AMERICAN WRITERS AND COMPLIERS OF SACRED MUSIC

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The earliest music printed in America, from the ninth edit io
of the Bay Psalm Book, 1(198,
Historical Society

American
Writers and Compilers

of

Sacred Music

By
Frank J. Metcalf

Member of the American
Historical Association

The Abingdon Press

Nfew York Cincinnati

Copyright, 1925, by
FRANK J. METCALF

All rights reserved, including that of translation iato foreign hiuguagws
iuciudiu

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

TUNE COMPOSEBS

ARRANGED BY DATES

PART I PAGE

The Rev. John Tufts 1689-1750 13

Thomas Walter 1696-1725 19

Daniel Bayley 1725(?)-1799 23

Andrew Adgate -1793 29

Anthony Armbruster 82

James Lyon 1735-1790 32

John Stickney 1744-1827 41

John Aitken 1745(?)-1831 45

Dr. George K. Jackson .... 1745-1823 46

William Billings 1746-1800 51

Simeon Jocelyn 1746-1823 64

Oliver Brownson 65

Justin Morgan 1747-1798 66

Andrew Law 1748-1821 69

The Rev. Solomon Howe . . 1750-1835 79

Elias Mann 1750-1825 81

Supply Belcher 1751-1836 83

Abraham Wood 1752-1804 85

Joel Read 1758-1837 87

(See "Daniel Read")

Jacob French 1754- 88

Amos Doolittle 1754-1832 89

Asahel Benham 1757-1805 90

Amos Bull 98

Daniel Read 1757-1836 94

PART II

Timothy Swan 1758-1842 ., .. 108

4 CONTENTS

PAGE

Timothy Olmstead 1759-1848 107

John Hubbard 1759-1810 109

Amos Blanchard 110

Jacob Kimball, Jr 1761-18S6 Ill

Samuel Holyoke 1762-1820 114

Chauncey Langdon 1763-1880 HO

Jeremiah Ingalls 1764-1828 121

Oliver Holden 1765-1844 124

Hans Gram (no dates found, but lived about the

same time as Graupner) 134

Gottlieb Graupner 1767-1836 130

Peter Erben 1769-1861 188

Benjamin Carr 1769-1831 139

John Wyeth 1770-1858 141

Daniel Belknap 1771-1815 146

Jonathan Huntington 1771-1888 148

Zedekiah Sanger 1771-1821 140

Bartholomew Brown 1778-1854 150

Eliakim Doolittle 1772-1850 152

Amos Albee 1772- 153 -

Stephen Jenks 1772-1856 154

PART III

Abraham Maxim 1773-1829 161

Joel Harmon 1773-1833 163

John Cole 1774-1855 164

Benjamin Holt 1774-1861 167

John W, Nevius 1774-1854 171

George E. Blake 1775-1871 178

Stephen Addington 173

Samuel Willard 1776-1859 173

Solomon Warriner 1778-1860 176

Oliver Shaw 1779-1848 17&

Ezekiel Goodale 1780- IRS

Anthony Philip Heinrich. . . 1781-1861 185

Christopher Meinecke 1782-1850 191

Thomas Hastings 1784-1872 194

Arthur Clifton 1784-18S2 199

CONTENTS 5

PAGE

Samuel Dyer 1785-1885 205

Lowell Mason 1792-1872 211

The Rev. Jonathan M.

Wainwright 1792-1854 218

Charles Zeuner 1795-1857 220

Simeon Butler Marsh 1798-1875 225

Samuel Lytler Metcalf .... 1798-1856 227

Thomas Loud 229

Henry Kemble Oliver 1800-1885 280

PART IV

John Henry Newman 1801-1890 287

George James Webb 1808-1887 241

George Hood 1807-1882 245

Deodatus Dutton 1808-1832 247

David Creamer 1812-1887 ; 249

Henry Wellington Great-
ores 1813-1858 256

Jonathan Call Woodman. . . 1813-1894 262

Abner Jones 264

Darius Eliot Jones 1815-1881 266

Marcus M. Wells 1815-1895 268

John Zundel 1815-1882 269

William B. Bradbury. 1816-1868 274

Virgil Corydon Taylor 1817-1891 278

Isaac Baker Woodbury . . . . 1819-1858 281

Samuel Parkman. Tucker-
man 1819-1890 285

Robert C. Kemp 1820-1897 286

George Frederick Root. . . .1820-1895 289

Silas A. Bancroft 1823-1886 293

Nathaniel C. Burt 1825-1874 193

(See Meinecke)

Stephen Collins Foster 1826-1864 295

William D'Arcy Haley. . . .1828-1890 800

Horatio G. Spafford 1829-1881 808

Samuel A. Ward 1848-1903 807

6 CONTENTS

PART V

IjfU * X V PAGE

Revivalist Group, The 1868-1873 311

Camp Meeting Music 3&>

An Indian Hymn, "In De Dark Wood" 335

Washington Hymnody and Psalmody 3! Mi

Mathias Keller 1813-1875 8v!

"The American Hymn" . 366

Index 367

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

EARLIEST Music PRINTED IN AMERICA Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

"OXFORD" TUNE, JOHN TUFTS' "INTRODUCTION". 18

"PENITENTIAL HYMN," 1721 22

"WHITFIELD'S TUNE," 1761 36

"EASTER HYMN," 1787 45

WILLIAM BILLINGS' FAMILY RECORD 54

"MAJESTY," 1778 62

"ZiON's HARP," 1824 65

"OLD HUNDRED," LAW'S NOTATION, 1819 76

"CHINA" AND "MOUNT OLIVET," 1804 105

CONTRACT OF SAMUEL HOLYOKE, 1807 117

"NORTHFIELD," 1805 122

"CORONATION," 1703 126

"NETTLETON," 1813 142

"MBNDON," 1828 210

"OLIVET," 1832 217

"WOODSTOCK," 1830 248

HENRY WELLINGTON GREATOREX 256

"HOLBROOK" AND "STATE STREET," 1858 263

VIRGIL CORYDON TAYLOR 278

"AN INDIAN HYMN" 335

ROBERT ATHOW WEST 354

PREFACE

THE following pages are the results of ten years
of research into the history of the writers of sacred
music. For at least an equal period prior to that
the writer had been studying the history of hymns,
and had written much concerning them, wheat sud-
denly he discovered that very little had been written
up to that time about the tune composers. When
he sought information he found few sources. En-
couraged by Mr. Edmund S. Lorenz, he began to
collect facts about the development of church music,
and the results were published in the Choir Herald,
and other publications of the Lorenz Company, By
the courtesy of Mr, Lorenz, permission has been
granted to use those articles which appeared from
time to time in his magazines. The other articles
appear for the first time and afford some informa-
tion regarding nearly every one of the composers
whose work was done before the year 1800, and it
has been thought advisable to include also some mat-
ter of a miscellaneous character which has from
time to time been gathered for various occasions.

The printed periodicals relating to sacred music,
or containing information about American com-
posers of tunes, begin with the Euterpiad, edited by
John R. Parker in Boston, 1820 to 1823, but it fur-
nished very little about the early writers. Nearly
every such periodical printed up to 1900, and many
of those printed since that date which might prob-

9

10 PREFACE

ably add any items of interest, have been read, and
other sources of information have been sought.
Much of the record here preserved has been obtained
from relatives of the composers through private cor-
respondence. Genealogies and biographies have fur-
nished much of value, and many of the music books
themselves contain facts that cannot be obtained
elsewhere. It would be impossible to give credit to
every source from which facts have been extracted.
The Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library,
and that of the American Antiquarian Society in
Worcester, Massachusetts, have been those whose
contents have been most thoroughly explored, and
the thanks of the writer are hereby extended to the
librarians and attendants of those institutions for
the many courtesies extended.

FRANK J. METCALF.
Washington, D. C.

THE REV/ JOHN TUFTS AND THE FIRST
AMERICAN TUNE BOOK 1

1689-1750

FOE one hundred years after the landing of the
Pilgrims and the founding of the towns in eastern
Massachusetts the communities had to rely upon
the music which they had brought with them from
England. Most of the singing was by rote, and
books which contained the tunes were very scarce;
in fact, they were not desired, for in most churches
it was preferred that the lines should be read one at
a time, and the congregation should sing them after
the reading. In 1708, John Tufts graduated from
Harvard College, a youth still in his teens. He had
some knowledge of music, had some ideas as to how
he would like to hear it sung, and was soon to become
the first compiler of a tune book in the colonies. He
had studied theology, and in 1713 was a candidate
for pastor of the church in Charlestown, receiving
eight votes out of the one hundred and fifty-nine cast.
It was not long after this that he secured a church
in Newbury, the second parish. Their pastor was
getting old and an assistant was desired. The parish
records show that on

January 15, 1713-4, voted to give Rev. John Tufts 70 a
year so long as Mr. Samuel Belcher lives, and the use of the
whole parsonage, and after the decease of Mr. Belcher 80 a
year, provided the said Mr. Tufts accepts the call to the min-
istry in the parish and preacheth a monthly lecture.

* From The Choir Herald.

13

14 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

He was ordained June 13, 1714, and a few months
later published a small book of church hymns and
psalm tunes with instructions for singing by note.
This was the first publication of its kind in America,
and was considered by many as a daring innovation.
Before the appearance of this book the number of
tunes known and used in the ordinary congregation
could be counted upon the fingers of one hand. This
new collection contained thirty-seven tunes, arranged
for the several meters that were needed. At least
eleven editions of this little book were issued during
the next twenty-five years. The date of the first edi-
tion is given by different writers as between 1714
and 1721. The earliest which I have seen is the fifth,
dated 1726, in the Boston Public Library. Its title
page is as follows :

AN

INTRODUCTION
To the Singing

of

PSALM TUNES
In a plain and easy method

with
A collection of tunes

In Three Parts
By the Rev. Mr. Tufts.

The Fifth Edition
Printed from Copper Plates

Neatly Engraved
BOSTON in N. E.
Printed for Samuel Gerrish
At the Lower End of Corn-
Hill, 1726.

The copy of the tenth edition in the New York
Public Library has a modern binding, but the partial

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 15

covers which are included indicate that the original
was a pamphlet bound in marbled-paper covers.
There were twenty-three pages. It is not strange,
therefore, that most of the copies of so small a book
should have been lost during the nearly two hundred
years that have elapsed since it was first issued, and
that only a few are to be found at this day. Again,
as the new book of Thomas Walter came out with
notes instead of letters, as Tufts* book had, the old
was doubtless discarded and not valued as the re-
maining copies of it are at the present time. An
interesting incident in point is told of an experience
of the Bodleian Library, which possessed a copy of
the First Folio of Shakespeare's works when it was
first issued. But when the Second Folio came out
the First was disposed of as a duplicate of less value.
The strangest part of the story is tKat three hun-
dred years later, after such a high value had been
placed upon first editions, this very volume was
offered for sale on the market, and the Bodleian
Library placed it again upon its shelves, but at a cost
of 3,000.

Some of the rules of Tufts' book are as follows :

The tunes are set down in such a plain and easy method
that a few rules may suffice for direction in singing. The
letters F S L Ml marked on the several lines and spaces in
the following tunes, stand for these syllables: that is, Fa. Sol.
La. Mi. Mi. is the principal note, and the notes rising gradu-
ally above Mi. are Fa. Sol. La. Fa. Sol. La., and then Mi.
again; and the notes falling gradually below Mi. are La. Sol.
Fa. La. Sol. Fa., and then comes Mi. again in every eighth. For
as every eighth note gives the same sound, so it has the same
letter and name. The place of Mi. is altered by flats and
sharps put at the beginning of the five lines on which the tune
is prick'd.

16 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

The length of the tone is not indicated by differ-
ent kinds of notes as it is in present-day music, for
there were no notes used. But, for instance, the
letter F indicated a quarter; F. (followed by a
period) was equal to a half; and F: (followed by a
colon) was equal to a whole note. The thirty-seven
tunes are printed on twelve pages, and, as has been
implied, the letters took the place of notes upon the
lines. The tunes in this book were set in three parts
called cantus, medius, and bassus.

BIOGBAPHY

John Tufts was born in Medford, Massachusetts,
May 5, 1689, and was the son of Captain Peter
Tufts and Mercy Cotton. His maternal grand-
mother was Dorothy Bradstreet, the oldest daughter
of Simon and Anne Bradstreet, the latter being the
first female poet in America. Through his mother
he could also trace his ancestry to the Rev. Seaborn
Cotton and the Rev. John Cotton, the latter of
whom was frequently referred to as the patriarch of
New England. Because of these ministerial
ancestors it was but natural that he should follow
the same profession after his graduation from Har-
vard in 1708. One of the earliest references to
him after he had settled in Newbury is found in a
curious contract dated May 13, 1718, by which a
few persons were given permission to use certain
lands in that town on condition that they give one
salmon per year to the pastor of the First Church,
and one to the Rev. John Tufts, pastor of the Second
Church in Newbury "if they catch them." It was
in 1731, while he was still pastor of the Second

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 17

Church, that a petition was presented to the General
Court of Massachusetts for a division of the parish ;
and the Fourth Church of Newbury was organized.
The third parish had been formed in 1725, now the
First Church in Newburyport, and the dedication
sermon had been preached by Mr, Tufts on June 25,
1725. Two of his sermons have been printed and
may be seen in the library of the Massachusetts His-
torical Society. One of them, "The Duties of Min-
isters," was printed in 1725; the other was preached
at the ordination of the Rev. Benjamin Bradstreet
at Gloucester, September 18, 1728. After more than
twenty years of service in the Newbury church, Mr.
Tufts was in 1737 accused of immorality and un-
christian behavior by some of the women of his
parish, and in February a council of ten ministers
was called to consider "the distressed state and con-
dition of ye Second Church of Christ in Newbury. 5 *
Mr. Tufts strenuously opposed the investigation and
declined to cooperate with the council or to question
the witnesses called to testify against him. On
March 2, 1738, "in consequence of the unhappy
differences prevailing in the parish," he asked to be
released from the duties of pastor. The church
voted to grant his request and the council with only
one dissenting voice consented to the separation,
"hoping thereby to restore harmony to the church."
During the first year of his pastorate Mr. Tufts had
married, December 9, 1714, Sarah Bradstreet, a
daughter of Dr. Humphrey Bradstreet and Sarah
Pierce. There were four children, the second of
whom, Joshua, graduated from Harvard in 1736,
and became minister in Litchfield in 1741. After

18 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

leaving Newbury Mr. Tufts went to Amesbury, where
he died in August, 1750. His "easy method of sing-
ing by letters instead of notes," as one of his title
pages reads, was not a success, in the sense of being
permanently adopted, though his book passed
through at least ten editions in twenty-five years.
Much opposition followed the attempt to teach the
congregation to sing by note, instead of the old way
of having the tunes taught by rote. But Mr. Tufts 5
book was the entering wedge for the new way, and it
was only a short time before^his ideas, if not his
methods, were adopted.

EDITIONS

The date of the first edition of Tufts' "Plain and
Easy Introduction to the Art of Singing" is given
as 1714 1 and 1721. I am inclined to think that the
latter date is the correct one. The Brinley library
had a copy of this year, "Printed by J, F(ranklin)
for S. Gerrish," which sold for ten dollars. It was
a small pamphlet of sixteen pages, and was of such
a size that it could be laid in or bound in with the
psalm books in use at that date. Charles Evans in
his American Bibliography gives the title page of a
copy printed in Boston in 1723, but does not locate
it. The earliest copy that I have seen is in the
Boston Public Library. It is the fifth edition,
printed in Boston for Samuel Gerrish, 1726. A
news note states that the sixth edition bears date of
1728. The seventh edition is in the library of the
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massa-

. At 1( *eorge Ho d x his History of Music in New England, says that he has
"the word of a gentleman, who is always correct in dates of olden time, that
he has seen a copy of it dated 1714.'!

