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Mary Mapes Dodge

1830 - 1905 Hymnal Number: d26 Author of "Father, we thank thee" in Praise Him Mary Mapes Dodge is the often referred to as the "leader in juvenile literature" (Clarke, 1059), for she helped create and perpetuate the most widely circulated and read children's magazine during a time when American printing technology greatly improved and enabled the mass production of magazines and books. Dodge was born on January 26, 1831 in New York City. She grew up in a prominent family with two sisters. Her "own reminiscences were of 'a devoted father and mother and a happy childhood, a remarkably happy childhood, watched over with loving care'" (Gannon 3). Beginning in her early childhood, Dodge and her sisters were educated by a tutor in their home. Their father introduced them to a large variety of literature from the Bible to Shakespeare because at that time Dodge's father believed that children's literature was "a dreary wasteland" (Gannon 4). Dodge's early exposure to literature enabled her to develop a gift and appreciation for art, music, and writing. In her teenage years, Dodge could skillfully write and she assisted her father with his writings for pamphlets. In 1851 Mary celebrated her marriage to William Dodge, and within the next 4 years, she gave birth to two sons, James and Harrington. The Dodge family confronted several hardships throughout their life together. In 1857, William faced serious financial difficulties concerning debts and the destruction of the company he worked for. During that same year, at the age of six, their son James was diagnosed with a fatal sinus disease. The effect of these disastrous events caused William to leave his family in 1858. He left for a walk from which he never returned. A month after his disappearance his body was found dead from an apparent drowning. After the death of her husband, Mary was left in a bad financial position and with two sons to raise on her own. At this time, Mary "resolved 'to take up her life again in the old spirit of rejoicing; to rear and educate her boys as their father would have done; to do a man's work with the persistent application and faithfulness of a man, to gain a man's pay, yet to leave herself freedom and freshness to enter into all her children's interests and pursuits as their comrade and friend" (Gannon 7). Mary would not allow the unfortunate events of her husband's death and financial difficulty stand in her way from educating her sons and providing them with the life they deserved. In addition to educating her sons, she began writing and editing in 1859. Mary worked with her father to publish two magazines, the Working Farmer and the United States Journal. The editorial work she used for these magazines helped to shape her writing skills, which she later applied to edit the most successful children's magazine of her time. Some of Mary's early writings before the publication of St. Nicholas include The Irvington Stories (1864) and Hans Brinker (1865). Hans Brinker is by far Dodge's most well known story, for it was published in several languages all over the world and this classic was considered "the best and most faithful juvenile story" (Clarke 1063). Four years after the publication and success of Hans Brinker, Dodge began working for a newspaper known as Hearth and Home." Dodge worked on the juvenile and household departments under the editorship of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Roswell Smith, one of the founders of the children's magazine Scribner's Monthly, observed Dodge's work at Hearth and Home. Smith considered Dodge for the editor of his newly created children's magazine, St. Nicholas, named for the patron saint for children. Dodge faced a difficult decision because she wanted to pursue novel writing and other challenging fields, but her heart remained with children. "Many gifted men and women were writing novels; no one was doing all that could be done--ought to be done--for the boys and girls" (Clarke 1063), and thus Dodge accepted the position of editor for St. Nicholas. Dodge's goal for her children's magazine was to create literature that inspired and interested children. In 1873 she anonymously wrote for Scribner's Monthly,"a successful children's magazine "must not be a milk-and-water variety of the periodical for adults. In fact, it needs to be stronger, truer, bolder, more uncompromising than the other; its cheer must be the cheer of the bird-song; it must mean freshness and heartiness, life and joy" (Clarke 1063). Mary clearly illustrates here her intention for the path St. Nicholas. Mary hoped to portray the traditional values of society, to educate children, to provide enjoyable entertainment, and to prepare them for "life as it is" (Kelly 380). Dodge took careful consideration for the layout of her magazine so she could fulfill her goals for a successful children's magazine. Two important obstacles confronted Dodge when she considered the type of articles to include in her magazine. The first problem she faced was how to entice her readers and maintain their attention. Dodge's technique to overcome this problem was the use of "regular departments" and "reader involvement" (Gordon, 380). The most famous regular department found in her magazine was 'Jack-in-the-Pulpit'. 'Jack-in-the-Pulpit' was "the inimitably wise and witty little preacher whose tiny discourses of the keenest sense and most inspiriting nonsense, . . . were a feast for the mind and souls of young folks every month" (Clarke 1065). Jack was a maternal type character that reflected Dodge's own personality. Dodge hoped to instill value and morals into the children without directly preaching to them. Jack provided an advantageous resource for accomplishing this goal because he was witty, humorous, and sincere. The children reading the story could easily identify with Jack's "preachings" and accept them because they were not directly aimed at the reader. In addition, Dodge added two more characters, Deacon Green and Little Schoolma'am, to provide authority figures and the introduction of new and interesting knowledge for the readers. The second technique Dodge employed for her periodical was reader involvement. Dodge included two features, "The Puzzle Box" and "The Letter-Box." "The Puzzle Box" provided entertainment for the readers through riddles or games. The answers to these games, however, were not included in the issue of the magazine. Readers had to send their answers to the publisher for judging, and only then could they find out the true answers. "The Letter-Box" included letters written to Dodge from the readers. Publication for readers was not only included in this section, but Dodge also encouraged children to contribute their own literature to the magazine. St. Nicholas became one the most successful magazines for children during the second half of the nineteenth century. Circulation increased to almost 70,000 children all over the U.S. The success of this periodical can be attributed to Dodge's dedication and the many contributors. Dodge's persistence in finding extraordinary talents such as Louisa May Alcott, Rudyard Kipling, President Theodore Roosevelt, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Sarah Orne Jewett provided a variety of intellectual and artistic material for children every month. St. Nicholas' began in 1873 and continued for the next 30 years with a few publications after Dodge's death in 1905. Dodges dedication to children is clearly evident in the hard work she devoted to this magazine. Dodge is an inspirational women who set goals people thought impossible, but ones she was able to achieve. In a memoir written after Dodge's death in a St. Nicholas publication, Dodge is described as a woman who put her heart into her work and achieved the goals she put forth. "What she attempted, she performed. There was no emergency, great or small, to which she was not equal; there was no Hill of Difficulty" (Clarke 1064). She was a woman to be truly admired, for her thirty years of work dedicated to children has influenced the world of periodicals ever since. --www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/gcarr/ (excerpts)

