. 1822, and included
in the West Boston _Collection_, 1823.
3. _He has gone to his God, he has gone to his home_ (Burial)
Printed in the _Christian Examiner_, Jan.-Feb. 1824.
4. _My God, I thank Thee; may no thought_ (Submission)
Appeared in the _Monthly Anthology and Boston Review_, Sept. 1809,
and was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841, and in many
later collections. This was Norton’s earliest and best known hymn.
5. _O stay thy tears; for they are blest_, (Burial of the
Young)
Printed in the _General Depository and Review_, April, 1812, in 5
stas. of 4 l. In 1855, stas. III-V were included in Beecher’s
_Plymouth Coll._ no. 1094 as
_How blest are they whose transient years_
6. _Where ancient forests round us spread_,
Written in 1833 for the dedication of a church.
Of the above nos. 1, 4, 5 were included in Martineau’s _Hymns_,
London, 1873. Nos. 4 and 6 are in the Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune
Book_, 1914, and no. 6 is in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937. See Putnam’s
_Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_ for the full text of all
Norton’s hymns.
J. 810
Revised by H.W.F.
Parker, Rev. Theodore, was born on a farm in Lexington, Massachusetts
on August 24, 1810, and died in Florence, Italy, on May 10, 1860. He
entered Harvard College in 1830, but did most of his work at home, and
studied in the Harvard Divinity School, 1834-1836. In 1840 he was
granted the degree of A.M. from Harvard. Entering the ministry he
served the Unitarian Church in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1837-1846,
and the 28^th Congregational Society, Boston, 1846-1860. He was a
famous preacher; author of numerous printed discourses on social and
religious problems; and one of the earliest American translators of
current German theological literature. He wrote a few poems, none
intended for use as hymns, but Longfellow and Johnson took one of his
sonnets and, by eliminating two lines, transformed it into a hymn of 3
stanzas of 4 lines each beginning,
_O thou great Friend of all the sons of men_,
which they included in their _Book of Hymns_, 1846. It has had
widespread and long continued use in American hymn-books and to some
extent in England. Twelve of Parker’s poetical pieces are included in
A. P. Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_. Biographies
of Parker have been written by John Weiss, Octavius B. Frothingham,
and other authors.
J. 882
H.W.F.
Peabody, Rev. Ephraim, Wilton, New Hampshire, March 22, 1807—November
28, 1856, Boston, Massachusetts.
He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1827, and from the Harvard
Divinity School in 1830. After serving as a tutor in the Huidekoper
family in Meadville, Pennsylvania, he was ordained in 1832 as minister
of a recently gathered Unitarian congregation in Cincinnati, Ohio. In
1837 he joined Rev. John H. Morison in serving the First
Congregational Society of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and in 1845 he
accepted a call to King’s Chapel, Boston, where he remained until his
death, though ill-health prevented him from preaching in the last year
and a half of his life. An impressive preacher, he also wrote some
poetry, and a hymn for an ordination, beginning
_Lift aloud the voice of praise_
is attributed to him in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church
of Christ_, 1853.
H.W.F.
Peabody, Rev. Oliver William Bourne, Exeter, New Hampshire, July 9,
1799—July 5, 1847, Burlington, Vermont. He was twin brother of W. B.
O. Peabody, _q.v._ He graduated from Harvard College in 1817,
practised law for a few years at Exeter, served as professor of
English Literature in Jefferson College, Louisiana from 1842 to 1845,
and in the latter year was licensed to preach by the Boston
Association and served as minister of the Unitarian Church at
Burlington, Vermont, until his death two years later.
A hymn beginning
_God of the rolling orbs above_
is attributed to him in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church
of Christ_, 1853, but does not appear to have had further use.
J. 887
H.W.F.
Peabody, Rev. William Bourne Oliver, D.D., Exeter, New Hampshire, July
9, 1799—May 28, 1847, Springfield, Massachusetts. Graduated from
Harvard College in 1817, taught for a year in Phillips Exeter Academy,
and studied for the ministry at the Harvard Divinity School. He was
ordained as the first minister of the Unitarian Church in Springfield,
Massachusetts, in October, 1820, and remained there until his death.
In 1823 he published a _Poetical Catechism for the Young_, in which he
included some original hymns. He edited _The Springfield Collection of
Hymns for Sacred Worship_, Springfield, 1835, which was adopted for
use in many parishes besides his own, and several of his hymns were
included in it. A _Memoir_ of him, written by his twin brother, O. W.
B. Peabody, was published in the 2^d edition of his _Sermons_, 1849,
and a collection of his _Literary Remains_ was published in 1850. He
is described as “a man of rare accomplishments, and consummate
virtue,” widely respected and admired.
The following hymns by him had considerable use in the 19^th century,
but only the last survived in a hymn book of the 20^th.
1. _Behold the western evening light_; (Death of the Righteous)
Published in his _Catechism_, 1823, and in _Springfield
Collections_, 1835, and elsewhere. It passed into use in England;
in altered form in the _Leeds Hymn Book_, 1853, and in George
Rawson’s Baptist _Ps._ and _Hys._ 1858, where it begins,
_How softly on the western hills._
2. _O when the hours of life are past_ (The Hereafter)
Published in his _Catechism_ in answer to the question “What do
you learn of the future state of happiness?” It was included in
Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, and
had some use in its original form, and also altered to _When all
the hours of life are past_.
3. _The moon is up; how calm and slow_, (Evening)
A poem rather than a hymn, in 6 stas. of 4 l., appended to his
_Catechism_, 1823.
4. _When brighter suns and milder skies_, (Spring)
Appended to his _Catechism_, 1823, in 6 stas. of 4 l.
5. _Who is thy neighbor? He whom thou_ (The good neighbor)
Included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.
The full texts of Peabody’s hymns are printed in Putnam, _Singers &
Songs of the Liberal Faith_, Boston, 1874.
J. 887
Revised by H.W.F.
Perkins, Rev. James Handasyde, Boston, Massachusetts, July 31,
1810—December 14, 1849, near Cincinnati, Ohio. He was educated at
Phillips Exeter Academy and at Round Hill School, Northampton,
Massachusetts. After a brief business experience in Boston he moved to
Cincinnati, where he was admitted to the bar in 1837, but two years
later he took up the Ministry-at-Large organized by the First
Congregational Society (Unitarian) of Cincinnati, and later became
pastor of the church. He was active in social reforms and as a
lecturer, and was author of a number of essays descriptive of life in
what was then the far west.
The hymn in 3 stanzas, C.M., beginning
_It is a faith sublime and sure_,
attributed to “J. H. Perkins” in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of
Hymns_, 1846-48, is presumably by him, although it is not included
with his poems printed in the _Memoir and Writings of James Handasyde
Perkins_, edited by W. H. Channing, Cincinnati, 1851. It does not
appear to have had any further use.
H.W.F.
Pierpont, Rev. John, Litchfield, Connecticut, April 6, 1785—August 27,
1866, Medford, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College in 1804,
studied law, and in 1812 set up practice in Newburyport,
Massachusetts, but later turned to the ministry and graduated from the
Harvard Divinity School in 1818. That fall he became minister of the
Hollis Street Church (Unitarian) in Boston, which he served till 1840,
when a sharp controversy over his outspoken attacks on intemperance,
slavery and other social evils led to his resignation. In the same
year he published his _Poems and Hymns_, which included his temperance
and anti-slavery poems and songs, and of which a later edition
appeared in 1854. He also wrote a number of excellent school books. In
1845 he became minister of the Unitarian Church at Troy, New York, and
in 1849 of the First Parish in Medford, Massachusetts, which he served
until 1859, when he retired. With the outbreak of the Civil War he
became an Army chaplain and was later employed in the Treasury
Department at Washington. He died suddenly while on a visit to
Medford.
He was the maternal grandfather of J. Pierpont Morgan of New York, who
was named for him, but it would be hard to find a greater contrast
than that offered by the careers of the hymn-writing reformer and his
grandson, the financial magnate.
In his own day Pierpont’s hymns brought him a wide reputation. Thus
Putnam, in his _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_, 1873, says,
“Mr. Pierpont was one of the best hymn writers in America. He was a
genuine poet, as well as a powerful preacher and stern reformer.”
Today he occupies a much more modest place in American hymnody. None
of his hymns attained a very high level of excellence. Most of them
are respectable verse, written in response to frequent requests for
hymns for special occasions, but they well illustrate the mood of the
Unitarianism of his period.
His hymns which have come into use are
1. _Another day its course hath run_ (Evening)
Appeared in _Hymns for Children_, Boston 1825; in Greenwood’s
_Chapel Liturgy_, 1827; in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841; and
in the author’s _Poems and Hymns_, 1840.
2. _Break forth in song, ye trees_ (Public Thanksgiving)
Written for the celebration of the 200^th anniversary of the
Settlement of Boston, Sept. 17, 1830. Included in _Poems and
Hymns_, 1840.
3. _Break the bread and pour the wine_ (Communion)
In Harris’s _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper_, 1820.
4. _Father, while we break the bread_, (Communion)
5. _God Almighty and All-seeing_ (Greatness of God)
Contributed to Elias Nason’s _Congregational Hymn Book_, Boston,
1857.
6. _God of mercy, do Thou never_ (Ordination)
Written for the ordination of John B. P. Storer at Walpole, Mass.,
Nov. 18, 1826. Included in the author’s _Poems_, 1840, and in
Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.
7. _God of our fathers, in Whose sight_, (Love of Truth)
This hymn is composed of stas. IX and X of a longer hymn written
for the Charlestown (Mass.) Centennial, June 17, 1830. In this
form it was included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864, and elsewhere.
8. _Gone are those great and good_, (Commemoration)
Part of no. 2, above, in _Church Harmonies_, 1895.
9. _I cannot make him dead_ (Memorial)
A part of an exquisitely touching and beautiful poem of ten
stanzas, originally printed in the _Monthly Miscellany_, Oct.
1840.
10. _Let the still air rejoice_, (Praise)
This was headed “Temperance Hymn” in _The Soldier’s Companion_,
1861, but is really a patriotic ditty.
11. _Mighty God, whose name is holy_ (Charitable Institutions)
Written for the anniversary of the Howard Benevolent Society, Dec.
