American Unitarian Hymn Writers and Hymns

Compiled by Henry Wilder Foote for the Hymn Society of America for publication in the Society’s proposed Dictionary of American Hymnology

_Contents_:

(1) Historical Sketch of American Unitarian Hymnody. (Pages 1-11) (2) Catalogue of American Unitarian Hymn Books. (Pages 12-36) (3) Alphabetical List of Writers. (Pages 37-39) (4) Biographical Sketches, with Notes on Hymns. (Pages 40-247) (5) Index of First Lines of Published Hymns. (Pages 248-270)

Cambridge, Massachusetts January, 1959

I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Misses Ruth and Orlo McCormack in the preparation of this compilation.

H.W.F.

_American Unitarian Hymnody_

In the first edition of Julian’s _Dictionary of Hymnology_ (1891) F. M. Bird[1] wrote, “The Unitarians—possessing a large share of the best blood and brain of the most cultivated section of America—exhibit a long array of respectable hymnists whose effusions have often won the acceptance of other bodies,” (pp. 58-59). And in this century Louis F. Benson[2] in his classic book _The English Hymn_ (p. 460) wrote, “It is not surprizing that a body including the best blood and highest culture of Massachusetts shared in the Literary Movement [of the 19^th century] and succeeded in imparting to its hymn books a freshness of interest in great contrast to those of the orthodox churches” and that “from their [the compilers’] hands there proceeded —— a series of hymn books whose literary interest was very notable” (p. 462).

This succession of Unitarian hymn writers over a period of approximately 150 years can best be traced in the nearly 50 hymn books compiled by individuals or committees for use in Unitarian churches.[3] The editors of these books were among the best educated men of their time, who knew where to look for fresh lyrical utterances of a living faith. The earliest of them lived in the period when the traditional metrical psalms which, for more than two centuries, had been almost the only worship-song of the English speaking world, were being slowly superseded by the songs of a new age. These songs they chiefly found in the various hymn-books published for use in English Non-conformist chapels when the Church of England still generally adhered to the Old or New Versions of the Psalms. It was from these sources that Jeremy Belknap first introduced to Americans the hymns of Anne Steele, and included in his _Sacred Poetry_ (1795) hymns by Addison, Cowper, Newton, Doddridge and other English contemporaries. When, in 1808, the vestry of Trinity Church, Boston, impatient at the delay of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in getting out a hymnal, issued one for their own use, they drew heavily upon Belknap’s collection, saying in their preface “In this selection we are chiefly indebted to Dr. Belknap, whose book unquestionably contains the best expressions of sacred poetry extant.”

Many of the later collections in this series of Unitarian hymn books have been no less notable for their introduction to use in this country of new English hymns, such as Pope’s “Father of all, in every age;” Sir Walter Scott’s “When Israel of the Lord beloved;” translations of hymns in the Roman Breviary; Sarah Flower Adams’ “Nearer, my God, to Thee” (only three years after its publication in England); and Newman’s “Lead, kindly Light;” and for the ability of their compilers to discover fresh materials near at hand, as when Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson were the first to notice the hymnic possibilities of Whittier’s poems.

The story of American Unitarian hymnody begins with the publication in 1783 of the _Collection of Hymns—designed for the use of the West Society of Boston._ This church belonged to the liberal wing of New England Congregationalism, destined to become known as Unitarian a generation later. The book contained a small selection of traditional psalms and hymns by British authors and a number of quaintly didactic moral ditties in doggerel, presumably contributed by Boston versifiers who cannot now be identified.

The first group of Unitarian hymn-writers whose names are known and whose productions have survived did not begin to write until the opening decades of the 19^th century. Of this group the earliest born was John Quincy Adams, (1767-1848), best remembered as the sixth President of the United States. That he was also a hymn writer, and the only president of the country who was one, has generally been forgotten. Two or three hymns by him were written earlier but most of them came from the period following his retirement from the presidency in 1829. Soon after that event he wrote one for the 200^th anniversary of the First Church in Quincy, of which he was a member, and later in life he composed a metrical paraphrase of the whole Book of Psalms. When Dr. Lunt, minister of the Quincy church, was preparing his _Christian Psalter_, 1841, Mrs. Adams put into his hands the mss. of her husband’s poems, and Lunt included in his book five hymns and seventeen psalms by his distinguished parishioner. None of them rose above the level of respectable verse but his version of Psalm 43 survived in one or more hymn books 100 years later.

Rev. John Pierpont (1785-1866) was a poet of considerable abilities whose verses were in demand for special occasions and whose hymns were the best lyrical expressions of the developing new thought in religion. W. Garrett Horder, the English hymnologist, wrote that Pierpont’s hymn of universal praise was “the earliest really great hymn I have found by an American author.” It is still in use, as are two others by him.

Prof. Andrews Norton (1786-1853) of the Harvard Divinity School, published a hymn as early as 1809 and a good deal of verse in later years, much of it in a rather sombre introspective mood, but with one fine hymn still in use. He was followed by Rev. Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham (1793-1870) who wrote a good many hymns for special occasions, one of which survives today, and by Rev. Henry Ware, Jr. (1794-1843) who wrote a number of hymns highly valued as utterances of the religious idealism of the period, but long since dropped from use, except for an excellent one for the dedication of an organ, probably the only hymn in the English language written expressly for such an occasion. William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), a lay man of letters, was another of the elder members of the famous group of New England poets of the 19^th century, and as early as 1820 he contributed 5 hymns to Sewall’s _New York Collection_, published in that year, and he later wrote others.

The latest born of this first group who attained memorable distinction in this field was Rev. Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890), whose earliest hymn, still in use, was written in 1829, but who is best known for his great translation of Luther’s “Ein’ feste Burg,” and for a fine Good Friday hymn. He collaborated with Rev. Frederic Dan Huntington[4] (1819-1904) then the college preacher at Harvard, in compiling _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, (1853), to which Huntington contributed five hymns, none now in use. Their book was the last and best of the various _Collections_ published up to the middle of the century by editors who belonged to what was becoming the conservative wing of the denomination, to whom Emerson’s _Divinity School Address_ of 1838 seemed dangerously radical.

But meantime a new era in Unitarian hymnody was opening with the publication in 1846 of the _Book of Hymns_ edited by Samuel Longfellow (1819-1891) and Samuel Johnson (1822-1882), while they were still studying in the Harvard Divinity School. Both had come under the influence of the Transcendentalist movement which was liberalizing Unitarian thought and they eagerly sought out hymns which were fresh expressions of their youthful outlook on religion. The book was notable for the new sources of hymns which they discovered, among them the poems of John Greenleaf Whittier, which they were the first to introduce into a hymn book.

Their _Book of Hymns_ was followed in 1864 by their larger and even more influential _Hymns of the Spirit_, which includes most of their own hymns and many by other Unitarian writers of the period, too numerous to name here, but whose hymns are listed in the catalogue of writers appended to this introductory sketch. Samuel Johnson wrote only half a dozen hymns, but they are among the finest in the language. Samuel Longfellow wrote many more, the best of which are quite equal to Johnson’s, and together they made a more important contribution to American Unitarian hymnody than that of any other writers in the middle of the 19^th century.

This was the period of “the flowering of New England literature” and two of its poets, besides those already named, made their contribution to hymnody. The more important of the two was Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, (1809-1894) with half a dozen fine and widely used hymns, and Prof. James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) who, strictly speaking, was hardly a hymn writer at all, but from whose poems two or three have been quarried. Two other writers of this period were Rev. Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810-1876) and his niece, Miss Eliza Scudder (1819-1896). Sears wrote two Christmas hymns widely used throughout the English speaking world. Miss Scudder wrote half a dozen hymns in a mystical vein of the highest quality, but in temperament and outlook both writers belong more to the earlier period of Unitarian thought than to that prevalent in their later lifetime.

In this mid-century period should also be included the famous war-time hymn by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,” written in 1861 to provide worthier words than “John Brown’s body” for the popular tune “Glory, Hallelujah”, which had been composed a few years earlier for a Sunday School in Charleston, South Carolina.

A third period in Unitarian hymnody began with the appearance of hymns by three good friends, Rev. John White Chadwick (1840-1906), Rev. Frederic Lucian Hosmer (1840-1929) and Rev. William Channing Gannett (1840-1923), who carried forward in the last third of the century the broadly theistic interpretation of a universal religion to which Longfellow and Johnson had given utterance. Chadwick’s first hymn was written in 1864 for the graduation of his class from the Harvard Divinity School, a great hymn of brotherhood, widely used in England as well as here. A half-dozen others of fine quality have survived. Hosmer and Gannett worked together in bringing out their book _The Thought of God in Hymns and Poems_, 1885, 1894, and _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, 1880, 1911. Neither wrote any hymns while in the Divinity School, but both began to do so soon after. In 1873 Gannett wrote a fine one which is probably the earliest in the language to give a religious interpretation to the then controversial doctrine of evolution, and later a half dozen others to which deep feeling is expressed in beautiful lyrical verse. Hosmer, however, was a much more prolific writer, producing more than 40 hymns which have had some use. He was a meticulous craftsman who studied the technique of hymn-writing, and several of his hymns are among the finest in the language. Canon Dearmer, a leading authority on hymnody in the Church of England, included seven of them in his _Songs of Praise_ and calls one of them “this flawless poem, one of the completest expressions of religious faith,” and says another is “one of the noblest hymns in the language.” For approximately 40 years, c. 1880-1920, Hosmer was the outstanding hymn writer in the English speaking world, and he left no successor who was his equal in the perfection of his finest hymns.

A smaller but important contribution to the Unitarian hymnody of this period was made by Rev. Theodore Chickering Williams (1855-1915) who, while still a student in the Harvard Divinity School wrote one of the best ordination hymns in the language, and, in later years, eight others, still in use, which are religious poetry of a high order.

The latest period in Unitarian hymnody, covering the last half-century, is notable for the productions of two writers, Rev. Marion Franklin Ham (1867-1957) and Rev. John Haynes Holmes, (1879-still living). Although he had published a volume of poems in 1896 Dr. Ham did not begin to write hymns until 1911, but thereafter he produced a succession of beautiful religious lyrics, eight or ten of which have come into use. Some of them are utterances of a profound mystical insight akin to that of Eliza Scudder, but others are expressions of a world-wide theism, and one has been translated into Japanese.

Rev. John Haynes Holmes has been a more prolific writer, author of about 45 hymns, many written for special occasions, but 10 or 15 others have come into general and widespread use. His hymns are in a quite different key from those of Dr. Ham’s quiet mysticism, generally being stirring calls to social justice and the service of mankind, though a few are hymns of gratitude for the simple joys of life. While he has infrequently attained the felicity of phrasing which results in a memorable line his hymns are cast in vigorous and often stirring verse, expressing a noble altruism and a wholesome attitude towards life.

M. F. Ham and J. H. Holmes are the latest notable figures in this era of 150 years since the beginning of American Unitarian hymnody, throughout which scores of lesser writers have also contributed their offerings to the main stream. These writers are far too numerous to name in this outline sketch but their thumbnail biographies and notations as to their hymns will be found in the following catalogue. A survey of this whole era discloses the evolution in liberal religious thought from the period when the emphasis was on the sinfulness of man and the redemptive function of the Christian Church, to the vision of a world wide religion taking in many forms, and manifested in that service of mankind which found expression in the “social gospel” in the first half of this century.

The production of so great a number of fine hymns (and of a long series of hymn books of a superior type) over so long a period, by persons belonging to one of the smallest Protestant denominations, commonly considered coldly intellectual rather than emotional in its approach to religion, is a phenomenon unique in the history of hymnody. When the first edition of the _Pilgrim Hymnal_ was published in 1910 it listed both the nationality and the church membership of the authors included, which led to the disclosure that nearly half the American authors were Unitarians who had contributed considerably more than half the hymns of American authorship. In answer to critics Dr. Washington Gladden replied that this was due to the simple fact that the Unitarians had written a larger number of the best hymns than had the American writers in other denominations.

Canon Dearmer in England observed the same fact and was puzzled to explain it. The explanation, however, is a simple one. With the exception of a relatively small number of writers born in other parts of the country and with different backgrounds, these Unitarian authors were men brought up in the atmosphere of the so-called “New England Renaissance,” that literary revival of which Boston, Cambridge and Concord were the chief centres in the 19^th century, and they belonged by blood, by education and by social ties to the New England literary group. The majority were also graduates of Harvard College or Harvard Divinity School, or both, in a period when the spirit of the time was most favorable to the stimulation of poetic gifts, and in a place where the intellectual level was high and there was freedom from any dogmatic control.[5] Thus they had the culture and the warmth of atmosphere needed, and the Divinity School had the admirable custom of encouraging students to write a hymn for the annual graduation exercises or for the School’s Christmas service, and so stimulated their poetic gifts.

Thanks to these favorable circumstances what has been called “the Harvard school of hymnody” has had no equal in the English speaking world, the only comparable institution being Trinity College, Cambridge, England, which, for a much briefer period (1820-1845) was the nursing mother of a notable succession of Anglican hymn writers. It was this fact which led W. Garrett Horder, an English Congregationalist who was also a highly competent hymnologist, to write, “Harvard, like our English Cambridge, has been ‘a nest of singing birds’. I was struck by this when editing _The Treasury of American Sacred Songs_. Harvard provided the bulk —— of the verse I included.” And other orthodox authorities, notably F. M. Bird and Louis F. Benson, already quoted, have borne witness to the high achievements of both the editors of the long succession of Unitarian hymn books and the authors of the hymns which they included.

_Catalogue of American Unitarian Hymn Books._ compiled by Henry Wilder Foote and reprinted (with revisions) from the Proceedings of the Unitarian Historical Society, May, 1938, by permission.

In the 17^th century, and down to the middle of the 18^th, all churches of the Congregational order in New England used the _Bay Psalm Book_, first printed in Cambridge in 1640, except for the use of Ainsworth’s _Psalter_ in the churches of the Plymouth Plantation and in the First Church in Salem for a part of the 17^th century. In the latter part of the 18^th century, the _Bay Psalm Book_ was gradually superseded by either the New Version of the Psalms (Tate and Brady) or, more generally, by one of the editions of _Watts and Select_, i.e. Isaac Watts’ _Psalms and Hymns_, with a supplement of hymns selected from other authors.

The first steps away from the Psalm books in general use were taken by two churches which were in the vanguard of the rising liberalism of the last half of the 18^th century. In 1782 the West Church in Boston published _A Collection of Hymns, more particularly designed for the Use of the West Society in Boston_ (1),[6] and in 1788 the East Church in Salem published _A Collection of Hymns for Publick Worship_, (2). These two books were of only local significance, but they clearly pointed the way which later publications were to follow. In 1795 Rev. Jeremy Belknap brought out his _Sacred Poetry_ (3), which was an attempt to produce a book which should be acceptable to both the liberal and the orthodox wings of Congregationalism. In this purpose it failed, though it was widely used by Unitarians. The succeeding books were more definitely Unitarian in character and illustrate the changing emphasis in religious thought and practice through five generations of religious liberals. They form a notable series, for most of them attained a literary standard and spiritual outlook higher than that of other contemporary hymn books.

