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J. H. Kurzenknabe

1840 - 1927 Hymnal Number: 203 Composer of "[No sweeter song is heard on earth]" in Greater Christian Hymns Kurzenknabe, John Henry. (Muenchhof, Kurhessen, Germany, June 18, 1840--April 13, 1927, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). German Reformed layman. His parents died of cholera when he was five, and he was placed in a boarding school. When 14, he came to the United States with his violin and his share ($500) of his parents' estate. During the 48-day voyage, he attended an elderly sick woman, a Mrs. Ziegler from Wilkes-Barre, Penn., whose family helped him settled in the States. He attended Wyoming Seminary nearby, where he studied music and perfected his English. Even before graduation, he taught violin and began teaching singing classes in the area. In 1856, William B. Bradbury came to Wilkes-Barre for a six-week musical institute. He was so impressed with Kurzenknabe's talent that he offered him, still only 16 years old, $50 a month and board to accompany him to other institutes as an assistant teacher. Two years later, Kurzenknabe was teaching a class in Hagerstown, Maryland. At the final concert, one of the soloists became ill and a 14-year-old girl, Susan Shaffer, filled the role so well they eloped to Greencastle, Penn., and were married on November 13, 1859. They had 15 children, moving every few years until 1869 when they settled permanently in Harrisburg. J.H. (as he preferred to be called) tried to enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War, but was rejected because of his flat feet. He became a U.S. citizen on November 2, 1866. He opened the first piano story in Harrisburg. He continued to teach singing classes, published his many song-books under the imprint J.H. Kurzenknabe & Sons, organized a band and an orchestra, and was an early and active member of the Board of Trade. Long active in the local German Reformed Church, as the city expanded he organized St. John's Sunday School in 1893 which became St. John's Chapel in 1899 at Fourth and Maclay Streets. This has kept growing so that the present church buildings include Kurzenknabe Auditorium. As president of the Pennsylvania State Music Teachers' Association, he presided over their convention in Harrisburg, December 26-28, 1894. For the occasion, he prepared a concert with 300 voices and orchestra which was conducted by W.W. Gilchrist of Philadelphia. From this grew the Harrisburg Choral Society. That same year, he became the local examiner for the London (England) College of Music. He wrote the words and/or the music to over 650 hymns. His song-books went through several editions, selling a total of over 300,000 copies. In 1904, with his daughter Lily he made an extended trip back to his native Germany. On his 50th wedding anniversary, the wedding march was played by six sons and a daughter. His wife died on March 24, 1920, at the age of 75. He followed her at the age of 86. --Information furnished by great-grandson, John G. Kurzenknabe. Additional essays are available in the DNAH Archives. =============================== Born: June 18, 1840, Mönchdorf, Kurhessen, Germany. Buried: East Harrisburg Cemetery, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Kurzenknabe, J. H., music teacher and author, was born in Moenchehof, near Cassel, Curhessen, Germany, Jun 18, 1840. He is a son of John George and Anna Kurzenknabe. He was left an orphan in childhood. He attended the Industrial School at Cassel. When he was fourteen years old he bade farewell to friends and home, September 15, 1854, and set out to seek his fortune in the New World, sailing from Bremerhaven for America on the following day. By mistake he was transferred to a ship on which all were strangers to him, but he was buoyant with hope and free as a bird. During the voyage of forty-nine days, being a very clever violinist, he made friends among the officers and crew and became also a general favorite with the passengers, so that he was the pet of the ship. His especial attention was attracted to an old lady who was sick during the whole voyage. Her children in America had sent money to bring over their old mother. To this helpless woman he ministered in his boyish way as best he could. The forty-nine days' voyage was tempestuous, and minus mast, and storm-beaten, the ship hove in sight of the eagerly looked-for land. On her arrival at New York, the children of the old lady were there to meet her, to whom she told the story of the boy's kindness. In this family he found a temporary home, and in years to come he was not forgotten by them. Arrangements