1826. Included in the author’s _Poems_, 1840.
12. _My God, I thank Thee that the night_ (Morning)
In the author’s Poems, 1840. In Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841,
and Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873, it begins
_O God, I thank Thee_.
13. _O bow Thine ear, Eternal One_ (Opening of Worship)
Dated 1823, but not included in the author’s Poems. It is given in
Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc. 1853.
14. _O Thou to Whom in ancient times_ (Worship)
“Written for the opening of the Independent Congregational Church
in Barton Square, Salem, Mass. Dec. 7, 1824,” and printed at the
close of the sermon preached by Henry Colman on that day. Included
in the author’s _Poems_, 1840, and in many collections in this
country and in Great Britain.
15. _O Thou Who art above all height_ (Ordination)
“Written for the ordination of Mr. William Ware as Pastor of the
First Congregational Church in New York, Dec. 18, 1821.” Included
in _Poems_, 1840, and in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc.
16. _O Thou, Who on the whirlwind rides_ (Dedication of a
Place of Worship)
Written for the opening of the Seamen’s Bethel in Boston, Sept.
11, 1833. Sometimes used beginning
_Thou Who on the whirlwind rides_
17. _O’er Kedron’s stream, and Salem’s height_, (Gethsemane)
Contributed to T. M. Harris’s _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper_, 1820.
Included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, London, 1873.
18. _On this stone, now laid with prayer_ (Foundation Stone)
Written for the laying of the cornerstone of Suffolk Street
Chapel, Boston, for the Ministry to the Poor, May 23, 1839.
19. _With Thy pure dew and rain_, (Against slavery)
Written for the African Colonization Society. Included in
Cheever’s _Common Place Book_, 1831, but not in the author’s
_Poems_, 1840.
20. _While with lips with praise that glow_, (Communion)
Included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc.
All of the above hymns have passed out of use except nos. 1, 8, 12,
and 14 which are included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and
nos. 8 and 14, included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 895, 1647
Revised by H.W.F.
Pray, Lewis Glover, Quincy, Massachusetts, August 15, 1793—October 9,
1882, Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was a business man in Boston, active
in civic and church affairs. For 33 years he was superintendent of the
Sunday School in the Twelfth Congregational Society of Boston. In 1833
he published a _Sunday School Hymn Book_, the first book containing
music published for Sunday Schools in New England. It appeared in
enlarged form in 1844 as the _Sunday School Hymn and Service Book_. In
1847 he published his _History of Sunday Schools_. His own hymns and
poems were published in 1862 as _The Sylphids’ School_, and in a
second volume, _Autumn Leaves_, 1873. Most of them are songs for
Sunday School use rather than hymns for the church service but one of
them, from _The Sylphids’ School_, beginning
_When God upheaved the pillared earth_,
was included in _Hymns of the Ages_. 3^d Series, 1864.
J. 906
H.W.F.
Prince, Rev. Thomas, D.D., Sandwich, Massachusetts, May 15,
1687—October 22, 1758, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard in 1707. After voyages to Barbadoes and a stay of several
years in England he returned to Boston and in 1717 was ordained as
colleague of Rev. Joseph Sewall, minister of the Old South Church. His
career was marked by frequent controversies and by his _Chronological
History of New England_, based on his great collection of rare
documents dating from the early years of the Colony. This priceless
collection was unfortunately dispersed and much of it lost after his
death. During his ministry the Tate and Brady version of the Psalms
was gradually replacing the _Bay Psalm Book_ in New England, but his
parishioners clung to the old book. He persuaded them to let him
revise it, which he did, improving or modernizing the verse and
printing after the Psalms “an addition of Fifty other Hymns on the
most important subjects of Christianity.” It included one hymn by
himself beginning
_With Christ and all his shining Train_
_Of Saints and Angels, we shall rise_ (The Resurrection)
His collection was published in 1758 and was first used in the Old
South Meeting House on the Sunday following his death. Its use there
continued for another 30 years, but it was not adopted elsewhere, the
_Bay Psalm Book_ being by that time generally superseded by
collections of _Watts and Select_.
H.W.F.
Putnam, Rev. Alfred Porter, D. D. Danvers, Massachusetts, January 10,
1827—April 15, 1906, Salem, Massachusetts. He was educated at Brown
University, A.B. 1852, and graduated from the Harvard Divinity School
in 1855. Entering the Unitarian ministry he served a church in
Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1855-1864, and the Church of the Saviour,
Brooklyn, New York, 1864-1886, when he retired. Brown University gave
him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1871. He wrote no hymns but
published in 1874 a book entitled _Singers and Songs of the Liberal
Faith: being selections of hymns and other sacred poems of the Liberal
Church in America, with biographical sketches of the writers_. This
book includes practically all the hymns by American Unitarian authors
which had come into use prior to 1870, and the biographical sketches
are generally accurate and adequate in brief space. This useful
reference book is elsewhere referred to in this Dictionary as Putnam:
_Singers and Songs_.
H.W.F.
Robbins, Rev. Chandler, D.D., Lynn, Massachusetts, February 14,
1810—September 12, 1882, Westport, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1829 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1833.
On December 4th of the same year he was ordained minister of the
Second Church (Unitarian), Boston, in succession to Henry Ware, Jr.
and R. W. Emerson. He received the honorary degree of D.D. from
Harvard in 1855. He was the author of a number of books, essays and
memorial discourses dealing with local events and persons. In 1843 he
published _The Social Hymn Book_, intended for social gatherings
rather than for church services, and in 1854 an enlarged edition
entitled _Hymn Book for Christian Worship_, though this book does not
give his name as editor. He contributed two hymns to _A Collection of
Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary_, 1845, compiled by George E.
Ellis.
1. _Lo! the day of rest declineth_ (Evening)
for which L. B. Barnes, then president of the Handel and Haydn
Society composed the tune, Bedford Street, named for the location
of Dr. Robbins’ church.
2. _While thus [now] thy throne of grace we seek_, (Voice of
God)
The first of these is included in The _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_,
1908, and in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914. The second is in
_Church Harmonies_, 1895.
J. 966
H.W.F.
Robbins, Rev. Samuel Dowse, Lynn, Massachusetts, March 7, 1812—?1884,
Belmont, Massachusetts, he was a brother of Chandler Robbins, _q.v._
He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1833 and on November
13 of the same year was ordained minister of the Unitarian Church in
Lynn. He subsequently held pastorates in Chelsea (1840), Framingham
(1859) and Wayland, Massachusetts, 1867-1873.
He wrote a good many poems on religious themes, which were published
in magazines and newspapers but were never collected in a volume. The
Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868, included four of his hymns, viz:
1. _Down toward the twilight drifting_, (Sunset)
2. _Saviour, when thy bread we break_, (Communion)
3. _Thou art my morning, God of light_, (Day)
4. _Thou art, O God! my East. In thee I dawned_,
In Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., this is entitled “The
Compass,” with the statement, “Several mistakes in this hymn, as
it is printed in the Hymn and Tune Book, are here corrected by Mr.
Robbins.”
Julian’s _Dictionary_, p. 967, also cites one beginning
5. _Thou art our father! thou of God the Son_ (Christ)
but it is a religious poem rather than a hymn and there is no evidence
that it was included in any hymn book.
J. 967
Revised H.W.F.
Sargent, Lucius Manlius, Boston, Massachusetts, June 25, 1786—June 2,
1867, Boston. A layman of independent means, author of many articles
advocating temperance. His temperance hymn beginning
_Slavery and death the cup contains_
“was written during the Washingtonian Temperance Revival” and appeared
in Adams’ and Chapin’s Unitarian _Hymns for Christian Devotion_,
Boston, 1846. In the American Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, 1878 the
first line is altered to read
_Bondage and death the cup contains_,
The hymn is included, with the original wording, in the Universalist
_Church Harmonies_, 1895.
J. 1061
H.W.F.
Savage, Rev. Minot Judson, D.D., Norridgewock, Maine, June 10,
1841—May 22, 1918, Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were strictly
orthodox Congregationalists whose resources were meagre, but a
generous benefactor made it possible for him to enter Bangor
Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1864. He served as a
Congregational minister in California, Massachusetts and Missouri,
but, having become acquainted with the works of Darwin and Herbert
Spencer, he transferred his membership to the Unitarian denomination
in 1872 and became minister of the Third Unitarian Church in Chicago.
Two years later he accepted a call to Unity Church in Boston, which he
served until 1896 when he moved to New York as minister of the Church
of the Messiah. He was one of the earliest advocates of a religious
interpretation of the doctrine of evolution, a bold thinker and
forceful speaker in great demand, and the author of many books and
printed sermons. In 1883 he published _Sacred Songs for Public
Worship; a Hymn and Tune Book_, with music arranged by Howard M. Dow,
for use in Unity Church. It contained 195 hymns and songs, 42 of which
were from his own pen. It had the shortcomings of a “one-man book” and
was musically nearer akin to the typical gospel song-book than was
usual in Unitarian hymn-books, and it had little use outside his own
congregation. Several of his hymns passed into other collections in
England and America, viz:
1. _Dost thou hear the bugle sounding_, (Duty)
2. _Father, we would not dare to change thy purpose_ (Prayer)
3. _God of the glorious summer hours_, (New Year)
4. _How shall come the kingdom holy_ (Coming of the kingdom)
5. _O God, whose law is in the sky_ (Consecration to Duty)
6. _O star of truth, down shining_, (Devotion to Truth)
7. _Seek not afar for beauty_, (God in Nature)
8. _The God that to our fathers revealed his holy will_,
9. _The very blossoms of our life_, (Baptism)
10. _What purpose burns within our hearts_, (Church Fellowship)
11. _When the gladsome day declineth_, (Evening)
Of these nos. 4, 6, 7 and 11 are included in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
J. 1698
H.W.F.
Scudder, Eliza, Boston, Massachusetts, November 14, 1821—September 28,
1896, Weston, Massachusetts. She was a niece of Rev. E. H. Sears,
_q.v._ Early in life she joined a Congregational Church, throughout
her middle years was a Unitarian, and late in life entered the
Episcopal Church. She wrote a small number of poems which were
published in Boston in 1880 under the title _Hymns and Sonnets, by
E.S._, and again with her two latest poems and a brief biographical
sketch by Horace E. Scudder, in 1897, but most of her hymns had
appeared at earlier dates in other places. They are characterized by a
profound mystical spirit expressed in terms of great literary beauty,
and some of them passed into a considerable measure of common use.