"OXFORD" AND OTHEKS

A page from John Tufts' Introduction, fifth edition, 1726.
Boston Public Library. The first American compilation

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 19

chusetts, bound at the end of a book of Psalms. It
has 2, 10, 12p. The eighth edition, Boston, 1731,
in Massachusetts Historical Society. The ninth edi-
tion, Boston, 1736, in Essex Institute, Salem, Massa-
chusetts, bound at the end of what appears to be the
Bay Psalm Book. The tenth edition, Boston, 1738,
in the New York Public Library, The eleventh edi-
tion, Boston, 1744, noted by Evans, but not located.

THOMAS WALTER 1
1696-1725

THE second book of psalm tunes, set to English
words and printed in this country, was larger than
that of John Tufts and was more extensively used.
Its compiler, the Rev. Thomas Walter, was only
twenty-five years old when the first edition of his
Grounds and Rules of MusicTc was published. Tufts
had used letters on the staff in his book, but Walter's
book had notes, though they were diamond shaped
instead of the round ones with which we are so
familiar.

Thomas Walter was born in Boston, December 7,
1696, and was the son of the Rev, Nehemiah Walter
and Sarah Mather. Through his mother he was the
grandson of Increase Mather and Maria Cotton, and
a great-grandson of the Rev. John Cotton. He
graduated from Harvard in 1713 at the age of seven-
teen. He was not a hard student, but was fond of
society in his youth, yet "so retentive was his memory
that he easily made himself master of almost all the

i From The Choir Herald.

20 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

learning of his uncle Cotton Mather by frequent con-
versations with him. In this way he acquired more
knowledge than most others could have gained by a
whole life's diligent study."

In regard to his call to the Roxbury Church the
records show that "at a church meeting of the east
end of Roxbury in the old meetinghouse, the first day
of March, 1717-18, it was unanimously agreed and
voted as follows:

1. That it was necessary to choose some meet person for
an assistant to our reverend pastor.

2. It was agreed and voted to choose such an assistant at the
present meeting. Accordingly the votes being brought in and
counted, every vote was for Thomas Walter, son of the rev-
erend pastor.

3. The said church chose and appointed the deacons a com-
mittee to acquaint Mr, Walter herewith, and inform the
inhabitants of the town in their next meeting with the church's
doings, in order for their future proceedings.

On the 13th day of May of the same year

The town met to consider of a settlement of Mr. Walter.
. . . Voted that there should be five hundred pounds raised
for Mr. Walter, as encouragement for his settling among us.

This call was accepted and he was ordained as col-
league with his father on October 29, 1718, the ordi-
nation sermon being preached by his grandfather,
the Rev. Increase Mather. On the Christmas Day
following he was married to Rebecca Belcher,
daughter of the Rev, Joseph Belcher, of Dedham.
Among the names of the fifteen ministers who signed
the preface of his book, recommending his Rules of
Musick, are the names of his father-in-law, Joseph
Belcher ; his father, the Rev. Nehemiah Walter, and
also Cotton Mather and Increase Mather, Thomas

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 21

Walter had one daughter, Rebecca, born in 1722,
who died unmarried January 11, 1780, at the age
of fifty-eight, the last of the Walter family. In a
letter written in 1768 by the Rev. Doctor Chauncey
to Doctor Stiles he says i

Dr. Jeremiah Dummer, Mr. John Bulkley, and Mr. Thomas
Walter I reckon the first three clergymen for extent and
strength of genius and powers New England has yet produced.
I was acquainted with the latter, and often had occasion to
admire the superlative excellence of his natural and acquired
accomplishments. His genius was universal, yet surprisingly
strong. He seemed to have almost an intuitive knowledge of
everything. There was no subject but he was acquainted
with, and such was the power he had over his thoughts and
words that he could readily and without any pains write or
speak just what he would.

Surely this was high praise for a man who died
before he was thirty years old. He was a popular
preacher and a keen disputant. His sermons and
writings that may be consulted in some of the larger
libraries are the following: "Faustus and Jack
Tory," "Essay on Infallibility, 55 "The Scripture
Rule of Faith," and "The Sweet Singer of Israel."
In 1722 he preached a sermon on "Regular Sing-
ing," in the preface to which in the printed copy it
is stated that it "is the first fruits of your young
minister's, who claims a pastoral care for you,
though of a different kind." It was dedicated to
"Honorable Paul Dudley, esq, one of his Majesty's
Council for the province of Massachusetts Bay in
New England and one of the Justices of the Superior
Court."

The Rev. Thomas Walter died on Sunday, Janu-
ary 10, 1725, of pneumonia, near the close of the

22 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

afternoon. He was buried in the parish tomb in
Roxbury, where the Rev. John Eliot, the Apostle to
the Indians, had been buried thirty-five years before,
and where his own father was laid a few years later.
The funeral bill for the burial of Mr. Walter is an
interesting paper which includes items for gloves,
rings, a barrel of wine, pipes and tobacco, and a box
to put the bones of old Mr. Eliot and others in. The
funeral sermon was preached by his uncle, the Rev.
Cotton Mather, and was printed soon afterward
under the name of "Christodulus : A Good Reward
of a Good Servant,"

EDITIONS

There were at least eight editions of Walter's
book. One of them was not dated, but the several
issues may be identified by the names of the printers.
The first edition was printed in 1721 and the title
page reads as follows:

The Ground and Rules of Musick Explained, or An Intro-
duction to the Art of Singing by Note. Fitted to the mean-
est capacities, By Thomas Walter, M.A. Recommended by
several Ministers. Boston. Printed by J. FranMin, for S.
Gerrish near the Brick Church in CornhiU. 1731.

A copy of this edition is in the New York Public
Library and was purchased by its original owner the
year of its publication. It is oblong in form and
has sixteen pages qf engraved music. George Hood,
in his History of Music, tells us that this book "was
noticed in the Boston Gazette of May 8, 1721, and
duly announced and advertised in the same periodical
on the 17th of July."

In April, 1723, the second edition of the work,

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 23

"Enlarged, corrected and Beautified," was adver-
tised in the Gazette. This shows upon the title page
that it was "The Second Edition, 5 * and was Printed
by B. Green for S. Gerrish. I have seen a photostat
title in the Library of Congress.

The next (third) edition appears to have been
printed in 1737. There is a copy in the Lowell
Mason collection in Yale Library, which has no title
page, but has a note by the one who presented it to
Mr. Mason as follows:

. STOCKBBIDGE, MASS., April 11/38.

cfw .*

This had a title page which bore the date of 1T37, if it is
too old as to be new to you it may amuse you, if not, it may
at least serve to mark the improvements of a Century of
Music -to which you have contributed a full share, accept it
with sincere regards of S. ROCKWELL.

The next edition was printed in 1740 for S.
Gerrish, and in 1746 another edition was issued for
Samuel Gerrish. In 1760 Benjamin Mecom was
printing in Boston, and he printed Walter's Intro-
duction for Thomas Johnston. The last edition of
this book was printed for and sold by Thomas John-
ston in Brattle Street, over against the Rev. Sir.
Cooper's meetinghouse, in 1764. For forty years it
held its place as the sole American tune book, but it
soon gave way to the compilations of Daniel Bayley.

DANIEL BAYLEY

1725(?)-1799

DANIEL BAYLEY was an organist and a printer,
rather than a composer of music. No record has

24 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

been found of any musical pieces of his composition,
but his services as organist of Saint Paul's Episcopal
Church in Newburyport and his published books of
music are well known to students of psalmody. The
date of his birth and the date when he went to New-
buryport have not as yet been discovered, but the
latter must have been previous to 1764, for in that
year he signed the petition for the separation of
what is now the city of Newburyport from the
original town of Newbury.

He was probably born in West Newbury about
172& He married first Elizabeth Deneen, of
Gloucester, who bore him two children; and second
Sarah Stone, who became the mother of five children.
He lived at the corner of High and Summer Streets,
directly opposite Saint Paul's Church, where he con-
ducted a small printing and engraving establishment,
and engaged in the trade of a coppersmith. He also
no doubt gave instruction in music to the young
people of the town, and served as organist for many
years in the church which became in 1797 the
cathedral of the diocese over which Bishop Bass pre-
sided* Edward Bass was the rector of this church
from 1752 for fifty years, the last five of which he
was a bishop, though still continuing to perform the
duties of a parish priest.

The organ upon which Daniel Bayley played was
the first pipe organ introduced into America. It
had been imported by Thomas Brattle of Boston,
and at his death was bequeathed to the Brattle Street
Church. Not being accepted by this church, it went
to King's Chapel, where it remained for forty years.
Then, in 1756, when another organ was imported

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 25

from England, the Brattle organ was sold to the
parish of Saint Paul's in Newburyport, where it
remained for eighty years. It was during this period
that Daniel Bayley was organist here. In 1836
the Brattle organ was purchased by the parish of
Saint John's Chapel at Portsmouth } New Hamp-
shire, and there this old organ is at the present day
still in service after over two hundred years. Its
tone is still agreeable and sweet, but its volume is
not so great as in some of the smaller organs of
the present day.

Mr. Bayley died February 22, 1799, but where
he was buried I have been unable to determine. One
would expect to find a monument to his memory in
the churchyard of Saint Paul's Church, with which
he had been so long and so closely associated, but a
personal search has failed to reveal any such marker.
There is, however, a stone over the grave of his son
Nathaniel, who died May 3, 1849, at the age of
seventy-eight, and of whom it was written, "His
friends knew his worth." Nathaniel's wife, Abigail,
who died June 24, 1856, aged eighty-four, is buried
beside him, and near by is the grave of Elizabeth
Bayley, a daughter of Nathaniel and granddaughter
of Daniel, who married James Cheney, and died
April 10, 1858. The son of James Cheney and
Elizabeth Bayley was named James William Cheney.
He was a musician, and lived in Washington for
many years where he was librarian of the War De-
partment. He played the organs in a number of
churches, and was organist of a Masonic lodge. He
used to tell that at least four in direct line begin-
ning with Daniel Bayley had played the organ in

26 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Saint Paul's church, he himself having played one
Sunday while he was on a vacation in the town of
Newburyport.

BOOKS

Besides his work as an organist Daniel Bayley
kept a bookstore next door to the church, and about
1770 set up a printing press, from which he issued a
number of music books. He had begun to compile
books before this date, and the method he followed
was to reprint selected portions of English works,
taking those parts which suited his purpose and
omitting the rest.

His first book was A New and Complete Intro-
duction to the Grounds and Rules of Music, 1764.
For this book he took the title and introduction from
the most popular work of that day that of Thomas
Walter the last edition of which had just made its
appearance in Boston, while the second part was
from William Tans'ur's Royal Melody, which had
been published in London in 1754. This composite
book was doubtless issued from Boston, for it was
"Printed for and 1 Sold by Bulkly Emerson and
Daniel Bayley in Newburyport.' 5 Another edition
was printed this same year "for and Sold by Bulkly
Emerson of Newbury Port, 1764." It appears to
have been printed from the same plates, but there
were several more pages of engraved music than in
the other imprint. George Hood tells us that there
was also a third printing in 1764 "at Salem, Mass.,
for Mascholl Williams.'? Two years later an edi-
tion was "Printed and Sold by Thomas Johnston in
Brattle Street,.Bostpn, 1766," and a new edition was

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 27

"Printed in Boston for the author at Newburyport,
1768."

By 1770 Bayley had established Ms press in
Newburyport, for when he issued hi* Essex Har-
mony, it was printed and sold by the author at
Newburyport. This was a small book of tunes pre-
pared to be bound with the Psalms or other hymn
books. Several editions of this were issued up to
1785.

In 1775 he issued his New Universal Harmony, or
Compendium of Church Music, a book of 105 pages,
at a price of six shillings. In his preface he says :

I have been advised with a number of friends of music
about the choice of pieces, that would be agreeable, and I
flatter myself I shall have the approbation of the most of
those that are judges of the Noble Art* And as I have
determined to publish two or three more volumes in case I
meet with encouragement in the sale of this, I would signify
to my friends and customers that they may depend upon my
sparing no pains in procuring such pieces . as shall be agreeable
to those lovers of church music. I expect I shall be able to
procure some curious pieces that are productions of America
by some masterly hands who have not yet permitted any of
their work to be made public.

In 1784 he issued A Collection of Anthems and
Hymn Tunes, and the following year, 1785, The
Psalm Smger's Assistant. The latter was a small
pamphlet of sixteen pages, and was intended, like
The Essex Harmony, to be bound with the collec-
tions of hymns.

The New Harmony of Zion, or Complete Melody,
was compiled in 1788 by Daniel Bayley, senior, thus
indicating a son of the same name. This was a book
of 112 pages.

We have left to the last .two books which were

28 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

more or less reprints from English sources. One of
these was The Royal Melody Complete or the New
Harmony of Zion, by William Tans'ur, and the date
given by Evans is 1761, but this is doubtless too
early, Tans'ur's Royal Melody Complete was adver-
tised in the Boston Evening Post of October 27,
1766, as "On the press, and soon to be published,"
while in the issue for January 12, 1767, appears the
advertisement:

This day published Tans'ur's Royal Melody Complete, con-
taining his preface on the excellency of church music, an
introduction concerning all that is necessary for the Intro-
duction of Learners with all his Psalm tunes, choruses, hymns
and anthems, with several canons and ten of the most approved
tunes from Williams' Psalmody. The plates are neatly
engraved upon copper and printed upon a superfine writing
paper on each side.

This was the third edition and was printed at Boston
by W. McAlpine for Daniel Bayley in Newburyport.
As no first or second edition has been found printed
in America, it appears that this third followed the
numbering of the English edition which had been
issued in London in 1764-65. The control of the
fourth and subsequent American editions would
seem to have passed to Daniel Bayley, Newburyport.
In 1769 Bayley printed Aaron Williams 5 The
Universal Psalmist as The American Harmony or
Universal Psalmodist, and he prefaced the publica-
tion under date of Newbury-Port, January 5, 1769,
with the remarks to his friends and customers :

And I would inform them that I have now added the chief
f Mr. Williams' Universal Psalmody, and as I expect they
will be bound mostly with the Royal Melody (of Tans'ur) I
have therefore left out the tunes which were in it, and as Mr.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 2&

Tans'ur's Introduction to Musick is universally approved, I
have not added Mr. Williams's, which is very lengthy.

The seventh edition of this double book was dated
1771, and the ninth, 1774.

ANDREW ADGATE
-1793

ANDEEW ADGATE was one of the earliest of the
musical company in Philadelphia whose influence was
exerted for the improvement of sacred music. The
date of his birth has not been found, nor has much
information been obtained in regard to his public
activities in other lines than that of music. We do
know, however, from the title page of his Philadel-
phia Harmony that in 1790 he was in company with
Westcott conducting a card factory on Front Street,
seven doors below Arch Street, and opposite the
Bunch of Grapes Tavern.

The earliest reference to his Institute for Vocal
Music appeared on a sheet dated Philadelphia, June
1, 1785. He proposed for diffusing more generally
a knowledge of vocal music to teach music to per-
sons of every denomination gratis, and advertised
for contributions of eight dollars each, promising
to every subscriber twelve concerts during the year,
for which three tickets would be issued to admit one
gentleman and two ladies. His plan was completed
during the summer, the institution began on the
first of October, and the first concert was given on
October 19, 1785.

Some idea of his school, and also the slur cast upon

30 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

his methods, may be obtained from Andrew Law's
reference to him in the preface of his Musical Maga-
zine in 1791 :

Mr. Adgate has taught a common singing school in Phil-
adelphia where schools of every kind frequently obtain the
name of academies. Mr. Adgate called his the Uranian
Academy, himself the President of the Uranian Academy.
His school was never incorporated and there are a thousand
schools of equal importance in the United States.

The criticisms of rival teachers seem to have been
as sharp a century or more ago as they are to-day,
but the good influence of Mr. Adgate's work was
appreciated by those who knew him best. The Rev.
Samuel Blair, who had been pastor of the Old South
Church in Boston for three years, but was now liv-
ing in Germantown, preached a "Discourse on Psalm-
ody" in the Presbyterian church in Neshaminy, at a
public concert given by Mr. Spicer, master in sacred
music, in which he paid a high tribute to the benev-
olence, assiduity, and success of Mr. Adgate's work
in behalf of better singing, and rejoiced in the im-
provement he had effected in music.