were made for him to go to a seminary in Pennsylvania, where under Christian training he found a safe shelter and valuable instruction. Having a talent for music he followed this bent, and in that institution of learning he prosecuted his musical studies and made for himself a name as a teacher of the violin and vocal music. He was afterwards placed under the care and instruction of William B. Bradbury, then the most prominent teacher of music in the country. After a thorough course under this master, Mr. Kurzenknabe started on his own responsibility. His first and only attempt to teach singing and a day-school together in a Maryland town was a total failure, but the very next engagement, which was at Sag Harbor, L. I., proved a complete success. After teaching successfully in Baltimore and other Maryland towns, he visited the New England States and taught conventions in a number of important cities. He then returned to Hagerstown, Md., where his lot fell in pleasant places, and here, too, he found the wife to cheer him through his busy life. He taught successfully in Baltimore, York, Pa., Harrisburg, Philadelphia and New York, and last in Camden, N. J., where the first child, a boy, greeted the parents and cheered their hearts. His next place of residence and teaching was Moorestown, N. J., and the next Philadelphia, where a daughter was born. The war coming on, the New England States seemed safer than Pennsylvania, hence Dedham, Mass., became the next home. Fine classes in Yankee land, war songs and teaching in most of the prominent town brought money to the purse, but sickness claimed the boy for a victim. Repeated and urgent invitations from Maryland friends to make a change, for the boy's sake, induced the Kurzenknabes to disregard the threatening perils of war and journey southward. Antietam and Gettysburg brought the armies of both sides, and the great invasion left the family destitute and helpless, with but five dollars in money and a railroad ticket to Sunbury, Pa., whence the floods drove them back. Mercersburg and study for the ministry were quickly decided upon. But exciting debates of the church involved theological gladiators and their followers, and too free a tongue was not the wisest thing to have in those days of trial. Fairy visions vanished. The advent of twin boys made an increase of income imperative and teaching was the only resource. A house was purchased at McConnelsburg, but sold after an occupancy of two years. Mechanicsburg was home for a short time, and finally Harrisburg became the permanent residence, and a house was purchased which is still home. Teaching for twenty-seven years in many different States, sometimes hundreds of miles from home, always joyous, looking at the bright side of life, active, with plenty of grit, yet with his heart centered where the loved ones stay, earnest, enthusiastic, this is J. H. Kurzenknabe as his friends and scholars know him. Professor Kurzenknabe is the author and compiler of the following books: "Sweet Silver Echoes," "Music at Sight," "Gospel Trio," "Songs and Glees," "Wreath of Gems," "Song Treasury," "Peerless Praise," "Gates Ajar," "Sowing and Reaping," " Theory of Music," "Fair as the Morning," and "Kindly Light." The sale of "Sowing and Reaping" has rached over 280,000 copies, and over 190,000 copies of "Fair as the Morning" have been sold. "Kindly Light" starts in with 20,000 copies engaged in advance of publication. All of htese books are published by his well-known house of J. H. Kurzenknabe & Sons, Harrisburg, Pa. Mr. Kurzenknabe was married in Greencastle, Pa., November 13, 1859, to Susan Shafer, daughter of George and Frederica Shafer, residents of Hagerstown, Md. Professor Kurzenknabe is at present a member of Salem Reformed church, which, as elder, he represented for many years at Classis and in the Synod. He belongs to Peace and Plenty Lodge, No. 69, I. O. O. F., Harrisburg Encampment, No. 301, the I. O. of H., and several other organizations. He is often for weeks from home, attending conventions, gospel services and children's gatherings. He eats and sleeps well, is in perfect health, is five feet nine inches in height, turning the scale at two hundred pounds, and knowing nothing by experience of sickness. You will find him a hale-fellow-well-met. May his days of usefulness be many and his talent ever be active in the Master's cause, till the welcome summons, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," calls him to the rest that awaits the people of God. This sketch is prepared by one of his loyal friends and ardent admirers. http://maley.net/transcription/sketches/kurzenknabe_j_h