J. Freeman Young

1820 - 1885 Person Name: J. F. Young Hymnal Number: d225 Author of "Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright" in Praise Him John Freeman Young (1820-1885) Born: October 30, 1820, Pittston, Maine. Died: November 15, 1885, New York City. Buried: Old City Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida. Young attended Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut; Wesleyan Seminary, Readfield, Maine; and the Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia. Ordained a Protestant Episcopal minister, he served in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and New York, and became the second bishop of Florida in 1867. His works include: Carols for Christmas Tide (New York: Daniel Dana, Jr., 1859) Hymns and Music for the Young, 1860-61 Great Hymns of the Church (editor; published posthumously in 1887 by John H. Hopkins) --www.hymntime.com/tch

James Oren Thompson

1834 - 1917 Person Name: J. O. Thompson Hymnal Number: d55 Author of "The call for reapers" in Praise Him Born June 9, 1834 in Waldo, ME. He was a minister before joining the army and fighting in the Civil War. After the war he joined the Methodist Episcopal Maine Conference in 1866. He transferred to the Providence, RI conference and retired in 1886. He moved to Keyser, WV and edited The Mountain Echo. He then moved to Charleston, WV and served as secretary of the Agriculture. In 1905 he moved to St. Petersburg, FL where he was the minister at the First Ave. Methodist Church. He died Sept. 28, 1917. From Hymn Studies http://homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/