In 1787 Young and McCulloch, of Philadelphia,
printed a book of "Select Psalms and Hymns for
the use of Mr. Adgate's pupils and proper for all
singing schools. 55 The next year, 1788, the first issue
of his Rudiments of Music was printed, containing
twenty pages. A third edition, on a new and im-
proved plan, appeared in 1790, printed by John
McCulloch on Third Street, near Market Street, and
sold by the author opposite the Bunch of Grapes
Tavern, between Market and Arch Streets. An
eighth edition was issued in 1803. Mr. Law in-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 31

sisted that this new method had been tried and re-
jected in England long before.
His next compilation was

A Selection of Sacred Harmony, containing lessons explain-
ing the gamut, keys, and other characters used in vocal
music, also a rich variety of tunes approved by the most
eminent teachers of church music in the United States.

This book had eighty-four pages of engraved music,
and was printed in 1788, the same year as his Rudi-
ments of MusiCy and contained twelve pages of
Uranian Instructions. He proposed, if suitable en-
couragement offered, to print a collection of the
most celebrated anthems. This object was carried
out in his next book, The Philadelphia Harmony,
which was a "Collection of Psalm Tunes, Hymns and
Anthems," 1790. In a later edition the name of Mr.
Spicer appears as a collaborateur, and in another
issue there was an improved mode of teaching music
to facilitate the progress of the learner by John
Jenkins Husband. All of these books were in the
usual oblong form.

In 1793 an epidemic of malignant, or yellow, fever
broke out in Philadelphia and a committee was ap-
pointed by the citizens of that city to attend to
and alleviate the sufferings of the afflicted. The
committee was named on September 14, 1793, and
included among others Stephen Girard and Andrew
Adgate. Four of the committee succumbed to the
plague. Mr. Adgate was last present at the meet-
ing of September 24, and his death was reported on
September 30. On the list of those who fell victims
to the disease were the widow Adgate and her two
children.

32 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ANTHONY ARMBRUSTER

ANTHONY ARMBETTSTEE was a printer in Philadel-
phia from 1751 to 1768; during the years 1754 to
1756 he was associated with Benjamin Franklin, and
in 1762 he had N. Hasselbach as a partner. He
began the publication of a German newspaper in
1762 and continued its weekly issues for several
years. A book of "Tunes in three parts for the
several meters of Doctor Watts' version of the
Psalms, some of which tunes are new,' 5 was printed
by him in 1763 ; this was a small collection of forty-
four pages. The next year he issued a second edi-
tion from his office in Arch Street, and described it
with the following title: "Tunes in three parts for
the several meters of Doctor Watts' version of the
Psalms, some of which tunes are new. This collection
of tunes is made from the works of eminent masters,
consisting of six tunes for short meter, eight for
common meter, seven for long meter and a tune for
each special meter, to which are added the gamut
with directions to learners of music." This was a
stitched pamphlet of fifty-two pages, and sold for
one shilling six pence. Nothing of his personal his-
tory has been discovered.

JAMES LYON AND HIS "URANIA"
1735-1790 1

UEANIA. was the muse of astronomy in Grecian
legend. In the history of American psalmody it is

1 From The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 33

the name of the first collection of psalm tunes, com-
piled and partly composed by a native musician.
The works of John Tufts and Thomas Walter had
been merely compilations; these men did not write
any of the tunes which they put into their books.
They were taken from English sources and were few
in number, yet they added very materially to those
that were generally known and used in the churches
before that time. Mr. Walter writes in the intro-
duction to his book:

At present, we are confined to eight or ten tunes, and in some
congregations to little more than half that number, which,
being so often sung over, are too apt, if not to create a dis-
taste, yet at least mightily to lessen the relish of them.

Tlifts* collection had only thirty-nine tunes and
Walter's only forty-three. Both were published in
Boston, the last edition of Walter being issued in
1764.

"UBANIA"

In 1759 a young man named James Lyon gradu-
ated from the College of New Jersey, now known as
Princeton University, and two years later that is,
in 1761 his Uremia was published in Philadelphia.
Its title is as follows : Urania, "or a choice collection
of Psalm-tunes, anthems, and hymns, from the most
approved authors, with some entirely new: in two,
three and four parts. The whole peculiarly adapted
to the use of churches and private families. To
which are prefixed the plainest and most necessary
rules of psalmody. By James Lyon, A.B." This
book was printed in Philadelphia by William Brad-
ford in 1761. According to an advance advertise-

S4 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ment, the work was to be published by subscription
and to contain about 210 pages. Each subscrip-
tion was to be accompanied with one dollar, and the
remainder, not to exceed one dollar more, when the
book was delivered. The author agreed to begin
the work as soon as four hundred subscriptions
should be received. The list of subscribers as printed
in the first edition numbered 141 names, and, includ-
ing those who took more than' one copy, 199 copies
were disposed of. Fifty of these were taken by the
officers and students of his Alma Mater, the College
of New Jersey.

JAMES LYON

A few facts concerning the life of James Lyon
have been gathered. He was the son of Zopher
Lyon and Mary Lyon, and was born in Newark,
East New Jersey, July 1, 1735. Nothing has been
found about his early school life, but while he was
yet a boy the College of New Jersey was founded
in his native town, and its first commencement was
held there in November, 1747, when he was only
twelve years old. The presence of this institution of
higher learning may have interested him to enter
its doors, and he may have been one of its students
when it was removed in 1756 to Princeton. Its
thirteenth commencement was held September 26,
1759, when James Lyon received his first degree of
A.B., and (the program states) "The whole cere-
mony concluded with the following ode, set to music
by Mr. James Lyon, one of the students." No copy
of this music has been found, but it certainly was an
early, if not the first, specimen of the commence-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 35

ment ode by an American. The next year we find
Mr. Lyon in Philadelphia, though still continuing
his studies, and on September 29, 1762, he took his
second degree, A.M., at Princeton, at which time he
delivered an English oration.

As MINISTER

In 1764 James Lyon was licensed by the Presby-
tery of New Brunswick and ordained to preach.
The following year he went to Nova Scotia. He was
married February 18, 1768, to Martha Holden,
daughter of Daniel Holden, of Cape May in West
New Jersey, and returned to Nova Scotia, settling
in Onslow, where his first two children were born.

In July, 1771, the proprietors of Machias, Maine, in com-
pliance with the terms of the grant of their township by the
General Court, agreed to settle a Protestant minister, and
voted to hire one to preach the gospel in that place. Eighty-
four pounds were raised for the purpose. In August, 1T71,
Judge Stephen Jones, of the committee to employ the minister,
being in Boston, found Mr. Lyon who had left Nova Scotia.
Judge Jones induced Lyon to go to Machias on trial. He
went there with his family, and began to preach December 5,
1771. In the spring of 1772 the people invited him to remain
on a salary of eighty-four pounds yearly, and one hundred
pounds as a settlement.

Mr. Lyon during the Revolutionary War was an ardent
patriot, fighting as well as preaching. During this period he
and his family suffered great hardships, in common with the
people of the congregation, because the lumber interests, upon
which they depended very largely for their supply of provi-
sions, were almost stopped. In the intervals between preaching
and writing sermons the minister fished and dug clams to
provide food for his family. The war passed away, and
brighter days dawned for the people of Machias. New settlers
came in, many of whom, with some of those already there,
were of a character superior to those generally found in new
settlements. September 12, 1789, a Congregational church

36 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

was organized and Mr. Lyon became the minister. As no
other pastors were near, Mr. Lyon was probably installed by
the church and town of Machias, a proceeding not new in those
days.

Seven other children were born to him in Machias,
and he continued to reside and preach there until
his death, December 25, 1794, at the age of fifty-
nine years.

"WHITEFIELD'S" TUNE

It would be interesting to know the sources from
which Mr. Lyon derived the tunes which he gathered
into his Urania. Mr. O. G. Sonneck, former chief
of the Music Division of the Library of Congress,
whose monograph has left little to be investigated,
has come to the conclusion that he copied from the
English collections of Arnold, Green, Knapp, and
E vis on, but not from Tans'ur. This omission is
significant, for Tans'ur's Royal Melody was largely
used in the colonies, especially in New England,
where it was frequently reprinted, first in Boston,
and then in Newburyport. The tunes in the last
part of Urania are from The Divine Musical
Miscellany, printed in London in 1754*. This is
one of the earliest Methodist tune books, and Lyon's
book has at least three tunes from it. Much inter-
est attaches to the tune called "WhitefieldV be-
cause it is the one we know as "America," but used
in England with their national hymn, "God Save
the King. 55 In this book it is set to the hymn "Come,
Thou Almighty King."

"COME, THOU ALMIGHTY KING'*
The authorship of this hymn has been one of the

TOMB"
From James Lyons' 'Urania," 176L Library of Congress

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 37

problems of hymnology for years. It is frequently
credited to Charles Wesley, but of late has been
printed as anonymous. The facts regarding its first
appearance in type may help us to come to some
conclusion about its origin, even if we are unable to
discover its author. A four-paged tract, without
date, contains not only this hymn, but one known to
have been written by Wesley, beginning, "Jesus, let
thy pitying eye." This fact led to both hymns being
attributed to Charles Wesley, though "Come, Thou
Almighty King" is not found in any of his printed
works, and was never claimed by him. This tract
is found bound up with the British Museum copy of
the sixth edition of Whitefield's collection of hymns,
dated 1757. It is also bound in with the eighth edi-
tion, 1759, and the ninth edition, 1760, both of
which are also in the British Museum. It is em-
bodied in the text of the tenth edition, dated 1761.
These facts make it safe to assume that this hymn
was a favorite one with Mr. Whitefield and those who
used his collection of hymns. We may also be sure
that it was used by him in his missionary work in
this country. It is well to repeat that Urania was
published in Philadelphia in 1761, the same year
that the tenth edition of Whitefield's collection was
printed in London, and the incorporation of this
hymn in a book on each side of the Atlantic in the
same year is an event of significant coincidence. But
where did James Lyon find it for use in his book?

GEORGE WHITEFIELD

George Whitefield made seven visits to America,
arriving first on these shores in 1738, and traveled

38 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

up and down the coast from Georgia to New Eng-
land. He died in Newburyport in 1770. On each
of these visits as he passed Philadelphia and its
vicinity, he stopped to see the Reverend Gilbert
Tennant, "who kept an academy which subsequently
became the celebrated New Jersey College." 1 In
1754 he was granted the degree of A.M. by the
College of New Jersey, and he writes : "Such a num-
ber of simple-hearted, united ministers, I never saw
before. I preached to them several times, and the
great Master of Assemblies was in the midst of us."
While in this district he was the guest and travel-
ing companion of Aaron Burr, the president of the
college. On the occasion of his next visit in Novem-
ber, 1763, he writes, "A blessed nursery, one of the
purest in the universe, where the worthy president
and three tutors are all bent upon making the stu-
dents both saints and scholars."

For the eight years between 1754 and 1763 White-
field was not in America, having been detained by his
work in England. It was during this period that
Lyon was busy compiling his Urania. The melody
of "God Save the King" came into popularity
through its performance at Drury Lane Theater in
1745 and its publication the same year in the Gentle-
man's Magazine. Did the tune come to Philadelphia
in the Gentleman's Magazine, or did George White-
field bring it with him? 2 Intercourse between the
colonies and the mother country was close and con-
tinuous, and books published in London appeared
in this country within a few months, or as soon as

iSee page 85 in J. E. Brooks' Life of George WhitefiM.
* See tills suggested inquiry in the Penn-Germania, 1912, p. 630, by James
Warxington.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 39

sailing vessels could bring them over. At the time
Urania was published, 1761, Whitefield had made
five visits to America. His visit in 1763 was his
sixth. His influence had been unquestionably im-
pressed upon the people to whom he had preached,
and his favorite hymns and tunes would be well-
known among them. This would be especially true
in the case of Princeton, and the students in the
College of New Jersey, for here he had been enter-
tained by its president. Lyon would, therefore,
have a splendid opportunity for knowing the music
which the Methodists used. This will probably ac-
count for the Methodist tunes that he introduced
into his collection. In noticing that some of the
tunes in The Divine Musical Miscellany bear such
names as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Mary-
land, and Virginia, Mr. Sonneck asks this pertinent
question, "Should this anonymous collection be the
work of an American Methodist?"

EDITIONS

After a careful study of the thirteen copies of
Urania which he found, the author of the mono-
graph has concluded that there were three, and
probably four, editions of the book issued, in all of
which some slight changes may be noted. Of the
copy in the Library of Congress he says, "Best
copy I have seen." And of the one once owned by
Samuel W. Pennypacker, a recent governor of
Pennsylvania, he adds, "Seemingly perfect." The
library of the latter was disposed of in 1906, and
I do not know where this copy of Urania went. In
the catalogue of sale appears this notice of it:

40 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

The first music book published in America, and of the most
extreme rarity. Only two complete copies known. The work
was engraved by Daniel Dawkins, and the engraved title pre-
sents no mean example of the noted engraver's work, who
ranked the highest in America at that time.

This copy of the book is really a composite, having
been made up of pages from two different editions,
the remaining pages from one forming the very im-
perfect copy in the Library of the Pennsylvania
Historical Society.

USE

The use of this book in the colonies must have
been extensive, for a second edition was published
in 1767, a third in 1773 in New York, and there
is some evidence pointing to a fourth edition printed
perhaps in New England. It would satisfy one's
curiosity to know to what extent this book drifted
into the field hitherto occupied by the works of
Tufts and Walter. Urania certainly was taken
beyond the limits of the Middle States, for we find
among the number of its subscribers John Lathrop,
who became pastor of the Old North Church in
Boston, and lived in that city for nearly fifty years ;
James Manning, who became a Baptist minister and
settled in Rhode Island; Obadiah Noble, pastor of
the Congregational Church in Orford, New Hamp-
shire; Thaddeus Burr, a merchant in Connecticut;
Josiah Thatcher, who lived in Gorham, Maine, for
over thirty years ; and James Huntington, a native
of Norwich, Connecticut, and pastor of the Congre-
gational church in Salem for three years. These
men were in college with James Lyon, encouraged
him by taking copies of his book, and doubtless

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 41

carried it with them into their new homes in New
England. Those who were ministers may have
introduced it into their churches and thus its influ-
ence widened.

COPIES

We cannot close this account of the pioneer music
book without naming the places where copies of it
may be seen. Only a few copies of it have survived
the ravages of time, but their value, as showing the
first step in the growth of musical composition in
this country, cannot be overestimated. There are
two copies each in the possession; of the Penn-
sylvania Historical Society, Yale University, and
the Massachusetts Historical Society and the West-
ern Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, which
bought the library of the late James Warrington of
Philadelphia. There is one copy each in the New
York Public Library, the New York Historical
Society, the Library of Congress, and the Boston
Public Library, and Mr. Sonneck has one. The
location of Judge Pennypacker's copy is not known
to the writer.

JOHN STICKNEY
1744-1827 1

THE life of John Stickney, from 1744 to 1827,
covers the period of the lives of both Andrew Law
and William Billings. The tunes of Stickney have
almost entirely passed out of modern hymn books.

John Stickney, fourth in descent from Samuel,

i From The Choir Herald.