1. _And wherefore should I seek above_,
This hymn, included in _The Isles of Shoals Hymnbook_, 1908,
consists of the last three stanzas of a much longer poem entitled
“The New Heaven,” dated 1855.
2. _From past regret and present faithlessness_, (Repentance)
written in August, 1871, and published in _Quiet Hours_, Boston,
1875. This was altered in some hymnbooks to,
_From past regret and present feebleness_,
In most cases the opening stanza has been omitted and the hymn has
begun with the second stanza,
_Thou Life within my life, than self more near_,
see no. 9, below.
3. _I cannot find Thee, still on restless pinion_, (Seeking
after God)
This first appeared in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864.
4. _In Thee my powers and treasures live_, (Faith and Joy)
This appeared in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. It is part of a hymn
of 10 stanzas beginning
_Let whosoever will inquire_, dated 1855.
In _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, another arrangement of
stanzas forms a hymn beginning
_My God, I rather look to Thee_
5. _Life of our life, and light of all our seeing_, (Prayer)
Written in August, 1870, it was included in _Quiet Hours_, 1875.
6. _The day is done: the weary day of thought and toil is past_,
(Evening)
Included in _Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life_, E. H.
Sears, Boston, 2^nd ed. 1878, p. 296, entitled “Vesper Hymn,”
dated “October, 1874.”
7. _Thou Grace divine, encircling all_, (Divine Grace)
This appeared in E. H. Sears’ _Pictures of the Olden Time, as
shown in the Fortunes of a Family of Pilgrims_, 1857. Written in
1852, it was included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. In the
Universalist _Psalms and Hymns_, 1865, it was mistakenly called
“An Ancient Catholic Hymn.”
8. _Thou hast gone up again_ (Ascension)
In _Hymns and Sonnets_, 1880.
9. _Thou Life within my life, than self more near_,
As noted above, this is part of No. 2, beginning with the second
stanza of that hymn. In this form it is perhaps Miss Scudder’s
most beautiful hymn.
10. _Thou long disowned, reviled, opprest_, (Spirit of Truth)
Written in January, 1860, it was included in _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864. A cento from this hymn, altered to read,
_Come Thou, with purifying fire_,
was included in Stryker’s _Church Song_, 1889.
Of these hymns nos. 3, 4 (selected stanzas), 7, 9 and 10 are included
in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and nos. 3, 7 and 9 in _Hymns
of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 1035, 1589, 1700
H.W.F.
Sears, Rev. Edmund Hamilton; Sandisfield, Massachusetts April 6,
1810—January 16, 1876, Weston, Massachusetts. Studied at Union
College, graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1837. Ordained
minister of the First Parish (Unitarian) of Wayland, Massachusetts, on
February 20, 1839. He soon after went to Lancaster, Massachusetts;
returned to Wayland, 1848-1864; and was minister of the First Parish,
Weston, Massachusetts, 1866 until his death. He was author of many
books and printed sermons, and of a good many poems, often hymns
supplementary to his sermons. None of these, however, have come into
general use, and his reputation as a hymn writer is based on his two
widely used Christmas hymns, found in many hymn books. The first,
_Calm on the listening ear of night_,
was written in 1839. It was included as “Anon.” in _The Christian
Psalter_, published in 1841 by Sears’ friend, Rev. W. P. Lunt, _q.v._
of Quincy, Massachusetts. In the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, the
second line of sta. 6
The Saviour now is born!
was changed to read
The Prince of Peace is born!
but the original reading was restored in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
His second hymn,
_It came upon the midnight clear_,
was written in 1849. One tradition about it reports that it was
written at Mr. Lunt’s request and was first used at the Christmas
celebration of the Sunday School in Quincy in that year. Sta. 5 of
this hymn
For lo! the days are hastening on
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing
has appeared in re-written forms more than once because its “backward
look” to a golden age is not Biblical but is derived from the Fourth
Eclogue of the poet Virgil. In the Episcopal _Hymnal_ of 1874 this is
altered to read
For lo, the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old,
Till with the ever circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace their King- - - -
and this version was reprinted in the Episcopal hymnals of 1892 and
1916, and passed into other collections. In the _Hymnal_, 1940, it was
again altered to read
For lo, the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever circling years
Shall come the time foretold
These alterations may have brought the hymn into closer accord with
orthodox theology, but at the expense of some of its poetic beauty.
Two patriotic songs by Sears were included in the army hymn book, _The
Soldier’s Companion_, 1861. One headed “A Psalm of Freedom” begins,
_Still wave our streamer’s glorious folds_,
The other is headed “Song of the Stars and Stripes,” and begins,
_We see the gallant streamer yet_,
Neither has any great merit, though both may have served the purpose
for which they were written.
J. 1036
H.W.F.
Sewall, C.
An anti-slavery hymn attributed to a person of this name is included
in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853. It
begins,
_Lord, when thine ancient people cried_,
It is probable, but not certain, that the author was Rev. Charles
Chauncy Sewall, Marblehead, Massachusetts, May 10, 1802—November 22,
1886, Medfield, Massachusetts; who was a graduate of Bowdoin College
and who received the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard in 1832. He
was a Unitarian minister serving churches in Peabody, Massachusetts,
1827-1841; Sharon, Massachusetts, 1857-1862; and Medfield, 1873-1377.
H.W.F.
Sigourney, Mrs. Lydia Howard (Huntley), Norwich, Connecticut,
September 1, 1791—June 10, 1865, Hartford, Connecticut, wife of
Charles Sigourney. She was a prolific writer of prose and verse
contributed to many periodicals, and author of many books, chiefly
moral tales for young people. She became a very popular writer and
spent two years, 1840-1842, in England where she met many celebrities.
Two hymns by her were included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for
the Church of Christ_, 1853, viz:
1. _Laborers of Christ, arise_, (Brotherhood)
This was also included in _Church Harmonies_, 1895, with the first
line altered to read
_Servants of Christ, arise_.
2. _When adverse winds and waves arise_ (Trust)
Neither hymn has had later use.
J. 1057, 1589.
H.W.F.
Sill, Edward Rowland, Windsor, Connecticut, April 29, 1841—February
27, 1887, Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Yale in 1861 and spent
several months in the year 1866-1867 at the Harvard Divinity School,
writing his one fine hymn,
_Send down thy truth, O God_,
for the School’s Visitation Day exercises in 1867. It was included in
his collection of poems, _The Hermitage_, published the same year, and
passed thence into many American hymnbooks. Presumably he entered the
Divinity School intending to prepare for the Unitarian ministry, but
he did not do so and neither then nor later associated himself with
any denomination. At the end of the academic year 1867 he moved to
California where he was Professor of English Literature, 1874-1882 at
the University of California. He published several books of poems of
superior quality.
J. 1703
H.W.F.
Silliman, Rev. Vincent Brown, D.D., Hudson, Wisconsin, June 29,
1894—still living. He graduated from Meadville Theological School in
1920 and from the University of Minnesota in 1925. He has served
Unitarian churches in Buffalo, New York; Portland, Maine; Hollis, New
York; and Chicago, Illinois. He was a member of the committee which
edited _The Beacon Song and Service Book for Children and Young
People_, 1935, and edited _We Sing of Life_, 1955, an unusual
collection of songs for children and young people, with a strong
ethical emphasis, some set to familiar hymn tunes, others to
interesting folk music. Mr. Silliman contributed the words of several
songs. One of them, beginning,
_Morning, so fair to see_,
is also included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, set to St. Elizabeth
(Crusader’s Hymn).
H.W.F.
Spencer, Mrs. Anna Garlin, (wife of Rev. William H. Spencer),
Attleboro, Massachusetts, April 17, 1851—February 12, 1931, New York.
She was ordained as a Unitarian minister, and was a lecturer and
author of books on social problems. In 1896 in her “Orders of Service
for Public Worship” she included her song entitled “The Marching Song
of the Workers,” beginning,
_Hail the hero workers of the mighty past_,
set to St. Gertrude. It was included in _Hymns of the United Church_,
1924, in _Songs of Work and Worship_, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
H.W.F.
Sprague, Charles, Boston, Massachusetts, October 22, 1791—January 22,
1875, Boston. A Unitarian layman. Although a business man without a
college education he wrote much verse which brought him a considerable
reputation and requests for poems to celebrate special occasions. One
of them was read before the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in
Cambridge in 1829, and was re-published, with minor alterations, a few
years later in Calcutta by a British officer, as his own work. A
collection of his poems was published in 1841, and an enlarged edition
in 1850. A number of his shorter poems are given in Putnam’s _Singers
and Songs_, and a hymn attributed to “C. Sprague” is included in Hedge
and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, beginning
_O Thou, at whose dread name we stand_.
H.W.F.
Trapp, Rev. Jacob, S.T.D., Muskegon, Michigan, April 12, 1899—still
living. He was educated at Valparaiso University and The Pacific
Unitarian School for the Ministry (now called The Starr King School
for the Ministry). He was ordained in 1929 and has served Unitarian
churches in Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; and Summit, New
Jersey. In 1932 he wrote a hymn beginning,
_Wonders still the world shall witness_,
which is included, with some revisions, in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
H.W.F.
Tuckerman, Rev. Joseph, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, January 18,
1778—April 20, 1840, Havana, Cuba. He graduated from Harvard College
in 1798, a classmate of Rev. William Ellery Channing, whose close
friend he remained through life. He was licensed to preach by the
Boston Association and in 1801 was ordained minister of a church in
Chelsea, Massachusetts, at that time a small farming community, which
he served for 25 years. He then moved to Boston to begin his
“ministry-at-large” to the unchurched elements in the population,
under the auspices of the American Unitarian Association and later of
the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches. He attained wide reputation for
his philanthropy and his wide methods of social reform. Harvard gave
him the honorary degree of D.D. in 1824.
His hymn
_Father divine! This deadening power control_ (Aspiration)
is attributed to “Tuckerman” in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the
Church of Christ_, 1853, and in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864, but is not listed in Julian’s _Dictionary_ or included
in later collections.
H.W.F.