Robert Seagrave

1693 - 1759 Hymnal Number: d211 Author of "Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings" in Praise Him Robert Seagrave was born at Twyford, Leicestershire, in 1693. He studied at Clare Hall, Cambridge, graduating in 1718. In 1739, he was appointed Sunday Evening Lecturer at Lorimer's Hall, London. He afterwards preached in the Tabernacle, in connection with the Calvinistic Methodists. The date of his death is unknown. He published some treatises on doctrinal subjects, and on the duties of the ministry. In 1742, he published "Hymns for Christian Worship." His hymns have been published by Sedgwick (1860). --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872. ==================================== Seagrave, Robert, M.A., son of Robert Seagrave, Vicar of Twyford, Leicestershire, was born at Twyford, Nov. 22, 1693, and educated at Clare College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1714. Taking Holy Orders he entered most earnestly into the movement then being carried forward by the Wesleys and Whitefield; and between 1731 and 1746 he issued numerous letters and pamphlets, &c, designed to awaken in the clergy a deeper earnestness in their work. In 1739 he was appointed Sunday Evening Lecturer at Loriners' Hall, London, where he continued to preach till 1750. He also occupied Whitefield's Tabernacle from time to time. His hymns, which were better known and more highly appreciated by the older compilers than those in modern days, and will still repay perusal, were included in his collection, published by him for use at the Loriner's Hall, as Hymns for Christian Worship, partly composed, and partly collected from Various Authors, 1742. The 4th edition was published in 1748, and the originals were reprinted by D. Sedgwick as Seagrave's Hymns, in 1860. Two of these hymns are still in common use:— 1. Now may the Spirit's holy fire. Opening of a Place of Worship. This, from Hymns for Christian Worship, &c, 1742, was given by G. Whitefield as the opening hymn of his Hymns for Social Worship, &c, 1753. It was repeated in Toplady's Psalms & Hymns, 1776; and again in later collections to modern hymnbooks. 2. Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings. Pilgrim's Song. Also from his Hymns, &c, 1742, into G. Whitefield's Hymns, &c, 1753; and again in others to modern hymn books. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Anne R. Richter

Hymnal Number: d283 Author of "We believe" in Praise Him Richter, Anne, ne'e Rigby, was the third daughter of the Rev. Robert Rigby, Vicar of St. Mary's, Beverley, Yorkshire, from 1791 to 1823, and married the Rev. W. H. Richter, sometime Chaplain of the County Gaol at Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire, and then Rector of St. Paul's, Lincoln. Mrs. Richter died at 23 Minster Yard, Lincoln, in 1857. She contributed to various magazines, and published The Nun and Other Poems, Hull, 1841. Her intimate literary acquaintances included Mrs. Hemans. Mrs. Richter was descended from the celebrated John Bradshaw, whose name is the first in the list of the signatures on the death warrant of Charles I. Her hymn, "We have not seen Thy footsteps tread," in its altered form as "We saw Thee not when Thou didst come," is widely used in Great Britain and America. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

M. B. Williams

Hymnal Number: d264 Author of "My mother's Bible" in Praise Him Milan Bertrand Williams; evangelist; fl. 1896-1910 LOC Name Authority Files

Arthur Bardwell Patten

Person Name: Arthur B. Patton Hymnal Number: d54 Author of "Faith of our mothers, living yet [still]" in Praise Him