42 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the English immigrant who settled in America, was
born at Stoughton, Massachusetts, March 31, 1744.
When about seven years of age he was apprenticed
to Isaac Davenport, a shoemaker and butcher, who
lived in the neighboring town of Milton. At fifteen
he went to Roxbury and then to Newbury, and re-
turning to Stoughton, learned from William Dun-
bar, a lawyer and justice of the peace, the new style
of music just being introduced by William Billings,
who was also a resident of Stoughton. Stickney
was a member of one of the singing schools organ-
ized by Billings in that town. Some time after,
when Jesse Billings, perhaps a relative of William
Billings, went from Hadley to secure a teacher for
the people of that place, Stickney went to their
assistance, and continued teaching in other towns
of the Connecticut Valley, Northampton, Wethers-
field, Hartford, and New Haven. This was before
the time of music type and cheap printing, so it
was his custom to write the music for his scholars,
often sixty copies a day, with a pen or, more likely,
a goose quill. His efforts to displace the old method
of singing by rote met with considerable opposi-
tion, but he succeeded in teaching many in the towns
which he visited to read and sing by note. He was
married December 26, 1765, to Elizabeth Howard,
of Stoughton. She also was musical and traveled
about with him from place to place. Both were
members of the Congregational Church in South
Hadley. His home in this town was on a farm near
the Connecticut River, where he cultivated the soil
during the summer, while in winter he often accom-
modated the lumbermen and fishermen of that

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 43

vicinity with board. This too was the time for sing-
ing schools, and he continued to conduct them until
he was about sixty-five years old. His second mar-
riage occurred in South Hadley, October 31, 1813,
to Lucy N., widow of Azariah Alvord, whom she had
married in 1789. Mr. Stickney had six children,
the youngest of whom, Walter by name, born
August 10, 1790, was a dentist, but he inherited
his father's musical talents, and taught music for
ten or fifteen years, and was at one time leader of
the First Brigade Band Massachusetts Militia
under General Bliss. The father died and was
buried in South Hadley and much of the family his-
tory is shown upon the monument. The inscrip-
tion reads :

John Stickney, Doctor Sacrae Musicae, died April 23, 1897,
aged 83 years. Elizabeth H., his wife, died May 28, 1813,
aged 68 years. Lucy N., his second wife, died December 24,
1836, aged 86 years.

We must not omit his Revolutionary War record
which is given as follows:

John Stickney of South Hadley enlisted January 13, 1776,
as a private in Captain James Hendricks' company in camp
at Castleton, was adjutant August 25 to December 2, 1777,
was at the taking of Burgoyne, October 17, 1777, in Colonel
Woodbridge's regiment, Captain Moses Harvey's company.

Mr. Stickney published in 1774 The Gentleman
and Lady's Musical Companion, "containing a
variety of excellent anthems, hymns, etc., collected
from the best authors ; with a short explanation of
the rules of music. The whole corrected and
rendered plain. Printed and sold by Daniel Bayley,

44 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Newburyport, and by most booksellers in New Eng-
land."

Specific mention is made of certain dealers in
Boston, in Salem and in Hartford. The price was
eight shillings. The preface is dated at South Had-
ley, June 4, 1774, thus fixing the date of his re-
moval to that town between his marriage in 1765
and the year 1774. The music in this volume is
engraved and is written in four clefs. Like most
of the music books of that period it Thad several
blank pages bound in at the end, upon which the
owner could copy additional music to suit his tastes.
After giving eight rules as instructive to the learner,
he concludes as follows:

Singing is an act of religious worship; while persons are
learning the art, indeed, they can scarce be considered in a
devout exercise. If, therefore, they choose to sing in the
words of a psalm, it is most proper to choose those that are
not peculiarly devotional. But when it is performed as a
part of worship, the utmost care should be taken not only to
avoid all levities and indecencies of carriage, which are intol-
erable, but to adopt no expressions which we cannot con-
scientiously use, to enter thoroughly into the sentiments of
the psalm, and to have the heart affected with them; thus
singing with the understanding and the affections, we make
melody in our hearts unto the Lord; but if otherwise, what-
ever harmony our voices may make, we affront and provoke
Almighty God. Happy will it be if this hint is attended to
whatever else is overlooked or forgotten.

A new edition was issued in 1783 by Daniel Bay-
ley, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, from which "a
considerable part of the old music was left out,
forty pages added chiefly from Harmonia Sacra
and Law with some new pieces never before pub-
lished." This last statement sounds very much like

EASTER HYMN

From the first edition of "A Compilation of the Litanies and

Vespers, * * * " by John Aitken, Philadelphia, 1787.

American Antiquarian Society

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 45

Daniel Bayley, an organist and printer of music in
Newburyport, who frequently took the main por-
tion of a book, adding and omitting from it, and
calling the result a new edition. Whether this edi-
tion of 1783 was really compiled by Stickney or by
Bayley we cannot determine, but we suspect that
Bayley may have done part of the selecting. None
of his tunes have been found in recent hymnals.

JOHN AITKEN
1745(?)-1831

A FEW years before the epidemic that carried off
Andrew Adgate John Aitken arrived in Philadel-
phia where he appears as a music engraver as early
as 1787. In that year he published

A Compilation of the Litanies and Vespers, Hymns and
Anthems as they are sung in the Catholic Church adapted to
the Voice or Organ. By John Aitken, Philadelphia, 1787.

It was approved by the Rev. John Carroll, later
appointed the first archbishop of Baltimore, by the
Rev. Robert Molyneux, the Rev. Francis Beeston
and the Rev. Lawrence Graessl; this approbation
was signed in Philadelphia November 28, 1787, and
was reprinted in German on the same page. This
book was entirely engraved,, contained 136 pages,
and was probably not issued until 1788, as the cer-
tificate of the clerk of the court who issued the
State copyright is not dated until April, 1788. A
copy of this first edition is in the library of the
American Antiquarian Society in Worcester,
Massachusetts.

46 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

A second edition with slightly different title page
was "Printed and Sold by John Aitken, 1791," at
Philadelphia, and contained 181 pages. It was
copyrighted November 25, 1791, under the laws of
the United States, A copy of this edition is
possessed by the John Carter Brown Library in
Providence, Rhode Island.

John Aitken was a native of Dulkeath, Scotland,
opened his Musical Repository at 96 North Second
Street, in Philadelphia, as early as 1807, as is shown
by the Directory of that year, and he died Sep-
tember 8, 1881, at the age of eighty-six years, and
was buried in Christ Church yard.

DR. GEORGE K. JACKSON
1745-1823

Da. GEORGE K. JACKSON was one of the earliest
organists and music teachers of Boston. He was
an Englishman by birth, born in Oxford in 1745;
and was a schoolmate of Raynor Taylor, another
English musician, who came to America and settled
in Philadelphia. When eleven years old he was a
choir boy in the Chapel Royal. He was a pupil of
the celebrated Dr. James Nares, and he received
his diploma from Saint Andrews College in 1791.
Five years later he emigrated to America by way
of Norfolk, stopping for varying periods of time
in Alexandria, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Elizabeth,
New Jersey, and New York, reaching Boston in
1812. Here he began to teach and conduct con-
certs. He arranged a series of oratorios which

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 47

were given with the assistance of Gottlieb Graupner
and Francis Mallet in Boston, and some of them
were repeated in Salem, where the people seemed to
be very fond of this class of music. One of these
concerts was given on October 29, 1812, at the Stone
Chapel in Salem, and the program was as follows.
It was advertised as under the direction of Dr. G.
K. Jackson, assisted by the Theatrical Band and
many respectable Vocal and Instrumental Amateurs
of this town.

Leader of the Band, Mr. Graupner.

PAKTl

Overture Occasional Oratorio.

Recitative, Comfort Ye, Messiah. Mrs. Graupner.

Air, Every Valley, Messiah. Mrs. Graupner.

Chorus, And the Glory, Messiah.

Duetts, O Lovely Peace, Judas Maccabeas, By Amateurs.

Song, Why do the Nations, Messiah. Mr. Mallett.

Chorus, Lift up your heads, Messiah.

Song, Arm, arm, ye brave, Judas Maccabeas. By an Amateur.

Chorus, Break forth into joy, Messiah.

PABT II.

Overture, Sampson.

Song, Angels ever bright and fair, Jepths Mrs. Graupner.

Voluntary on the organ, Dr. Jackson.

Celebrated f Welcome > mi S htv kin ]

SnfS S Accompanied on the Ca- L Saul

Bell Chorus 1 rilong by Dr Jackson J

Song. Honor and Arms, Sampson, Mr. Mallett.
Chorus, Happy we the Star, &c.

Song, O, Thou tellest, " Messiah.

Song, The trumpet shall sound, Messiah. Mr. Stockwell.
Chorus, Hallelujah, (with Trumpet and

Kettle Drums) Messiah.

Doors to be opened at half past four Performance to com-
mence precisely at half past five o'clock.
A single ticket, $1 A Ticket to admit a lady and gentle-

48 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

man $1.50 Children's Tickets, 50 cents each; to be had at
Dr. Jackson's, No. 18 Pinkney Street, and at Messrs Graupner
& Mallett's Music-stores, the bar of the Exchange Coffee
House. J

A later concert in Salem was heard by Dr. Wil-
liam Bentley, pastor of the Second Church in that
town, who records his impressions in his diary,
December 1, 1812, as follows:

This evening we heard, as it was called, an Oratorio of
Sacred Music. The organ of the First Church was preferred
to that of the North Church, because of its tones. The cele-
brated Dr. Jackson, an Englishman, performed on the organ
with great power and pure touch. Mr. Graupner led the vio-
lins, Mrs. Graupner was at the head of the female singers,
which were seven in number. Mr. Jackson's voluntaries were
beyond anything I had heard and the best music was before
the second chorus when the organ was accompanied only with
the violins.

Doctor Jackson, after his location in Boston, was
the .organist in various churches including the
Brattle Street Church, King's Chapel, Trinity on
Summer Street, and Saint Paul's on Common Street.
At the latter church he was engaged at a salary
extraordinarily high for that time, and he held
this position until his death. During a part of the
period of the war with England he retired to
Northampton to avoid the excitement caused by
the military measures in the city, but returned and
resumed his musical activities when the war was
over. Before leaving England he had married, in
1787, the eldest daughter of Dr. Samuel Rogers, a
physician of London, by whom he had eleven chil-
dren. Two of his sons had a music store on Market
Street in Boston about 1800. Doctor Jackson died

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 49

in Boston in 1823, probably in July or August, for
on August 19, 1823, the Probate Court of Suffolk
County appointed his son Charles as executor of
his estate. The total inventory amounted to only
$98.86, and among the items were 129 volumes of
old music books appraised at six cents apiece.

Before leaving England Doctor Jackson had pub-
lished A Treatise on Practical Thorough Bass, and
a number of songs, and upon his arrival in America
he began to teach the English manner of chanting.
In 1804, when he was organist in Saint George's
Chapel, New York, he copyrighted a book of sixty
engraved pages called David's Psalms "set to music
expressly for the use of Churches, Chapels, Meetings
and Private Families. New and selected from the
best Ancient and Modern Authors." The copy of
this book in the Library of Congress was probably
Doctor Jackson's own, for the label on it reads
"St. George's Chapel, Organ I."

Another book, copyrighted March 29, 1316, was
A Choice Collection of Chants "for four Voices
with a Gloria Patria and Sanctus, the whole figured
with a Thorough Bass for the organ as used in
Cathedrals, Churches and Chapels." This was an
engraved volume, and sold in that day for one
dollar. Some of his music was used in the early
collections, but none has survived in present
hymnals. John Weeks Moore tells us in his Dic-
tionary of Musical Information that there has come
down to us a manuscript book containing 310 pages
of miscellaneous works for instruments, and singing
books of harmony, and a system of tuning used in
his school. There is also a bound volume of his

50 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

separate works preserved in the library of the Har-
vard Musical Association in Boston. There seem to
have been at least three musicians and composers
in the Jackson family, for we find in this book "A
Pastoral Drama," 1753, set to music by Joseph
Jackson, and several compositions by a George Jack-
son, dated 1755. These are of a date too early
for Dr. George K. Jackson, and one may have been
his father, or both his brothers.

With regard to his business connections, Dr.
Henry K. Oliver, in his remarks at the centenary of
the North Church in Salem, said:

Monsieur Mallett was a French gentleman of much respect-
ability who came to this country with Lafayette, and served
in the army of the Revolution to the end of the war. He then
settled in Boston as a teacher of music declining to receive
any pension. He was among the earliest publishers of music
in Boston, the friend and business partner of the celebrated
Dr. G. K. Jackson, the predecessor of Graupner, whose music
store was in Franklin Street In 1812 Dr. Jackson was located
at No. 18 Pinkney Street, and Mallett had joined himself as
a partner to Gottlieb Graupner, and they were located in
business at the Bar of the Exchange Coffee House.

In the Memorial History of Boston John S.
Dwight referred to Doctor Jackson as the Gilmore
of his day. To this statement General Henry K.
Oliver made reply and gives a vivid picture of his
friend. He wrote :

Mr. Dwight speaks in a way that neither earlier nor later
readers can understand of DT. G. K. Jackson, a thoroughly
well-educated English organist, designating him as "the Gil-
more of his day." Knowing both Dr. Jackson and Mr. Gil-
more, I fail to see the similarity. With the exception of
unquestionable musical endowments, though to each in diver-
sity of directions, they were noticeably unlike in mind, temper-
ament, education, methods, and personal appearance. Dr.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 51

Jackson was somewhat tardigrade and undemonstrative; of a
measurably lethargic nature, yet without mental obtuseness.
Mr. GUmore is nervously active, energetic, full of earnest
zeal and push, with vivacious mental intelligence. Educa-
tionally each was thoroughly trained in his specialty the one
for the church and cathedral, the other for the band and
orchestraeach using his best effort in his several specialty.
In person they may be classed as antipodal. Dr. Jackson
was of vast ponderosity, and like Falstaff, "larded the lean
earth as he walked along." He was a very incarnation of
obesity. Gilmore is thin, wiry, and, as is written of a Duke
of Alva, "of lean body and visage, as though his eager soul
desired to fret a passage through it."

WILLIAM BILLINGS
1746-1800 1

WILLIAM BILLINGS was a giant among the group
of composers of church music who flourished in New
England during the period of the Revolutionary
War. He towered above those around him, and
planted the impress of his power upon those who
attempted to follow in his footsteps. His style of
music has been called Yankee music, and has often
been held up to ridicule. Few of "his pieces are now
in common use, but this is only another instance of
the constant change in musical taste, and a desire
for new compositions which displace the old. He
was self-educated in his art, yet his genius domi-
nated the singing of his age, and he introduced a
new style of so-called fuguing pieces which held
sway among the leaders of church music for many
years. He was not the inventor of this new class,
it having been used in England for a few years be-

i From The Choir Herald.

52 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

fore his time, but in Puritan New England the
churches hesitated to depart from their long-estab-
lished ways till the energy of Billings compelled a
change. He was a master of self-praise, and this
had much to do in pushing his music to the front
and making it popular. His compositions were in
many ways far in advance of those which he found
in the churches, and we are led to wonder what
changes he would have wrought could he have had
the training of some of the masters in England.
Still, we must grant him high honor in accomplish-
ing such improvements in church singing and in
arousing the public mind to the importance of music
in the sanctuary.

BIOGRAPHY

Most sketches of William Billings state that he
was born in Boston, October 7, 1746. In one of his
books he writes that he is a native of Boston. There
has been some doubt as to his parents, and the cor-
rect date of his birth, as there does not seem to be
any record of a birth in the published records of
Boston that can be taken as referring to him. The
Thayer Memorial, printed in 1835, intimates that
the record of birth of a William to William and
Mary (Badlam) on November 14, 1742, .refers to
the musician, and Colonel Pope, who married the
daughter of William Billings, follows this statement
in his genealogy. In the article which the present
writer furnished to the Choir Herald in August,
1914, reasons were given for believing that 1742
was the correct date; but since then it has been
found that the evidence on which these conclusions

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 53

were based was incorrect, and they are therefore
untenable. The family Bible of William Billings
has now been located, and its records supposed to be
in his own handwriting, must be taken as correct.
From this record we learn that the musician was the
son of William and Elizabeth, and was born in
Boston, October 7, 1746. The maiden name of
Elizabeth is not stated, but we find in the records
of Boston that one William Billings was married to
Elizabeth Clark August 6, 1736, by the Rev. Charles
Chauncey, and that this Elizabeth was the daughter
of William and Rebecca Clark, and was born March
7, 1706. It may be that she was the mother of the
William in whom we are interested.

