Biographical Sketches with Notes on Hymns (continued 3)

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.

193

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.

194

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.

195

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.

196

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,

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.

197

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

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.

198

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.

199

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.

200

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.

201

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,

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?” 202 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.

203

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.

204

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 205 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.

206

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

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 207 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

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, 208 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.

209

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

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.

210

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.

211

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.

212

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.

213

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 214 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.

215

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,

In most cases the opening stanza has been omitted and the hymn has begun with the second stanza,

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.

216

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

In The New Hymn and Tune Book, 1914, another arrangement of stanzas forms a hymn beginning

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.

217

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,

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.

218

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

219

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

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

These alterations may have brought the hymn into closer accord with orthodox theology, but at the expense of some of its poetic 220 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.

221

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

2. When adverse winds and waves arise(Trust)

Neither hymn has had later use.

J. 1057, 1589. H.W.F.

222

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.

223

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.

224

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.

225

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.

226

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

227

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

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.

228

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.

229

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 230 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.

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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

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 232 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

was adapted for evening worship. A third selection, beginning with the third stanza of the poem,

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)

233

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.

234

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.”

235

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

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.

236

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.

237

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.

238

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.

239

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.

240

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 241 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.

242

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.

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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.

244

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.

245

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.

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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.

247

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.