Robert Lowry

1826 - 1899 Hymnal Number: d152 Author of "Christ arose" in Praise Him Robert Lowry was born in Philadelphia, March 12, 1826. His fondness for music was exhibited in his earliest years. As a child he amused himself with the various musical instruments that came into his hands. At the age of seventeen he joined the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, and soon became an active worker in the Sunday-school as teacher and chorister. At the age of twenty-two he gave himself to the work of the ministry, and entered upon a course of study at the University of Lewisburg, Pa. At the age of twenty-eight he was graduated with the highest honors of his class. In the same year of his graduation, he entered upon the work of the ministry. He served as pastor at West Chester, Pa., 1851-1858; in New York City, 1859-1861; in Brooklyn, 1861-1869; in Lewisburg, Pa., 1869-1875. While pastor at Lewisburg, he was also professor of belles lettres in the University, and received the honorary degree of D. D. in 1875. He then went to Plainfield, N. J., where he became pastor of Park Avenue Church. In each of these fields his work was crowned with marked success. Dr. Lowry was a man of rare administrative ability, a most excellent preacher, a thorough Bible student, and whether in the pulpit or upon the platform, always a brilliant and interesting speaker. He was of a genial and pleasing disposition, and a high sense of humor was one of his most striking characteristics. Very few men had greater ability in painting pictures from the imagination. He could thrill an audience with his vivid descriptions, inspiring others with the same thoughts that inspired him. His melodies are sung in every civilized land, and many of his hymns have been translated into foreign tongues. While preaching the Gospel, in which he found great joy, was his life-work, music and hymnology were favorite studies, but were always a side issue, a recreation. In the year 1880, he took a rest of four years, visiting Europe. In 1885 he felt that he needed more rest, and resigned his pastorate at Plainfield, and visited in the South and West, also spending some time in Mexico. He returned, much improved in health, and again took up his work in Plainfield. On the death of Wm. B. Bradbury, Messrs. Biglow & Main, successors to Mr. Bradbury in the publishing business, selected Dr. Lowry for editor of their Sunday-school book, Bright Jewels, which was a great success. Subsequently Dr. W. Doane was associated with him in the issue of the Sunday-school song book, Pure Gold, the sales of which exceeded a million copies. Then came Royal Diadem, Welcome Tidings, Brightest and Best, Glad Refrain, Good as Gold, Joyful Lays, Fountain of Song, Bright Array, Temple Anthems, and numerous other volumes. The good quality of their books did much to stimulate the cause of sacred song in this country. When he saw that the obligations of musical editorship were laid upon him, he began the study of music in earnest, and sought the best musical text-books and works on the highest forms of musical composition. He possessed one of the finest musical libraries in the country. It abounded in works on the philosophy and science of musical sounds. He also had some musical works in his possession that were over one hundred and fifty years old. One of his labors of love some years ago was an attempt to reduce music to a mathematical basis. On the established fact that Middle C has two hundred and fifty-six vibrations per second, he prepared a scale and went to work on the rule of three. After infinite calculation and repeated experiments, he carried it far enough to discover that it would not work. A reporter once asked him what was his method of composition — "Do you write the words to fit the music, or the music to fit the words?" His reply was, "I have no method. Sometimes the music comes and the words follow, fitted insensibly to the melody. I watch my moods, and when anything good strikes me, whether words or music, and no matter where I am, at home or on the street, I jot it down. Often the margin of a newspaper or the back of an envelope serves as a notebook. My brain is a sort of spinning machine, I think, for there is music running through it all the time. I do not pick out my music on the keys of an instrument. The tunes of nearly all the hymns I have written have been completed on paper before I tried them on the organ. Frequently the words of the hymn and the music have been written at the same time." The Doctor frequently said that he regarded "Weeping Will Not Save Me" as the best and most evangelistic hymn he ever wrote. The following are some of his most popular and sweetest gospel melodies: "Shall We Gather at the River?," "One More Day's Work for Jesus," "Where is My Wandering Boy To-night?," "I Need Thee Every Hour," "The Mistakes of My Life," "How Can I Keep from Singing?," "All the Way My Saviour Leads Me," "Saviour, Thy Dying Love," "We're Marching to Zion," etc. "Shall We Gather at the River?" is perhaps, without question, the most widely popular of all his songs. Of this Mr. Lowry said: "It is brass band music, has a march movement, and for that reason has become popular, though for myself I do not think much of it." Yet he tells us how, on several occasions, he had been deeply moved by the singing of that hymn, "Going from Harrisburg to Lewisburg once I got into a car filled with half-drunken lumbermen. Suddenly one of them struck up, "Shall We Gather at the River?" and they sang it over and over again, repeating