J. W. von Goethe

1749 - 1832 Person Name: J. W. Von Goethe Hymnal Number: 312 Author of "Purer Yet And Purer" in Greater Christian Hymns Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, son of Johann Caspar Goethe, a lawyer at Frankfurt-am-Main; was born at Frankfurt Aug. 28,1749, and died at Weimar, March 22, 1832. The greatest German poet of his day, and one of the most famous literary men of his own or any age, his sympathies were Classical rather than distinctively Christian; and as he himself said (Conversations with Eckerman, January 4, 1827), he wrote no poems suited for use in public worship. A few pieces, principally from his well-known dramatic poem of Faust (pt. i. 1808; pt. ii. pub. posthumously, 1832), are found under his name in one or two Unitarian hymn-books. Good translations of both parts of Faust have been published by Dr. John Anster, Bayard Taylor, Sir Theodore Martin, and others; while a very large number of other persons have published translations of the first part. No attempt has accordingly been made to notice any translations except those in the hymn-books. i. From Faust, pt. i., 1808. i. Christ ist erttanden! Freude dem Sterbliche. Easter. The chorus of angels on Easter Day. Translated as “Christ has arisen! Joy to our buried Head," by Dr. F. H. Hedge, in his Supplement to Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, U.S., 1853, No. 836. A free version is also noted under A. C. Cox, No. 4. ii. Die Sonne tönt nach alter Weise. Praise. The Song of the three Archangels in the Prologue in Heaven. Translated as "The sun is still for ever sounding," by Dr. F. H. Hedge, as above, 1853, No. 190. iii. Verlassen nab ich Feld und Auen. [Evening]. Faust's Soliloquy on entering his study with the dog, Translated as "O'er silent field and lonely lawn," as No. 21 in W. J. Fox's Hymns & Anthems, 1841, repeated in English and American Unitarian collections. ii. Miscellaneous. iv. Des Maurers Wandeln. Written for the Freemasons' Lodge at Weimar, of which he became a member in 1780, and included in his Werke, 1828, vol. iii. p. 61, entitled "Symbolum." Translated as "The Mason’s ways are A type of Existence," by T. Carlyle, in his Past and Present, 1843, p. 318. Included,beginning "The future hides in it" (st. ii.), as No. 854 in Dr. Hedge's Collection, 1853, as above. Two pieces are also found in collections under his name, viz.:— 1. Without haste! without rest, in Hymns of the Ages, Boston, U.S., 3rd Ser., 1865, p. 76, and repeated as "Without haste and without rest," in Stopford Brooke's Christian Hymns, 1881, &c. It is suggested by " Wie das Gestern Ohne Hast, Aber Ohne Hast, Drehe sich jeder, Urn die eigne Last," in Goethe's Zahme Xenien, 2nd Ser., 1823 (Werke, 1828, iii. p. 245). 2. Rest is not quitting The busy career. [Rest]| This is part of a piece beginning "Sweet is the pleasure Itself cannot spoil." No. 853 in Dr. Hedge's Collection, 1853, as above, marked as by " J. S. Dwight." There does not appear to be any equivalent poem in Goethe's Werke. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, (1907) =========================== Goethe, J. W. von, p. 441, i. The Exeter Unitarian Hymns, Psalms and Anthems, of 1863 and 1884, contains the several additional hymns from Goethe, the translations in each case being by the Rev. T. W. Chignell. Some of the versions are very free, and the distinctively Christian character of the translations is only very faintly present in the originals. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

E. Adams

Hymnal Number: 49 Author of "Safe Within The Vail" in Greater Christian Hymns

John M. Evans

Person Name: J. M. Evans Hymnal Number: 49 Composer of "["Land ahead!" its fruits are waving]" in Greater Christian Hymns Evans, John M. (Hilltown, Pennsylvania, November 30, 1825--?). Baptist. Appointed superintendent of the Sunday School at Tenth Baptist Church, Philadelphia, in 1854. Under his direction, the Sunday School became the first in that city to make music a prominent feature of its activities. In 1872, he was elected President of the Baptist Sunday School Association of Philadelphia. Author of several hymns and tunes. Included in Devotional Hymn Book (Philadelphia, 1864) is the text "Amid the joyous scenes of earth" which is interesting in that the refrain is the same as the one for the Doddridge text "Oh, happy day, that fixed my choice." --Deborah Carlton Loftis, DNAH Archives

J. G. Dailey

1854 - 1927 Person Name: J. G. D. Hymnal Number: 16 Author of "Why Did My Savior Come To Earth?" in Greater Christian Hymns Born: Circa March 1854, Delaware (was living in New Castle County in 1860). Dailey moved to Brockwayville, Pennsylvania, with his mother in 1872, and was still there as of 1892. In 1900 he was in Fredonia Village, New York, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1910 & 1920. His works include: A Collection of Gospel, Temperance, and Prohibition Songs, What’s the News (Brockwayville, Pennsylvania: 1888) Love (Brockwayville, Pennsylvania: 1892) Prohibition Chimes for Temperance, Prohibition and All Reform Meetings (New York: Dailey & Mead, 1900) --www.hymntime.com/tch/ Additional information and photos can be found here: James Gerald Dailey II (1854-1927) and Fear Not, Little Flock.