The earlier books in this series were very imperfectly edited, judged by modern standards. Some of them contain no preface and no indication as to the identity of the compiler. In other cases, the compiler is indicated by initials. In some cases the names of the authors of hymns are not given at all, in others only the surname, when known, and there are frequent mistaken attributions. Directions as to the music are usually lacking, the metre of each hymn alone being indicated. In some cases the names of suitable tunes are given, but only one book (18) earlier than 1868 included any music, in that case an appendix of twenty-one tunes in two parts at the back of the book. The first American Unitarian hymn book to be printed with a tune on each page was the American Unitarian Association’s _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1868 (34). Thereafter few books appeared without tunes, but half-a-dozen other collections with music were published in the next forty years, each of which had considerable use.

It will be noted that in the course of the 19^th century no less than thirty-six different hymn-books appeared, a far larger number than any other American denomination can show for the same period, and illustrative of the extreme individualism of the Unitarian churches. Throughout the middle third of the century Greenwood’s _Collection_ (13), the _Springfield Collection_ (14), and the _Cheshire Collection_ (20), had the widest use, followed in the last third of the century by the _Hymn and Tune Books_ (34) and (36) of the American Unitarian Association, but all the other collections had some local vogue, in some cases only for a brief period or only in those churches the ministers of which had compiled the collections in question. As late, however, as the beginning of the 20^th century, at least eight different hymn-books were in use in the Unitarian churches of the United States and Canada. This diversity of usage declined rapidly after the publication of _The New Hymn and Tune Book_ (45) in 1914, and had practically disappeared by the time when that book’s successor, _Hymns of the Spirit_ (48) was published in 1937.

Bibliography

Copies of at least one edition of each of the following books are in the Historical Library of the American Unitarian Association, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, except in the cases noted.

1. _A Collection of Hymns, more particularly designed for the Use of the West Society in Boston_—Boston, 1782; 2nd ed., 1803; 3rd ed., 1806; 4th ed., 1813.

The editor is said to have been Rev. Simeon Howard (1733-1804), (See Bentley’s _Diary_, II, 371), Jonathan Mayhew’s successor as minister of the West Church. Mayhew’s congregation was notably liberal and this book represents the first step away from psalm-books of the traditional type. It contains 166 hymns, including a number of classics by Watts, Barbauld, Addison, etc. The tone in general is ethical rather than theological, and many of the hymns are moral precepts in mediocre verse, some, at least, probably of local production, but the authors cannot be identified as no author is named; there is no preface, and the compiler’s name is not given.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy. There is one in the Congregational Library, 14 Beacon Street, Boston.

2. _A Collection of Hymns for Publick Worship_—Salem; n.d. (1788)

Edited by Rev. William Bentley (1750-1819) of the East Church, Salem, Mass., and used there until superseded in 1843 by Flint’s _Collection_ (17). There is no preface and the compiler’s name is not given. There are no musical directions except the metre of each hymn. The book consists of two parts, the first containing 40 psalms “according to Tate and Brady’s Version,” arranged by metre; the second containing 163 hymns of high quality, including many of the classics of the period. The book is much superior to No. 1, but had little use outside the church for which it was intended, perhaps because Bentley, though one of the earliest outspoken Unitarians, was _persona non grata_ in a Federalist stronghold on account of his political opinions.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy. There is one at The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.

3. _Sacred Poetry: consisting of Psalms and Hymns adapted to Christian devotion in publick and private. Selected from the best authors, with variations and additions_—By Jeremy Belknap, D.D., Boston, 1795.

Many editions. Some included a supplement of _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper, selected and original_, (7) prepared by Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, minister of the First Church in Dorchester, 1801. In 1812 an edition appeared with 28 additional hymns, “Selected by the successor of the Rev. Author,” i.e. by W. E. Channing.

Dr. Belknap (1744-1798) was the first Congregational minister of the Federal Street Church (his predecessors having been Presbyterians), and his immediate successor was William Ellery Channing. Belknap endeavored to compile a collection which should serve both the orthodox and the liberal wings of the New England Congregationalism of his day. In his preface he says, “In this selection, those Christians who do not scruple to sing praises to their Redeemer and Sanctifier, will find materials for such a sublime enjoyment; whilst others, whose tenderness of conscience may oblige them to confine their addresses to the Father only, will find no deficiency of matter suited to their idea of the chaste and awful spirit of devotion.” Belknap, however, failed in his attempt to produce a compromise book, as it found favor only in the liberal churches, which used it for some forty years.

The book contains 150 psalms, selected from versions by Tate and Brady, Watts, and others, often “with variations”; and 300 hymns, widely selected from English sources, including Pope’s “Universal Prayer” (altered), Helen Maria Williams’ “While Thee I seek, protecting Power,” hymns by Cowper, Newton, Doddridge, Merrick, Addison, Anne Steele and others. Belknap introduced Anne Steele’s hymns to Americans. There are no hymns by Charles Wesley, and the only hymns of American authorship appear to be Mather Byles’ “When wild confusion rends the air,” and a metrical version of Psalm 65 by Jacob Kimball.

There are no musical directions save the metre of each hymn and the key. “The characters denoting the sharp or flat key are prefixed to each psalm or hymn, at my request, by the Rev. Dr. Morse, of Charlestown.”

The book was much the best of its period. When, in 1808, the vestry of Trinity Church, Boston, impatient at the delay of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in getting out a hymnal, issued one for their own use, they drew heavily on Belknap’s, saying in their preface, “In this selection we are chiefly indebted to Dr. Belknap, whose book unquestionably contains the best specimens of sacred poetry extant.”

4. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for public worship._—Boston, 1799; edited by Rev. James Freeman (1759-1825). 2nd ed., 1813.

This was the first of the hymn-books prepared for use in King’s Chapel, Boston, where it was used for 30 years until succeeded by Greenwood’s _Collection_ (13). No preface; no musical directions except that the metre is indicated. The names of some authors are given in the index of first lines. The book contains 155 psalms, or parts of psalms, “selected principally from Tate and Brady,” followed by 90 hymns and 8 doxologies. The collection is decidedly inferior to that of Belknap (3) in range and quality.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy, but King’s Chapel does.

5. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns_—by William Emerson, A.M., Pastor of the First Church in Boston; Boston, 1808.

Rev. William Emerson (1769-1811) was the father of Ralph Waldo Emerson. His book is more handsomely printed than most hymn books of the period and contains 150 hymns. It was very liberal in tone and was assailed by the orthodox for having omitted hymns on several of “the most essential doctrines of Christianity.” Its most notable feature was its endeavor to improve the singing by “prefixing to each psalm and hymn the name of a tune, well composed and judicially chosen” as “a valuable auxiliary to musical bands. No American hymn-book has hitherto offered this aid to the performers of psalmody.” The key in which the tune is set and the metre are also indicated at the head of each hymn. There is also an interesting “Index of Tunes, and Musical Authors,” with references to the various collections in which the recommended tunes may be found. As this list of collections of tunes was prepared by a person particularly interested in promoting good music it is here reprinted as indicating the best available sources at the time:

Mass. Com., Massachusetts Compiler; Sal. Coll., Salem Collection; Lock H. Coll., Lock’s Hospital Collection; Sac. Min., Sacred Minstrel; B.C.M., Beauties of Church Music; Psal. Evan., Psalmodia Evangelica; F. C. Coll., First Church Collection; Suff. Selec., Suffolk Selection; Bos. Selec., Boston Selection; Newb’t Coll., Newburyport Collection; Mus. Olio, Musical Olio; Col. Repos., Columbian Repository; B. Coll., Bridgewater Collection.

While this book thus made the selection of tunes easier than did most of its contemporaries, it is needless to point out how inconvenient it was not to have the tunes in the same book with the words. With all its excellencies the book had small use, being rather too far in advance of its time.

6. _A Selection of Sacred Poetry consisting of Psalms and Hymns from Watts, Doddridge, Merrick, Scott, Cowper, Barbauld, Steele and others_—Philadelphia, 1812; 2nd ed., 1818; 3rd ed., 1828; 4th ed., 1846.

Edited by Ralph Eddowes (1751-1833) and James Taylor (1769-1844) two laymen of the church in Philadelphia in which Joseph Priestley had preached after coming to America, but which remained without a settled minister until Rev. W. H. Furness was installed in 1825. A good collection of 606 psalms and hymns, from varied English sources, as indicated by the following quotation from preface:—“The Society of Unitarian Christians in Philadelphia, from its first formation, has used, in its public devotional exercises, the collection of hymns and psalms made by the Rev. Doctors Kippis and Rees, and Messrs. Jervis and Morgan.... A late collection by the Rev. Mr. Aspland, of Hackney, has also afforded assistance, of which advantage has been freely taken; and by resorting to another, published in 1789 by the Rev. Messrs. Ash and Evans of Bristol, this work has been enriched with several pieces of Mrs. Steele’s exquisitely beautiful and highly devotional poetry.”

7. _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper_, Original and Selected. [edited] by Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D., Boston; printed by Sewall Phelps, no. 5 Court Street, 1820; 2nd ed., 1821.

In 1801 Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, minister of the First Church in Dorchester, Mass., printed a few hymns for use at the Lord’s Supper, and these formed the basis for this enlarged collection published in 1820. This edition contains original hymns by Rev. John Pierpont of Boston, Rev. Samuel Gilman of Charleston, S. C., and others, none of them in use today. The booklet probably had more circulation for private reading than for public use.

8. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, for social and private worship_—New York, 1820; 2nd ed., 1827; 4th ed., 1845.

Compiled by Dr. Henry D. Sewall, one of the laymen who founded the First Congregational Society of New York, now All Souls Church, which was organized in 1819. Commonly called “the New York Collection.” It contains 504 psalms and hymns arranged in three sections in alphabetical order of first lines. There are no musical directions except that the metre of each hymn is indicated. The Collection is chiefly notable for the inclusion, without the author’s name, of five original hymns by William Cullen Bryant, a member of the congregation, who had written them at the instance of Miss Sedgwick.

The fourth edition, 1845, made some substitutions and added 146 hymns to the original number.

9. _A Selection of Psalms and Hymns, for social and private worship_—Andover, 1821; 2nd ed., Cambridge, 1824; 11th ed., Boston, 1832.

Edited by Jonathan Peele Dabney (1793-1868), a graduate of Harvard who had studied for the ministry but was never ordained. The book was smaller, cheaper and better arranged than Sewall’s (8), and had considerable use. It contains 385 hymns, and 21 “Ascriptions and Occasional Pieces,” these last including Henry Ware’s Easter hymn, “Lift your glad voices,” and Heber’s “From Greenland’s icy mountains.” There are no musical instructions beyond indication of metres.

10. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Social and Private Worship, compiled by a committee of the West Parish in Boston_—Boston; printed by John B. Russell, 1823.

This book was a successor to No. 1. No preface; no copyright; no indication of the identity of the compilers. It contains 320 psalms and hymns by Tate and Brady, Watts, Doddridge, Barbauld, Steele and others. No hymn by Charles Wesley, but it has John Wesley’s “Lo, God is here,” attributed to “Salisbury Coll.” Also 6 communion hymns; 5 for Christmas, including Tate’s “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” attributed to Dr. Patrick; Milton’s “Nor war nor battle’s sound,” altered by Dr. Gardiner; and Sir Walter Scott’s “When Israel of the Lord beloved”.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy, but there is one at the Congregational Library, 16 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.

11. _A Selection from Tate and Brady’s Version of the Psalms: with Hymns by various authors_—For the use of the church in Brattle Square, Boston. Boston: Richardson & Lord, 1825.

Compiled by a committee of that church. The church used the _Bay Psalm Book_ until 1753; then Tate and Brady’s _New Version_ of the Psalms, with an appendix of hymns selected by a committee. In 1808 another committee published another appendix, entitled _A Second Part of Hymns_. The book issued in 1825, by a committee the membership of which is unknown, is a revision and enlargement of the original Tate and Brady and the appendices. It contains 150 psalms and 363 hymns. No musical directions save indications of metres.

12. _Sacred Poetry and Music reconciled, or a Collection of Hymns original and compiled_—by Samuel Willard, D.D., A.A.S. Boston: L. C. Bowles, 1830.

This book, “adopted while in manuscript, by the Third Congregational Society in Hingham,” had little use beyond that parish. It contains 518 hymns, and 7 chants, the latter being a feature not met with in any earlier book in this series. Tunes are indicated for each hymn, but the editor had some peculiar theories about the “reconciliation” of words and music. The editor, Rev. Samuel Willard (1776-1859), had been minister at Deerfield but had retired on account of blindness and was temporarily resident in Hingham when this book was published.

13. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship_—Boston: Carter and Hendee, 1830.

Edited by Rev. Francis William Pitt Greenwood (1797-1843), minister of King’s Chapel, Boston. _Greenwood’s Collection_, as it was generally called, containing 560 psalms and hymns, superseded Belknap’s (3) as the hymn-book most widely used in Unitarian churches in the first half of the 19^th century. It ran to fifty editions and was used in King’s Chapel, for which it was prepared, until superseded there by _Hymns of the Church Universal_, 1890, (39). Based upon Watts, the book contains the then very recent hymns by James Montgomery, Harriet Auber, Bowring and Heber, and practically introduced Charles Wesley to American Unitarians. In _Young Emerson Speaks_, edited by A. C. McGiffert, 1937, pages 145-150, will be found a sermon on “Hymn Books” preached by R. W. Emerson in 1831, while still minister of the Second Church in Boston, in which he recommends the church to adopt _Greenwood’s Collection_ in place of Belknap’s. Emerson, in his Journal for 1847, noted that _Greenwood’s Collection_ was “still the best.”

14. _The Springfield Collection of Hymns for sacred worship_, by William B. O. Peabody—Springfield: Samuel Bowles, 1835.

Rev. William Oliver Bourne Peabody (1799-1847) was minister at Springfield, Mass. His collection contains 509 hymns, admirably chosen from the accepted classics of the period, Watts and Doddridge predominant, but with an increasing number of the recent compositions by Unitarian hymn-writers of the first third of the 19^th century. No musical instructions beyond indication of metres. On its merits the _Springfield Collection_ rightly shared with _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) and _The Cheshire Collection_ (20) the largest measure of popularity and use among Unitarians in the middle of the 19^th century.

15. _The Christian Psalter: A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for social and private worship_—Boston, 1841.

Edited by Rev. William Parsons Lunt (1805-1857), for use in the First Church in Quincy, Mass. It contains 702 hymns and psalms and represents a reversion to the older type of hymnody, “but, if old-fashioned, it was excellent and serviceable.” Lunt included 22 pieces by his parishioner, ex-President John Quincy Adams, whose wife had put into his hands a complete metrical psalter which Adams had composed. At least one of Adams’ psalms is still to be found in some hymn-books.

16. _A Manual of Prayer for public and private worship, with a collection of hymns_—Boston, 1842.

Edited by Rev. William Greenleaf Eliot (1811-1887). Although printed in Boston, this book was prepared for The First Congregational Society of St. Louis, Missouri, of which the editor had become minister in 1834. The Society was the earliest Unitarian church in the Mississippi Valley, excepting that at New Orleans. The book is primarily a collection of service materials followed by 272 well-selected hymns from standard sources. It was the earliest volume of the sort to be prepared for Unitarian use in the Middle West.