the chorus in a wild, boisterous way. I did not think so much of the music then as I listened to those singers, but I did think that perhaps the spirit of the hymn, the words so flippantly uttered, might somehow survive and be carried forward into the lives of those careless men, and ultimately lift them upward to the realization of the hope expressed in my hymn." "A different appreciation of it was evinced during the Robert Raikes' Centennial. I was in London, and had gone to meeting in the Old Bailey to see some of the most famous Sunday-school workers in the world. They were present from Europe, Asia, and America. I sat in a rear seat alone. After there had been a number of addresses delivered in various languages, I was preparing to leave, when the chairman of the meeting announced that the author of "Shall We Gather at the River?" was present, and I was requested by name to come forward. Men applauded and women waved their handkerchiefs as I went to the platform. It was a tribute to the hymn; but I felt, when it was over, that, after all, I had perhaps done some little good in the world, and I felt more than ever content to die when God called." On Children's Day in Brooklyn, in 1865, this song was sung by over forty thousand voices. While Dr. Lowry said, "I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative, receptive congregation than write a hymn," yet in spite of his preferences, his hymns have gone on and on, translated into many languages, preaching and comforting thousands upon thousands of souls, furnishing them expression for their deepest feelings of praise and gratitude to God for His goodness to the children of men. What he had thought in his inmost soul has become a part of the emotions of the whole Christian world. We are all his debtors. Rev. Robert Lowry, D. D., died at his residence in Plainfield, K J., November 25, 1899. Dead, yet he lives and his sermons in gospel song are still heard and are doing good. Dr. Lowry was a great and good man, and his life, well spent, is highly worthy of a place among the world's greatest gospel song and hymn writers. -- Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers ------- Lowry, Robert, D.D., son of Crozier Lowry, was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1826, and educated at Lewisburg University. Having received ordination as a Baptist Minister, his first charge was at West Chester, Pennsylvania. From thence he passed to New York City, and then to Brooklyn, N. Y. In 1876 he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric in his University. On resigning his Professorship he undertook the charge of the 2nd Baptist Church, New Jersey. Dr. Lowry has been associated with some of the most popular Sunday School hymn-books published in the States, including Happy Voices, 1865; Chapel Melodies, 1868; Bright Jewels, 1869; Pure Gold, 1871; Royal Diadem, 1873; Tidal Wave, 1874; Fountain of Song1877; Welcome Tidings, 1877, &c. Of Dr. Lowry's hymns those which have attained the widest circulation are:— 1. Jerusalem, for ever bright. Heaven. Appeared in the American Tract Society's Happy Voices, 1865, with music by the author. 2. Low in the grave He lay. Resurrection of Christ. Written in 1874 and published in Brightest and Best, 1875. 3. Marching on, marching on. Sunday School Battle Song. Appeared, with music by the author, in Happy Voices, 1865. 4. My home is in heaven, my rest is not here. In Happy Voices, 1865, with music by the author. 5. My life flows on in endless song. Joy in God. In Bright Jewels, 1869; the Royal Diadem, 1873, and others in America and Great Britain, with music by the author. 6. One more day's work for Jesus. Work for Christ. Published, with music by the author, in Bright Jewels, 1869. 7. Shall we gather at the river? Mutual recognition in the Hereafter. The origin of this hymn is thus set forth in E. W. Long's Illustrated History of Hymns and their Authors, Philadelphia, 1876, p. 64:— ”On a very hot summer day, in 1864, a pastor was seated in his parlour in Brooklyn, N. Y. It was a time when an epidemic was sweeping through the city, and draping many persons and dwellings in mourning. All around friends and acquaintances were passing away to the spirit land in large numbers. The question began to arise in the heart, with unusual emphasis, ‘Shall we meet again? We are parting at the river of death, shall we meet at the river of life?' ‘Seating myself at the organ,’ says he, ‘simply to give vent to the pent up emotions of the heart, the words and music of the hymn began to flow out, as if by inspiration:— ‘Shall we gather at the river, Where bright angel feet have trod?’" In 1865 the hymn and music were given in Happy Voices, No. 220, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines and a chorus. The hymn has since passed into a great number of hymnals in Great Britain and America. 8. Take the wings of the morning; speed quickly thy flight. Exhortation to Repentance. Written for, and published with music by the author in, the Royal Diadem, 1873. 9. Weeping will not save me. Salvation through Faith. Published in the Chapel Melodies, 1868. 10. What can wash away my stain? Precious Blood of Jesus. Given in the Welcome Tidings, 1877, with music by the author. 11. Where is my wandering boy tonight! The absent Child. In the Fountain of Song, 1877, together with music by the author. Most of these hymns are given in Mr. I. D. Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos, Pts. i., ii. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Samuel Francis Smith