Clarence Hudson

Hymnal Number: 41 Composer of "[Jesus, meek and gentle]" in Greater Christian Hymns

Chas. H. Marsh

1885 - 1956 Person Name: Charles H. Marsh Hymnal Number: 209 Composer of "[You serve but one Master]" in Greater Christian Hymns Born: April 8, 1886, Magnolia, Iowa. Died: April 12, 1956, La Jolla, California. Buried: Riverview Cemetery, Brawley, California. Marsh’s father was pastor of the Congregational Church in Magnolia, Iowa. His gift for the piano was evident at an early age, and after he graduated from high school, Wilbur Chapman asked him to play for the Winona Lake Chautauqua and Bible Conference in Indiana. He later taught at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (1915-19) and the University of Redlands (1919-26). He studied music in France in the 1920’s, and became president of the European School of Music and Art in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From 1928 to 1932, he played the organ at the First Presbyterian Church. In 1932, he moved to Florida to become professor of organ at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and to serve as organist and choir director at the First Baptist Church. In 1935, he moved to California, where he worked as district supervisor for the Federal Music Project in San Diego until 1939. He also played the organ and directed the choir at St. James-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in La Jolla (1936-56). Sources: Erickson, pp. 345-46 Hustad, p. 281 http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/a/r/s/marsh_ch.htm

Laura E. Newell

1854 - 1916 Hymnal Number: 287 Author of "I Lean On His Wonderful Might" in Greater Christian Hymns Born: February 5, 1854, New Marlborough, Connecticut. Died: October 13, 1916, Manhattan, Kansas. Daughter of Mr. and Edward A. Pixley, but orphaned as an infant, Laura was adopted by her aunt, then Mrs. Hiram Mabie, who at the time lived in New York. In 1858, the Mabie family moved to a farm south of where Wamego, Kansas, now stands. Two years after the move, Mr. Mabie died, and his wife resumed teaching. In 1860, Mrs. Mabie accepted a position in Topeka, Kansas, where she taught many years. Under her tutelage, Laura received her education. As early as age 12, Laura was writing rhymes, and two years later her poems began to appear in local newspapers. She had no thought of a literary career; she simply wrote to give vent to her poetical mind. In 1871, Laura married Lauren Newell, a carpenter from Manhattan, Kansas. They had at least six children, and belonged to the Congregational denomination. In 1873, Laura was listening to an address by a speaker who lamented the death of "genuine" hymns, and she resolved to try her hand in that line of work. That began a long period of writing songs, sacred and secular, services for all anniversary occasions, cantatas, adapting words to music, and music to words. "Mrs. Newell is indeed a prolific writer. Her poems number in the thousands. She has had over eight hundred poems published in a single year, a most remarkable record. The great ease with which Mrs. Newell writes is one of her special gifts. Not long since an order, accompanied by music and titles, was sent her for eight poems to suit. At seven o’clock in the evening she sat down to her organ to catch the music. Then she went to her desk, and at ten o’clock the order was ready for the return mail. Her work pleased the publisher so well that he sent her an order for forty-eight additional poems. Mrs. Newell writes several hundred poems annually. She is a very modest and unpretentious lady, and goes about her daily work as cheerfully as her poems advise others to do. The deeply religious character of the woman stands out boldly in nearly all her work. The next world is apparently as real to her as the present. Her heart is in her work, and to the end of life’s chapter, while able, may she wield her pen to tell the Story to dear to her heart, in verse and song." Hall, pp. 316-17 http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/n/e/w/newell_lep.htm

Alexcenah Thomas

1857 - 1910 Hymnal Number: 245 Author of "Tis The Harvest-Time" in Greater Christian Hymns

Charles Hutchinson Gabriel, Jr.

1892 - 1934 Person Name: Chas. H. Gabriel, Jr. Hymnal Number: 102 Composer of "[To the shining heights above us, we are marching on today]" in Greater Christian Hymns Born: March 2, 1892, San Francisco, California. Pseudonym: Jean Howard. Gabriel was living with his parents in Cook County, Illinois, in 1910. He was still there in 1920 with his wife Ethel. In 1926, he was musical director and announcer for radio station KLX in Oakland, California. By 1930, he and his wife were in Los Angeles County, California. The January 30, 1926 issue of Colliers magazine said of him: "Gabe" has experienced all those changes which the Fates deem necessary to broaden one’s views. He has taught music in the Indianapolis [Indiana] and Northwestern Conservatories; edited mechanical and automobile magazines; traveled with Billy Sunday; been a newspaper reporter; rewrite man; music editor and book reviewer. In his spare time he has managed to produce eight hundred compositions which have been printed. He first became interested in radio when he was appointed director of WGN in Chicago [Illinois]. --www.hymntime.com/tch/