Very, Jones, Salem, Massachusetts, August 28, 1813—May 8, 1880, Salem,
Massachusetts. He was brother of Washington Very, _q.v._ He graduated
from Harvard College in 1836, and served as tutor in Greek there for
two years. Although Julian, _Dictionary_, p. 1219, says that he
entered the Unitarian ministry in 1843, he was never ordained as a
settled minister though he served frequently as an occasional lay
preacher. Most of his life was given to literary pursuits. In 1839 he
published _Essays and Poems_, and thereafter was a frequent
contributor in prose and verse to periodicals, including _The
Christian Register_ and the _Monthly Magazine_. The following hymns by
him have passed into various American Unitarian collections.
1. _Father! I wait Thy word_, (Waiting upon God)
2. _Father, there is no change to live with Thee_ (Peace)
3. _Father! Thy wonders do not singly stand_ (The Spirit Land)
4. _Wilt Thou not visit me?_ (The Divine Presence)
These four, from _Essays and Hymns_, were included in Longfellow and
Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, as were also three from other
sources:—
5. _I saw on earth another light_ (The Light Within)
6. _The bud will soon become a flower_ (Sowing and Reaping)
7. _Turn not from him who asks of thee_ (Kind Words)
Longfellow and Johnson’s second book, _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864,
also included
8. _One saint to another I heard say, How long_ (The Future)
Most of these hymns are in Lyra Sacra Americana and in Putnam’s
Singers and Songs, etc. Two other of his hymns have been published in
later collections, viz:
9. _O heavenly gift of love divine_, (Divine assistance)
from his _Essays and Poems_ is included in the _Pilgrim Hymnal_,
1904; and
10. _We go not on a pilgrimage_ (This earth as holy land)
is included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914 and in _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937.
Of the hymns listed above nos. 2 and 3 are included in the _Isles of
Shoals Hymn Book_, and in other publications. Another hymn beginning
_There is a world eye hath not seen_ (The Spirit World)
included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and
there marked _Anon._, is attributed to Very in Julian’s _Dictionary_.
The hymn is an abbreviated and mutilated version of the beautiful poem
beginning
_There is a world we have not seen_
in A. M. Buchanan’s _Folk Hymns of America_, pp. 80-81. (See H. W.
Foote, _Three Centuries of American Hymnody_, p. 173). The original
form is in three stanzas of eight lines, long metre. The very inferior
re-written form is in four stanzas, four lines, common metre. Some of
the lines are unchanged from the original, others altered, and the
last stanza is a didactic addition. It is altogether improbable that
this was done by Very.
J. 1219, 1721
H.W.F.
Very, Washington, Salem, Massachusetts, November 12, 1815—April 28,
1853, Salem. He graduated from Harvard College in 1843, and from the
Harvard Divinity School in 1846. After preaching for a year without
settlement he opened a private school in Salem, which he conducted
until his death. He was brother of Jones Very, _q.v._ Putnam in
_Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_ includes three of W. Very’s
poetical pieces, one of which
_There cometh o’er the Spirit_ (Spring)
appeared in Longfellow and Johnson’s Book of Hymns, 1846.
J. 1219
H.W.F.
Ware, Rev. Henry, Jr., D.D., Hingham, Massachusetts, April 21,
1794—September 22, 1843, Framingham, Massachusetts. His family was for
three generations an outstanding one in the liberal ministry; his
father, Dr. Henry Ware, Sr., was called in 1805 from a pastorate in
Hingham to serve as Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard; his
younger brother, William Ware, was the first minister of what is now
All Souls Church, New York; and his son, J. F. W. Ware, was later the
minister of Arlington Street Church, Boston. Henry Ware, Jr. graduated
with high honors from Harvard in 1812, and after teaching for two
years at Phillips Exeter Academy returned to Cambridge, to continue
his theological studies. He was licensed to preach on July 31, 1815,
but was not ordained as minister of the Second Church in Boston
(Unitarian) until January 1, 1817. Never vigorous in body, he offered
his resignation in 1829, but the congregation refused to accept it,
appointing R. W. Emerson to be assistant minister. In 1830, however,
he resigned, to accept an appointment as Professor of Pulpit Eloquence
and Pastoral Care at the Harvard Divinity School, a position which he
held till 1842. He then moved from Cambridge to Framingham,
Massachusetts, where he died a few months later. Harvard gave him the
degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1834. In spite of ill health he wrote
much, and he was a greatly beloved teacher, whose saintly character
commanded the highest respect. For several years he edited the
_Christian Disciple_, established in 1813, and he was author of many
printed books, addresses and sermons, listed in the _Memoir_ of him,
published by his brother, Dr. John Ware, in 1846. His collected works
were published in four volumes in 1847, the first volume including his
occasional poems and his hymns. Some of these last reached a high
standard of excellence and brought him wide recognition in the liberal
churches of Great Britain as well as in this country. No less than
eight pieces of his verse were included in _Lyra Sacra Americana_,
published by the British Religious Tract Society in 1868. His hymns
are some of the choicest poetical expressions of liberal religious
thought in the first period of American Unitarian hymnody, but almost
all have dropped out of present use. Most of them will be found in
Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc.
1. _All nature’s works His praise declare_, (Worship)
Headed “On Opening an Organ” and dated November 9, 1822. In view
of the almost universal use of organs in modern churches it is
rather surprizing that this should be a well-nigh unique example
of a hymn for the dedication of such an instrument. It is also a
good general hymn of worship. It was included in Horder’s British
_Congregational Hymns_, 1884, and in a number of American
Unitarian collections.
2. _Around the throne of God, the host angelic sings_,
A hymn of “Universal Praise,” based on Revelation IV, 2, 3; XV, 3.
Dated 1823 and published in the _Christian Disciple_, vol. V. A
fine hymn of its type, but little used, perhaps because of its
metre, 6.6.6.6.4.4.4.4.
3. _Father of earth and heaven, Whose arm upholds creation_,
(Thanksgiving for Divine Mercies)
Included in Cheever’s _Common Place Book_, 1831, and in _Lyra
Sacra Americana_.
4. _Father, Thy gentle chastisement_ (In sickness)
Dated March, 1836. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.
5. _Great God, the followers of thy Son_, (Ordination)
Written for the ordination of Jared Sparks, the historian, as
minister of the First Unitarian Church, Baltimore, Maryland, May
5, 1819, but suitable for any service of worship and perhaps the
most widely used of Ware’s hymns.
6. _In this glad hour when children meet_ (Family Gatherings)
Dated August 20, 1835. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.
7. _Lift your glad voices in triumph on high_ (Easter)
Dated 1817, and published in the _Christian Disciple_ of that
year, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_ and
included in many 19^th century hymn books. In a few cases the
second stanza alone is given, beginning
_Glory to God, in full anthems of joy!_
8. _Like Israel’s hosts to exile driven_ (The God of our
Fathers)
Written for the Centennial Celebration of the Boston Thursday
Lecture, October 17, 1833. It is a quasi-national hymn in praise
of the Pilgrim Fathers. Included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns
for the Church of Christ_ and in _Lyra Sacra Americana_.
9. _O Thou in whom alone is found_ (Laying Foundation Stone for
a Place of Worship)
Not dated. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_, and in Thring’s _Collection_
(British) 1882.
10. _O Thou who on thy chosen Son_, (Ordination)
Written “For an ordination, March, 1829.” Included in Dale’s
_English Hymn Book_, 1874.
11. _Oppression shall not always reign_, (Anti-Slavery Song)
Dated March 15, 1843, it is the last of the author’s writings in
verse. In its original form it was a poem in several stanzas
unsuited for use as a hymn, but 3 stanzas, beginning as above, had
been taken from it, altered and transposed, and thus adapted for
worship. Stanzas one and two were included in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_ and in Longfellow
and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864.
12. _To prayer, to prayer, for morning breaks_, (Prayer)
In 1826 he wrote a poem of 10 stanzas, 6 lines each, entitled
“Seasons of Prayer,” printed in full in _Lyra Sacra Americana_ and
in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, from which at least three variant
centos were in use in the 19^th century. One beginning with the
first line, as above, adapting it for morning worship, was
included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841, and in later
collections. Another beginning with the second stanza
_To prayer, the glorious sun is gone_,
was adapted for evening worship. A third selection, beginning with
the third stanza of the poem,
_To prayer! for the day that God hath blest_,
was included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_.
13. _We rear not a temple, like Judah of old_, (Dedication of a
Place of Worship)
“For the dedication of a church, April, 1839.”
14. _With praise and prayer our gifts we bring_ (Opening of a
Place of Worship)
In Dale’s _English Hymn Book_, 1874. Not in Putnam’s _Singers and
Songs_, etc.
None of the hymns listed above are in current use except nos. 1 and 5,
both of which are included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 1233, 1595
Revised by H.W.F.
Waterston, Rev. Robert Cassie, Kennebunk, Maine, 1812—February 21,
1893, Boston, Massachusetts. He studied for a time at the Harvard
Divinity School. In 1844 Harvard gave him the degree of Master of
Arts, following the publication of his book on _Moral and Spiritual
Culture_. In 1839 he was ordained to the ministry-at-large (Unitarian)
in Boston, in charge of the Pitts Street Chapel, where he remained
till 1845. From 1845 to 1852 he served as minister of the Church of
the Saviour, Boston, and from 1854 to 1856 he was minister of the
First Religious Society of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Thereafter he
gave himself to educational and literary pursuits. He was a member of
the Massachusetts Historical Society and was long active on the Boston
School Committee. He wrote many essays, addresses and poems, the most
important of which are listed in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc.,
pp. 390-410. He contributed one hymn to the Cheshire Pastoral
Association’s _Christian Hymns_, 1844, and eight to his own
_Supplement_ to Greenwood’s _Psalms and Hymns_, 1845.
1. _God of the soul_ (The soul and God)
2. _Great God, in heaven above_,
Written for a Sunday School.
3. _Great Source of Good, our God and Friend_ (Worship)
4. _In ages past, majestic prophets_, (The Coming of Jesus)
5. _Nature with eternal youth_
Written before 1853 and included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns
for the Church of Christ_, published in that year. It is a
selection of 4 stanzas, numbers 4 to 7, from a longer poem
entitled _Nature and the Soul_, printed in full in Putnam.
6. _Lord of all, we bow before Thee_
Entitled “Christian Benevolence.”
7. _O God of Light and Love_,
Written for the annual meeting of the American Unitarian
Association, Boston, 1845.