William Billings was a tanner by trade, but could
riot resist the drawings of his art and devoted much
of his time to teaching music and directing singing
schools. Some years ago an interesting paper was
found among the effects of one of the old residents
of Stoughton, giving the names of those who
attended one of his singing schools kept in that town
in the year 1774. This group of people was the
germ of the oldest musical association in the United
States, the Stoughton Musical Society. It was on
the seventh of November, 1786, that a number of the
persons whose names appear upon the list formed
the society which is still in existence and which has
done so much to keep alive an interest in the old
hymns and songs so dear to our New England
ancestors in Colonial times. This society published
a collection of old church tunes in 1829 called the
Stoughton Collection. Among the names on the list
of that old singing school of 1774 Lucy Swan heads

54 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the singers of the treble. She was the daughter of
Major Robert Swan and Rachel Swan, of Stough-
ton, and became the second wife of William Billings,
July 26, 1774. William Billings had married Mary
Leonard on December 13, 1764, and was married
to Lucy Swan at Stoughton by the Rev, Jedediah
Adams. This record appears both in the records
of Boston and those of Stoughton. His children
were

Abigail Adams, born April 27, 1777.

Elizabeth Adams, born February 11, 1779.

Sarah, born August 30, 1783.

William, born February 7, 1786.

Peggy* born March 6, 1788.

Lucy, born October 18, 1792.

Abigail married Amos Penniman, who settled the
estate of his father-in-law. Peggy, who was also
known as Margaret D, Billings, married Colonel
William Pope, who was then living in Boston, but
later they went to Machias, Maine. The youngest
daughter, Lucy, married Levi Scott, and the
family Bible is now in the possession of her
granddaughter, Minnie Fowler Scott in Boston,
Massachusetts. The Rev. George Wallace Penni-
man, grandson of the oldest daughter Abigail,
is pastor of the Universalist Church in Monson,
Massachusetts.

Although William Billings was such an active
leader in church music, the notice accorded him by
the newspapers of the day at his death was very
meager. The Columbian Centinel, for September
27, 1800, has the following:

DIED. William Billings, age 60, the celebrated music com-

7r?;>\rx -, y ^*w'

y-->m&
'

WILLIAM BILLINGS' FAMILY RECORD

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 55

poser. His funeral will be held to-morrow, [Sun-day, Septem-
ber 29], at 4 p. M. from the home of Mr. Amos Pennlman, in
Chamber Street, West Boston.

The date of his death is not given, but it was Sep-
tember 26. He was buried in the inclosure on the
common in an unmarked, and now unknown grave.
He taught the singers of the Brattle Street
Church in 1778 with great approbation, and in 1785
he was interested in the music in the Old South
Church. The following notice appeared in the
Boston Centinel for November 26, 1785:

Singers of every denomination, both male and female, are
desired to attend and give their assistance at the Old South
on the first Lord's Day in December. The intent of said
meeting is for the purpose of relieving the distressed. Your
compliance with this will oblige many. But none more than
your humble servant,

WILLIAM BILLINGS.

The distress which this charity was to relieve was
very great among the poorer classes, and was due
chiefly to the depreciation of the continental cur-
rency. Billings was an intimate friend of Samuel
Adams, the patriot, and together they liked to sing
the 137th psalm, which had been put into political
paraphrase. The Revolutionary War gave oppor-
tunity to express in music his feelings toward the
mother country, and the tune "Chester" was called
his patriotic song. The words set to it were also
of his composition, and the first stanza will indicate

his patriotism:

i
"Let tyrants shake their iron rod,

And slavery clank her galling chains;
We fear them not, we trust in God.
New England's God forever reigns "

56 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

An item in the Musical Herald for 1890 states that
at the time of the Revolutionary War:

Billings was a member of Brown University. The college
was for awhile abandoned by the students and occupied by
soldiers for barracks. Billings retired to Wrentham, Massa-
chusetts, seventeen miles from Providence, where he spent
some time in teaching and composing music.

In reply to a letter of inquiry to the secretary of
Brown University the following was received:

Upon investigation we find that no William Billings was
attending Brown University at the time of the Revolutionary
War. Apparently, no man of that name has ever attended
the institution. We regret, of course, not being able to couple
the name of the university with the gentleman in question.

It appears, however, that he was in Rhode Island
at that time, for the town clerk of Stoughton re-
corded on June 4, 1774s, the marriage intention of
William Billings, of Providence, to Lucy Swan, of
Stoughton, but the marriage record shows Billings
was of Boston.

With these few personal facts we pass to a con-
sideration of his music books, and from his own
writings we will learn much more about him and his
work.

Mirsic BOOKS

His first book was published in 1770 and was The
New England Psalm-Singer, or American Chorister,
"containing a number of psalm-tunes, anthems and
canons, in four and five parts never before published.
Composed by William Billings, a native of Boston
in New England." The copy in the Library of Con-
gress was "Bought of Mr. Billings, June 12, 1770 ;
cost 9 shillings," and belonged to William Holdroyd,

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 57

of Providence. The frontispiece is an engraved oval
of music inclosing a view of a room in which seven
men are sitting around a table and singing. The
preface is so interesting that it may be quoted
entire:

Although this composition has cost me much time and
pains, yet I little thought of exposing it to public view, but
being repeatedly importuned by my friends I was at last
prevailed upon to commit it to the press. And, such as it
is, I now offer it to* the public, from whom, should it meet
with a favorable reception, it would, compensate for all the
trouble I have been at and the tune I have spent in the
prosecution of it. Perhaps there may appear in the eyes of the
accurate much incorrectness that I was not able to discern;
therefore, would beg the critic to be tender and rectify those
errors, which through inexperience may happen to have
escaped the notice of a youth in the course of so large a
volume. 1 I would here take occasion to return my thanks
to those gentlemen who have put so much confidence in this
performance as to promote and encourage it by subscription,
before they could have an opportunity of examining it, and
I would acknowledge myself in a particular manner obligated
to that gentleman who has honored me and this book with his
learned philosophical essay on Sound. Yet, at the same time
I can't but be sorry that I am not allowed to give the public
the satisfaction of knowing hfe name. For, somewhat con-
trary to nature, modesty in this gentleman has so far gained
the ascendency over ambition, that the world must remain
deprived of the knowledge of him, 'til his name shall shine
on the page of some future work. 8 It would be needless for
me to attempt to set forth the usefulness and importance
of psalm singing which is so universally known and acknowl-
edged and on which depends no inconsiderable part of the
divine worship of our churches. But this much I would say:
that he who finds himself gifted with a tunable voice and yet
neglects to cultivate it, not only hides in the earth a talent
of the highest value, but robs himself of that peculiar pleasure
of which they only are conscious who exercise that faculty.

Authors in general, upon subjects of this nature, abound

l He was only twenty-four years old when this book was issued, and prob-
ably some of the music, at least, had been written some time before.
2 Probably Dr. Charles Stockbridge of Scituate.

58 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

mostly in tunes of Common Meter, but in this respect I have
deviated from them, endeavoring to have a sufficiency in each
measure. In the composition I have been as plain and con-
cise as possible; and yet have tried to the utmost of my
power to preserve the modern air and manner of singing, and
should it, upon proof, be found equal to the attempt, I hope
it will be as well an inducement to the unskilled in the art to
prosecute the study o-f it as an entertainment to the more
experienced in it.

This is dated at Boston, October 7, 1770.

Many of the tunes have no words set to them,
and on the first page he explains that "No doubt
the reader will excuse my not adapting words to all
the tunes, as it is attended with great inconve-
nience." This book has more than one hundred pages
of music, engraved on copper by Paul Revere. The
last page contains a hymn of twelve four-line
stanzas "Composed by the Rev. Mr. Whitefield with
design to be sung at his own funeral, and here in-
serted at the request of a number of his friends."
Upon investigation, however, it is found that this
hymn was not written by Whitefield, but was one of
John Wesley's. In the advertisement of this his
first venture Mr. Billings says : "If this work should
meet with encouragement, it may be an inducement
to the author to publish another volume, which he
has in possession, consisting chiefly of anthems,
fuges (sic), and choruses of his own composition."
This volume is now very rare, one volume some
years ago having brought eighty-fivfe dollars at
auction, while a sale made in 1920 brought two hun-
dred and ten dollars. If he could have received this
amount from his own sales, he would not have hesi-
tated to issue his second volume.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 59

THE SIEGING MASTEE'S ASSISTANT

It was eight years before another book was put
forth. In the meantime he kept on writing more
music and teaching singing schools. The Singing
Master's Assistant or, Key to Practical Music ; was
an abridgment from The New England Psalm
Singer 9 together with several other tunes never be-
fore published, composed by William Billings. It
was engraved by Benjamin Pierpont, Junior, of
Roxbury, and printed in Boston in 1778. This book
has sixty tunes, and to many of them are set words
taken from the versions of the psalms made by Doc-
tor Watts and by Brady and Tate ; but "Where no
credit is given," he says, "the words are written by
the author." Thus we learn that besides being a
composer, he was a writer of rime. It is in the
preface of this book that he shows his enthusiasm
for music. He writes:

Perhaps some of my grave readers may conclude I am pos-
sessed with a musical enthusiasm if I insist too much on the
marvelous. That I am a musical enthusiast I readily grant,
and I think it impossible for the votaries to be otherwise, for
when we consider the many wonderful effects which music
has on the animal spirit, and upon the nervous system, we
are ready to cry out in a fit of enthusiam, "Great art thou,
O Music."

In the eight years between these books he had
learned much regarding music, and his experience
led him to write in the preface of his second volume :

Kind Reader: No doubt you will remember that about ten
years ago I published a book entitled The New England
Psalm Singer; and truly a most masterful performance I then
thought it to be. How lavish was I of encomium on this
my infant production! "Welcome thrice welcome, thou legit-

60 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

imate offspring of my brain/. Go forth, little book, go
forth and immortalize the name of your author; may your
sale be rapid and may you speedily run through ten thou-
sand editions*" But to my great mortification. I soon discov-
ered that many pieces were never worth my printing or your
inspection.

This was his most popular production, was called
Billings 9 Best, was issued in a second edition in the
following year, and again in 1780, all by the same
publisher.

MUSIC IN MINIATURE

His next venture was Music in Miniature, con-
taining a collection of psalm tunes of various
meters set in score. It was engraved by B. John-
son and printed in Boston for the author in 1779.
There were seventy-four tunes, thirty-one new and
original, thirty-two from his former books, and
eleven old standard European tunes. There were
no words printed.

THE PSALM SINGER'S AMUSEMENT

The Psalm Singers 9 Amusement, 1781, contained
a number of fuguing pieces and anthems, twenty
pieces in all, and was printed and sold by the author
in Boston. His apology for such a small book
throws an interesting side light on the price of
copper and paper in the colonies during the Revo-
lutionary War. He writes:

This work is a part of the book of anthems which I have
so long promised. My reasons for not publishing the whole
in one volume must be obvious to all who consider the present
extravagant price of copper-plate and paperthe copper in
special is so scarce that I don't think it possible to procure
enough to contain the whole at any price; besides, if I was

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 61

able to publish the whole, but few would become purchasers,
and I believe that most will be of my opinion when I inform
them that the book could not be afforded for less than ten
dollars. However, I hope that notwithstanding the present
difficulties, I shall shortly be able to publish the remainder at
a much lower price.

One of the pieces has the following directions:
"After the audience are seated and the performers
have taken the pitch slyly from the leader, the song
begins." This is the first stanza:

"We've met for a .concert of modern invention;
To tickle the ear is our present intention.
The audience seated, expect to be treated
With a piece of the best."

THE SUFFOLK HARMONY

The SuffolJt Harmony consisted of psalm tunes,
fugues, and anthems, and was printed in Boston in
1786. This was a book of fifty-six pages, and has
sold in recent years for as high as fifty dollars.
The five books already mentioned were printed from
engraved plates.

His next publication was The Continental Har-
mony, printed "typographically," that is, from
music type, by Isaiah Thomas in Boston in 1794.
Besides anthems and fugues it contained a number
of choruses in several parts. As fugues were the
distinguishing style of Billings* compositions, it will
be interesting to know his own opinion of them.
This he tells us is as follows:

It has more than twenty times the power of the old slow
tunes; each part straining for mastery and victory. The
audience entertained and delighted, their minds surpassingly
agitated and extremely fluctuated, sometimes declaring for
one part and sometimes for another. Now the solemn bass

62 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

demands their attention; next the manly tenor, now the volatile
treble. Now here, now there, now here again. O ecstatis!
Rush on, you sons of harmony.

One more book must be mentioned. The Massa-
chusetts Harmony, which Charles Evans, in his
American Bibliography, attributes to Billings, but
with an interrogation after his name. It was pub-
lished in Boston prior to 1785, for a second edition
was issued in that year, and the first is not dated.
It is stated in the chapter on Andrew Law that this
may have been the pirated edition of one of Law's
books to which he refers in his Rudiments of Music
in 1783. We cannot think that William Billings,
who was so fond of self-praise, would allow any of
his own productions to go forth without his name
upon the title page. We doubt therefore that The
Massachusetts Harmony could be his, as it is signed
only "By a Lover of Harmony."

The music of Billings' style has passed, and it is
rare to find any of his pieces in modern collections.
His tune "Majesty" appeared in the Baptist book,
Sursum Cor da, published so late as 1898, and the
editor has added the following note : "This favorite
among the early American psalm tunes ought not
to be forgotten. Some of its quaintness has been
sacrificed in correcting it, but in a certain joyous
stateliness it remains unsurpassed." The tune also
appeared in the Methodist Hymnal of 1878, and
was included in both the collections made for old
folks concerts by Father Kemp and Brother Cheney.
In the latter book it stands first, indicating the
popularity it attained as a representative of the
music of Revolutionary times; for this piece was

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 63

published in the author's second book, The Singing
Master's Assistant, printed in 1778.

The following contemporary estimate of Billings
is quoted from the diary of William Bentley, for
many years an editor and a pastor in Salem, Massa-
chusetts. The entry was written on Sunday, Sep-
tember 28, 1800, two days after the death of the
musician, and is as follows:

William Billings, ae. 60, died in Boston. This self-taught
man thirty years ago had the direction of all the music of
our churches. His "Reuben," [The Singing Master's Assist-
ant] as he whimsically called it, with all its great imperfec-
tions, had great fame and he may justly be considered as the
father of our New England music. Many who have imitated
have excelled him, but none of them had better original power.
His late attempts, and without a proper education, were the
true cause of his inferior excellence. He taught the singers
at the Brattle Street Church in 1778 with great approbation,
and his fame was great in the churches. He was a singular
man, of moderate size, short of one leg, with one eye, without
any address, and with an uncommon negligence of person.
Still he spake and sang and thought as a man above the com-
mon abilities. He died poor and neglected and perhaps did
too much neglect himself.

A recent writer has said that "Billings was an un-
couth but forceful personality, and neglected his
tanning to lead choirs with a voice that drowned all
others ; to publish psalm books that had a wide sale,
and to compose music that had a certain crude
worth. 55 Hitter says of him: "Billings taught his
choir, so far as he could, to sing musically, that is,
in time and with a certain swing and warm expres-
sion. He gave it in the best way he was able and
he gave his own. He was an honest though poor
composer." He did not adapt other writers' tunes,
but all his publications were original. Whatever

64 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

may be said of the style that he adopted, especially
the fuguing pieces which had been recently in-
troduced from England, this style captured the
hearts of the people of his day, and drew them away
from the solemn and unmusical tunes then in use.
Musical taste has changed during the last century,
and new composers have arisen to crowd out the
old, but it cannot be denied that musical develop-
ment was given an important start by the energy
and persistence of William Billings.