17. _A Collection of Hymns, for the Christian Church and Home_—Boston, 1843.

Edited by Rev. James Flint (1779-1855). The editor was minister of the East Church in Salem, Mass., and based his book upon the 18^th century collection of his predecessor, William Bentley (2). He borrowed the title and much of the contents of James Martineau’s book published in England in 1840. The book contains 415 hymns.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy of this book. One is in the Congregational Library, 14 Beacon Street, Boston.

18. _The Social Hymn Book; consisting of psalms and hymns for social worship and private devotions_—Boston, 1843.

Edited by Rev. Chandler Robbins (1810-1882), minister of the Second Church in Boston. The book, which contains 350 psalms and hymns, is based upon Watts and Doddridge, but it introduced new hymns from various sources, among them about twenty of Bishop Mant’s translations of “ancient hymns” from the Roman Breviary. Dr. Robbins was one of the earliest American hymn-book editors to avail himself of the English versions of Latin hymns which were among the fruits of the Oxford Movement. His book has an appendix of 21 tunes in two parts, the book being thus the first in this series to include any printed music.

19. _The Disciples’ Hymn Book; a collection of hymns and chants for public and private devotions, prepared for the use of the Church of the Disciples_—Boston, 1844.

Edited by Rev. James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888) for use in the Church of the Disciples, Boston, which had been organized in 1841 and of which he was the first minister. The first edition is commonly bound up with _Service Book: for the use of the Church of the Disciples_. A revised and enlarged edition appeared in 1852. The collection contains 318 hymns and an appendix of chants. It was notable for its freshness and progressive outlook, and drew upon the most recent English sources. It introduced into American use the hymn “Nearer, my God, to thee,” by Sarah Flower Adams, published in England only three years earlier, and other hymns by the same author. It also included some of Clarke’s own hymns, more of which appeared in the second edition.

20. _Christian Hymns for public and private worship. A Collection compiled by a committee of the Cheshire Pastoral Association_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. Abiel Abbott Livermore (1811-1892), Chairman; Rev. Levi W. Leonard (1790-1864), Rev. William A. Whitwell (1804-1865) and Rev. Curtis Cutler (1806-1874), ministers at Keene, Dublin, Wilton, and Peterboro, New Hampshire, respectively. The editorial work was chiefly done by Livermore, who also contributed to it his communion hymn, “A holy air is breathing round.”

This book, commonly called _The Cheshire Collection_, ran through sixty editions and was widely used. Its popularity was due in part to its wide range—908 hymns—and to its provision for special occasions, but more to the inclusion of fresh material of high quality.

21. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. George E. Ellis (1814-1894) for use in the Harvard Church in Charlestown, Mass., of which he was then minister. It contains 658 hymns and psalms, and is based on _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) and _The Springfield Collection_ (14). A Selection from the Psalms, apparently intended for responsive reading, is bound up with the hymn-book, of which it is an unusual feature.

22. _Hymns for Public Worship_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. George W. Briggs (1810-1895), minister of the First Church at Plymouth, Mass. (1838-1852). The book contains 601 hymns; no musical directions beyond indication of metres. There is a strong emphasis on hymns of the inner life, the compiler having sought “to bring together the most fervent expressions of a profound spiritual life,” many of which “have never been in familiar use in Unitarian churches.”

23. _Service Book: for the Church of the Saviour, with a Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. Robert Cassie Waterston (1812-1893), minister of the Church of the Saviour, Boston. _The Collection of Psalms and Hymns_ bound up with the services is _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) with a supplement of 116 hymns selected by Waterston, so that the book is more accurately described as one of the editions of Greenwood than as an independent publication. The supplement, however, is notable for the high proportion of good new hymns, not available when _Greenwood’s Collection_ first appeared. Among them are hymns by Samuel F. Smith, G. W. Doane, the early and mid-century Unitarian writers, and some taken from Breviary sources.

No musical instructions beyond indication of the metres.

24. _A Book of Hymns for public and private devotion_—Cambridge: Metcalf & Company, printers to the University. 1846.

Edited by Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892) and Samuel Johnson (1822-1882). The editors were, at the time, students in the Harvard Divinity School (class of 1846), and the book “grew out of an offer to provide a new book for a minister who found even the recent ones too antiquated.” It was marked by poetic excellence and freshness, and introduced to American use “Lead, Kindly Light,” and hymns by Whittier, Longfellow, Lowell, Jones Very, Mrs. Stowe and others, besides hymns by the editors themselves. First used in Church of the Unity, Worcester, Mass., of which Edward Everett Hale was minister; then in the Music Hall congregation of Theodore Parker, who is said, on receiving a copy, to have remarked, “I see we have a new book of Sams.” It ran to a twelfth edition in two years, but its greatest influence was as a source-book for later editors. A somewhat enlarged edition appeared in 1848.

25. _Hymns of the Sanctuary_—Boston, 1849.

Edited by Rev. Cyrus A. Bartol (1813-1900), minister of the West Church in Boston, assisted by Charles G. Loring, Joseph Willard, and other laymen of the church. The book is a revised and enlarged edition of the “West Boston Collection” (10) of which the original edition had been prepared by Rev. Simeon Howard (1). It contains 643 hymns and a few chants. No musical directions beyond indication of metres.

26. _Hymns for the Church of Christ_—Edited by Rev. Frederic H. Hedge and Rev. Frederic D. Huntington, Boston, 1853.

Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890) later became a distinguished professor in the Harvard Divinity School. Frederic Dan Huntington (1819-1904) later joined the Episcopal Church, in which he attained a bishopric.

The book contains 872 hymns,—no musical instructions beyond indication of metres. It is conservative in tone but is marked by high literary standards, and by a catholic inclusiveness beyond that of most books in this series. It includes a number of translations of Breviary hymns, and in it appears, for the first time, Hedge’s translation of Luther’s “Ein’ feste Burg.” Better printed than most contemporary hymn-books, it was hailed as “much the best book of hymns yet published.” Many hymns are listed as “Anon.” and some authors are given by surname only, making identification doubtful.

27. _Services and Hymns for the use of the Unitarian Church of Charleston_, S.C., 1854, 1867.

The preface to the first edition, dated “April, 1854,” was signed by S. Gilman and C. M. Taggart, then joint ministers of the church. No copy of this edition appears to be extant. A new and enlarged edition, with an unsigned preface but reprinting the earlier preface signed by Gilman and Taggart, appeared in 1867, “Printed by Joseph Walker, Agt., Charleston.” “Hymns for Christian Worship,” 171 in number, make up the second half of this volume. Almost all of them are the standard English hymns in current use in the first half of the 19^th century, with 10 hymns by American authors, three of which are by Dr. Gilman and two by his wife, Caroline Gilman, all of which had appeared in earlier collections.

28. _Hymn Book for Christian Worship_—Boston, 1854.

There is no preface and the name of the compiler nowhere appears. It was, however, edited by Rev. Chandler Robbins (1810-1882), minister of the Second Church in Boston, and is, in effect, an enlargement of his earlier _Social Hymn Book_, (18), with 761 hymns, better adapted to church use. Like its predecessor, it contained chiefly the older type of hymns,—107 by Watts, 62 by Doddridge, 40 by James Montgomery, 13 by C. Wesley, and 20 more called “Wesleyan.”

29. _The Soldier’s Companion: Dedicated to the Defenders of their Country in the Field, by their Friends at Home_, published as the issue of _The Monthly Journal_, Boston, for October, 1861, vol. II, No. 10.

This was a small paper bound collection of a few traditional hymns, supplemented by a dozen anti-slavery or wartime songs by living writers, including J. Pierpont, E. H. Sears, and J. R. Lowell, with a supplement of devotional readings and prayers. Presumably it had some use in the Army, but copies are now very rare.

30. _Christian Worship_—New York, 1862.

Edited by Rev. Samuel Osgood (1812-1880), then minister of the Church of the Messiah, New York, and Rev. Frederic A. Farley (1800-1892), minister of The First Unitarian Congregational Church, Brooklyn, N. Y.

A small collection of 159 hymns, bound up with a liturgical type of service-book indicating the trend which later took Osgood into the Episcopal Church.

31. _The Soldier’s Hymn Book, containing a supplement of national songs for the use of chaplains and soldiers in the army and navy of the United States_—Prepared by J. G. Forman, Chaplain of the 3d Regiment Missouri Infantry, Army of the U. S., Alton, Illinois, 1863.

Rev. Jacob G. Forman (d. 1885), the compiler, was at the time minister of the Unitarian Church at Alton. This little pocket hymnal contains 99 hymns, and 26 additional patriotic songs.

32. _The Soldier’s Hymn Book for Camp and Hospital_—Cambridge, printed at the University Press, 1863.

There is no indication as to the source of this little book, and the identity of its compiler has not been discovered. Its contents, however, indicate that it came from a Unitarian source. It is a pocket hymnal containing 150 familiar hymns and a few prayers, somewhat larger and better printed than (31).

33. _Hymns of the Spirit_—Boston, Ticknor & Fields, 1864.

Edited by Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892) and Samuel Johnson (1822-1882). This is the second and more famous hymn-book compiled by the editors. It contains 717 hymns and represents their later and more radical trend of thought, the book being theistic rather than explicitly Christian in its emphasis. It introduced many hymns by the editors themselves, and made drastic adaptations or revisions of hymns by other authors. Like their first book (24), it was more generally drawn upon as a source-book by later editors than it was used in the churches. In that respect it was one of the most important books in this series.

34. _Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and Home_—Boston, 1868.

This book was compiled by a committee appointed by the American Unitarian Association, but the editorial work was chiefly done by Rev. Leonard J. Livermore (1822-1886). It is the first hymn-book to be issued by the Association and the first American Unitarian hymn-book to be completely furnished with tunes. It contained 740 hymns, about 30 chants, etc., and 299 tunes, a large proportion of which have since dropped out of use. Regarded as in some measure an authorized denominational hymn-book, it had wide use, though it “marked no advance over its predecessors, but its tunes were well up to the average level and gave it a great advantage,” and stimulated congregational singing.

35. _Hymns for the Christian Church, for the use of the First Church of Christ in Boston_—Boston, 1869.

Edited by Rev. Rufus Ellis (1819-1885), minister of the First Church, Boston. It was based on Lunt’s conservative Christian Psalter (15) which had been in use in the First Church for 25 years. About 250 hymns were retained from the earlier volume and enough more added to bring the total to 469. The selections were well made, but, without music, the book could not compete with the more inclusive _Hymn and Tune Book_ (34) which the American Unitarian Association had published the preceding year.

36. _Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and Home_—Revised edition. American Unitarian Association, Boston, 1877.

The compiler’s name nowhere appears in the book, which was edited by Rev. Rush R. Shippen (1828-1911), then Secretary of the American Unitarian Association. It is a thorough-going revision of (34), virtually a new book. It contains 871 hymns, 14 chants, etc., 316 tunes, a much richer selection than its predecessor, although the music was still of the mid-century type, with only a few examples of the newer English tunes which were being introduced into America by the choirs of Episcopal churches. The book was well adapted to the general needs of Unitarians and was the most widely used book among the Unitarian churches for the ensuing forty years.

37. _Unity Hymns and Chorals_—Edited by W. C. Gannett, J. V. Blake, F. L. Hosmer. Chicago, 1880.

A later and largely revised edition was published in 1911 by Hosmer and Gannett. The editors, Frederick Lucian Hosmer (1840-1929), William Channing Gannett (1840-1923), and James Vila Blake (1842-1925), were hymn-writers and ministers in the Western Unitarian Conference. This small book, noted for its “split-leaf” arrangement, represented the point of view of the “left-wing” group in the denomination. In its two editions it contained most of the hymns by its editors, and a good many by other authors which appeared for the first time within its covers. In this respect, as in its radical character, it may be compared to the hymn-books by Longfellow and Johnson (24 and 33). It was widely used in the Western Unitarian Conference. Musically it was mediocre.

38. _Sacred Songs for Public Worship: A Hymn and Tune Book_—Edited by M. J. Savage and Howard M. Dow. Boston, 1883.

This small book contains 195 hymns and songs for popular use, selected by Minot J. Savage (1841-1918), minister of Unity Church, Boston, Mass., and set to music by Howard M. Dow. Forty-two items are from Mr. Savage’s pen, the rest mostly from familiar sources. It is much more of a “one-man book” and musically nearer akin to the typical gospel song-book than any other collection in this series.

39. _Hymns of the Church Universal_—Compiled by the Rev. Henry Wilder Foote [I]: Revised and edited by Mary W. Tileston and Arthur Foote. Boston, 1890.

This book was compiled for use in King’s Chapel, Boston, of which Mr. Foote (1838-1889) was minister, but was not published until after his death, the editorial work being completed by his sister and brother. The book superseded _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) in King’s Chapel, and had considerable use elsewhere. It contained 647 hymns, a number of chants, and 299 tunes. It introduced many hymns and tunes of the later 19^th century English authors and composers which were not found in any earlier American Unitarian collections, and was influential in setting a standard for later books.

40. _Hymnal: Amore Dei_—Compiled by Mrs. Theodore C. Williams, Boston, 1890. Revised, 1897.

Edited by Mrs. Williams in co-operation with her husband, Rev. Theodore C. Williams (1855-1915), minister of All Souls’ Church, New York.

It contained 382 hymns, about 25 chants and responses and 272 tunes. A collection similar to _Hymns of the Church Universal_ (39) in utilizing the newer English hymns and tunes of the nineteenth century, it had many excellencies and considerable use. The biographical indexes of composers and authors are far more complete than those of any earlier book in this series.

41. _Hymns for Church and Home_—American Unitarian Association, Boston, 1895.

Edited by Mary Wilder Tileston and Arthur Foote, it was in effect a revised and enlarged edition of _Hymns for the Church Universal_ (39), containing 801 hymns. It was an admirable compilation but rather large and heavy for handling.

42. _Hymns for Church and Home Abridged_—1902.

An edition of (41) with the number of hymns reduced to 513.

43. _Hymns of the Ages_—Cambridge: The University Press. 1904.

Edited by Louisa Putnam Loring (1854-1924). A book of high literary and musical standards, based upon the (Harvard) _University Hymn Book_ (1895). It contained 316 hymns and 205 tunes, but it represented a rather limited and individualistic point of view and did not prove adaptable to general use.

44. _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book and Candle Light Service_—The Isles of Shoals Association, 1908.

Edited by Rev. George H. Badger (1859-1954). Since the book was intended for use at the summer meetings on the Isles of Shoals, off Portsmouth, N. H., the religious interpretation of nature is strongly emphasized. The book contains 219 hymns and 96 tunes, mostly selected from _Hymns for Church and Home_ (41), but nine of them are original contributions to this book, some with lines referring directly to the island setting or history. Both words and music represent the highest standards at the time of publication, and the book is an exceptional collection of hymns expressing this aspect of religion.

45. _The New Hymn and Tune Book_—American Unitarian Association: Boston, 1914.