8. _O Lord of Life! to Thee we pray_,
Written for the dedication of a church.
9. _One sweet flower has drooped and faded_,
Included in the Cheshire _Collection_, 1844, entitled “Death of a
Pupil.” In Putnam the opening line reads
“_One bright flower has drooped_”, etc.
and the hymn is entitled “On the Death of a Child”, with a note,
“Sung by her classmates.”
10. _Theories, which thousands cherish_, (Truth)
Published in _The Religious Monthly_, Boston, and included in
several collections.
11. _Thou who didst aid our sires_ (On leaving an old house of
worship)
Written for the last service of worship held in the Federal Street
Meeting House, Boston, March 13, 1859.
All of these hymns, and a number of other poems by Waterston, are
included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc., but few of them are
dated or annotated as to use. The author was a popular writer of
verses which were respectable expressions of the religious thought and
feeling of his community, in which they had considerable vogue, but
they rarely rise above mediocrity and have long since dropped out of
use.
J. 1235, 1724
H.W.F.
Weir, Hon. Robert Stanley, D.C.L. 1856-1926. Judge in Admiralty of the
Exchequer Court of Canada. He translated, from the original French by
Calixa Lavallée, the hymn beginning, in his English version,
_O Canada, our home, our native land_,
which was adopted by the Canadian government as Canada’s national
hymn. It is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914. He was a
member of the Church of the Messiah (Unitarian), Montreal.
H.W.F.
Weiss, Rev. John, Boston, Massachusetts, June 28, 1828—March 9, 1879,
Boston. He graduated from Harvard College in 1837, and from the
Harvard Divinity School in 1843. He was ordained minister of the First
Church, (Unitarian) Watertown, Massachusetts in 1843; was minister of
the First Church, New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1847-1858; and served
the church at Watertown again 1862-1869. He was a leader in the
anti-slavery movement and a prolific author of books and essays. For
Visitation Day at the Divinity School, 1843, he wrote a hymn
beginning,
1. _A wondrous star our pioneer_,
which was included in the _Book of Hymns_, 1846, compiled by S.
Longfellow and S. Johnson, and in their later book, _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864. The _Book of Hymns_ also included a hymn “For a
Summer Festival” beginning,
2. _Beneath thy trees we meet today_,
which is in the Universalist _Church Harmonies_, 1895.
His hymn
3. _The world throws wide its brazen gates_
was included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of
Christ_, 1853.
Three other hymns by him, which have not found their way into any hymn
books, are printed in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_.
H.W.F.
Wendte, Rev. Charles William, Boston, Massachusetts, June 11,
1844—September 9, 1911, San Francisco, California. He graduated from
the Harvard Divinity School in 1869 and served Unitarian churches in
Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Newport, Rhode Island. From
1885 to 1900 he was engaged in denominational work on the Pacific
Coast and thereafter was Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the American
Unitarian Association, Boston, spending a part of each year in Europe.
Long interested in Sunday Schools he published in 1886 _The Carol, for
Sunday School and Home_; a book of songs for use by children and young
people entitled _Jubilate Deo_ in 1900; and another in 1908 entitled
_Heart and Voice, a Collection of Songs and Services for the
Sunday-School and Home_. In 1907 he wrote a hymn on “The City of God”
beginning,
_Not given to us from out the sky_,
which was included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in
_Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, (with a slight alteration by the author).
H.W.F.
Westwood, Rev. Horace, D.D., Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, August 17,
1884—December 24, 1956, Clearwater, Florida. Emigrating to the United
States, he served in the Methodist ministry for several years, and
after 1910 served as minister in Unitarian churches in Youngstown,
Ohio; Winnipeg, Canada; Toledo, Ohio; and extensively as a mission
preacher. His hymn in one stanza,
_Spirit of Truth, of Life, of Power_, (1922)
was included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, and he privately printed
a small collection, _Some Hymns and Verses_, n.d., a few of which
appeared in periodicals, but have not had wider use.
H.W.F.
Wile, Mrs. Frances Whitmarsh, Bristol Centre, New York, December 2,
1878—July 31, 1939, Rochester, New York. Married A. J. Wile in 1901.
Her lovely hymn for use in winter, beginning,
_All beautiful the march of days_,
was written about 1907 while she was a parishioner of Rev. William C.
Gannett, _q.v._, in Rochester, New York, in consultation with him, and
was included in Gannett and Hosmer’s revised edition of _Unity Hymns
and Chorals_, 1911, from which it passed into _The New Hymn and Tune
Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Wiley, Hiram Ozias, Middlebury, Vermont, May 20, 1831—January 28,
1873, Peabody, [Danvers] Massachusetts. He was a Unitarian layman who
practised law in Peabody from 1855 until his death, and was the author
of occasional verse contributed to local newspapers. On May 17, 1865,
the _South Danvers Wizard_ published his hymn beginning
_He leads us on by paths we did not know_,
and republished it on May 8, 1867, with a note reading “Some years ago
we published the following poem, which was written for our columns by
H. O. Wiley, Esq. Since then it has traversed the country in all
directions, without any credit being given either to our paper or to
the author. We reproduce it from a Western paper in order to correct
several errors that have crept into it. Ed.” It is the only hymn
included in the small volume of Wiley’s poems published as a memorial
to him soon after his death. Its earliest appearance in a hymn book
was in the 1873 Supp. to the Unitarian _Sunday School Hymn Book_, with
the first line changed to
_God leads us on, etc._,
About the same time it reached England, where it passed into a number
of collections without the name of the author. In Julian’s
_Dictionary_, p. 1647, “J.M.” states that it appears as _Anon._ in
_Our Home beyond the Tide_, Glasgow, 1878, and that in _Meth. Free.
Ch. Hys._, 1889, it is attributed to “Count Zinzendorf, about 1750.
Tr. H.L.L.” (Jane Borthwick) although that attribution is questioned
because the hymn could not be found in any of Miss Borthwick’s
translations. The mistaken attribution persisted, however, long enough
to be included in the second edition of the _Pilgrim Hymnal_, in the
first decade of this century. Since then the hymn has passed, in its
original form and rightly attributed to Wiley, into various other
collections, among them the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns
of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Willard, Rev. Samuel, 1776-1859. He graduated from Harvard College in
1803, served the First Church (Unitarian) in Deerfield, Massachusetts
1807 to 1829, when he resigned on account of blindness. In 1823 he
published a collection of 158 songs, composed by himself, and in 1830
a compilation entitled “_Sacred Music and Poetry Reconciled_,” a
hymnbook containing 518 hymns by various authors, about 180 of them
written by himself. This book was adopted for use in the Third Parish
in Hingham, Massachusetts where Willard was then living, but had
little circulation elsewhere, and none of his hymns came into general
use.
H.W.F.
Williams, Velma Curtis (Wright), East Boston, Massachusetts, July 29,
1852—January 22, 1941, Boston, Massachusetts. Wife of Rev. Theodore C.
Williams, _q.v._ Her _Hymnal: Amore Dei, compiled by Mrs. Theodore C.
Williams_, was published in Boston in 1890, revised edition 1897. It
was edited with the assistance of her husband, then minister of All
Souls’ Church, New York, where it was used, and in many other churches
as well. Mrs. Williams herself wrote no hymns.
J. 1604
H.W.F.
Williams, Rev. Theodore Chickering, Brookline, Massachusetts, July 2,
1855—May 6, 1915, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard
College in 1876, and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1882. He was
ordained minister of the Unitarian Church in Winchester,
Massachusetts, in 1882, but became minister of All Souls’ Church, New
York in 1883. He resigned in 1896, and spent two years in Europe.
After his return he served as headmaster of Hackley School, Tarrytown,
New York, 1899-1905. A classical scholar, and gifted as a poet, he
published a fine metrical translation of Virgil’s _Aeneid_, wrote a
number of hymns which are religious poetry of a high order, and
assisted his wife, Velma C. Williams, _q.v._, in compiling her
_Hymnal: Amore Dei_, 1890, revised edition 1897. A few of his hymns
appeared in this book and, with others of later date, are included in
_The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937,
as follows:
1. _As the storm retreating_, (Peace after storm)
Dated 1888.
2. _By law from Sinai’s clouded steep_, (Sabbath rest)
3. _God be with thee! Gently o’er thee_ (Inward Peace)
Dated 1889.
4. _Hast thou heard it, O my brother?_ (The Challenge of Life)
Dated 1902.
5. _In the lonely midnight_ (Christmas)
6. _Lord, who dost the voices bless_
Written for the ordination of Rev. Benjamin R. Bulkeley at
Concord, Massachusetts, 1882.
7. _My country, to thy shore_, (Hymn for the Nation)
Dated 1912.
8. _Thou rulest, Lord, the lights on high_ (Universal Praise)
Dated 1911.
9. _To hold thy glory, Lord of all_, (Dedication of a Church)
Dated 1911.
10. _When the world around us throws_, (Lent)
Dated 1899.
11. _When thy heart, with joy o’erflowing_ (Brotherhood)
Dated 1891.
Three other hymns by him, included in _Amore Dei_, have not come into
general use, viz.:
12. _Glory be to God on high_, (Universal Worship)
Dated 1889.
13. _I long did roam afar from home_,
Dated 1889.
14. _My heart of dust was made_,
Of the above all from nos. 1 to 11 are included in the _New Hymn and
Tune Book_, 1914, and, except no. 9, in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937,
which also includes no. 12. Nos. 5, 11 and 12 are in the _Pilgrim
Hymnal_, 1934.
J. 1728
H.W.F.
Willis, Love Maria (Whitcomb), Hancock, New Hampshire, June 9,
1824—November 26, 1908, Elmira, New York. She married Frederick L. E.
Willis, M.D., of Boston, in 1858. She was for some years one of the
editors of _The Banner of Light_, Boston, and of _Tiffany’s Monthly
Magazine_, and was a frequent contributor to these and other
periodicals. She wrote a number of hymns, one of which, beginning,
_Father, hear the Prayer I offer_ (Aspiration)
was published in _Tiffany’s Monthly_ in 1859. In Longfellow and
Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, it was considerably rewritten,
with the opening line changed to read,
_Father, hear the prayer we offer_,
and was cited as “Anon.” This 1864 text came into considerable use in
various collections in England, and was included in _The English
Hymnal_ as late as 1906. It has also had wide use in America and will
be found in almost all Unitarian hymn books since 1864, most recently
in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
J. 1728
H.W.F.