SIMEON JOCELYN
1746-1823

SIMEON JOCELYN was not a composer of music,
but he compiled and published a number of books,
which were sold by him in New Haven, and his work
as an engraver of some of them is of interest. He
was born at Branford, Connecticut, October 22,
1746, and was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth
Jocelyn. Simeon established himself in business in
New Haven as early as 1782, when he was in com-
pany with Amos Doolittle.

His first music book was The Chorister's Com-
panion, which contained the usual rules of psalmody,
a choice and valuable collection of psalm tunes,
hymns, and anthems, as well as several tunes never
before published. Later editions contained addi-
tional music which was also published separately.
These were printed by T. and S. Green for Simeon
Jocelyn. In 1787 there was printed by Thomas
and Samuel Green and sold by Simeon Jocelyn in

^^

ipf$t- ,*',,*.,,&/

ZION'S HARP, 1824

Title page and Sicilian Hymn. A fine example of engraving.
From the author's collection

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 65

New Haven a collection (sixteen pages) of favorite
psalm tunes from late and approved British authors,
the whole never before printed in America. He
died in New Haven June 5, 1823.

OLIVER BROWNSON

OLIVER BROWNSON, of Connecticut, was the com-
piler of two collections of sacred music. In 1783
his Select Harmony, containing eighty-four pages
of engraved music, was printed in New Haven, by
Thomas and Samuel Green. The American com-
positions in this book have their authors 9 names set
over the tunes, and it appears that many of the
compositions were original with the compiler, while
others were by such, authors as were then well
known Edson, Billings, and Swan. There was an-
other edition printed in 1791, containing the same
music, but the preface and introduction are in a
smaller type.

His second book appears to be very rare. It was
A New Collection of Sacred Harmony, and was
printed at Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1797, and was
sold by the author at his dwelling house. It had
fifty-six pages, and, like the other, was oblong in
shape.

In 1775 Oliver King, of Bolton, Connecticut,
advertised for subscriptions to his Universal Har-
mony, and added that they would be received, among
others, by Oliver Brunson (or Brownson), singing
master, Litchfield.

66 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

JUSTIN MORGAN
1747-1798

JUSTIN MORGAN was born in 1747 at West Spring-
field, Massachusetts. Besides being a musician, he
is known as the breeder of the Morgan horse. The
following items are taken from advertisements in
various papers. For the season of 1778 he adver-
tised Sportsman at his home in West Springfield,
Massachusetts. In 1783 he kept Diamond and
advertised him in the Massachusetts Gazette of
April 29 as follows:

Will cover the season at the stable of Mr. Justin Morgan in
West Springfield, the horse called Diamond, who sprang from
a good mare, and from the horse formerly owned by Mr.
Church of Springfield.

The season of 1783 he kept the stallion, True Briton.
This is the last season Mr. Morgan is known to
have kept the stallion before his removal to Vermont
in 1788. He moved to Randolph, Vermont, between
June 20 and September 3, 1788. His. health was
delicate, and he was unable to do any hard work
after he was twenty years old. He taught writing
schools, singing schools and the common district
schools for many years, the proceeds of which,
together with the money from his horses when he
had them and from his little tavern constituted his
means of livelihood.

As a teacher he seems to have been successful, and
was greatly liked wherever he went on account of
his urbane manners and upright character. He was
married at the age of about thirty, and four daugh-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 67

ters and one son were born to him. His second
daughter, Emily, afterward Mrs. Edgerton, was
born in February, 1786; Justin, March 15, 1788;
Nancy, September 3, 1788, at Randolph, Vermont ;
Polly, March 10, 1791, at Randolph. Ten days
after the birth of this last child Mrs. Martha Mor-
gan, the wife and mother, died at Randolph. These
last three dates appear on the records of Randolph.
The date September 3, 1788, indicates the approxi-
mate date of the removal of the family to Vermont.
Mr. Morgan was chosen lister in Randolph March
19, 1789, and town clerk March 9, 1790, and held
the latter office until March 18, 1793. In the spring
of that year the family was broken up, and the
children found homes in the families of different
neighbors, the son, Justin, then seven years old,
together with his sister Emily, going to live with
Daniel Carpenter, by whom they were brought up.
Mr. Morgan never had his little family together
again. He survived only five years, and died at
Randolph on the second of March, 1798, in his fifty-
first year. The little property that he left was
appraised at only $160.13, as appears from the pro-
bate records, where the different articles are enu-
merated. There is no horse or livestock in the
appraisal. It is therefore apparent that he had
parted with his famous horse some time before his
death, and there is no evidence that he ever owned
any other horse in Vermont than the one known as
the Morgan horse. On the 17th of November, 1800,
a dividend of thirteen cents was ordered paid to the
creditors. Thus closes the short and simple annals
of the man who brought into the then young and

68 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

growing Green Mountain State a most interesting
and important element of its prosperity.

Mahlon Cottrell, who drove the stage from Roy-
alton to Montpelier, states that he often met Mr.
Morgan on the original Morgan horse going to his
singing schools.

Mr. Morgan composed many tunes, a remarkable
anthem called "Judgement Anthem," and left a book
of manuscript music. One of his tunes, "Mont-
gomery," was introduced into The Antiquarian, by
Leonard Marshall as late as 1849, but his music has
now passed entirely out of use, and is of interest
only to the historian.

ANDREW LAW

1748-1821 1

A MTTSICAI, magazine, a new form of musical nota-
tion, and several compilations of tunes, original and
selected, are the additions made by Andrew Law to
the literature of American psalmody, which in his
day was extremely meager. The period, however,
during which his pen was productive, saw the rise of
many native musicians, and music books increased
rapidly in numbers. William Billings, of Boston,
was perhaps the most influential of the new writers,
and he had many followers. The music of Mr, Law
did not prove lasting and none of his pieces are to
be found in modern collections.

A large part of the life of Andrew Law was

i From The Choir Her aid. '

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 69

devoted to the teaching of music, so that the account
of his activities is to be obtained from his music
books, but these facts indicate his preparation. He
was born in Milford, Connecticut, in March, 1748,
was the oldest son of Jahleel Law and Ann Baldwin,
and the grandson of Governor Law, of that State,
When he was five years old the family removed to
Cheshire, and with that town he was more or less
closely connected the rest of his life. He joined
the church there in 1769. He graduated from
Brown University in 1775, and received his master's
degree from the same institution three years later.
In the meantime he had been studying divinity,
according to the custom of that day when there
were no theological schools, with the Rev. Levi Hart,
of Preston, Connecticut, and in 1777 we find him
preaching in Chesterfield, that State. Yale con-
ferred upon him the degree of A,M. in 1786, and
Allegheny College of Meadville, Pennsylvania, then
in its infancy, honored him with LL.D. in 1821.
He was ordained as a minister September 8, 1787,
at Hartford, by a Congregational council, and on
the 18th of October following he was recommended
by the Philadelphia Presbytery to preach in the
South. Mr. John W. Moore, a prolific writer
about musicians, states that "as late as 1820 Mr.
Law resided in Newark and from thence wrote letters
for publication, recommending his system of nota-
tion." In another place he notes that "he died in
New Haven, Connecticut, 1824," though "it had
been stated by Allibone that he died in Cheshire in
1821." Evidently, Moore did not have access to
papers that would verify his statements, for we may

70 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

read in the Connecticut Courant, printed in Hart-
ford, July 17, 1821 :

Died, at the house of William Law, Esqr., of Cheshire, on
the 13th, inst., the Rev. Andrew Law, in the 73d. year of
his age. For the last forty years Mr. Law has been an
assiduous cultivator and teacher of sacred music.

Mr. Law never married.

In an advertisement in the last part of one of his
musical magazines is the following notice referring
to worts of his :

Also by the same author, and to be sold by William Law
at the press, a small number of the Select Harmony, and
also a collection of Hymns and Tunes; likewise, upon short
^notice, at the press and very cheap, any number of a collec-
tion of fifty-four Psalm Tunes, designed to be bound in with
editions of psalm books.

This last-named collection doubtless refers to his
first publication of Plain Tunes, issued at Boston in
1767, and followed by other editions in 1772, 1781,
and 1785. Sixteen pages of plain tunes engraved
by Joel Allen, are found in a copy of Tate and
Brady's Psalms of 1774 in the Boston Public
Library, but there are fifty-five tunes instead of
fifty-four. Twelve of these tunes had been used by
Lyon in his Urania in 1761, and one, called "Mear,"
is still in common use in the hymnals of the present
day.

His next book was the Select Harmony, contain-
ing, in plain and concise manner, the rules of singing,
together with a complete collection of psalm tunes,
hymns, and anthems. New Haven. Printed by
Thomas and Samuel Green, 1779. There were one

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 71

hundred pages of music engraved by J. Allen, of
Farmington, and the first part of fifty pages may
have been published in advance of the entire work
as an advertisement ; on the title is dated Cheshire,
December 10, 1778 (so says Charles Evans in his
American Bibliography). The copy of the Select
Harmony in the Library of Congress was "Prudence
Minor's and Sally's book, bought October, 1787,
giving (sic) by their brother, Andrew Minor." The
index of this book shows the names of the composers,
but there do not appear to be any of Law's own
tunes in it. Another edition of a Select Harmony,
"containing in a plain and concise manner the rules
of singing, chiefly by Andrew Law, A.B., to which
is added a number of psalm tunes, hymns and
anthems from the best authors, with some never
before published" was "printed and sold by Daniel
Bayley at his house in Newburyport, 1784."

In 1780 the first edition of his Musical Primer
was issued by Mr. Law from New Haven, in the
common round notes ; but the fourth edition printed
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by W. Hillard in
1803, appears* to have been the first one to contain
his new system of notation, for he says:

This book exhibits a new plan of printing music. Four
kinds of characters are used, and are situated, between the
single bars that divide the time* in the same manner as if
they were on lines, and in every instance where two charac-
ters of the same figure occur their situations mark perfectly
the height and distance of their sounds, and every purpose is
effected without the assistance of lines. These four kinds of
characters also denote the four syllables, mi, faw, sol, law,
which are used in singing. The diamond has the name of mi;
the square of faw; the round of sol; and the quarter of a
diamond of law.

72 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

As he had been a teacher of music for over twenty
years, he had felt the need of some musical notation
that would be easily read by the learner. This nota-
tion, however, did not become popular and was used
in only a few of his books.

The Christian Harmony, which was a collection
of sixty-five psalm and hymn tunes, was printed in
1805 at Windsor, Vermont. In 1792 Mr. Law had
projected a musical magazine which he hoped to
make a periodical publication, and the first number
of it was issued from Cheshire, Connecticut in that
year. A second number followed in 1793. This was
not such a magazine as is now published under that
name, but merely contained a few tunes without
reading matter. I have not seen a copy of the con-
tents of the first number, but the second contains
eight tunes, had covers of coarse paper, and in
advertising it he says :

This is a periodical publication and is designed to contain
several new and a number of celebrated pieces of American
and European composition. Numbers 1 and 2 are already
out. Price of each number by the dozen, one-eighth of a
dollar, and singly, one-sixth of a dollar. Printed and sold by
William Law, Cheshire, Conn.

Later we read: "Additional numbers may be
printed upon this plan and published as frequently
as the public mind shall be prepared to receive them."
The sixth number was "published as the law directs,
November, 1801." and contained eight pieces set
from type.

In the year 1800 he had proposed to issue The
Art of Singing, in three parts, to contain in one
volume his Musical Primer, The Christian Harmony,

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 73

and The Musical Magazine. A volume was printed
with Parts One and Three in 1801 with the common
style of round notes. Then in 1805 he put forth
the completed book with music in his new notation.
It is of interest to observe that the three parts
which go to make up this volume were printed in
three different places. Part One was printed in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, by W. Hilliard in 1803 ;
Part Two at Windsor, Vermont, by Nahum Mower
in 1805, and Part Three at "Boston, for the author,
by E. Lincoln, 59 in 1805. This last part is desig-
nated as a fourth edition with additions and im-
provements, so it is evident that three editions were
printed in the years from 1801 to 1804. "The plan
of printing music," he says, "with four kinds of
characters and the method of teaching by characters
are explained in the fourth edition of the Musical
Primer." The first imprint of this latter title bears
date 1780, but the copy which I have examined in
the Library of Congress is "newly improved and
revised, designed especially for the use of learners,
by Andrew Law," and the plate printing was "done
by William Law in Cheshire, Conn." in 1793. A
third edition, which is not dated, was published in
Philadelphia "upon the author's new plan." The
date is penciled in some copies as 1812. It could
not have been earlier than that year for the reason
that some of the recommendations are dated as late
as June 13, 1811. One was from the pen of the
Rev. William Staughton, then pastor of a Baptist
church in Philadelphia, and later president of what
is now called the George Washington University,
located in Washington, D. C. Another letter,

74 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

approving his new system, was written by John
Hubbard, professor of music in Dartmouth College,
a man well versed in music, who later wrote and pub-
lished an essay upon that subject* At the April
session of the Philadelphia Methodist Conference a
committee to whom had been referred the matter of
introducing Mr. Law's book into the churches,
reported favorably. His new form of musical nota-
tion had been invented several years before this, in
1803, and in his advertisement to his Musical
Primer, he says :

A book that might be obtained at little expense and be
suitable for learners at their first setting out has been fre-
quently called for. Such a one is the following. The rules
comprised in it are explained with the utmost conciseness and
simplicity. If the learner, upon perusing them and practic-
ing upon the additional lessons- and tunes, finds that he is
likely to succeed as a singer, he may safely venture to pur-
chase other music; if not, he may relinquish this book and
his undertaking together without much loss of time or money.

He then compares the new plan with the old and
concludes that the characters and their locations
compare as seven to twenty-eight, so that the advan-
tages which are gained by the new plan are very
great and of vast importance. To the objection
that it is new and not in general use he adds that
upon this ground every improvement in the arts
must be rejected. Nevertheless, the new notation did
not last long, though it may have obtained some
vogue, and he himself, as well as later composers,
went back to the common round notes that are now
almost universally used.

A Collection of the Best and Most Approved

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 75

Tunes and Anthems for the Promotion of Psalmody
was printed in New Haven by Thomas and Samuel
Green, in 1779, and what was perhaps the third edi-
tion with this title, A Collection of the Best and
Most Approved Tunes and Anthems Known to
Exist, was issued from the printing office of William
Law at Cheshire in 1782. In the meantime, 1781,
a second edition had been printed by the Greens at
New Haven, and for it he had procured protection
by what was the second copyright given by special
legislative enactment in the United States. For in
October, 1781, the General Assembly of Connecticut
by special act granted the author the exclusive
patent for imprinting and vending his collection for
five years and imposed a fine of five pounds and
payment of damages for every infringement of his
right. He was led to take this action by an expe-
rience with his Select Harmony, for he says in the
introduction to his Rudiments of Music that he
hopes this "will not be pirated as the other was by
those who look, not to the public good, but to their
own private emolument."

This statement raises a very interesting question
and one that we would be glad to solve. The ques-
tion is this : Under what title did the pirate edition
appear? In 1784 there was a Select Harmony
printed and sold by Daniel Bayley at his house in
Newburyport, containing in a plain and concise
manner the rules of singing, chiefly by Andrew Law,
A.B., to which are added a number of psalm tunes,
hymns, and anthems from the best authors, with
some never before published. This could not have
been the edition referred to, for the reason that it

76 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

was not issued until the year following his remark.
There is no doubt, however, that so much of it as
was taken from Andrew Law was pirated, by which
we mean that it was printed without his consent,
for Daniel Bayley was not a composer, but merely
a compiler who took what he chose from the books
that came in his way, leaving out what he did not
care to reprint. In one of his reprints of the Eng-
lish Collection of Aaron Williams he plainly states
that he has left out some of the pieces, and it will
be noted that in the title of his Select Harmony
the rules are taken chiefly from Andrew Law, but
some of the hymns, etc., have never before been pub-
lished.