Edited by a commission: Rev. Samuel A. Eliot (1862-1950), Chairman; Rev. Henry Wilder Foote, (II), (1875-____), Secretary; Rev. Rush R. Shippen, (1828-1911), Rev. Lewis G. Wilson, (1858-1928).

Nominally a revision of the _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1877 (36), it was in effect a new compilation, drawing largely upon _Hymns for Church and Home_ (41), _Amore Dei_ (40) and _Unity Hymns and Chorals_ (37). It contained 546 hymns, 28 chants, etc., and 268 tunes. It also included a set of services and responsive readings, prepared by another committee. It represented a great advance on earlier books and was more widely adopted than any of them. In its music it was less progressive than in its selection of hymns, representing the musical standard and practice of about 1900.

46. _Twenty-five Hymns for Use in Time of War_—The Beacon Press. Boston, n. d. (1916).

A pamphlet of hymns, more than half of them reprinted from the _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1914 (45) for use during the Great War.

47. _Songs and Readings_—compiled and edited by Jacob Trapp and R. T. Porte. Salt Lake City, 1931.

This booklet contains 58 songs and hymns, without music, and 32 responsive readings for use in the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City, of which Mr. Trapp (1899-____) was then minister. Intended for ministers with “Humanist” leanings.

48. _Hymns of the Spirit_—Beacon Press, 1937.

Edited by a Unitarian Commission: Rev. Henry Wilder Foote, (II) (1875-____), Chairman; Rev. Edward P. Daniels (1891-____), Rev. Curtis W. Reese (1887-____), Rev. Von Ogden Vogt (1879-____), working in co-operation with a Universalist Commission: Rev. L. G. Williams (1893-____), Chairman; Rev. Prof. Alfred S. Cole, (1893-____), Rev. Prof. Edson R. Miles (1875-1958), and Rev. Tracy M. Pullman (1904-____).

The title is borrowed from the second collection, edited by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson, 1864, (33). The book is printed with services and responsive readings prepared by the same two commissions. It is an extensive revision of the _New Hymn and Tune Book_ (45) of 1914, with special emphasis on “the social gospel” and on hymns dealing with “man in the universe.” Its most notable advance over its predecessors is in its music, edited by E. P. Daniels and Robert L. Sanders. It contains 533 hymns, 42 chants, etc., 366 tunes.

_Alphabetical List of Unitarian Hymn Writers In the Following Catalogue_

Adams, John Quincy Alcott, Louisa May Alger, Wm. R. Ames, Chas. G. Anonymous Appleton, Francis P.

Badger, George H. Ballou, Adin Barber, Henry H. Barnard, John Barrows, Samuel J. Bartol, Cyrus A. Bartrum, Joseph P. Beach, Seth Curtis Belknap, Jeremy Blake, James Vila Briggs, C. A. Briggs, LeB. R. Brooks, Charles T. Bryant, William Cullen Bulfinch, Stephen G. Burleigh, Wm. H.

Cabot, Eliza Lee, see Follen, Eliza Lee Chadwick, John W. Chapman, Mrs. Cheney, Mrs. Edna D. Church, Edward A. Clapp, Eliza T. Clarke, J. F. Collyer, Robert Clute, Oscar

Dana, Chas. A. Dwight, John S.

Emerson, R. W. Everett, Wm.

Fernald, W. M. Flint, James Follen, Eliza Lee Foote, H. W., I Foote, H. W., II Freeman, James Frothingham, N. L. Frothingham, Octavius B. Fuller, Sarah Margaret Furness, W. H.

Gannett, W. C. Gilman, Caroline (Howard) Gilman, Samuel Goldsmith, Peter H. Greenough, James B. Greenwood, Helen W.

Hale, Edw. Everett Hale, Mary W. Hall, Harriet W. Ham, M. F. Harris, Florence Harris, Thaddeus M. Hedge, F. H. Higginson, T. W. Hill, Thomas Holland, J. G. Holmes, John Haynes Holmes, Oliver Wendell Horton, Edw. A. Hosmer, F. L. Howe, Julia (Ward) Huntington, F. D. Hurlburt, W. H.

Johnson, Samuel

Kimball, Jacob

Larned, Augusta Lathrop, John Howland Livermore, A. A. Livermore, Sarah W. Long, John D. Longfellow, Henry W. Longfellow, Samuel Loring, Louisa P. Loring, W. J. Lowell, J. R. Lunt, W. P.

Mann, Newton Marean, Emma (Endicott) Mason, Caroline A. Miles, Sarah E. Mott, F. B.

Newell, Wm. Norton, Andrews

Ossoli, Margaret, see Fuller

Parker, Theodore Peabody, Ephraim Peabody, O. W. B. Peabody, W. B. O. Perkins, J. H. Pierpont, John Pray, Lewis G. Prince, Thomas Putnam, A. P.

Robbins, Chandler Robbins, S. D.

Sargent, L. M. Savage, M. J. Scudder, Eliza Sears, E. H. Sewall, C. Sigourney, Lydia H. Sill, E. R. Silliman, V. B. Spencer, Anna G. Sprague, Charles

Trapp, Jacob Tuckerman, J.

Very, Jones Very, Washington

Ware, Henry Waterston, R. C. Weir, R. S. Weiss, John Wendte, Chas. W. Westwood, Horace Wile, Frances W. Wiley, Hiram O. Willard, Samuel Williams, Theodore C. Williams, Velma C. Willis, Love Maria Willis, Nathaniel P. Wilson, Edwin H. Wilson, Lewis G.

Young, George H.

Biographical Sketches with Notes on Hymns

Adams, Hon. John Quincy, Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, July 11, 1767—February 21, 1848, Washington, D. C. He graduated from Harvard in 1787. From 1794-1801 he was United States Minister to England, the Netherlands and Prussia. In 1806 he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard. In 1809 he became United States Minister to Russia, in 1817 he was Secretary of State, and from 1824 to 1828 he was President of the United States. In 1831 he was elected to the House of Representatives, in which body he served until his death.

Most of his verse, both religious and secular, was written after he had left the Presidency, but he remains the only hymn writer who has ever been President of this country. In his later years he composed a metrical version of the Psalms, best described as a free rendering in fairly good verse of what he felt was the essential idea of each Psalm. When his minister, Rev. William P. Lunt, _q.v._, of the First Parish, (Unitarian) Quincy, Massachusetts, undertook the preparation of his hymn book _The Christian Psalmist_, (1841), Mrs. Adams put the manuscript of her husband’s metrical Psalms into Mr. Lunt’s hands, and the latter included 17 of them in his book, and five other hymns by his distinguished parishioner.

The effect on Adams is recorded in a moving entry in his _Journal_ which reveals an aspect of his character quite unknown to those who regarded him as an opinionated and uncompromising though sincere and upright politician. He wrote on June 29, 1845, “Mr. Lunt preached this morning, Eccles. III, 1. For everything there is a season. He had given out as the first hymn to be sung the 138^th of the Christian Psalter, his compilation and the hymn-book now used in our church. It was my version of the 65^th Psalm; and no words can express the sensations with which I heard it sung. Were it possible to compress into one pulsation of the heart the pleasure which, in the whole period of my life, I have enjoyed in praise from the lips of mortal man, it would not weigh a straw to balance the ecstasy of delight which streamed from my eyes as the organ pealed and the choir of voices sung the praise of Almighty God from the soul of David, adapted to my native tongue by me. There was one drawback. In the printed book, the fifth line of the second stanza reads,

‘The morning’s dawn, the evening’s shade,’

and so it was sung, but the corresponding seventh line of the same stanza reads,

‘The fields from thee the rains receive,’

totally destroying the rhyme. I instantly saw that the fifth line should read,

‘The morning’s dawn, the shades of eve,’

but whether this enormous blunder was committed by the copyist or the pressman I am left to conjecture.”

After Adams’ death his verses, both religious and secular, were published in a small volume entitled _Poems of Religion and Society_, New York, 1848, which ran to a fourth edition in 1854. This collection included the five hymns and 17 metrical Psalms printed in _The Christian Psalmist_, unchanged except that the opening line of each psalm has been substituted for the number of the psalm as its heading. Nor was the misprint which Adams lamented amended. Judged by the conventional standards of his time Adams’ poetry was consistently respectable verse, but without any notable distinction other than that lent to it by the fame of the author.

His five hymns are,

1. _Sure to the mansions of the blest_, (Death of Children)

This is part of a piece of 20 stanzas, which appeared in the _Monthly Anthology and Boston Review_, January 1807. It is entitled “Lines addressed to a mother on the death of two infants, 19th Sept. 1803, and 19th Decb. 1806.”

2. _Alas! how swift the moments fly_, (The Hour-Glass)

Sometimes given as

_How swift, alas, the moments fly_,

written for the 200^th anniversary of the First Parish Church in Quincy, September 20, 1839.

3. _Hark! ’tis the holy temple bell_, (Sabbath morning) undated

4. _When, o’er the billow-heaving deep_,

“A Hymn for the twenty-second of December,” i.e., the coming of the Pilgrim Fathers, undated.

5. _Lord of all worlds, let thanks and praise_,

“Written in Sickness;” undated.

His metrical versions of the Psalms follow:—

6. _Blest is the mortal whose delight_, Ps. 1

7. _Come let us sing unto the Lord_, Ps. 95

8. _For thee in Zion there is praise_, Ps. 65

9. _My Shepherd is the Lord on high_, Ps. 23

10. _My soul, before thy Maker kneel_, Ps. 103

11. _O, all ye people, clap your hands_, Ps. 47

12. _O God, with goodness all thine own_, Ps. 67

13. _O heal me, Lord, for I am weak_, Ps. 6

14. _O, judge me, Lord, for thou art just_, Ps. 26

15. _O Lord my God! how great thou art_, Ps. 104

16. _O Lord, thy all-discerning eyes_, Ps. 139

17. _O that the race of men would raise_, Ps. 107

18. _Send forth, O God, thy truth and light_, Ps. 43

19. _Sing to Jehovah a new song_, Ps. 98

20. _Sing to the Lord a song of praise_, Ps. 149

21. _Turn to the stars of heaven thine eyes_, Ps. 19

22. _Why should I fear in evil days_, Ps. 49

A few of these hymns and psalms found their way into other collections. Nos. 2 and 3 were included in _Lyra Sacra Americana_; no. 18 is in _Hymnal for American Youth_ and the _American Student Hymnal_; no. 16 is in the Jewish _Union Hymnal for Worship_, 1914.

J. 16, 1647 H.W.F.

Alcott, Louisa May, Concord, Massachusetts, November 29, 1833—March 5, 1888, Concord. She was the author of widely known books for children, _Little Women_, _Little Men_, and others. Julian’s _Dictionary_, p. 1602, records her hymn,

_A little kingdom I possess_,

and cites Eva Munson Smith’s _Women in Sacred Song_ as quoting a note from Miss Alcott dated “Concord, Oct. 7, 1883,” in which she says that this is “the only hymn I ever wrote. It was composed at thirteen - - - and still expresses my soul’s desire.” Notwithstanding this statement another hymn attributed to her, apparently written for use by young people and beginning,

_O the beautiful old story!_

is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.

J 1550, 1602 H.W.F.

Alger, Rev. William Rounsville, Freetown, Massachusetts, December 28, 1822—February 7, 1905, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1847 and in the same year became minister of the Mount Pleasant Society, Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1855 he was settled over the Bulfinch Place Church, Boston. He was a popular lecturer and the author of numerous articles and several books, the most notable of which was his _History of the Doctrine of the Future Life_, 1864, and later editions.

His Christmas hymn

_Jesus has lived! and we would bring_,

written in 1845 while he was still a student, is included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.

Other poems by him, including a hymn for the graduation of his class from the Divinity School in 1847 and another for the ordination of Thomas Starr King, are included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, but have had no further use.

H.W.F.

Ames, Rev. Charles Gordon, Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1828—April 15, 1912, Boston, Massachusetts. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1849 and spent some years as a home missionary in Minnesota. In 1859 he joined the Unitarian denomination and served several churches, his last pastorate being with the Church of the Disciples, Boston. In 1905 he wrote a hymn for the dedication of the new edifice of that Society beginning,

_With loving hearts and hands we rear_,

which is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.

A hymn beginning

_Father in heaven, hear us today_,

is attributed to him in the Universalist _Church Harmonies_: _Old and New_, 1898, but is not found elsewhere.

H.W.F.

Anonymous

In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, there is no Index of Authors, but in its Index of First Lines the name of the author, (often only his or her surname) is given in most instances. The Index also lists 57 hymns as “Anon.” or, more often, with no word as to authorship. The source of several of these hymns can be traced in Julian’s _Dictionary_ or in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_, but I have been unable to identify the author or source of the following hymns, or to check their later use, if any.

H.W.F.

_Hys. Ch. Ch._

509 Abba, Father, hear thy child, 758 Alas! how poor and little worth, 602 Behold, the servant of the Lord, 73 Blest is the hour when cares depart, 510 Come, let us who in Christ believe 288 Come, O thou universal good! 581 Come to the morning prayer,

707 Gently, Lord, O gently lead us, 868 God of the mountain, God of the storm, 437 God of the rolling year! to Thee 765 Go to thy rest, fair child! 305 Head of the church triumphant, 860 Hear, Father, hear our prayer 691 He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower 686 I cannot always trace the way 763 In the broad fields of heaven, 37 “Let there be light!” When born on high 255 Lord, in thy garden agony, 409 Lord, may the spirit of this feast, 861 Meek and lowly, pure and holy, 573 Meek hearts are by sweet manna fed, 798 Mortal, the angels say, 856 My feet are worn and weary with the march, 481 O’er mountaintops, the mount of God, 294 On earth was darkness spread, 742 O speed thee, Christian, on thy way, 506 O Thou, who hearest prayer, 803 O why should friendship grieve for them 56 O wondrous depth of grace divine,

307 Saviour and dearest friend, 312 Saviour, source of every blessing, 539 Sovereign of worlds! display thy power, 757 Swift years, but teach me how to bear, 611 Take my heart, O Father, take it, 75 There is a world, and O how blest, 276 Thou art the Way, and he who sighs, 768 Thou must go forth alone, my soul! 155 ’Tis not Thy chastening hand I fear, 247 Wake the song of jubilee. 528 When shall the voice of singing, 846 Why come not spirits from the realms of glory? 448 Why slumbereth, Lord, each promised sign?

Anonymous Hymns

_Come, Holy Spirit, hush my heart_,

C.M. 3 stas. 3 _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.

_Come thou Almighty King!_

The widely used hymn to the Trinity which begins with this line was written about 1757 in England. It has often been mistakenly attributed to Charles Wesley, and research has failed to discover who its author was. Perhaps he thought it prudent not to disclose his name because both his words and the tune by Felice di Giardini to which it was set in 1769 offered so marked a contrast to the British national anthem, in the same unusual metre, which had come into popular use about 1745 with the words _God save our lord the King_. American Unitarians in the 19^th century could sing the first stanza of the hymn, addressed to the “Father all glorious,” but not the trinitarian stanzas which followed. An unknown writer produced two additional stanzas in a carefully revised version which was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841; in the 1851 _Supplement_ to Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846; and in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. This version, however, was not satisfactory to later Unitarians and was again largely rewritten in the form in which it has been included in most of the Unitarian hymn books of more recent date. This version will be found in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

H.W.F.