Willis, Nathaniel Parker, Portland, Maine, January 20, 1807—January
29, 1867. He graduated from Yale College in 1826. A journalist and
editor, he wrote for the _American Monthly_ and the _New York Mirror_.
From 1831 to 1837 he was in Europe attached to the American Legation
at the French Court. On his return he became, in 1839, one of the
editors of _The Corsair_. His works are numerous and include _Sacred
Poems_, 1843. His hymn
_The perfect world by Adam trod_,
was “Written to be sung at the Consecration of Hanover Street
[Unitarian] Church, Boston,” in 1826. It was included in Hedge and
Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, and in a good
many other collections, although of no exceptional merit.
J. 1285
H.W.F.
Wilson, Rev. Edwin Henry, D.D. Chester Park, Long Island, New York,
August 23, 1898—still living. He graduated from Boston University,
1922; from Meadville Theological School, 1926; and took the degree of
M.A. at the University of Chicago, 1928. He has served as minister of
Unitarian churches in Chicago, Illinois; Schenectady, New York; and
Salt Lake City, Utah. Since 1949 he has been Director of the American
Humanist Association. His hymn beginning,
_Where is our holy church?_
written in 1928, is included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Wilson, Rev. Lewis Gilbert, Southboro, Massachusetts, February 19,
1858—April 24, 1928, Floral City, Florida. He studied at Dartmouth,
Harvard and Meadville Theological School, and in 1883 was ordained
minister of the Unitarian Church at Leicester, Massachusetts. Later he
served the Unitarian church at Hopedale, Massachusetts, and from
1907-1915 was Secretary in the American Unitarian Association. While
there he was a member of the committee which edited _The New Hymn and
Tune Book_ published in 1914 by the Association. This book included
three of his hymns, beginning
1. _O God, our dwelling place_,
2. _O troubled sea of Galilee_,
3. _The works, O Lord, our hands have wrought_,
all three of which were written in 1912. The first of these is also
included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
H.W.F.
Young, George H. (No information available)
A hymn of 4 stanzas, L.M., beginning,
_With heart’s glad song, dear Lord, we come_,
is attributed to him in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.
H.W.F.
FOOTNOTES
[1]Frederic M. Bird, an Episcopalian clergyman, then professor at
Lehigh University, in his day the leading authority on American
hymnody.
[2]Louis F. Benson, a Presbyterian clergyman, the successor of F. M.
Bird as the foremost American hymnologist in the first third of
this century.
[3]See accompanying Catalogue of American Unitarian Hymn Books.
[4]Julian’s _Dictionary_, p. 60, lists Huntington, with Eliza Scudder
and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as Episcopalian. It is true that
Huntington joined the Episcopal church in 1859, as did Miss Eliza
Scudder in her old age, but all the hymns produced by either of
them were written while they were still Unitarians in belief, and
Harriet Beecher Stowe was a life long Congregationalist.
[5]A few graduates of Harvard College (or Divinity School), belonging
to other denominations have also written hymns, the most notable
being Samuel Francis Smith (1808-1895), the greatest hymn writer of
the 19^th century in the Baptist denomination; Phillips Brooks
(1835-1893) with his one famous Christmas hymn; and, in the present
century, Rev. Walter Russell Bowie (1882-_1969_), but the total
number of their hymns is a very small percentage of the number by
Unitarian graduates at Harvard.
[6]The numbers in brackets refer to the books listed in this
catalogue.
_Index of First Lines of American Unitarian Hymns_
which have been included in one or more published Hymn Books, with
names of their authors, to facilitate reference to the preceding
Biographical Sketches for further information. Verses by these authors
printed elsewhere than in some Hymn Book are there noted, but have
not been indexed.
A
A holy air is breathing round— Livermore, A. A.
A little kingdom I possess,— Alcott
A mighty fortress is our God— Hedge
A voice by Jordan’s shore— Longfellow, S.
A wondrous star our pioneer— Weiss
Abba, Father, hear— Anon.
Abide not in the realm of dreams,— Burleigh
Across a century’s border line— Hosmer
Again as evening’s shadow falls— Longfellow, S.
Alas! how poor and little worth— Anon.
Alas! how swift— Adams, J. Q.
All are architects of fate— Longfellow, H. W.
All beautiful the march of days— Wile
All before us is the way— Clapp, see also Emerson
All hail, God’s angel, Truth— Newell
All hail the pageant of the years— Holmes, J. H.
All hidden lie the future ways— Hosmer
All holy, ever living One— Hill
All is of God: if he but wave his hand— Longfellow, H. W.
All nature’s works His praise declare— Ware
All praise to him of Nazareth— Bryant
All that in this wide world— Bryant
All things that are on earth— Bryant
Almighty Builder, bless, we pray— Church
Almighty! hear thy children raise—
altered to
Almighty, listen while we praise— Bryant
America triumphant! Brave land of pioneers— Holmes, J. H.
Amid the heaven of heavens— Bartrum
And wherefore should I seek above— Scudder
Angel of peace, thou hast tarried— Holmes, O. W.
Another day its course hath run— Pierpont
Another year of setting suns— Chadwick
Around the throne of God, the host— Ware
As darker, darker fall around— See: Longfellow, S.
As once again we gather here— Greenwood
As shadows cast by sun and cloud— Bryant
As the storm retreating— Williams, T. C.
As tranquil streams that meet— Ham
At first I prayed for light— Cheney
B
Be thou ready, fellow-mortal— Bartol
Behold, the servant of the Lord— Anon.
Behold the western evening light— Peabody, W. B. O.
Beneath the shadow of the cross— Longfellow, S.
Beneath thine hammer, Lord— Hedge
Beneath thy trees we meet today— Weiss
Benignant Saviour: ’twas not thine,
altered to
Most gracious Saviour: ’twas not thine— Bulfinch
Blest is the hour when— Anon.
Blest is the mortal— Adams, J. Q.
Blind Bartimeus at the gate— Longfellow, H. W.
Bondage and death the cup contains— Sargent
Break the bread and pour the wine— Pierpont
Bring, O morn, thy music— Gannett
Brother, hast thou wandered far— Clarke
Burden of shame and woe— Bulfinch
By law from Sinai’s clouded steep— Williams, T. C.
C
Calm on the listening ear of night— Sears
Christ hath arisen— Hedge
Christ to the young man said— Longfellow, H. W.
City of God, how broad, how far— Johnson
Clear in memory’s silent reaches— Gannett
Close softly, fondly, while ye weep— Bryant
Come, Holy Spirit, hush my heart— Anon.
Come, let us sing— Adams, J. Q.
Come, let us who in Christ— Anon.
Come, O thou universal good— Anon.
Come, Thou Almighty King— Anon.
Come, Thou Almighty Will— See: Longfellow, S.
Come to the morning prayer— Anon.
D
Day unto day uttereth speech— Burleigh
Dear ties of mutual succor— Bryant
Deem not that they are blest alone— Bryant
Deus omnium creator— Greenough
Down the dark future thro long generations— Longfellow, H. W.
Down toward the twilight drifting— Robbins, S. D.
E
Enkindling Love, eternal Flame— Barrows
Eternal One, Thou living God— Longfellow, S.
Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round— Chadwick
Every bird that upward springs— Neale, but see Longfellow, S.
F
Faint not, poor traveller, though— Norton
Far off, O God, and yet most near— Barber
Father, beneath thy sheltering wing— Burleigh
Father divine! This deadening power control— Tuckerman
Father, give thy benediction— Longfellow, S.
Father, hear the prayer we offer— Willis, L. M.
Father! I wait Thy word— Very, J.
Father in heaven, hear us— Ames
Father in heaven, to Thee my heart—
altered to
Father in heaven, to whom our hearts— Furness
Father, in thy mysterious presence kneeling— Johnson
Father, there is no change to live with Thee— Very, J.
Father, Thou art calling— Blake
Father, thy servant waits— Burleigh
Father! Thy wonders do not singly stand— Very, J.
Father, to thee we look— Hosmer
Father, to thy kind love— Bryant
Father, to us thy children— Clarke
Father, we would not dare— Savage
Father, whose heavenly kingdom lies— Huntington
Feeble, helpless, how shall I— Furness
For all thy gifts we bless Thee, Lord— Clarke
For mercies past we praise thee— Anon.
For summer’s bloom, and autumn’s— Holland
For the dear love that kept us— Burleigh
For Thee in Zion— Adams, J. Q.
Forward through the ages— Hosmer
Freedom, thy holy light— Ham
From age to age how grandly rise— Hosmer
From age to age they gather, all the— Hosmer
From Bethany the Master— Ham
From heart to heart, from creed— Gannett
From lips divine the healing balm— Burleigh
From many ways and wide apart— Hosmer
From past regret and present faithlessness—
altered to
From past regret and present feebleness— Scudder
From street and square, from hill— Higginson
From the profoundest depths— Burleigh
G
Gently, Lord, O gently lead— Anon.
Give forth thine earnest cry— Longfellow, S.
Glory be to God on high— Williams, T. C.
Glory to God, and peace on earth— Livermore, S. W.
Go forth to life, O child of earth— Longfellow, S.
Go not, my soul, in search of Him— Hosmer
Go, preach the gospel in my name— Johnson
Go to thy rest, fair child— Anon.
God almighty and All-seeing— Pierpont
God be with thee! Gently o’er thee— Williams, T. C.
God bless our native land— Brooks and Dwight
God is good: each perfumed flower— Follen
God is in his holy temple— Longfellow, S.
God laid his rocks in courses— Gannett
God leads us on by paths— Wiley
God of mercy, do Thou never— Pierpont
God of our fathers, in Whose sight— Pierpont
God of our fathers, who hast— Briggs, L. R.
God of the earnest heart— Johnson
God of the earth, the sea, the sky— Longfellow, S.
God of the glorious summer hours— Savage
God of the mountain— Anon.
God of the nations, near and far— Holmes, J. H.
God of the rolling orbs above— Peabody, O. W. B.
God of the rolling year— Anon.
God of the soul— Waterston
God of the vastness— Badger
God of Truth! Thy sons should be— Longfellow, S.
God’s law demands one living faith— Briggs, C. A.
God’s trumpet wakes the slumbering world— Longfellow, S.
