1822 - 1891 Person Name: Hervey D. Ganse, 1822-91 Meter: 6.4.6.4.6.6.6.4 Author of "Nearer, My God, to Thee" in Lutheran Worship Ganse, Hervey Doddridge, was b. Feb. 27, 1822, near Fishkill, New York, and removed to New York city in 1825. Graduated at Columbia College, 1839, studied Theology at New Brunswick, New Jersey, and was ordained in 1843. From 1843 to 1856 he was a Reformed Dutch Pastor, at Freehold, New Jersey, and from 1856 to 1876, of the Northwest Reformed Dutch Church, New York. Since January 1, 1876, he has been the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, St. Louis. His chief hymns are:—
1. Lord, I know Thy grace is nigh me. Faith. Was composed on a winter's night in his bed¬room, in a farmhouse near Freehold, New Jersey, while on a visit of consolation to former parishioners. The first couplet came into his mind without forethought, and he adds, "I composed on my pillow in the darkness; completing the verses with no little feeling, before I slept." This hymn appeared in the Reformed Dutch Hymns of the Church, New York, 1869, and is somewhat widely used.
2. Eternal Father, when to Thee. Holy Trinity. Dated 1872, and included in Hymns & Songs of Praise, N. Y., 1874, No. 7.
3. From the vast and veiled throng. Adoration of the Heavenly Hosts. Dated 1872, and published in the Hymns & Songs of Praise, N. Y. 1874, No. 13.
4. Is this the Son of God! Surrender to God. Dated 1872, also pub. in the Hymns & Songs of Praise, 1874, No. 541.
5. Jesus, one word from Thee. Confidence and Security in Christ, Dated 1872, and given in the Hymns & Songs of Praise, 1874, No. 697.
6. Thou Who like the wind dost come. Prayer for the Holy Spirit. No. 378 in the Hymns & Songs of Praise, 1874, and dated 1873,
These hymns are unknown to the English collections. He died in 1891. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Ganse, H. D., p. 404, i. He died Sept. 8, 1891. The following hymns, additional to those already noted, have recently come into common use:--
1. The blessed saints about Thee. [Second Advent.] Dated 1887. Included in Stryker's Church Song, 1889, and his College Hymnal, 1897.
2. It was no love of mine, dear Lord. Dated 1887, and included in Stryker's collections. [Rev. L. F. Benson, D.D.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
H. D. Ganse