_For mercies past we praise thee, Lord_,

Given as Anonymous in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, in 4 stas. of 4 l. It was repeated in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and in the (Unitarian) _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868.

J. 1564

_My life flows on in endless song_,

8.7.8.7.D. 3 stas. _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.

_Now, when the dusky shades of night retreating_,

This is a free translation in five stanzas of the Latin hymn, _Ecce jam noctis tenuatar umbra_ by Gregory the Great, c. 600, included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, as anonymous. It passed into Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_, 1855, and into many other hymn books, British and American, often with the 3^d and 4^th stanzas omitted. There is no clue as to its author though Julian (p. 320) points out that the first stanza appears to be an altered form of W. J. Copeland’s translation from the Latin, published in 1848. The three stanza form of the hymn is included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 819 H.W.F.

_We follow, Lord, where thou dost lead_,

L.M. 5 stas. Attributed to “Book of Hymns,” in _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.

Appleton, Rev. Francis Parker, Boston, Massachusetts, August 9, 1822—June 14, 1903, Cohasset, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1845, and was minister to the Unitarian church, in South Danvers, (now Peabody) Massachusetts from 1846 to 1853. He then left the ministry for secular occupations. His hymn,

_Thirsting for a living spring_,

was included, anonymously, in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, and, attributed to him, in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. It is included in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908; in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937. His hymn,

_The past yet lives in all its truth, O God_,

was also included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, but has now dropped out of use.

J. 1551, 1606 H.W.F.

Badger, Rev. George Henry, Charlestown, Massachusetts, March 27, 1859—May 11, 1953, Orlando, Florida. He was educated at Williams College, A.B. 1883, at Andover Theological Seminary and the Harvard Divinity School, receiving the degree of S.T.B. from the latter institution in 1886. He served several Unitarian churches in New England. From 1912-1918 he was a minister in San Antonio, Texas; from 1919-1936 in Orlando, Florida. The preface to _The Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908, is signed with his initials as editor. That book contains three hymns of which he was author:—

1. _God of the vastness of the far-spread sea_,

2. _Lord, I believe, and in my faith_,

3. _Thy way, O Lord, is in the sea_,

In 1910 he wrote a hymn beginning,

4. _O Thou who art my King_,

which was included in The _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914. None of these hymns have passed into later collections.

H.W.F.

Ballou, Rev. Adin, 1803-1890. Without much formal education, but gifted in mind and spirit, he was ordained in 1827 as a Universalist minister, but in 1831 joined the Unitarian denomination in which he served a number of New England parishes. He wrote a hymn beginning,

_Years are coming—speed them onward!_ _When the sword shall gather rust_

which was included in Universalist hymnbooks and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

H.W.F.

Barber, Rev. Henry Hervey, Warwick, Massachusetts, December 30, 1835—January 18, 1923, Jacksonville, Florida. He was educated at Deerfield (Massachusetts) Academy, and at Meadville Theological School from which he graduated in 1861. After pastorates in two New England churches he became in 1881 a professor in Meadville Theological School, a position from which he retired in 1904. His hymn beginning,

_Far off, O God, and yet most near,_

dated 1891, had considerable use and was included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.

H.W.F.

Barnard, Rev. John, Boston, Massachusetts, November 6, 1681—January 24, 1770, Marblehead, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1700, and was installed as minister of the Congregational Church in Marblehead in 1716, which he served with distinction through the rest of his life. A number of his sermons were printed, and in 1752 he published _A New Version of the Psalms of David_, 278 pp., printed in Boston, the result of his own endeavor to produce a fresh metrical translation. It is listed in Julian’s _Dictionary_, p. 929, under _Psalters, English_. His book was used in his own church, but not elsewhere, and is now very rare. His own annotated copy is in the Harvard College Library and the original ms. is in the Massachusetts Historical Society.

H.W.F.

Barrows, Rev. Samuel June, New York, New York, May 26, 1845—April 21, 1909, New York. He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1875 and in 1876 was ordained minister of Mount Pleasant Church, Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he served until 1881. He was editor of the _Christian Register_ from 1881 to 1897, and was a member of Congress, 1897-1899.

A hymn beginning

_Enkindling Love, eternal Flame_

is attributed to him in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.

H.W.F.

Bartol, Rev. Cyrus Augustus, D.D., Freeport, Maine, August 30, 1813—December 16, 1890, Boston. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1832 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1835. After lay preaching for a year in Cincinnati he was ordained in 1837 as successor to Rev. Charles Lowell (father of James Russell Lowell) in the West Church (Unitarian) in Boston. He retired in 1889. He was author of several books and of a large number of printed sermons and addresses. He, with others, edited _Hymns for the Sanctuary_, Boston, 1849, commonly called “Bartol’s Collection”, in which was included an anonymous hymn beginning

_Be thou ready, fellow-mortal_ (Readiness for Duty)

This hymn passed into the _Supplement_ to Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns of the Church of Christ_, Boston, 1853, and into other collections. Its authorship has never been disclosed, but its theme and mode of expression suggest that it may have been written by Bartol.

J. 120 H.W.F.

Bartrum, Joseph P., a Unitarian layman living in the 19^th century, who published _The Psalms newly Paraphrased for the Service of the Sanctuary_, Boston, 1833, from which his version of Psalm CVI,

_O from these visions, dark and drear_,

was taken for inclusion in several Unitarian collections in Great Britain and America and in the Universalist _Church Harmonies, New and Old_, 1895. His version of Psalm LXXXVII,

_Amid the heaven of heavens_,

is included in Holland’s _Psalmists of Britain_, 1843, vol. II, p. 339, with a critical note.

Neither hymn is found in use today.

J. 116 H.W.F.

Beach, Rev. Seth Curtis, D.D., near Marion, Wayne County, New York, August 3, 1837—January 30, 1932, Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Union College, Schenectady, New York in 1863, and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1866. From 1867 to 1869 he served the Unitarian Church in Augusta, Maine. Ill health then led him to take up a farm in Minnesota for four years. In 1873 he returned to New England, where his longest pastorates were at Bangor, Maine, 1891-1901, and at Wayland, Massachusetts, 1901-1911, when he retired to Watertown. His hymn,

1. _Mysterious Presence! Source of all_,

was first printed in the “Order of Exercises at the Fiftieth Annual Visitation of the Divinity School, July 17, 1866,” having been written for that occasion.

In 1884 he wrote

2. _Thou One in all, thou All in one_ (God in Nature)

These two hymns were included in the Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937. His third hymn

3. _Kingdom of God! The day how blest_,

is included in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.

J. 1581 H.W.F.

Belknap, Rev. Jeremy, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, June 4, 1744—June 20, 1798, Boston. He graduated from Harvard College in 1762; taught school for four years; in 1766 accepted a position as assistant to Rev. Jonathan Cushing of Dover, New Hampshire, and in 1767 was ordained, serving that parish until 1786. In 1787 he became minister of the Federal Street Church, (now the Arlington Street Church) Boston, which he served until his death. Harvard gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1792. He was the author of a three volume _History of New Hampshire_; of a petition (1788) for the abolition of the slave trade; and of other books and essays; and formed the plan for the Massachusetts Historical Society, organized in 1791. He wrote no hymns but made an important contribution to American hymnody in his collection _Sacred Poetry: consisting of Psalms and Hymns adapted to Christian devotion in public and private. Selected from the best authors, with variations and additions_, by Jeremy Belknap, D.D., Boston, 1795, which ran to many editions. His intention was to provide a book acceptable to both the conservative and the liberal wings of Congregationalism, to bridge the widening gap which resulted in the formation of the Unitarian denomination a generation later. In this he failed, for only the liberal churches accepted it, though it was widely used by them for 40 years, being much the best of the period. It includes 300 hymns from the best English sources, and was the first to introduce to Americans the hymns by Anne Steele. The only American hymns in the collection are Jacob Kimball’s metrical version of Psalm 65 and Mather Byles’ _When wild confusion rends the air_.

H.W.F.

Blake, Rev. James Vila, Brooklyn, New York, January 21, 1842—April 28, 1925, Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Harvard College in 1862 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1866, and served Unitarian churches in Massachusetts and Illinois, his last and longest pastorate being at Evanston, Ill., 1892-1916. Author of a number of books. He shared with W. C. Gannett, _q.v._ and F. L. Hosmer, _q.v._ in the compilation of the first edition of _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, 1880, which included his hymn,

_Father, Thou art calling, calling to us plainly_,

included also in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937. The latter book also includes his hymn of the church universal,

_O sing with loud and joyful song_.

H.W.F.

Briggs, C. A.

A hymn beginning,

_God’s law demands one living faith_ (Law of God)

is attributed to a person with this name in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853. It is probable, but not certain, that the author was Rev. Charles Briggs, Halifax, Massachusetts, January 17, 1791—December 1, 1873, Roxbury, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1815 and from the Divinity School in 1818, was minister of the First Church in Lexington, Massachusetts, 1818-1834, and secretary of the American Unitarian Association, 1835-1848.

H.W.F.

Briggs, LeBaron Russell, LL.D., Salem, Massachusetts, December 11, 1855—April 24, 1934, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Harvard College in 1875, A.M., 1882; served as tutor, then as professor of English, and as dean from 1891-1925. Harvard gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1900, as did Yale in 1917, and Lafayette University gave him the degree of Litt.D. For the celebration of the 300^th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, December 21, 1920, he wrote a poem which is introduced by a prayer in three stanzas, 11.10.11.10, offered by “The Pilgrim”, beginning,

_God of our fathers, who hast safely brought us_,

It is a fine hymn of thanksgiving for religious freedom and it was included in the program celebrating the 300^th anniversary of the “Cambridge Platform” in October 27, 1948. It deserves wide use.

H.W.F.

Brooks, Rev. Charles Timothy, Salem, Massachusetts, June 20, 1813—June 14, 1883, Newport, Rhode Island. He graduated from Harvard College in 1832 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1835. He was ordained as the first minister of the Unitarian Church in Newport, Rhode Island, on January 1, 1837, and served there until 1873. He was author of a number of books, most of them translations from German poets and novelists. After his death a volume entitled _Poems, Original and Translated_, was published. The only hymn with which his name is associated was in two stanzas beginning,

_God bless our native land!_

said to have been written while he was a student in the Divinity School. Part of the first and almost the whole of the second stanza were rewritten by J. S. Dwight, _q.v._, and Putnam, in _Songs of the Liberal Faith_, states that it was first published in this form in one of Lowell Mason’s song books in 1844. It was included, with further alterations, in Hedge and Huntington’s_ Hymns of the Church of Christ_, 1853, and with yet other changes in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. In the 20^th century collection also entitled _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, the hymn appears in 3 stas. of which the first is by Brooks, the second by Dwight, and a third, of which the first 3 lines are those introduced by Longfellow and Johnson, the remaining four lines from a later unknown source, and its authorship is attributed to “Composite: based on Charles Timothy Brooks and John Sullivan Dwight.” The complicated history of this hymn is traced in Julian, 184, 1566, 1685.

H.W.F.

Bryant, William Cullen, Cummington, Massachusetts, November 3, 1794—June 12, 1878, New York, New York. He was a student at Williams College for two years, then studied law, and was admitted to the bar at Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1815, where he practised until 1825 when he removed to New York. There he devoted himself to journalism as editor of _The New York Review_ and of the _New York Evening Post_, reserving part of his time, especially in later years, to literary pursuits at his retreat at Roslyn, Long Island, where he wrote addresses, essays and reviews as well as poems. In point of time he was the first of the famous group of New England poets of the nineteenth century. He began writing verses when a child and composed his noblest poem, _Thanatopsis_, when only eighteen years of age. His first volume of poems, containing one entitled _The Ages_ delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard, and some others, was published in 1821. In 1832 a volume entitled _Poems_, complete to that date, was published, for which Washington Irving secured republication in England, where it brought him wide recognition. Many successive editions of Poems, each with some additional items, were published in later years, and after his death a complete edition of the _Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant_ appeared in 1879. He also had privately printed a little volume of his _Hymns_, 1869.

The following pieces by him have been included in various collections of hymns, some of them having considerable use in Great Britain as well as in this country.

1. _All praise to him of Nazareth_ (Communion)

Dated 1864. Included in Hatfield’s (British) _Church Hymn Book_, 1874, in 3 stanzas, and in _Songs of the Sanctuary_ and in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc. in 5 stanzas.

2. _All that in this wide world we see_ (Omnipresence)

Dated 1836, but Beard, in his _Collection_, (British) 1837, gives it as an original contribution, thus fixing the date of first publication. Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., notes that it was “Written, probably, for some church in England,” information which sounds like the aged poet’s vague recollection many years after he had responded to Beard’s request. Included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841.

3. _All things that are on earth_, (Love of God)

Included in Beard’s _Collection_, 1837.

4. _Almighty! hear thy children raise_, (Praise)

One of five hymns written by Bryant at the request of Miss Sedgwick for inclusion (without the author’s name) in Sewall’s _Collection_, 1820, compiled for use in the First Congregational Society of New York (Unitarian), now All Souls Church. In Beard’s _Collection_, 1837, the first line is altered to read

_Almighty, listen while we praise_,

and in the Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, Boston, 1868, it is altered to

_Almighty, hear us while we praise_,

5. _As shadows cast by cloud and sun_,

Written for the Semi-Centennial of the Church of the Messiah, Boston, March 19, 1875. Included in the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, New York, 1878.

6. _Close softly, fondly, while ye weep_ (Death)

Included in H. W. Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_, 1855.

7. _Dear ties of mutual succor bind_ (Charity)

Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, 1874, p. 130, says, “Mr. Bryant has kindly sent us, as an additional contribution to this volume, the following exquisite lines, which were written about forty years since, for some charitable occasion, and which he lately found among some old papers. They are not among his published poems.” Included in the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, 1878.

8. _Deem not that they are blest alone_ (Mourning)

Written for Sewall’s _Collection_, 1820, _vide supra._ Included in Beard’s _Collection_, 1837, and, the first line altered to read,

_O deem not they are blest alone_,

in Martineau’s _Hymns of Prayer and Praise_, 1873, and in _Songs for the Sanctuary_, New York, 1865-1872.

9. _Father, to thy kind love we owe_, (God’s Loving Kindness)

One of the five hymns, written by Bryant for inclusion in Sewall’s _Collection_, New York, 1820. Included in the _Hymn and Tune Book_, Boston, 1868, and in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873. In Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc. the first line reads,

_Our Father, to thy love we owe_.

10. _How shall I know thee in the sphere which keeps?_ (Future life)

A memorial poem in 9 stanzas rather than a hymn, but included in part in the supplement of devotional readings in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853. Complete text in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc., pp. 125-126.

11. _Look from Thy sphere of endless day_ (Home missions)

Dated 1840. Included in _Songs for the Sanctuary_, New York, 1865; in Horder’s (British) _Congregational Hymns_, 1884, and in the _Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935.