The Massachusetts Harmony presents a more
promising field for speculation. The editor is not
named in this book and it is not dated. In a recent
letter from Mr. Hubert P. Main, he writes : "I am
very certain that Billings was not the editor of the
Massachusetts Harmony from evidence I have."
And in Warrington's Short Titles he is quoted as
saying that this is printed from plates that are
identical with one of Law's books. It was presum-
ably attributed to Billings because it was printed in
Boston, which was his home, Mr. Evans, in his bibli-
ography, puts it in the list for 1784, and questions
Billings as its editor. The book itself is undated,
and 1784 was probably given to it because a second
edition was issued in 1785. It is rather improbable
that the two editions should follow each other so
closely, and therefore two or three years earlier may
be nearer the correct date. This would take it back
to a time when reference to it could be made in a

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COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 77

book printed in 1783. As to its editor it may be
said that Billings was not at all backward in
acknowledging the work of his genius, and it is
not conceivable that he should have been the editor
of the Massachusetts Harmony, and let it go forth
signed only "By a Lover of Harmony 9 " withholding
his own name. On the other hand, we cannot think
of any motive which would cause Law to omit his
name from the title page, if it were really his book
printed with his consent. But if it is true, as Mr.
Main writes, that "The Massachusetts Harmony
was printed from plates that are identical with one
of Law's books," and if we are right in assuming
that this is the pirated edition referred to by Mr.
Law, then we discover a reason for omitting the
name of the real author and for not having any
name appear upon its pages.

In 1782 he issued A Collection of Hymns for
Social Worship, in forty-eight pages. This collec-
tion and his book of tunes were frequently bound
together.

His Rudiments of Music was "A short treatise
on the rules of psalmody, to which are annexed a
number of plain tunes and chants, by Andrew Law,
A.M., in 1783." This was entered for State copy-
right December 3, 1783. A second edition was
printed two years later. A fourth edition was
printed and sold by William Law in 1792, with the
addition of a number of pieces never before pub-
lished. This too was entered according to the laws
of the United States. There were eighty-seven
pages of engraved music as compared with the
twenty in the first edition, and the common notation

78 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

of round notes was used. The purchaser of the book
which is now in the Library of Congress has written
the price as six shillings. The copy of Law's
Rudiments of Music, which is in the library of the
Harvard Musical Association, was presented to it
by Timothy Swan, a contemporary composer and
recognized as the author of the minor tune "China,"
which is still in common use.

Two other publications of his are The Harmonic
Companion and The Art of Playing the Organ.
Copies of these may be seen in the Essex Institute,
Salem, Massachusetts. The former is thus described
in an advertisement:

The first and second parts of the Art of Singing are com-
prised in the Harmonic Companion, which is a volume of 120
pages. It contains the rules of psalmody, 145 psalm and
hymn tunes and eight set pieces.

It was first issued in 1807 and reprinted in four
editions. The Art of Playing the Organ was a small
pamphlet of eight pages, printed in 1807 also and
reprinted twice.

In 1814 Mr. Law began a series of Essays on
Music. They were copyrighted August 24 and
printed at Philadelphia for the author. Two num-
bers were issued. The first was on the general sub-
ject of music and in his second essay he says, "One
object of these essays will be to notice the musical
publications of this country." He then proceeds
to discuss critically one of the recent books of
church music.

An idea of the esteem in which Andrew Law was
held by his contemporaries may be had in a sen-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 79

tence taken from the notice of his death in a news-
paper of 1821 :

To his correct taste and scientific improvements may be
ascribed much of that decent, solemn and chaste style of
singing so noticeable in so many of the American churches.
He led a life of exemplary obedience to religious impression
and has doubtless entered "into that rest which remaineth to
the people of God."

Though he may have improved upon the manner of
singing, his style of composition did not abide, and
his tunes have passed from the hymnals. Dr. F. L.
Ritter, in his History of Music in America, says of
him:

Law was more thorough in his musical knowledge than
many of his contemporaries. The different collections of
church music he published prove him to have been a singing
teacher of comparatively good taste and judgment. Billings
and his style seem not to have had much attraction for him.
His aim was more serious. He selected his tunes with more
care, and the harmonic arrangement of his pieces is simple
and correct, and more in accordance with the spirit of church
music. He did not indulge in much "fuguing" He does
not seem to have been very popular as a compiler or as a
composer. Only one of his original tunes, "Archdale,"
acquired great popularity. It was for a long time reprinted
in almost every book of church music. Law's most efficient
work was that of a singing teacher. He did good pioneer
work in the New England States and in the South.

THE REV. SOLOMON HOWE
1750-1835

SOLOMON HOWE was a native of Massachusetts,
born in North Brookfield, September 14, 1750. At
the age of twenty-seven he graduated from Dart-

80 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

mouth College, 1777, and started on a career which
was rather eccentric and desultory at times. Part
of the time he was a preacher, then a teacher, then
he practiced the art of printing, and when not other-
wise engaged he turned his energies to farming. He
was living in Greenwich, in the western part of Mas-
sachusetts, when his three music books were pub-
lished, and he had attained to the age of eighty-
five years when he died November 18, 1935, at New
Salem.

His first music book was called The Worshiper's
Assistant and contained, besides the rules of music,
which at that time were usually introduced into
every singing book, "a variety of easy and plain
Psalm Tunes adapted to the weakest capacities and
designed for extensive utility as an introduction to
more critical and curious music." This was printed
from music type by Andrew Wright at Northampton
for the author in 1799. "The author has put his
own hymns to the following tunes and has in manu-
script five hundred more which he intends to publish
in the future."

His second book was The Farmers 9 Evening Enter-
tainment, was printed by the same firm in North-
ampton in 1804, and contained new hymns and a
number of new tunes of as various airs and meters
as the compass of the book will admit. An inter-
esting side light on the time for which a copyright
was issued is found in the statement that the copy-
right was secured to the author for fourteen years,
one half the period of a copyright at the present
time, or one third if a renewal is made. The next
year, 1805, he issued a collection of 92 pages, Divine

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 81

Hymns on the Sufferings of Christ, "for the use of
religious assemblies." None of his hymns are now
in use.

ELIAS MANN
1750-1825

ELIAS MANN was born in Weymouth, Massachu-
setts, in 1750, but most of his life was spent in
Northampton, where he taught music during the
week, and led the singing in the Congregational
church on Sunday. The time of his removal to
Northampton is approximated by the date on
which he and his wife joined the First Congrega-
tional Church there, which was in 1796. Here in
the town made famous by the long pastorate of the
Rev. Jonathan Edwards, he taught singing and
printed books. At one time he was employed by the
town to teach singing school on Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday evenings during the months of Decem-
ber and January. He was paid twenty-six dollars
for this service, and was to lead the singing on the
Sabbath. He was again hired to conduct the sing-
ing school for two days a week from November to
May, for which he was to be paid fifty dollars. The
years during which these schools were to be held are
not stated. He was one of the fifteen who met in
Boston in June, 1807, to organize the Massachusetts
Musical Society, from which sprang the Handel and
Haydn Society, which was founded in 1815. He
appears to have stopped in Worcester before settling
in Northampton, for in the Massachusetts Maga-

82 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

zine, printed in 1789 and 1790, we find that there
were several pieces of music credited to E. Mann,
of Worcester.

His earliest compilation was The Northampton
Collection of Sacred Harmony, printed in that town
by Daniel Wright and Company in 1797, and a
second edition in 1802. He next issued The Mas-
sachusetts Collection of Sacred Harmony, a book of
200 pages, printed in 1807 by Manning and Loring
in Boston. The first tune in this book is "Confi-
dence," by Oliver Holden, and the copy of this book
in the Library of Congress is the presentation copy
from the compiler to Mr. Holden. On one of his
visits to Boston he was asked to write a recom-
mendation to The Psalmodist's Assistant 9 which
Abijah Forbush had compiled in 1803.

Elias Mann died in Northampton, May 12, 1825,
and was buried there with five of his children, and
his widow, who survived him till April 22, 1842.

HERMAN MANN

Herman Mann, whose work as a printer of music
may be considered with that of his relative, was
born in Walpole, Mass., November 10, 1771. Dur-
ing his young manhood he taught school, but after
he had removed to Dedham, in 1797, he engaged in
printing. For a year he lived in Providence, Rhode
Island, but most of his days were spent in Dedham.
From 1797 to 1804 he published a newspaper called
The Minerva, but it was not a profitable business,
and it was discontinued. From 1804 to 1815 he
printed a number of music books compiled by Daniel

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 83

Read, Walter Janes, Stephen Jenks, Amos Albee,
D. L. Peck, and Oliver Shaw. The last named was
a Providence musician whom he had met during his
stay in that city.

SUPPLY BELCHER
1751-1836

SUPPLY BELCHER, whose name is sometimes incor-
rectly given as Samuel Belcher, was associated with
William Billings in the early development of music
in Massachusetts, though his maturer years were
spent in Maine, and his musical career should be
credited to that State. References to him, how-
ever, are found on the records of Massachusetts, of
which the District of Maine formed a part up to
1820, when it became a separate State. Supply
Belcher was born in Stoughton, March 29, 1751.
As this was the year when the change from old to
new style w$s effected, and eleven days were
dropped, according to an act of Parliament, it may
be that the date of his birth, which -is sometimes
stated as occurring on April 10, 1752, may be
accounted for by this means. For eleven days added
to March 29 would give April 10, and throw the
date into the following year. Mr, Belcher kept a
tavern in his native town, which was the favorite
resort for the musicians of that vicinity, and he
was a member of the famous Stoughton Musical
Society.

In 1785 he removed to IJallowell, Maine, and in

84 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

1791 to Farmington, where he became one of its best-
known citizens. When the town sought incorpora-
tion from the Massachusetts Legislature, he was the
agent sent to Boston on that mission. At home he
was a justice of the peace, even as late as 1815, as
appears from a copy of the Massachusetts Regis-
ter for that year, which happens to be at hand.
He was the principal magistrate of his adopted
town until near the end of his life, and repeatedly
represented that town in the Legislature of Massa-
chusetts. He also taught the first school in the
town.

He was the first choir leader in Fannington, and
for many years led the music in the old church.
The Rev. Paul Cofiin in his journal refers to "Squire
Belcher's singers, who were called together and gave
him an evening of sweet music." In 1792, accom-
panied by another member of the Stoughton Musical
Society, he visited the commencement exercises at
Harvard for the purpose of enjoying the musical
program, and in 1796, when Hallowell Academy gave
an exhibition near the close of its first year, Squire
Belcher was called from Farmington to conduct the
music. In the language of the Tocsin, a paper then
printed in Hallowell, "The exercises were enlivened
by vocal and instrumental music under the direc-
tion of Mr. Belcher, 'The Handel of Maine.' " As
a composer of music and as a performer on the
violin he displayed far greater abilities than as a
singer.

After Mr. Belcher had settled in Farmington, he
prepared The Harmony of Maine, which was pub-
lished in 1794 by Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 85

Andrews in Boston. The title page shows that the
compiler was of Farmington, County of Lincoln,
District of Maine, and that the book was an orig-
inal composition of psalm and hymn tunes of various
meters suitable for divine worship, also a number of
fuguing pieces and anthems, and a concise introduc-
tion to the grounds of music, and rules for learners.
Two of his pieces were included in the Centennial
Collection of the Stoughton Musical Society, and a
third was used in Holyoke's Columbian Repository,
1802.

Mr. Belcher was married March 2, 1775, to Mar-
garet More, a native of Boston, and they had ten
children. He died June 9, 1836, in Farmington,
Maine, at the age of eighty-five.

ABRAHAM WOOD
1752-1804

The Columbian Harmony was the joint compila-
tion of Abraham Wood and Joseph Stone. It. con-
tained, besides the rules of psalmody, "a collection
of Sacred Music designed for the use of worshiping
assemblies and singing societies." It was an oblong
book of 112 pages, engraved partly by Joel Allen,
and the last few pages by E. Ruggles, Jr. The
pieces were mostly by American composers, Mr.
Stone contributing forty-two tunes, and Wood
twenty-six, Mr. John W. Moore, who wrote so
much about the early music of this country, tells
us that Joseph Stone was from the town of Ward,
Massachusetts. This town, near Worcester, was

86 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

named for General Artemas Ward, of Shrewsbury,
a town on the other side of Worcester, and in 1837
its name was changed to Auburn, later to be made
famous as the home of Clara Barton, the founder of
The American Red Cross. From the records of this
town we gather that Joseph Stone was born about
1758; was married there and raised a large family,
that he died February 22, 1837, at the age of
seventy-nine, and is buried in one of its cemeteries.

Abraham Wood was a native of Northboro, Mas-
sachusetts, spent his whole life there, and became
one of its prominent citizens and officials. He was
the youngest son of his parents, was born July 30,
1752, married April 1, 1773, Lydia Johnson, and
had a large family. Military duties and music occu-
pied much of his time. He was clerk of a militia
company of which his brother was the captain, and
on the Lexington alarm he marched with his com-
pany to Cambridge, the headquarters of the army,
where he served as a drummer.

As an example of the interest the women took
in the great struggle for independence, it is recorded
that his young wife sat up the entire night previous
to the departure of his company and melted her
pewter ware into bullets to be fired at the British.
The soapstone molds used on that occasion are still
in the possession of the family. General Artemas
Ward, who was in command of the Provincials
around Boston before the arrival of General Wash-
ington, was in command of his regiment, and his
brother Samuel Wood was captain of the company ;
this service was for twenty-two days. He also served
in the Revolutionary War from July 27 to August

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 87

29, 1777, and from July 31 to September 1, 1778.
During the war he was also one of the Committee of
Correspondence in 1777 and 1780, and was one of
the assessors of the towns in 1781-82 and 1795.
For many years after the war he was captain of a
company of militia. His private business was that
of a fuller or dresser of cloth. He was chorister of
the church in Northboro, and a musician of con-
siderable note for those days. Besides The Colum-
bian Harmony, already mentioned, he published in
1784 a "Hymn of Peace" ; in 1789, a book of Divine
Songs, and shortly after the death of George Wash-
ington, a "Funeral Elegy," 1800. The latter was
republished in 1840 at the time of President Har-
rison's death for use on that occasion.

Abraham Wood died suddenly of an apoplectic fit
at his home in Northboro, August 6, 1804.

JOEL READ
1753-1837

THE Reads were a musical family. Daniel's older
brother, Joel, born August 16, 1753, was a choir
leader, and organized and conducted singing schools
in the towns around his native Attleborough. He
was also a teacher in the common public schools and
took an active part in the affairs of the town. He
was selectman, assessor, and treasurer, represented
the town in the State Legislature for a number of
years, and was a surveyor and conveyancer. In
his journal Daniel Read notes on Sunday, January
8, 1797, "Brother Joel arrived last eve in a sleigh

88 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

from Attleborough," and on January 11, "Brother
Joel set out to return home." He compiled and
published a music book, The New England Selection,
or Plain Psalmodist, in 1808. The preface of the
second edition is dated at Attleborough, June 20,
1812. Forty-three composers contributed to this
volume, and there are also twenty-seven tunes which
are anonymous. This book was in common use in
Massachusetts for over thirty years. It has fifteen
tunes attributed to "Read," but as no given name
is mentioned it cannot be stated whether any of them
are by Joel, The list includes a number which are
known to have been composed by his brother Daniel.
It is said that one of Joel's tunes was called "Con-
solation." None of his are found in use at the
present time. He died in his native town, January
27, 1837, upward of eighty-four years of age.

There was a third brother, William, who was a
teacher of psalmody, and a composer of music, but
not to such an extent as the others.

JACOB FRENCH
1754-

JACOB FRENCH was the second child of his par-
ents, who were Jacob French and Miriam Downs.
He was born in Stoughton July 15, 1754, and prob-
ably lived there at least till his marriage May 26,
1779, to Esther Neale, who was also of that town.
We have not discovered where he died, but he may
have removed to Northampton, where his last book
was issued, and may have died there.