1808 - 1895 Hymnal Number: d162 Author of "My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty" in Praise Him Smith, Samuel Francis, D.D., was born in Boston, U.S.A., Oct. 21, 1808, and graduated in arts at Harvard, and in theology at Andover. He entered the Baptist ministry in 1832, and became the same year editor of the Baptist Missionary Magazine. He also contributed to the Encyclopaedia Americana. From 1834 to 1842 he was pastor at Waterville, Maine, and Professor of Modern Languages in Waterville College. In 1842 he removed to Newton, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1854, when he became the editor of the publications of the Baptist Missionary Union. With Baron Stow he prepared the Baptist collection known as The Psalmist, published in 1843, to which he contributed several hymns. The Psalmist is the most creditable and influential of the American Baptist collections to the present day. Dr. Smith also published Lyric Gems, 1854, Rock of Ages, 1870, &c. A large number of his hymns are in use in America, and several have passed into some of the English collections. Taking his hymns in common use in alphabetical order, we have the following:— 1. And now the solemn deed is done. Ordination. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 954. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, it is altered to "The solemn service now is done." 2. As flows the rapid river. Life Passing Away. In Christian Psalmody, 1833, No. 33; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, Boston, 1841; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1059. Found in a few English hymn-books, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 3. Auspicious morning, hail. American National Anniversary. Written for July 4th, 1841, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1007. 4. Beyond where Cedron's waters flow. Gethsemane. In L. Bacon's Appendix, 1833; the Psalmist, 1843, No. 220, and later collections. 5. Blest is the hour when cares depart. Divine Worship. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 947, and others. 6. Constrained by love we follow where. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of the Plymouth Hymn Book, 1857. 7. Down to the sacred wave. Holy Baptism. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns added to his Collection of 1817, in 1832, No. 510; repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 818, and in several collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 8. Hail! ye days of solemn meeting. Public Worship. An altered form of No. 26 below, in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, as an "American Hymn, 1840." 9. How blest the hour when first we gave. Holy Baptism. Appeared in the Baptist edition of thePlymouth Hymn Book, 1857, No. 1468. 10. How calmly wakes the hallowed morn. Holy Baptism. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 810, in later collections, and in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 11. Jesus, Thou hast freely saved us. Salvation. In Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 503, and others. 12. Meekly in Jordan's Holy Stream. Holy Baptism. Contributed to The Psalmist, 1843, No. 808. 13. My country, 'tis of thee. National Hymn. "Written in 1832, and first sung at a children's Fourth of July celebration in Park Street church, Boston." Included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1000, and found in a large number of American hymn-books, but not in use in Great Britain. It is one of the most popular of Dr. Smith's compositions. Text, with note in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 14. 0 not my own these verdant hills. Bought with a Price. Appeared in Nason's Congregational Hymn Book, 1857, and given inLaudes Domini, 1884. 15. Onward speed thy conquering flight. Missions. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 892, and is found in several modern collections in Great Britain and America. Also in Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868. 16. Planted in Christ, the living Vine. Christian Fellowship; or, For Unity. Given in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 929, inLyra Sacra Americana, 1868, and several hymn-books. Of the hymns contributed by Dr. Smith to The Psalmist this is the best, and one of the most popular. 17. Remember thy Creator. Youthful Piety Enforced. In Christian Psalmody, 1832, No. 32; the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841; The Psalmist, 1843, No. 778; Lyra Sac. Americana, 1868, and other collections. 18. Sister, thou wast mild and lovely. Death and Burial. Written on the death of Miss J. M. C. of Mount Vernon School, Boston, July 13,1833, and published in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 1096. 19. Softly fades the twilight ray. Sunday Evening. Written in 1832, and included in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 56. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, and several hymn-books. 20. Spirit of holiness, descend. Whitsuntide. Appeared in the Hymns for the Vestry and Fireside, 1841, No. 295, and again in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 384. In the Unitarian Hymns for the Church of Christ, Boston, 1853. St. ii., iii., iv. were given as "Spirit of God, Thy churches wait." This form of the text and the original are both in modern hymn-books. 21. Spirit of peace and holiness. Institution of a Minister. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 953, and Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. 22. The morning light is breaking. Missions. Written in 1832, and included in Hastings's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 253; and The Psalmist, 1843, No. 912. This hymn is very popular and has been translated into several languages. Dr. Smith says of it that “it has been a great favourite at missionary gatherings, and I have myself heard it sung in five or six different languages in Europe and Asia. It is a favourite with the Burmans, Karens, and Telegus in Asia, from whose lips I have heard it repeatedly.” 23. The Prince of Salvation in triumph is riding. Missions. Given in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1832-33, No. 274; The Psalmist, 1843, and later collections. 24. Tis done, the [important] solemn act is done. Ordination. Appeared in The Psalmist 1843, No. 951, and later hymn-books. 25. Today the Saviour calls. Invitation. First sketch by Dr. Smith, the revised text, as in Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, No. 176, and The Psalmist, No. 453, by Dr. T. Hastings (p. 495, i. 19). 26. Welcome, days of solemn meeting. Special Devotional Services. Written in 1834, and given in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. See No. 8. 27. When shall we meet again ? Parting. This is a cento. The first stanza is from Alaric A. Watts's Poetical Sketches, &c, 1822, p. 158 ; and st. ii.-iv. are by Dr. Smith. In this form it was published in L. Bacon's Supplement to Dwight, 1833, No. 489. It is in several American hymn-books; and also the English Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858, &c. 28. When the harvest is past and the summer is gone. Close of Worship. Contributed to Hastings and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1831, No. 244; and repeated in the Fuller and Jeter Supplement to The Psalmist, 1847, No. 22, and later collections. 29. When thy mortal life is fled. The Judgment. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 379, and repeated in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 455, and later hymn-books. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. 30. While in this sacred rite of Thine. Holy Baptism. Appeared in The Psalmist, 1843, No. 803: Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868, &c. 31. With willing hearts we tread. Holy Baptism. In The Psalmist, 1843, No. 798; and again in the Baptist Praise Book, 1871. 32. Yes, my native land, I love thee. A Missionary's Farewell. Contributed to Winchell's Additional Hymns, 1832, No. 445, and found in later collections. Also in Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Joseph Mohr