12. _Lord, who ordainest for mankind_ (Thanks for Mother Love)

Written at the request of Rev. Samuel Osgood of New York for inclusion in his _Christian Worship_, 1862, and included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, etc., 1873.

13. _Mighty One, before whose face_ (Ordination)

Dated c. 1820. It was included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc. 1853, H. W. Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_, 1855, and elsewhere.

14. _Not in the solitude_, (God in the city)

Dated 1836. Included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.

15. O God, whose dread and dazzling brow (God’s compassion)

Included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc. 1853, and in the _Hymn and Tune Book_, Boston, 1868.

16. _O North, with all thy vales of green!_ (Reign of Christ)

Included in the author’s privately printed _Hymns_, 1869, undated. It passed into several British collections, e.g., the Scotch _Church Hymnary_, 1898; _Worship Song_, 1905; _The English Hymnal_, 1906; and is included in the American Episcopal _Hymnal_, 1940.

17. _O Thou, whose love can ne’er forget_ (Ordination)

One of Bryant’s early hymns, perhaps written for the ordination of Rev. William Ware, December, 1821, as minister of the First Congregational Society of New York, (now All Souls Church). Included in Beard’s English _Collection_, 1837.

18. _O Thou Whose own vast temple stands_ (Opening of a house of worship)

Written in 1835 for the dedication of a Chapel in Prince Street, New York. The building was soon afterwards destroyed by fire. This hymn is the most widely used of all those written by Bryant. It was included in Beard’s English _Collection_ in 1837, and in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873. In Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc., the opening line reads,

_Thou, whose unmeasured temple stands_,

and in this form it was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1861, and in the American Presbyterian _Psalms and Hymns_, Richmond, 1867; in Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, London, 1884; and elsewhere.

19. _Standing forth in life’s rough way_ (On behalf of children)

Included in Dr. Allon’s (British) _Children’s Worship_, 1878; in Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884; and elsewhere.

20. _Thou unrelenting past_ (The Past)

Dated 1836. A poem of 14 stanzas, a few of which were included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.

21. _When doomed to death the Apostle lay_ (On behalf of Drunkards)

Included in the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, 1878.

22. _When he who from the scourge of wrong_ (Hope of Resurrection)

Written for Sewall’s _Collection_, 1820. Included in _Lyra Sacra Americana_, 1868.

23. _When this song of praise shall cease_ (Anticipation of Death)

Written for a collection of hymns printed at the end of a _Sunday School Liturgy_, prepared by James Lombard, of Utica, New York, in 1859. Included in Bryant’s privately printed _Hymns_, 1869, and in Stevenson’s (British) _School Hymnal_, 1889.

24. _When the blind suppliant in the way_ (Opening the eyes of the blind)

Dated 1874. Included in the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, New York, 1878.

25. _Whither, midst falling dew_, (Divine Guidance)

This is one of Bryant’s best known poems, entitled “To a Waterfowl,” and dated 1836, and is in no sense a hymn, although included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.

26. _Wild was the day, the wintry sea_, (The Pilgrim Fathers)

Included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864.

Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., p. 123 reports a hymn beginning

_Ancient of Days! except Thou deign_,

“written for the dedication of Rev. R. C. Waterston’s church in Boston,” and another hymn beginning

_Lord, from whose glorious presence came_,

written “at the request of a friend, Mr. Hiram Barney, for the opening of an Orthodox Congregational Church,” but does not print the text of either, and neither appears to have been included in any Collection.

As indicated in the foregoing list, the text of several of Bryant’s hymns is found with the opening line altered from the original, either by the author himself, or, presumably, with his consent, so that it is impossible to say which is the correct or authorized form, and frequently no more than approximate date of composition can be given.

The early flowering of Bryant’s gifts as a poet, promoted by a fortunate combination of circumstances, quickly brought him widespread recognition in both Great Britain and America, which deepened into respect for his fine character as he advanced in age. The writings of no other American poet of his period were so eagerly searched by compilers of hymn books, who sometimes included verses which were meditative, poems rather than hymns, e.g., nos. 8, 10, 20 and 25 in the above list. Bryant’s mind was cool and meditative, and his hymns are correct and smoothly flowing, but seldom touched with lyric fire, and none of them quite reach the highest level. They express an attitude towards religion characteristic of the intellectual life of his time but now largely passed away. No. 16 is still included in several leading hymn collections of the 20^th century; nos. 11 and 18 are in the Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914; and nos. 12 and 18 are in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 189-190, 1682 H.W.F.

Bulfinch, Rev. Stephen Greenleaf, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, June 18, 1809—October 12, 1870, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was son of Charles Bulfinch, a leading architect, and received his early education in Washington, D.C., returning to Cambridge to enter the Harvard Divinity School, from which he graduated in 1830. He was ordained in January, 1831, as assistant to Rev. Samuel Gilman, _q.v._, of Charleston, South Carolina, and later served Unitarian churches in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Nashua, New Hampshire; Dorchester, Massachusetts and East Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a voluminous writer in both prose and verse. Most of his hymns first appeared in his books _Contemplations of the Saviour_, Boston, 1832; _Poems_, Charleston, 1834; and _Lays of the Gospel_, 1845. The first of these was reprinted in England, where 19 of his hymns were included in Beard’s _Collection_, 1837, and where they had widespread use.

His best known hymns are as follows:

1. _Benignant Saviour: ’twas not thine_, (Compassion of Christ)

From his “Contemplations of the Saviour,” altered in Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884, to read

_Most gracious Saviour: ’twas not thine_.

2. _Burden of shame and woe_, (The Crucifixion) 3. _Hail to the Sabbath day_, (Sunday) 4. _Hath not thy heart within thee burned_, (Evening) 5. _Holy Son of God most high_, (Christ) 6. _How glorious is the hour_, (The New Life) 7. _In the Saviour’s hour of death_, (Good Friday) 8. _It is finished! Glorious word_, (Good Friday) 9. _Lord, in this sacred hour_, (Worship) 10. _O suffering friend of all mankind_, (Passiontide) 11. _There is a strife we all must wage_, (Life’s Duty) 12. _Toiling through the livelong night_, (Miracle of fishes) 13. _What power unseen by mortal eye_, (Miracle)

These hymns are well written contemplations of gospel episodes, as viewed by the conservative piety of the author’s period. Several were included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846-1848; nos. 6 and 10 are in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853; and most of them in one and another 19^th century collection. Only No. 4 has survived in present-day use, being found in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 191, 1555 revised H.W.F.

Burleigh, William Henry, Woodstock, Connecticut, February 12, 1812—March 18, 1871, Brooklyn, New York. He was an editor and publisher working successively in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1837-1843; in Hartford, Connecticut, 1843-1849; in Syracuse, New York, 1849-1854. From 1855-1870 he was Harbor Master of New York. He was a member of the Second Unitarian Church in Brooklyn and an ardent advocate of anti-slavery and temperance reforms. Early in life he began writing hymns and other poems which were printed in various periodicals, but for many of which the date and occasion are impossible to determine. They were collected for publication in a volume entitled _Poems_, Philadelphia, 1841, and this book, enlarged with his later poems, was republished in 1871 after his death, with a biographical notice by his wife. Some of the best were included in the British collection _Lyra Sacra Americana_, 1868, the editor of which, Dr. Cleveland, said, “Most of these beautiful hymns of Mr. Burleigh’s were given to me in ms. by the author.” From this publication they were taken for extensive use in British hymn books.

1. _Abide not in the realm of dreams_, (The Harvest Call)

Included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., is a poem of 10 stanzas from which a cento consisting of the first two lines of stanza 1 combined with the second two lines of stanza 2, followed by stanzas 3, 6, 7 and 10 are taken to form a hymn in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

2. _Fades from the west the farewell light_ (Night)

This poem, entitled “A Psalm of Night,” is given in his _Poems_, New York, 1871. Although not in the first edition of _Poems_, 1841, stanzas selected from it came into use as early as 1844. The original is in 5 stanzas of 8 lines. From it the following centos have come into use.

(a) _Day unto day uttereth speech_,

This consists of stanzas III-V, and is given in the _Christian Hymns_ of the Cheshire Pastoral Association, 1844, as an “Evening Hymn.”

(b) _O Holy Father, mid the calm_

This cento consists of stanzas IV-V, and is given in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, and in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864.

(c) _Not only doth the voiceful day_,

Composed of stanzas II-III, in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. Another arrangement beginning with the same stanza is in _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

(d) _The brightening dawn and voiceful day_,

In the British _Hymnary_, London, 1872, an altered form of (c), with the addition of a doxology.

In these various forms the use of this hymn was very extensive.

3. _Father, beneath thy sheltering wing_, (Trust and Peace)

Printed in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Included in the British _Baptist Hymnal_, 1879; in Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884; and others; and in many American collections.

4. _Father, thy servant waits to do thy will_ (Ordination)

“Written for the ordination of Mr. J. W. Chadwick, as pastor of the Second Unitarian Church, in Brooklyn, New York, 1864.” Included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc.

5. _For the dear love that kept us through the night_ (Morning)

Taken from the author’s _Poems_, 1871, for inclusion in Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884.

6. _From the profoundest depths of tribulation_ (Lent)

A meditative poem rather than a hymn, included in the Supplement to Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns of the Church of Christ_, 1853.

7. _Lead us, O Father, in the paths of peace_ (Divine Guidance)

In _Lyra Sacra Americana_ headed “A Prayer for Guidance.” This is one of the author’s best known and most widely used hymns. Included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

8. Not in vain I poured my supplication (Lent)

A continuation of the same thought as no. 6, preceding, which it follows in the Supplement to Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns_, etc.

9. _O deem not that earth’s crowning bliss_, (Morning)

In his _Poems_, 1871; in _Lyra Sacra Americana_ from which it passed into the British _Baptist Hymnal_, 1879, and Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884, and others. In the Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, New York, 1878, the hymn beginning

_From lips divine the healing balm_

is a cento from this poem.

10. _Still will we trust though earth seems dark and dreary_, (Faith)

From _Lyra Sacra Americana_ this passed into many non-conformist collections in Great Britain where it was the most widely used of all of Burleigh’s hymns. It had a much more limited use in this country. Included in Putnam’s _Singers & Songs_, etc.

11. _There is a beautiful land by the spoiler untrod_, (Heaven)

Dr. Cleveland, editor of _Lyra Sacra Americana_ says “This piece was first published in the _Independent_, Jan. 18, 1866.”

12. _They who have kept their virgin whiteness_, (Purity)

In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

13. _Thou who look’st with pitying eye_ (Lent)

In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

14. _Through the changes of the day_ (Evening)

From his Poems, 1841. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_; in S.P.C.K.’s _Psalms and Hymns_, 1852; in Thring’s _Collection_, and other British books.

15. _We ask not that our path be always bright_, (Trust in God)

From _Lyra Sacra Americana_ this passed into Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884.

16. _When gladness gilds our prosperous day_ (Good in all)

From _Lyra Sacra Americana_ this passed into Horder’s _Congregational Hymns_, 1884.

The above hymns have had much less use in this country than in Great Britain. Nos. 7 and 10 are in the Universalist _Church Harmonies_, 1895; nos. 1 and 7 in _Hymns of the Spirit_. 1937, no. 7 in _The Hymnal_, 1940; and no. 3 in the _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_. The others, though very acceptable expressions of the religious thought and feeling in the era in which the author lived, have now dropped out of use.

J. 195-6 Revised H.W.F

Chadwick, Rev. John White, Marblehead, Massachusetts, October 19, 1840—December 11, 1904, Brooklyn, New York. After two years of study at the Bridgewater Normal School, and a shorter period at Phillips Exeter Academy, he entered the Harvard Divinity School, from which he graduated in 1864. He received the degree of A.M. 1888. In December, 1864, he was ordained minister of the Second Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, where he remained until his death. He was an influential preacher and a prolific author in both prose and verse, his principal publications being a _Book of Poems_, 1876, _Nazareth Town_, 1883 (poems), the two being later combined and republished in 1888 with the earlier title; _The Bible Today_, 1879: _Old and New Unitarian Belief_, 1894; and first-rate biographies of _Theodore Parker_, 1901, and _William Ellery Channing_, 1903. After his death a small volume was published entitled _Later Poems_, 1905, and his printed sermons have been collected in 14 volumes. As a young man he became a close friend of W. C. Gannett, _q.v._, and F. L. Hosmer, _q.v._, both of whom were also born in 1840, though not his classmates in the Divinity School, and his hymns are expressions of a theological outlook similar to theirs, notably in his endeavor to give a religious interpretation to the then disputed doctrine of evolution. Although several of his hymns are of exceptionally fine quality, he often wrote in haste, lacking the patience with which his two friends sought for the precise word to convey their meaning, but he often abbreviated or re-wrote his verses at the request of hymn-book editors, or willingly accepted their proposed alterations. The result is that some of his hymns now appear in forms which depart considerably from their original texts. His secular poems, mostly the utterances of a nature lover, are often the too hastily written verse of a minor poet.

His _Book of Poems_, 1888, and _Later Poems_, 1905, include all his hymns, three of which had little use, viz:

1. _A gentle tumult in the earth_, (Easter) 1876

2. _Everlasting Holy One_, (Invocation) 1875

3. _O God, we come not as of old_, (Worship) 1874

His best known hymn was written for the Visitation Day exercises at the Harvard Divinity School, 1864,

4. _Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round_,

It has been widely used in Great Britain and in this country. Other hymns by him have had considerable use, as follows:

5. _Another year of setting suns_, (New Year’s) 1873

This was written in ten stanzas beginning

“That this shall be a better year,”

but in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, only stas. 5, 6, 7, and 10 are given, beginning as above.

6. _It singeth low in every heart_, (Commemoration) 1876

Written for the 25^th anniversary of the dedication of his church in Brooklyn, and widely used.

7. _Now sing we a song of the harvest_, (Thanksgiving Day) 1871

8. _O Love Divine, of all that is_, (A song of Trust) 1865

9. _O Thou, whose perfect goodness crowns_, (Anniversary Hymn)

Written in 1889 for the 25^th anniversary of his ordination.

10. _Thou glorious God, before whose face_, (Anniversary Hymn)

Undated.

11. _Thou whose spirit dwells in all_, (Easter)

Written in 1890.

12. _Thy seamless robe conceals Thee not_, (Jesus)

Written in 1876. Included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, but not in later publications.

13. _What has drawn us thus apart_, (Unity of Spirit)

Written in 1891.

Several of the above hymns, as printed in current hymn-books, consist of selected stanzas, or have been slightly altered from their original forms, in most cases by Gannett and Hosmer, for inclusion in their collection _Unity Hymns and Chorals_, 1880, 1911. Two others included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, were not written as hymns but have been quarried out of verses in _Later Poems_, by permission of the author’s widow, viz:

14. _Spirit of God, in thunder speak_, (Summons to Duty)

This arrangement combines stanzas 13 and 16 in the poem entitled “A Missionary Chant”, used as the first two stanzas of the hymn, with stanzas 8 and 9 of the poem to “William Cullen Bryant” as the third and fourth stanzas of the hymn, both poems being found in _Later Poems_, 1905.