Gone are those great and good— Pierpont
Grateful for another day— Marean
Great God, in heaven above— Waterston
Great God, the followers of thy Son— Ware
Great Source of Good, our God— Waterston
H
Hail the hero workers— Spencer
Hail to the Sabbath day— Bulfinch
Hark! ’tis the holy temple bell— Adams, J. Q.
Hast thou heard it, O my brother?— Williams, T. C.
Hast thou heard the bugle sounding— Savage
Hast thou wasted all the powers— Clarke
Hath not thy heart within thee burned— Bulfinch
Have mercy, O Father— Furness
He hides within the lily— Gannett
He leads us on by paths we did not know— Wiley
He sendeth sun, he sendeth— Anon.
He who himself and God would know— Longfellow, S.
Head of the church triumphant— Anon.
Hear, Father, hear our prayer— Anon.
Hear, hear, O ye nations— Hosmer
Heir of all the waiting ages— Ham
Here holy thoughts a light have shed— Emerson
Here in a world of doubt— Furness
Here in the broken bread— Furness
Here to the high and holy One— Flint
Holy Father, gracious art Thou— Furness
Holy, holy Lord— Goldsmith
Holy Son of God most high— Bulfinch
Holy Spirit, Fire divine— Hedge
Holy Spirit, source of gladness— Longfellow, S.
Holy Spirit, Truth Divine—
altered to
Holy Spirit, Light Divine— Longfellow, S.
Hosanna in the highest!— Lathrop
How blest are they whose transient years— Norton
How glorious is the hour— Bulfinch
How shall come the kingdom holy— Savage
How shall I know thee— Bryant
How softly on the western hills— Peabody, W. B. O.
I
I bless Thee, Lord, for sorrows sent— Johnson
I came not hither of my will— Hosmer
I cannot always trace the way— Anon.
I cannot find Thee, still on restless pinion— Scudder
I cannot think of them as dead— Hosmer
I cannot walk in darkness long— Mason
I feel within a want— Furness
I hear it often in the dark— Gannett
I hear Thy voice, within the silence— Ham
I heard the bells on Christmas Day— Longfellow, H. W.
I little see, I little know— Hosmer
I long did roam afar— Williams, T. C.
I look to Thee in every need— Longfellow, S.
I saw on earth another light— Very, J.
Immortal by their deed and word— Hosmer
In ages past majestic prophets— Waterston
In pleasant lands have fallen— Flint
In quiet hours the tranquil soul— Larned
In the beginning was the word— Longfellow, S.
In the broad fields of heaven— Anon.
In the lonely midnight— Williams, T. C.
In the morning I will praise—
altered to
In the morning I will pray— Furness
In the Saviour’s hour of death— Bulfinch
In Thee my powers and treasures— Scudder
Into the silent land— Longfellow, H. W.
Is there a lone and dreary hour— Gilman, C.
It came upon the midnight clear— Sears
It is a faith sublime and sure— Perkins
It is finished! Glorious word— Bulfinch
It is finished, Man of sorrows— Hedge
It singeth low in every heart— Chadwick
It sounds along the ages— Gannett
J
Jesus, a child his course began— Fuller
Jesus has lived! and we— Alger
K
Kingdom of God, the day how blest— Beach
L
Laborers of Christ, arise— Sigourney
Lead us, O Father, in the paths of peace— Burleigh
Let the still air rejoice— Pierpont
“Let there be light!” when— Anon.
Let whosoever will inquire— Scudder
Life is real! Life is earnest— Longfellow, H. W.
Life of Ages, richly poured— Johnson
Life of all that lives below— Longfellow, S.
Life of God, within my soul— Longfellow, S.
Lift aloud the voice of praise— Peabody, E.
Lift your glad voices in triumph on high— Ware
Light of ages and of nations— Longfellow, S.
Like Israel’s host to exile driven— Ware
Like pilgrims sailing through the night— Harris, F.
Lo, the day of days is here— Hosmer
Lo! the day of rest declineth— Robbins, C.
Lo, the earth is risen again— Longfellow, S.
Lo, the Easter-tide is here— Hosmer
Look from Thy sphere— Bryant
Lord, beneath thine equal hand—
altered to
Lord, beneath whose equal hand— Hall
Lord deliver, thou canst save— Follen
Lord, I believe, and in my faith— Badger
Lord, in this sacred hour— Bulfinch
Lord, in thy garden agony— Anon.
Lord, may the spirit of this feast— Anon.
Lord of all being, throned afar— Holmes, O. W.
Lord of all, we bow before Thee— Waterston
Lord of all worlds— Adams, J. Q.
Lord of the worlds below— Freeman
Lord, once our faith in man— Johnson
Lord, when thine ancient people cried— Sewall
Lord, who dost the voices bless— Williams, T. C.
Lord, who ordainest for mankind— Bryant
Love for all! and can it be— Longfellow, S.
M
Many things in life there are— Hosmer
Meek and lowly, pure and holy— Anon.
Meek hearts are by sweet manna fed— Anon.
Men whose boast it is that ye— Lowell
Mighty One, before whose face— Bryant
Mine eyes have seen the glory— Howe
Morning, so fair to see— Silliman
Mortal, the angels say— Anon.
My country, to thy shore— Williams, T. C.
My feet are worn and weary— Anon.
My God, I rather look to Thee— Scudder
My God, I thank Thee: may no thought— Norton
My God, I thank Thee that the night—
altered to
O God, I thank Thee— Pierpont
My God, in life’s most doubtful hour— Hurlburt
My heart of dust was made— Williams, T. C.
My life flows on in endless song— Anon.
My Shepherd is the Lord— Adams, J. Q.
My soul, before thy Maker— Adams, J. Q.
Mysterious Presence, Source of all— Beach
N
Nature with eternal youth— Waterston
No human eyes Thy face may see— Higginson
Not always on the Mount may we— Hosmer
Not given to us from out the sky— Wendte
Not gold, but only men can make— See under Emerson
Not in the solitude— Bryant
Not in vain I poured my supplication— Burleigh
Not only doth the voiceful day— Burleigh
Not when, with self dissatisfied— Hosmer
Now on land and sea descending— Longfellow, S.
Now sing we a song of the harvest— Chadwick
Now with creation’s morning song— Longfellow, S.
Now while the day in trailing splendor— Hosmer
Now while we sing our closing hymn— Longfellow, S.
O
O, all ye people— Adams, J. Q.
“O beautiful, my country”— Hosmer
O blest the souls that see and hear— Hosmer
O bow Thine ear, Eternal One— Pierpont
O church of freedom and of faith— Longfellow, S.
O day of light and gladness— Hosmer
O deem not that earth’s crowning bliss— Burleigh
O Father, fix this wavering will— Longfellow, S.
O Father, take this new-built shrine— Hale, E. E.
O Father, Thou who givest all— Holmes, J. H.
O Father, while I live, I pray— Holmes, J. H.
O for a prophet’s fire— Furness
O from these visions, dark— Bartrum
O God! a temple to thy name— Longfellow, S.
O God, accept this sacred hour— Gilman, S.
O God, I thank Thee for each sight— Mason
O God, in whom we live and move—
altered to
O Thou, in whom we live and move— Longfellow, S.
O God of freedom! Hear us pray— Chapman
O God of Light and Love— Waterston
O God, our dwelling-place— Wilson, L. G.
O God, thou giver of all good— Longfellow, S.
O God! thy children gathered here— Longfellow, S.
O God unseen, but ever near— Longfellow, S.
O God, whose dread and dazzling brow— Bryant
O God, whose law is in the sky— Savage
O God, whose presence glows in all— Frothingham, N. L.
O God, whose smile is in the sky— Holmes, J. H.
O God, with goodness all thine own— Adams, J. Q.
O heal me, Lord— Adams, J. Q.
O heavenly gift of love divine— Very, J.
O Holy Father, mid the calm— Burleigh
O holy, holy, holy, art Thou— Longfellow, S.
O, judge me, Lord— Adams, J. Q.
O Life that maketh all things new— Longfellow, S.
O Light, from age to age the same— Hosmer
O Lord my God! how great— Adams, J. Q.
O Lord of hosts, Almighty King— Holmes, O. W.
O Lord of life, thy kingdom is at hand— Ham
O Lord of Life, where’er they be— Hosmer
O Lord, thy all-discerning— Adams, J. Q.
O Love Divine, lay on me burdens— Huntington
O Love Divine, of all that is— Chadwick
O Love Divine, that stooped to share— Holmes, O. W.
O Love of God most full— Clute
O my country, land of promise— Ham
O Name, all other names above— Hosmer
O North, with all thy vales— Bryant
O Prophet souls of all the years— Hosmer
O sing with loud and joyful song— Blake
O speed thee, Christian— Anon.
O star of truth, down shining— Savage
O stay thy tears; for they are blest— Norton
O still in accents sweet and strong— Longfellow, S.
O suffering Friend of all mankind— Bulfinch
O that the race of men— Adams, J. Q.
O the beautiful old story— Alcott
O Thou, at whose dread name we stand— Sprague
O thou great Friend to all the sons— Parker
O Thou, in all thy might so far— Hosmer
O thou in lonely vigil led— Hosmer
O Thou in whom alone is found— Ware
O Thou, in whom we live and move— Longfellow, S.
O Thou, in whose Eternal Name— Huntington
O Thou that once on Horeb stood— Huntington
O Thou to Whom in ancient times— Pierpont
O Thou to whom in prayer and praise— Church
O Thou who art above all height— Pierpont
O Thou who art my King— Badger
O Thou, who art of all that is— Hosmer
O Thou, who hearest prayer— Anon.
O Thou who on the whirlwind rides— Pierpont
O Thou who on thy chosen Son— Ware
O Thou who turnest into morning— Loring, L. P.
O thou whose gracious presence— Ham
O Thou, whose liberal sun and rain— Longfellow, S.
O Thou, whose love can ne’er forget— Bryant
O Thou whose own vast temple stands—
altered to
Thou, whose unmeasured temple stands— Bryant
O Thou, whose perfect goodness crowns— Chadwick
O Thou, whose Spirit witness bears— Hosmer
O Thou with whom in sweet content— Foote, H. W., I
O troubled sea of Galilee— Wilson, L. G.
O what concerns it him whose way— Norton
O when the hours of life are past— Peabody, W. B. O.