1792 - 1848 Hymnal Number: d225 Author of "Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright" in Praise Him Joseph Mohr was born into a humble family–his mother was a seamstress and his father, an army musketeer. A choirboy in Salzburg Cathedral as a youth, Mohr studied at Salzburg University and was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church in 1815. Mohr was a priest in various churches near Salzburg, including St. Nicholas Church. He spent his later years in Hintersee and Wagrein. Bert Polman ================= Mohr, Joseph, was born at Salzburg, Austria, on Dec. 11, 1792. After being ordained priest on Aug. 21, 1815, by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, he was successively assistant at Ramsau and at Laufen; then coadjutor at Kuchl, at Golling, at Vigaun, at Adnet, and at Authering; then Vicar-Substitute at Hof and at Hintersee--all in the diocese of Salzburg. In 1828 he was appointed Vicar at Hintersee, and in 1837 at Wagrein, near St. Johann. He died at Wagrein, Dec. 4, 1848. The only hymn by him translated into English is:— Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht! Christmas. This pretty little carol was written for Christmas, 1818, while Mohr was assistant clergyman at Laufen, on the Salza, near Salzburg, and was set to music (as in the Garland of Songs) by Franz Gruber, then schoolmaster at the neighbouring village of Arnsdorf (b. Nov. 25, 1787, at Hochburg near Linz, died June 7, 1863, as organist at Hallein, near Salzburg). What is apparently the original form is given by 0. Kraus, 1879, p. 608, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines, and in Dr. Wichern's Unsere Lieder, Hamburg, 1844, No. 111. Another form, also in 3 stanzas of 6 lines, is in T. Fliedner's Lieder-Buch für Kleinkinder-Schulen, Kaiserswerth, 1842, No. 115, and the Evangelical Kinder Gesang-Buch, Basel, 1867. The translations are from the text of 1844. 1. Holy night! peaceful night! All is dark. By Miss J. M. Campbell in C. S. Bere's Garland of Songs, 1863, and thence in Hymns & Carols, London, 1871. 2. Silent night! hallowed night. Land and deep. This is No. 131 in the Christian Hymn Book, Cincinnati, 1865. It is suggested by, rather than a translation of the German. 3. Holy night! peaceful night! Through the darkness. This is No. 8 in J. Barnby's Original Tunes to Popular Hymns, Novello, N. D., 1869; repeated in Laudes Domini, N.Y., 1884, No. 340. 4. Silent night! holy night! All is calm. This is in C. L. Hutchins's Sunday School Hymnal, 1871 (1878, p. 198), and the Sunday School Hymn Book of the Gen. Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 1873, No. 65. 5. Peaceful night, all things sleep. This is No. 17, in Carols for St Stephen's Church, Kirkstall, Leeds, 1872. 6. Silent night, holiest night. All asleep. By Dr. A. Edersheim, in the Sunday at Home, Dec. 18, 1875, repeated in the Church Sunday School Hymn Book, 1879, No. 35. 7. Silent night! holy night! Slumber reigns. By W. T. Matson, as No. 132, in Dr. Allon's Children's Worship, 1878. 8. Still the night, holy the night! Sleeps the world. By Stopford A. Brooke, in his Christian Hymns, 1881, No. 55. Translations not in common use:-- (1) "Stilly night, Holy night, Silent stars," by Miss E. E. S. Elliott, privately printed for the choir of St. Mark's, Brighton, about 1858, but first published in the Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor, 1871, p. 198. Also in her Tune Book for Under the Pillow, 1880. (2) "Holy night! calmly bright," by Mary D. Moultrie in Hymns & Lyrics by Gerard Moultrie, 1867, p. 42. (3) "Silent night, holiest night! Moonbeams," by C. T. Brooks, In his Poems, Boston, U. S., 1885, p. 218. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================ Mohr, Joseph, p. 760, ii. The translation "Stilly night, starry and bright," in Farmer's Glees & Songs for High Schools, 1881, p. 36, is by Archdeacon Farrar. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church