15. _Thou mighty God, who didst of old_, (Communion of Saints)

This is arranged from the same sources. Stanzas 1 and 2 are the first two stanzas in “William Cullen Bryant,” the last three stanzas are stanzas 11, 7, and 8 in “A Missionary Chant,” considerably altered. These arrangements were made by H. W. Foote, with the coöperation of F. L. Hosmer and W. C. Gannett, for inclusion in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.

Of the hymns listed above _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937 includes Nos. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15.

J. 216, 1619 Revised by H.W.F.

Chapman, Mrs. (No information available).

An anti-slavery hymn beginning

_O God of freedom! Hear us pray_,

is attributed to “Mrs. Chapman” in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.

H.W.F.

Cheney, Mrs. Ednah D. (Dow) Boston, Massachusetts, June 27, 1824—November 19, 1904, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. She married Seth Wells Cheney. She was the author of several books, including _The Life and Letters of Louisa May Alcott_. She wrote a hymn on “the larger prayer,” beginning

_At first I prayed for Light_,

in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each, printed in the _Riverside Record_ and reprinted in the _Boston Gazette_, February 4, 1882. Enough lines have been taken from this hymn to make a much shorter one in 5 stanzas of four lines each, C.M. for inclusion in Unitarian hymn-books. It has also been considerably rewritten, but since this revised form is not marked as “altered” it is probable that the changes were made by the author or at least with her permission. It is included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

H.W.F.

Church, Edward Alonzo, Boston, Massachusetts, —— 1844—January 29, 1929, Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was a business man who wrote in 1904, for the laying of the cornerstone of a new edifice for the Church of the Disciples (Unitarian), Boston, of which he was a member, a hymn beginning,

_Almighty Builder, bless, we pray,_ _The cornerstone that here we lay,_

The next year, for the final service in the old edifice which the congregation was leaving, he wrote one beginning,

_O Thou to whom in prayer and praise_ _We here have turned with constant heart._

Both hymns were included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and the first is also in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

H.W.F.

Clapp, Eliza Thayer, 1811-1888. She was a resident of Dorchester, Massachusetts. She was author of _Words in a Sunday School_, of _Studies in Religion_, New York, 1845, and of later essays on religion and of poems posthumously collected in a volume entitled _Essays, Letters and Poems_, privately printed in Boston, 1888. At the request of her friend R. W. Emerson she contributed three hymns and two poems to The _Dial_, 1841. From one of the hymns in 9 stanzas of 4 lines, published in The _Dial_, July, 1841, and entitled “The future is better than the past,” is taken the hymn beginning

_All before us is the way_, (Onward with confidence)

included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, where it was erroneously attributed to Emerson, an error which was repeated in several other collections which included it.

J. 234 H.W.F.

Clarke, Rev. James Freeman, D.D., Hanover, New Hampshire, April 4, 1810—June 8, 1888, Boston, Massachusetts. He was named for his step-grandfather, Rev. James Freeman, _q.v._ He graduated from Harvard College in 1829 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1833. He served as minister of the Unitarian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1833 to 1840. In 1841 he returned to Boston where he gathered a group of persons interested in the more radical social and religious reforms of the day into a church which he named the Church of the Disciples (Unitarian) of which he remained minister until his death. He became one of the most distinguished ministers of his period in Boston, greatly beloved and admired for his courage as well as his piety, his wisdom as well as his wit. He was the author of several books (and many short printed articles) the best known of which were his _Orthodoxy: its Truths and Errors_, and _Ten Great Religions_. The latter is an amplification of lectures on Comparative Religion which he gave at the Harvard Divinity School as early as 1854, and again for several years in the eighteen-seventies, the earliest course in this field of study to be given in any American theological school. In 1844 he published a _Service Book_ for use by his congregation, which included a small selection of hymns, among them Sarah Flower Adams’ _Nearer my, God, to Thee_, which had appeared in England only three years earlier and was now introduced for the first time to an American congregation, whence it quickly passed into numerous other collections. In 1852 a revised and enlarged edition of the _Service Book_ was published entitled the _Disciples Hymn Book_, which included five hymns by the compiler. A few of his poems are included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_, and the following hymns by him have come into some use.

1. _Brother, hast thou wandered far?_ (The Prodigal)

First printed in the _Service Book_, 1844. It appeared in abbreviated form as

_Hast thou wasted all the powers?_

(beginning with the second stanza) in _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853; in Beecher’s _Plymouth Collection_, 1855, and in other American and British books.

2. _Dear Friend, whose presence in the house_, (Jesus at Cana)

Dated 1855. A tender poem rather than a hymn, included in the British _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

3. _Father, to us Thy children humbly kneeling_ (Aspiration)

About 1833, after arrival in Louisville, Clarke wrote a poem entitled “Hymn and Prayer” beginning _Infinite Spirit, who art round us ever_, which was published in _The Dial_ for January, 1841. Five stanzas beginning

_Unseen, yet not unfelt!—if any thought_

were taken from this form of the poem for inclusion in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, but already Clarke had taken from his poem, and largely rewritten, three stanzas to make the hymn beginning as above. In this later form it was included in his _Service Book_, 1844, in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, in the _Disciples Hymn Book_, 1852, and in many later collections down to the present day.

4. _For all thy gifts we bless Thee, Lord_

Written for a Unitarian Convention in New York City, held on October 22, 1845, and included in _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.

5. _Hast thou wasted all the powers_,

Included in _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.

6. _To him who children blessed_ (Christening)

7. _To Thee, O God in heaven_ (Christening)

Both of these tender and beautiful hymns for a christening appeared in the _Service Book_, 1844, and have passed into a good many other collections, although hymns are now seldom sung at such a service.

Of the above no. 3 was included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, attributed to Clarke, and nos. 1, 5 and 6 were included as Anonymous. In their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, these hymns were correctly attributed to Clarke. He was the author of a limited quantity of pleasing religious verse acceptable to his many friends rather than a hymn writer of distinction, his best ones being nos. 3, 5 and 6. _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, includes nos. 3 and 6; _The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1935, includes nos. 3 and 5; _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, has only no. 3.

J. 235, 1556 Re-written, H.W.F.

Collyer, Rev. Robert, D.D., Keighly, Yorkshire, England, December 8, 1823—November 30, 1912, New York, New York. His education in childhood was very limited, and in early manhood he became a blacksmith, which had been his father’s trade. He joined the Methodist Church in 1847 and three years later sailed for America, settling at Shoemakertown, Pennsylvania, where he was both a blacksmith and a preacher. Having become acquainted with Dr. W. H. Furness, _q.v._, of Philadelphia, he accepted Unitarian beliefs and left the Methodist Church. His great intellectual abilities and natural gifts as a preacher brought him an invitation in 1859 to go to Chicago to take charge of the newly organized Unity Church in that city, which he served until 1879, when he accepted a call to the Church of the Messiah (Unitarian), New York. He was a widely popular lecturer and author of many published sermons, other articles, and a few occasional verses. The church of which he was minister was destroyed by the great Chicago fire of 1870 but was soon rebuilt. For the dedication of the new building in December 3, 1873, he wrote his one fine hymn beginning,

_With thankful hearts, O God, we come_,

which altered to

_Unto thy temple, Lord, we come_,

has had wide use in Unitarian hymn books and is included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 1623 H.W.F.

Clute, Rev. Oscar, Bethlehem, New York, March 11, 1837—January 27, 1902, Sawtelle, California. He took the degree of M.S. at Michigan State College, and then studied at Meadville Theological School, 1867-1868. In the latter year he was ordained as minister of the Unitarian Church at Vineland, New Jersey, where he remained for five years. He served churches in Keokuk, Iowa, 1875-1878; Iowa City, 1878-1888; and Pomona, California, 1888-1889. From 1889 to 1893 he was president of Michigan State Agricultural College, and president of Florida Agricultural College from 1893 to 1897, when he moved to California.

He wrote a hymn beginning,

_O Love of God most full,_ _O Love of God most free,_

which is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, and in _The Hymnal_ (Presbyterian), 1935, the Handbook to which describes it as “a rhapsody of gratitude for the love of God.”

J. 1682 H.W.F.

Dana, Charles Anderson, Hinsdale, New Hampshire, August 8, 1819—October 17, 1897, Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. He was one of the leaders in the Brook Farm Association, 1842; then became a journalist and man of letters; on the staff of the New York _Tribune_, 1847-1862; Assistant Secretary of War, 1863-1864; editor of the New York _Sun_, 1868.

The hymn beginning

_Work, and thou shalt bless the day_ (Joy in Labor)

which Hedge and Huntington included in their _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, and attributed to “C. A. Dana” was probably written while he was engaged in the Brook Farm experiment.

H.W.F.

Dwight, Rev. John Sullivan, Boston, Massachusetts, May 13, 1812—September 5, 1893. He graduated from Harvard College and from the Harvard Divinity School, and entered the Unitarian ministry, but after six years turned to literary pursuits, and was for nearly 50 years editor of the Journal of Music. A meditative poem by him in seven stanzas, entitled “True Rest,” beginning

_Sweet is the pleasure_,

is included in the Supplement in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, but it is not a hymn and his only connection with hymnody was his part in re-writing the hymn beginning

_God bless our native land!_

by his friend, C. T. Brooks, _q.v._ In most versions of this much altered hymn the second stanza is in the form given it by Dwight.

J. 1560, 1631 H.W.F.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, LL.D., Boston, Massachusetts, May 25, 1803—April 27, 1882, Concord, Massachusetts. He was the son of Rev. William Emerson, _q.v._, minister of the First Church of Boston (Unitarian) who, though not himself a hymn writer, published in 1808 the excellent small collection entitled _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns_ (5).

R. W. Emerson graduated from Harvard College in 1821 and after further study in the Harvard Divinity School took his A.M. in 1827. He was ordained in 1829 as minister of the Second Church of Boston (Unitarian). He served the church for three years but resigned in 1832, feeling that his pastoral work was inadequate and that he was not in accord with his parishioners’ views about the Communion Service. A volume of his sermons, selected and edited by A. C. McGiffert, Jr., was published in 1938 under the title _The Young Emerson Speaks_. Although he preached occasionally for several years thereafter he never held another pastorate, but retired to Concord and devoted himself to lecturing and authorship. As an essayist and poet he rose to great and lasting distinction. He published _Orations, Lectures, and Addresses_, 1844; _Poems_, 1846; _Representative Men_, 1850; _English Traits_, 1856; and a succession of later volumes. His _Collected Works_ were published after his death, in 12 volumes. Perhaps his most famous essay was his epoch-making _Divinity School Address_, delivered in 1838. In 1833 he wrote his hymn

_We love the venerable house_ (The house of God)

for the ordination of his successor, Rev. Chandler Robbins, _q.v._, in the Second Church, though it is more a commemorative poem than an ordination hymn. It was included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864; in Martineau’s _Hymns of Praise and Prayer_, printed in England in 1873; and in later Unitarian and other hymn books down to the present day. Four stanzas selected from this poem, beginning with the second,

_Here holy thoughts a light have shed_,

were included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, though without the author’s name, and the same collection erroneously attributed to Emerson a hymn beginning,

_All before us is the way_,

the author of which was Eliza T. Clapp, _q.v._, an error which was repeated in various other collections.

Part of Emerson’s poem entitled _The Problem_, beginning

_Out of the heart of nature rolled_ (The Everlasting Word)

originally printed in the _Dial_, July, 1840, and then in his _Poems_, 1846, was also included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and in Martineau’s _Hymns_, but has since dropped out of use.

Another poem of two stanzas beginning

_Not gold, but only men can make_

was attributed to Emerson in the later book called _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, probably mistakenly. These verses are listed as Emerson’s in Granger’s _Index to Poetry and Recitations_, under _A Nation’s Strength_, and Granger states that they are to be found in a publication of The Penn Publishing Company of Philadelphia. They are not to be found, however, in the _Centenary Edition of Emerson’s Poems_ nor in Hubbell’s _Concordance to the poems of Emerson_ (N. Y., Wilson, 1932). It is therefore doubtful whether the attribution to Emerson is well-founded.

J. 329 Revised by H.W.F.

Everett, William, Watertown, Massachusetts, October 10, 1839—February 16, 1910, Quincy, Massachusetts. Son of Hon. Edward Everett. He graduated from Harvard College in 1859; took the B.A. degree at Cambridge University, England, in 1863; and the degrees of A.M. and LL. B. at Harvard in 1865. He received the honorary degree of Litt.D. from Williams College in 1889 and the degree of LL.D. from the same college in 1893 and from Dartmouth in 1901. After graduation from the Harvard Law School he did not enter the legal profession but served the College as tutor and then Assistant Professor of Latin for several years. In 1872 the Boston Association of Ministers licensed him as a lay preacher and thereafter he spoke frequently in Unitarian pulpits in New England, but he was never ordained as a settled minister. He served Adams Academy in Quincy, Massachusetts as headmaster from 1877 to 1907, with an interruption of two years when in 1893 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives in Washington. In 1866 _The Christian Register_ printed his hymn beginning

_Deal gently with us, Lord_,

and three years later he wrote “for the Unitarian Festival at the Music Hall [Boston], May 27, 1869” a hymn beginning

_Almighty Father, Thou didst frame_

These hymns, and four others by him, are included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs, Etc._

J. 1634 H.W.F.

Fernald, Woodbury Melcher, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, March 21, 1813—December 10, 1873, Boston, Massachusetts. He entered the Universalist ministry in 1835 and served churches of that denomination in Newburyport and Chicopee, Massachusetts, and elsewhere, for a few years. He then became a Unitarian, without entering the ministry of that denomination, and eventually joined the Swedenborgian Church of the New Jerusalem in Boston. He did some travelling on behalf of this body, as far west as Wisconsin, in intervals of employment at the Custom House and, later, at the Post Office in Boston. He was author of books and essays, most of them expositions of Swedenborgian doctrine, and of a small amount of occasional verse, published in the periodicals of the day but never collected in a printed volume. In his private collection of his poems are a few hymns, only two of which appear to have had any public use. One beginning

_Great Source of being, truth and love_,

was written for the ordination of Rev. Thomas C. Adam as pastor of the West Universalist Society in Boston, March 12, 1845. The other,

_When Israel, humbled of the Lord_,

a protest against slavery published in the _Boston Journal_, in July, 1861, was included, in part and considerably re-written, in _The Soldier’s Companion: Dedicated to the Defenders of their Country in the Field, by their Friends at Home_. This was published as the Army Number of the _Monthly Journal_, Boston, October, 1861, vol. II, no. 10, a small Unitarian collection of hymns and devotional readings. In this collection the hymn begins,

_When Israel’s foes, a numerous host_,

and is attributed to “Rev. W. M. Fernald,” though it is not included in this form in the author’s private collection of his verse. None of his hymns appear to have had any further use.

H.W.F.