O why should friendship grieve— Anon.
O wondrous depth of grace— Anon.
O’er continent and ocean— Holmes, J. H.
O’er Kedron’s stream and Salem’s— Pierpont
O’er mountaintops, the mount— Anon.
Oh, who shall roll the stone away— Ham
On earth was darkness spread— Anon.
On eyes that watch through sorrow’s night— Hosmer
Once to every man and nation— Lowell
One holy church of God appears— Longfellow, S.
One saint to another I heard say— Very, J.
One sweet flower has drooped and faded— Waterston
One thought I have, my ample creed— Hosmer
Onward, onward, through the region— Johnson
Oppression shall not always reign— Ware
Our Father, while our hearts unlearn— Holmes, O. W.
Our house, our God, we give to Thee— Lowell
Our pilgrim brethren, dwelling far— Livermore, S. W.
Out of every clime and people— Longfellow, S.
Out of the dark, the circling sphere— Longfellow, S.
Out of the heart of nature rolled— Emerson
P
Peace, peace on earth! The heart— Longfellow, S.
Praise for the glorious light— Hale, M. W.
Praise to God and thanksgiving— Gannett
Praise to the living God— Gannett and Mann
R
Remember me, the Saviour said— Frothingham, N. L.
Richly, O richly have I been— Furness
Ring, O ring, ye Christmas bells— Ham
S
Saviour and dearest friend— Anon.
Saviour, and source of every blessing— Anon.
Saviour, when thy bread we break— Robbins, S. D.
Seek not afar for beauty— Savage
Send down thy truth, O God— Sill
Send forth, O God, thy truth— Adams, J. Q.
Servants of Christ, arise— Sigourney
Set from the restless world apart— Marean
Show us thy way, O God— Holmes, J. H.
Sing forth his high eternal name— Longfellow, S.
Sing to Jehovah a new song— Adams, J. Q.
Sing to the Lord a song— Adams, J. Q.
Slavery and death the cup contains— Sargent
Sleep, my little Jesus— Gannett
Slowly, by Thy hand unfurled—
altered to
Slowly by God’s hand unfurled— Furness
Sovereign and transforming Grace— Hedge
Sovereign of worlds! display— Anon.
Spirit Divine! attend our prayer— Longfellow, S.
Spirit of God, in thunder speak— Chadwick
Spirit of Truth, of Life, of Power— Westwood
Standing forth in life’s rough way— Bryant
Still wave our streamer’s glorious folds— Sears
Still will we trust, though earth— Burleigh
Strong-souled Reformer, whose— Johnson
Supreme Disposer of the heart— See: Longfellow, S.
Sure to the mansions of the blest— Adams, J. Q.
Swift years, but teach me— Anon.
T
Take my heart, O Father— Anon.
Take our pledge, eternal Father— Mott
Tell me not in mournful numbers— Longfellow, H. W.
That God is Love, unchanging Love— Furness
The ages one great minster seem— Lowell
The brightening dawn and— Burleigh
The bud will soon become a flower— Very, J.
The builders, toiling through the days— Ham
The changing years, Eternal God— Mason
The earth, all light and loveliness— Miles
The evening wind begins to blow— Long
The God that to our fathers— Savage
The heavens thy praise are telling— See: Longfellow, S.
The land our fathers left to us— Higginson
The Lord gave the word— Frothingham, N. L.
The Lord is in his holy place— Gannett
The loving Friend to all who bowed— Longfellow, S.
The morning hangs its signal— Gannett
The outward building stands complete— Hosmer
The past is dark with sin and shame— Higginson
The past yet lives in all its truth— Appleton
The patriarch’s dove, on weary wing— Frothingham, N. L.
The perfect world by Adam trod— Willis, N. P.
The rose is queen among the flowers— Hosmer
The Saviour said “Yet one thing more”— Longfellow, H. W.
The spirit of the Lord has stirred— Mott
The summer days are come again— Longfellow, S.
The sun is still forever sounding— Hedge
The very blossoms of our life— Savage
The voice of God is calling— Holmes, J. H.
The Will Divine that woke a waiting time— Johnson
The works, O Lord, our hands— Wilson, L. G.
The world throws wide its brazen gates— Weiss
Theories, which thousands cherish— Waterston
There cometh o’er the spirit— Very, W.
There is a beautiful land— Burleigh
There is a strife we all must wage— Bulfinch
There is a world, and O how blest— Anon.
There is a world eye hath not seen— Attributed to Very, J.
There is no flock, however watched— Longfellow, H. W.
They are slaves who will not choose— Lowell
Thirsting for a living spring— Appleton
This child we dedicate— Gilman, S.
This day let grateful praise ascend— Hale, M. W.
Thou art my morning, God of light— Robbins, S. D.
Thou art, O God! my East— Robbins, S. D.
Thou art the Way, and he— Anon.
Thou, infinite in love— Miles
Thou glorious God, before whose face— Chadwick
Thou Grace Divine, encircling all— Scudder
Thou gracious Power, whose mercy— Holmes, O. W.
Thou Life within my life, than self— Scudder
Thou Lord of hosts, whose guiding hand— Frothingham, O. B.
Thou Lord of life, our saving health— Longfellow, S.
Thou mighty God, who didst of old— Chadwick
Thou One in all, thou All in one— Beach
Thou only Living, only True— Furness
Thou must go forth alone— Anon.
Thou rulest, Lord, the lights on high— Williams, T. C.
Thou unrelenting past— Bryant
Thou, who didst stoop below— Miles
Thou who dost all things give— Furness
Thou whose glad summer yields— Johnson
Thou whose love didst give us birth—
altered to
Thou whose love brought us to birth— Foote, H. W., II.
Thou whose spirit dwells in all— Chadwick
Through the changes of the day— Burleigh
Through willing heart and helping hand— Hosmer
Thy kingdom come, O Lord— Hosmer
Thy kingdom come, on bended knee— Hosmer
Thy praise, O God, in Zion waits— Kimball
Thy seamless robe conceals Thee not— Chadwick
Thy servants’ sandals, Lord— Johnson
Thy way, O Lord, is in the sea— Badger
’Tis not Thy chastening hand— Anon.
’Tis winter now; the fallen snow— Longfellow, S.
To him who children blessed— Clarke
To hold thy glory, Lord of all— Williams, T. C.
To light that shines in stars and souls— Johnson
To prayer! for the day that God hath blest— Ware
To prayer, the glorious sun is gone— Ware
To prayer, to prayer, for morning breaks— Ware
To the High and Holy One— Furness
To the truth that makes us free— Furness
To Thee, O God in heaven— Clarke
To thine eternal arms, O God— Higginson
Today be joy in every heart— Hosmer
Toiling through the livelong night— Bulfinch
Touch Thou mine eyes— Ham
Turn not from him who asks of thee— Very, J.
Turn to the stars of heaven— Adams, J. Q.
’Twas in the East, the mystic East— Hedge
’Twas the day when God’s anointed— Hedge
U
Unto thy temple, Lord, we come— Collyer
Unworthy to be called thy son— Furness
Uplift the song of praise— Hosmer
W
We ask not that our path— Burleigh
We bless Thee for this sacred day— Gilman, C.
We follow, Lord, where thou— Anon.
We go not on a pilgrimage— Very, J.
We have not wings; we may not soar— Longfellow, H. W.
We honor those whose work began— Horton
We love the venerable house— Emerson
We meditate the day— Frothingham, N. L.
We pray for truth and peace— Hurlburt
We pray no more, made lowly wise— Hosmer
We see the gallant streamer yet— Sears
We sowed a seed in faith and hope— Longfellow, S.
We will not weep, for God is standing by— Hurlburt
What has drawn us thus apart— Chadwick
What is the world that it should share— Furness
What is this that stirs within— Furness
What means this glory round our feet— Lowell
What power unseen by mortal eye— Bulfinch
What purpose burns within our hearts— Savage
Whatever dims the sense of truth— Hale, M. W.
When adverse winds and waves arise— Sigourney
When Christ with all his shining train— Prince
When courage fails, and faith burns low— Hosmer
When doomed to death the Apostle lay— Bryant
When from the Jordan’s gleaming wave— Longfellow, S.
When gladness gilds our prosperous day— Burleigh
When God upheaved the pillared earth— Pray
When he who from the scourge of wrong— Bryant
When in silence o’er the deep— Hale, M. W.
When Israel’s foes, a numerous host— Fernald
When, o’er the billow-heaving— Adams, J. Q.
When, on devotion’s seraph wing— Miles
When shadows gather on our way— Hosmer
When shall the voice of singing— Anon.
When the blind suppliant— Bryant
When the constant sun returning— Hosmer
When the gladsome day declineth— Savage
When the world around us throws— Williams, T. C.
When this song of praise shall cease— Bryant
When thy heart, with joy o’erflowing— Williams, T. C.
Where ancient forests round us spread— Norton
Where is our holy church?— Wilson, E. H.
Where men on mounts of vision— Hosmer
While thus [now] thy throne of grace— Robbins, C.
While with lips with praise that glow— Pierpont
Whither, midst falling dew— Bryant
Who is thy neighbor? He whom thou— Peabody, W. B. O.
Who would sever freedom’s shrine?— Gilman, S.
Why come not spirits— Anon.
Why should I fear— Adams, J. Q.
Why slumbereth, Lord, each— Anon.
Why weep for those, frail child— Loring, W. J.
Wild was the day, the wintry sea— Bryant
Will God, who made the earth— Follen
Wilt Thou not visit me?— Very, J.
With heart’s glad song, dear Lord— Young
With loving hearts and hands— Ames
With praise and prayer our gifts we bring— Ware
Wonders still the world shall witness— Trapp
Work, and thou shalt bless the day— Dana
Y
Years are coming, speed them— Ballou
Yes, to the last command— Gilman, S.
Transcriber’s Notes
--This eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.
--Corrected a few palpable typographical errors.
--Restored a book name, _Hymns of the Ages_, that had apparently dropped
out of page 149 of the typescript.
--Added a heading “Biographical Sketches” for consistency with the Table
of Contents.
--Tweaked the form of some personal names to be consistent; and added
links where possible.
--Created a Book Cover Image, released for free and unrestricted use
with this eBook.
--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "American Unitarian Hymn Writers and Hymns" ***
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