Flint, Rev. James, D.D. Reading, Massachusetts, December 10, 1779—March 4, 1855. He graduated from Harvard College in 1802, and was ordained an orthodox Congregational minister at East Bridgewater in 1806, where he soon adopted more liberal beliefs, and carried most of his congregation with him. In 1821 he accepted a call to the East Church (Unitarian) Salem, Massachusetts, where he served until his death. In 1843 he published _A Collection of Hymns for the Christian Church and Home_, to replace the earlier collection (1788) by Rev. William Bentley, _q.v._, for use in the East Church. Flint’s _Collection_ included several hymns by himself. One of them, “On leaving an old house of worship,” beginning

_Here to the high and holy One_

was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841, as was a second, written in 1840 for the 200^th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Quincy, Massachusetts, beginning,

_In pleasant lands have fallen the lines_ _That bound our goodly heritage._

This second hymn has been included in a number of later hymnbooks, among them _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 379 H.W.F.

Follen, Mrs. Eliza Lee (Cabot), Boston, Massachusetts, August 15, 1787—January 26, 1860, Brookline, Massachusetts. In 1828 she married Dr. Charles Follen, a German scholar who had sought freedom in this country and who was then teaching German Literature and Ecclesiastical History at Harvard. Later he was minister of the Unitarian Church (now called the Follen Church Society) at East Lexington, Massachusetts. Mrs. Follen both before and after her marriage contributed verse and prose articles to various periodicals and published a number of small books, including _Hymns for Children_, Boston, 1825; _Poems_, 1839, and, while she was in England in 1854, another small volume for children, entitled _The Lark and the Linnet_. These books contain some translations from the German and the versions of a few Psalms.

Her best known hymns are

1. _How sweet to be allowed to pray_, (Resignation)

This first appeared in _The Christian Disciple_, September 1818, then in her _Poems_, 1839, entitled “Thy will be done.”

2. _How sweet upon this sacred day_ (Sunday)

In _The Christian Disciple_, September, 1828, and in _Poems_, entitled “Sabbath Day.”

3. _Lord deliver, thou canst save_, (Prayer for the Slave)

In _Songs of the Free_, 1836; in Adams and Chapin’s (Universalist) _Hymns for Christian Devotion_, Boston, 1845; in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853; and in other collections, but not included in her _Poems_.

4. _God, thou art good, each perfumed flower_, (God In Nature)

This first appeared in _Hymns for Children_, Boston, 1825, beginning with a defective line (7s instead of 8s)

(a) _God is good! each perfumed flower_

and altered as above in her _Poems_ and in _The Lark and the Linnet_.

This hymn underwent further transformations in England. In Emily Taylor’s _Sabbath Recreations_, 1826, it was included as an original piece never before printed, and signed “E.L.C.”, the initials of Mrs. Follen’s maiden name. Possibly she sent a ms. copy to Miss Taylor before it appeared in Boston. In J. R. Beard’s British Unitarian _Collection of Hymns_, 1837, it appears as

(b) _Yes, God is good! each perfumed flower_,

J. H. Gurney, the Anglican hymn writer and editor, included it in his Lutterworth _Collection of Hymns for Public Worship_, 1838, but, while retaining Mrs. Follen’s opening stanza, rewrote about half of the remaining four stanzas, and in his later _Marylebone Collection_, 1851, rewrote it further, beginning it

(c) _Yes, God is Good.—in earth and sky,_

and in a note appended to the Index of first lines he wrote that he had found the hymn “in a small American volume —— well conceived, but very imperfectly executed,” and that because of “successive alterations—the writer has not scrupled to put his name to it, J.H.G.” In these altered forms the hymn had considerable use in England (For further details see Julian, _Dictionary_, 1298).

5. _Will God, who made the earth and sea_, (Child’s Prayer)

In _Poems_, 1839. In Dr. Allan’s (English) _Children’s Worship_ it is erroneously attributed to “H. Bateman.”

The only one of Mrs. Follen’s hymns in present use is 4_c_, in _The Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908, but several of her poems are included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_.

J. 380, 1298 H.W.F.

Foote, Rev. Henry Wilder (I), Salem, Massachusetts, June 2, 1838—May 29, 1889, Boston, Massachusetts. Educated at Harvard, A.B. 1858; A.M. 1861; graduated at the Harvard Divinity School, 1861. He was minister of King’s Chapel (Unitarian), Boston, from 1861 until his death, and his book, _The Annals of King’s Chapel_ (vol. I, 1882, vol. II, 1896, completed by others) gives an authoritative account of the religious controversies in Colonial Boston. At the time of his death he had in preparation a hymnbook to replace the _Collection of Psalms and Hymns_ which his predecessor, Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, _q.v._, had published in 1830. His hymnbook was completed by his widow, his sister Mrs. Mary W. Tileston, (_q.v._) and his brother Arthur Foote, and was published in 1891 as _Hymns of the Church Universal_. It was notable for its scholarly catholicity and helped to introduce to American congregations the then popular English hymn tunes of the “cathedral school” by Barnby, Dykes, Stainer, Sullivan and others. The book included the hymn which Mr. Foote had written for the Visitation Day (graduation exercises) at the Divinity School in 1861,

_O Thou with whom in sweet content_

This hymn has also been included in _Hymns for Church and Home_, 1896, in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 1604 H.W.F.

Foote, Rev. Henry Wilder (II), D.D., Litt.D., Boston, Massachusetts, February 2, 1875—still living. Son of the above; educated at Harvard, A.B. 1897; A.M. 1900; S.T.B. 1902. He entered the Unitarian ministry and has served churches in New Orleans, Louisiana; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Belmont, Massachusetts and Charlottesville, Virginia. From 1914-1924 he was an assistant professor at the Harvard Divinity School where he gave a course on the history of Christian hymnody. He was secretary of the committee which edited _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, published in 1914 by the American Unitarian Association, and was chairman of the committee which edited _Hymns of the Spirit_, published in 1937 by the Beacon Press (to be distinguished from the earlier _Hymns of the Spirit_ by S. Johnson and S. Longfellow, 1864). This later book includes one hymn by Dr. Foote beginning,

_Thou whose love brought us to birth_,

Dr. Foote also edited the words in _The Concord Anthem Book_, 1924, and in _The Second Concord Anthem Book_, 1936, for which Professor Archibald T. Davison selected and edited the music. He is the author of several books and articles on the cultural or religious aspects of American colonial history, one of which, _Three Centuries of American Hymnody_, 1940, covers the period from the publication of the _Bay Psalm Book_ in 1640 to the late nineteen-thirties.

Freeman, James, D.D., Charlestown, Massachusetts, April 22, 1759—November 14, 1835, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1777. In March, 1776, Rev. Henry Caner, rector of King’s Chapel, Boston, left with the British troops when they evacuated the town, accompanied by many of his leading parishioners. The remaining members of the church in September, 1782, engaged James Freeman as a lay “Reader” to conduct worship. The prayers for the King and royal family of England had been dropped and Freemen soon began to omit references to the Trinity, expecting soon to be dismissed as Reader. Instead the congregation voted to revise the liturgy in accordance with his beliefs and in 1785 published the first edition of the “Book of Common Prayer according to the Use of King’s Chapel.” This action led Bishop Seabury, after his arrival in America, to refuse ordination to Freeman, whereupon the congregation ordained him according to Congregational usage. Freeman thus became “the first avowed preacher of Unitarianism in the United States.” He remained active pastor of the Chapel until 1826. He edited a _Collection of Psalms and Hymns for public worship_, published in 1799. It included 155 psalms “selected chiefly from Tate and Brady,” followed by 90 hymns, and remained in use in the Chapel until the publication in 1830 of the much better _Collection_ edited by his successor, Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, _q.v._ Freeman wrote one hymn

_Lord of the worlds below_ (The Seasons)

which first appeared in his _Collection_, from which it passed to a number of later ones. It is an adaptation for congregational use of Thomson’s “Hymn on the Seasons.” See Putnam, _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_.

J. 389 Revised by H.W.F.

Frothingham, Rev. Nathaniel Langdon, D.D., Boston, July 23, 1793—April 4, 1870, Boston. He graduated from Harvard in 1811, and after a brief period of further study and as tutor in the College, he entered the Unitarian ministry and in 1815 was settled as minister of the First Church in Boston, where he served until 1850, when ill-health and approaching blindness caused his resignation. He was one of the most distinguished Boston ministers of his period, and the author of a good deal of verse, published in his _Metrical Pieces, Translated and Original_, 1855, and in a second volume with the same title in 1870. In 1828 he wrote his finest hymn,

1. _O God, whose presence glows in all_

for the ordination of his friend, W. P. Lunt, _q.v._, as minister of the Second Unitarian Congregational Church, New York, on June 19, of that year.

In 1835 he wrote

2. _We meditate the day_

for the installation of Mr. Lunt as Co-pastor with Rev. Peter Whitney of the First Church at Quincy, Massachusetts, and in 1839 he wrote

3. _O Lord of life and truth and grace_,

for the ordination of Henry Whitney Bellows in New York.

His later hymns were

4. _O Saviour, whose immortal word_,

“Written for the Dedication of the Church of the Saviour, Boston, November 16, 1847.”;

5. _Remember me, the Saviour said_, (Communion Service)

6. _The Lord gave the word,_ _’Twas the word of his truth._

7. _The patriarch’s dove, on weary wing_,

8. _They passed away from sight_, (Death and Burial)

9. _When I am weak, I’m strong_ (Spiritual Strength)

Of these hymns the first two were included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841; nos. 1, 2, 6 and 7 were included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_ (1853); and all but no. 8 are included in the author’s _Metrical Pieces_, 1855. No. 5 had considerable use in the 19^th century, but no. 1 alone survives in 20^th century Unitarian collections.

J. 400, 1564 Revised H.W.F.

Frothingham, Rev. Octavius Brooks, son of Rev. Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham, D.D., _q.v._, Boston, November 26, 1822—November 27, 1895, Boston. He graduated from Harvard College in 1843, and in 1846 from the Harvard Divinity School, where, for the graduating exercises of his class, he wrote his fine, and only, hymn,

_Thou Lord of Hosts, whose guiding hand_, (Soldiers of the Cross)

which was included in the _Book of Hymns_ prepared by his classmates, Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson, published later in the same year. He served as minister of the (Unitarian) North Church, Salem, Massachusetts from 1847 to 1855, and became minister of the Third Congregational Church in New York City, resigning in 1879. He was a bold, outspoken, eloquent speaker, and the author of many printed discourses and of several important biographies.

J. 400, 1638 H.W.F.

Furness, Rev. William Henry, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, April 20, 1802—January 30, 1896, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard College in 1820 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1823, and was given the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Harvard in 1847. In 1825 he was ordained minister of the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia where he served for 50 years before becoming pastor emeritus, his connection with the church covering a period of 71 years. He was an accomplished scholar, and attained distinction as a preacher, an author and a worker in social reforms. His publications include _Notes on the Gospels_, 1836; _Jesus and his Biographers_, 1838; _The History of Jesus_, 1850; _a Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840, in which his earlier hymns were printed; a translation of Schiller’s _Song of the Bell_; and other translations from the German. His collected _Verses, Translations and Hymns_ appeared in 1886. The following hymns by him have had considerable use.

1. _Father in heaven, to Thee my heart_,

Appeared in The _Christian Disciple_, 1822. It was printed in this form in several collections, including the Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868. In Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, it reads

_Father in heaven, to whom our hearts_

and was reprinted in this form in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and in Martineau’s _Hymns of Praise and Prayer_, 1873.

This hymn has sometimes been attributed to “H. Ware,” in error.

2. _Feeble, helpless, how shall I_,

Included on the Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844, and in later 19^th century Unitarian publications; also in the British _Lyra Sacra Americana_, 1868, and Thring’s _Collection_, 1882.

3. _Have mercy, O Father_,

Contributed to Martineau’s _Hymns of Praise and Prayer_, 1873.

4. _Here in a world of doubt_, (Psalm XLII)

Contributed to the New York Lutheran Coll., 1834, and included in the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840 and in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.

5. _Here in the broken bread_,

Included in the _Appendix_ to the Philadelphia Unitarian _Collection_, 1828; in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853; and in a few later collections, among them _The Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868.

6. _Holy Father, Gracious art Thou_,

Contributed to Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.

7. _I feel within a want_,

Included in the Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844; in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853; and in a few other collections.

8. _In the morning I will praise_ (pray)

In the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840, this hymn began

_In the morning I will raise_

and was thus included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873, but in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, and later American collections the first stanza is dropped and the hymn begins

_In the morning I will pray_

9. _O for a prophet’s fire,_

Included in the _Appendix_ to the Philadelphia Unitarian _Collection_, 1828, and in the Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844.

10. _Richly, O richly have I been_,

Written in 1823 and included in the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840. In Longfellow and Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, and in their _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, it is altered to begin

_O richly, Father, have I been_

In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, and most later Unitarian and other collections, the opening stanza is dropped and it begins with the second stanza,

_Unworthy to be called Thy son_,

11. _She is not dead, but sleepeth_

Included in the author’s _Verses, Translations and Hymns_, 1886.

12. _Slowly by Thy [God’s] hand unfurled_

Written in 1825 and included in the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840. In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, the first line was changed to read,

_Slowly by God’s hand unfurled_,

and was thus printed in the Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868. In Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873, and in most later American Unitarian collections, the original reading has been retained.

13. _That God is Love, unchanging Love_,

Written in 1892 and included in _Hymns for Church and Home_, 1896, and in _The Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_, 1908.

14. _Thou only Living, only True_,

An ordination hymn, dated 1868, included in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873.

15. _Thou who dost all things give_

Written in 1869. Included in the author’s _Verses, Translations and Hymns_, 1886; in _The Pilgrim Hymnal_, 1904; and in Horder’s _Treasury of American Sacred Song_, 1896.

16. _To the High and Holy One_,

This is printed in full in _Lyra Sacra Americana_, 1868. In Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, the first stanza is dropped and it begins with the 2^nd stanza,

_To the truth that makes us free_,

17. _What is the world that it should share_,

Printed in the _Christian Disciple_, 1822, and in Martineau’s _Hymns_, 1873. It begins with the second stanza of a hymn of which the opening line reads,

_Here in Thy temple, Lord, we bow_,

In _Lyra Sacra Americana_ it is altered to read

_Oh, is there aught on earth to share_

18. _What is this that stirs within_?

Printed in the author’s _Manual of Domestic Worship_, 1840; in the Cheshire _Christian Hymns_, 1844, in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, and in a good many other American collections.

Dr. Furness’s hymns, though creditable religious verse of the period and widely esteemed because of the author’s distinction, nowhere attain a very high level of poetic beauty, and almost all of them have passed out of use. Only nos. 8, 10, and 12 were included in the Unitarian _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and only no. 12 survives in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 402, 1638 Revised by H.W.F.

Fuller, Sarah Margaret, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 23, 1810—July 16, 1850, in a shipwreck south of New York. In 1847 she married the Marchese Ossoli in Rome. She did educational work in Boston and in Providence, Rhode Island, edited _The Dial_ in 1840, and was noted locally for her intellectual brilliance. Memorials of her by R. W. Emerson, W. H. Channing and J. F. Clarke appeared in 1851, her _Works_ in 1874.

Her hymn beginning

_Jesus, a child his course began_, (Christ the Pattern of Childhood)

from _Life Without and Life Within_, 1859, p. 404, had some use in Great Britain as well as in America.

J. 1585 H.W.F.

Gannett, Rev. William Channing