COMPILEHS OF SACRED MUSIC 89

His first music book was The New American
Melody, printed in 1789, and sold by Jacob French
in Medway, Massachusetts. His stay in Medway
must have been short, for his name has not been
recorded in the history of that town. His second
book was The Psalmodist's Companion, and was
printed in Worcester by Isaiah Thomas in 1793. In
this book he states that he has been a teacher of
music for many years. His third book was The
Harmony of Harmony, and was printed in North-
ampton for the compiler in 1802.

Music seemed to run in the family. A younger
brother, Edward (1761-1845), was a very good
singer, and composed at least one tune called "New
Bethlehem."

"The Heavenly Vision," the most widely known
of all anthems of Jacob French, is not in any one
of his books, for the reason that he sold the copy-
right to Isaiah Thomas, who used it in an edition
of the Worcester Collection in 1791, but it is not
there credited to anyone.

AMOS DOOLITTLE
1754-1832

His partner, Amos Doolittle, was a native also
of Connecticut, having been born May 8, 1754, at
Wallingford, and he died in New Haven, January
31, 1882. He learned the trade of a silver smith,
and was the first engraver on copper in America.
Perhaps his most noted work was his illustrations
of the battles of Concord and Lexington. He went

90 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

to these towns with the military company of Bene-
dict Arnold, and with the help of eye-witnesses he
made sketches of the battle, and afterward engraved
four views of the battle of Lexington on copper
which were printed and sold for six shillings per
set.

Nathaniel Jocelyn (1796-1881) was the son of
Simeon, began engraving in 1818, and with S. S.
Jocelyn (1799-1879) continued the business of en-
graving and printing music books. One of the most
interesting of the music books issued by this firm
is a little book called

ZION'S HARP: or a new collection of music intended as >a
companion to "Village Hymns for Social Worship, by the
Rev'd Asahel Nettleton"; also adapted to other hymn books
and to be used in Conference Meetings & Revivals of Reli-
gion. Engraved by N & S S Jocelyn, 1824.

This book is frequently attributed to Asahel Net-
tleton, but it is probably the work of the engravers,
as the quotation marks indicate that it was the
Village Hymns that were by Mr. Nettleton. This
book was until a few years ago almost unknown to
the large libraries, but now copies may be seen in
the Boston Public Library, the New York Public
Library, the Library of Congress, and the library
at Oberlin; and there are several in private collec-
tions.

ASAHEL BENHAM
1757-1805

MOST of the information for this sketch is taken
from The Musical Herald of September, 1882, to

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 91

which it was contributed by the Rev. George Hood,
who had written a History of Music m New Eng-
land. Asahel Benham, he tells us, was a teacher
and compiler of music, who was born in New Hart-
ford, Connecticut, in the year 1757. He was one of
the few who, having no craft, devoted themselves to
teaching. Like many others he went from place to
place, living on the avails of his schools, and finding
them wherever he could. He taught mostly in the
New England and Middle States. His education in
early life was small, even for that day, but a good
mind and diligent reading supplied in part the defect
and placed him far above mediocrity.

His personal appearance was remarkably prepos-
sessing. Above the average height, with a noble
face and fine address, he commanded the respect of
the stranger, and with good sense and intelligence,
correct morals and a kind heart, he retained the
respect and love of his acquaintances. He died in
1805 at the age of forty-eight years.

Music

Mr. Benham wrote many pieces, but in the loose
style of his contemporaries, and his compositions
have long ago fallen into disuse. There were two
books published over the name of Asahel Benham.
His Federal Harmony first appeared in 1790 at New
Haven, and was a small oblong of fifty-eight pages of
engraved music and sixteen pages of introduction
to music. His first book has the following title :

THE FEDERAL HARMONY, containing in a familiar
manner the rudiments of psalmody with a collection of sacred

92 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

music most of which are entirely new. New Haven, printed
and sold by Abel Morse, 1790.

It was a small oblong book of engraved music, had
twelve pages of introduction, and thirty-six pages
of music. A second edition appeared in 1792 with
fifty-eight pages. Of the third and fourth editions
I have found no trace, but the fifth was issued at
Middletown in 1794, and the sixth at the same place
by Moses H. Woodward, but is not dated. When
the Hartford Collection was issued in 1812, Mr.
Bfenham was one of the subscribers, and gave his
residence as Wallingford, Connecticut. The first
hymn in the sixth edition of his Federal Harmony is
a "Hymn for Wallingford" and a tune by that name
is the first one printed in the book. This book has
sixteen pages of introduction, and fifty-eight pages
of engraved music. There are forty-six tunes, and
two anthems, and besides the music of the compiler
it contained tunes by the popular writers of that
day Daniel Read, Justin Morgan, Oliver Brown-
son, Timothy Swan, and Lewis Edson.

The publisher cheerfully presents the following collection of
music (without either gloss or comment) to the inspection of
the public, and if it meets with their approbation, his most
sanguine wishes are answered; if not the consequence is
obvious.

His Federal Harmony must not be confused with
another book of that name which was issued from
Boston in various editions, without name of com-
piler, but has been attributed to Timothy Swan.
That was a larger book of 100 pages or more.

About 1800 there appeared a collection of music

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 93

called Devotional Harmony, a posthumous work by
Merit N. Woodruff, late of Watertown, Connecti-
cut, deceased, published under the inspection of
Asahel Benham. There were eight pages of intro-
duction, followed by engraved music, nine to sixty.

AMOS BULL

AMOS BULL was apparently another Connecticut
man who made a collection of church music, The
Responsary, which was set with second trebles
instead of counters, and peculiarly adapted to the
use of New England churches. It was printed in
Worcester, Massachusetts, by Isaiah Thomas, in
1795, and was sold by the editor in Hartford, Con-
necticut. It had one hundred pages, and about
half of the music was new. Mr. Bull was born
about 1744. The date is taken from an advertise-
ment printed in a New Haven paper in 1766, when
he stated that he was twenty-two years old. He
wanted subscribers for a new book that he was
about to publish, but whether the book ever saw the
light of print has not been discovered. In 1775,
when Oliver King advertised for subscribers to his
Universal Harmony, he refers to a Mr. Bull, singing
master in New York. Perhaps this is the same Bull.
By 1805 Amos Bull had located in Hartford, and
July 5, 1805, advertised that he

continues to receive constant supplies of goods. Among
those lately come to hand are Clock and Watch files. He pro-
poses to open a school for Reading, Writing and Arithmetick,
with other learning, useful and necessary in common life.
The price will be only two dollars per quarter for each

94 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

scholar; so that none who wish to have the benefit of his
instructions, need be excluded on account of price. The school
to begin as soon as six scholars shall have entered their names
for one quarter.

Nothing further has been found about him or his
work in music.

DANIEL READ
1757-1836 1

ONE of the early composers whose tunes have been
retained in the hymnals of the present day is Daniel
Read Masachusetts-born, but most of whose busi-
ness activities were carried on in the Nutmeg State.
He was born November 16, 1757, in Rehoboth,
Massachusetts,. the son of Daniel and Mary Read.
He had hardly reached his majority when he was
called out as a soldier in 1777 and 1778 during the
Revolutionary War in three short expeditions into
Rhode Island. Each of these services lasted about
a month. Before the close of the war he had
removed to New Haven and entered into a partner-
ship with Amos Doolittle, an engraver, and engaged
in the business of book publishing and selling. About
1785 he married Jerusha Sherman in New Haven,
and four children .were born to them. Their second
son was a graduate of Yale, class of 1811, and was
a clergyman. He died at sea near Cape Cod in
August, 1821, and was buried at Edgartown,
Martha's Vineyard. A daughter, Mary White
Read, married Jonathan Nicholson, lived in New
Haven, and is buried there. After her death the
oil portraits of Daniel and Jerusha Read were pre-

iFrom The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 95

sented to the New Haven Colony Historical Soci-
ety. This society also possesses a volume of manu-
script music which belonged to "Daniel Read. Sat-
urday, July 9, 1777." This was indorsed by his son,
George Frederick Handel Read, whose name sug-
gests the famous composer, as follows: "Whether
any of the tunes were of his composition I do not
know. February 9, 1855." One of Mr. Read's
journals, or letter-books, also belongs to this soci-
ety. It contains items covering the period from
1796 to 1812, and indicates that he took an active
part in public affairs. Besides his book business, he
was a manufacturer of ivory combs, was a stock-
holder in one of the New Haven banks, a director
of the Library, and he assisted Elisha Munson in
the preparation of the catalogue of the Mechanic
Library.

Upon the death of his wife's father he writes,
"Her father would not consent to her marriage with
me, because I was guilty of the unpardonable crime
of poverty." On January 15, 1797, he "attended
singing meeting in the State House, it being the
second time of meeting there for the purpose of sing-
ing this season." In March, 1793, he wrote to
Oliver Holden subscribing for the periodical issues
of music that might be .made by the latter.

Daniel Read's first book was called The Ameri-
can Singing Boole. This was intended as a new and
easy guide to the art of psalmody, designed for the
use of singing schools in America, and it was printed
in New Haven in 1785. It had seventy-three pages,
and the contents were composed by "Daniel Read.
Philo Musico." The copy of this book in the

96 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Library of Congress was Silas Hough's book, bought
February 7, 1789, for seven shillings six pence. So
extensive was the sale in New England that a fourth
edition was issued in January, 1792, A copy of
this edition is in the library of the Massachusetts
Historical Society, It has a supplement contain-
ing five tunes that were not in the original work,
which had forty-seven. A supplement to The Ameri-
can Singing Book was issued separately in 1787 con-
taining twenty-five tunes from different composers.
About the time that the fourth edition was issued
he wrote in his journal under date of January 9,
1793, that he was proposing to Richard Atwell, of
Huntington, that he go to Alexandria as agent for
his books. For he says : "A young man made in six
months by one school only $300," and that "books
of the size of The American Singing Boole, without
the Supplement, sell for one dollar per piece," and
advises sending ten or twelve books to Alexandria
immediately. The cost of binding his books he
states in 1798 as "nine pence each."

In 1786 he began to publish The American Musi-
cal Magazine monthly. In the first volume (Yale
Library) he says it is "intended to contain a great
variety of approved music carefully selected from
the works of the best American and European
masters." This contained both sacred and secular
music and was published and sold by Amos Doolittle
and Daniel Read in New Haven.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALMODY
His next book was
An Introduction to Psalmody, or, The Childs Instructor In

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 97

vocal music, containing a series of familiar heads, viz: Psalm-
ody in general, stave, musical letters and cliffs, an exercise
for the bass, an exercise for the tenor or treble, an exercise for
the counter, tones, semitones, flats, sharps and natural, sol-fa-
ing transposition, &c. the several notes and rests, and their
proportion, the several moods of time, several other characters
used in music, key-notes, &c., graces, illustrated with copper
plates by D. Read, Printed ... in New Haven, 1790.

This was followed in 1793 by The Columbian
Harmonist, which reached its fourth edition in 1810.
There were three numbers which were issued sep-
arately, and also bound together in a single volume
of 112 pages. The author explains the three parts
by saying that "those who object to purchasing this
book (No. 2) because it contains tunes before pub-
lished, are requested to make use of the First Num-
ber, which contains a collection of tunes never
before published. And those who think anthems a
necessary part of a collection of music are desired
to peruse the Third Number, which contains anthems
and set pieces, suitable for Christmas, Good Friday,
Easter, Fasts, Thanksgiving, Funerals, &c/ J

In 1817, in connection with Eleazer T. Fitch, pro-
fessor of divinity at Yale, and other men of musical
taste and ability, he was requested to compile and
arrange a collection of music for the use of the
United Society of New Haven. In this work the
labor of arranging and preparing for the press
devolved entirely on Mr. Read ; and he entered into
it with his usual zeal and success. This was his last
published work. It met with favor, and was used in
that society for many years, and was also used in
many other churches in different parts of the
country.

98 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

The book referred to in the preceding paragraph
was called

THE NEW HAVEN COLLECTION OF SACRED
MUSIC, containing a set of tunes adapted to the metres and
subjects of the Psalms and Hymns in general use, selected
principally from the works of the most eminent authors, by
an Association of Gentlemen for the promotion of Classical
Sacred Music in the United Society in New Haven; to which
is prefixed a concise introduction to psalmody for the use of
Singing Schools. Dedham. Printed typographically by Daniel
Mann, 1818.

There is no name in the book to indicate" who the
gentlemen were who prepared the book, but the Rev.
George Hood gives us the information above. The
book is a narrow oblong, and contained 149 pages.

His last work, which occupied his attention for
some years, was completed in 1S32, when he was in
his seventy-fifth year, but was never published. It
is neat in execution, methodical in arrangement, and
well exhibits the character of the man. It con-
tains nearly three hundred pages and over f otir hun-
dred tunes. The manuscript he presented to the
American Home Missionary Society, for them to
publish, with the request that the avails which may
arise from its publication be applied, under their
direction, to the cause of missions in the United
States. This donation, under the request to pub-
lish the work, was declined by the Board, feeling
they were not authorized to take such a responsibil-
ity.

Some of Mr. Read's tunes have been in common
use in the hymnals of this country down to the
present time. "Lisbon" and "Windham" are the
most popular, and have been found in seven of the

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 99

recent books examined. One book contained three
of his tunes, and The Methodist Hymnal of 1878
has no less than five one of them, "Sherburne,"
belonging to that class so frequently used years ago
known as fugue tunes. His "Windham" bears a
strong resemblance to a German choral, and Charles
Zeuner in his Ancient Lyre calls it a choral by
Martin Luther arranged by Read. When we realize
the change in sentiment regarding church music
during the more than one hundred years since Read
wrote, it is surprising that any of his compositions
should have any vogue at the present time.

TIMOTHY SWAN

1758-1842 1

* "All records agree that July twenty three
Was my birthday a long time ago;

'An' I will engage, ye'll ken my auld age
If yee'll read the four lines just below.

Twice twenty yars an haf a skore
An' ye mayn ad jist ten yars more,
Noo join eight yars twa times an then
Cast a' thegither my age ye'll ken."

THESE lines were written by Timothy Swan at
Northfield, July 23, 1834, and signed by him upon a
slip of paper which is pasted inside the front cover
of his New England Harmony, 1801, in the library
of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester,
Massachusetts* The place of his birth is stated
in some histories as Suffield, Connecticut, while in
others it is given as Worcester, Massachusetts.
From the printed records of that city we verify
the statement that he was born in Worcester, July
23, 1758, and learn that he was the son of William
and Lavina Swan. The following information is
taken from a magazine printed in 1853, and is said
to have been revised by the daughter of Mr. Swan,
so that it may be relied upon as correct: There
were thirteen in the Swan family, Timothy being the
eighth. After the death of his father he was placed
under the care of a Mr. Barnes, of Marlboro, Mas-
sachusetts, an English gentleman, who was a mer-
chant there, and whom young Swan was to serve

i From The Choir Herald.

103

104 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

till of age. When the difficulties between Great
Britain and the colonies arose, Mr. Barnes, who
was intensely loyal, was induced to return to Eng-
land, and Timothy, now sixteen years of age, went
to live with his brother, who was a merchant in
Groton. It was while here that he obtained his
musical education by attending singing school for
three weeks. Soon after this he began to compose
airs, but being completely ignorant of the rules,
both of musical composition* and harmony, his work
was uncouth and unpolished. In the same year
he joined the army at Cambridge and attained con-
siderable efficiency in playing the fife under the tui-
tion of an English fifer. At seventeen he began to
learn a trade by apprenticing himself to a brother-
in-law, who was a hatter in Northfield. He now
commenced to compose hymn tunes, "Montague"
being the first. These were done mostly while he
was at work. He was accustomed to write the
melody first, and then the other parts, jotting down
a few notes at a time until the piece was complete.
During his apprenticeship he composed "Poland"
and many other church tunes, which were copied and
used in manuscript form over a considerable part
of New England. When he heard of William Bil-
lings he was exceedingly anxious to see the man,
who, strange as it may seem to modern musicians,
for a long time gave direction to the music of New
England. This .desire was not gratified, however,
until some years afterward, when Mr. Swan met him
in Boston.

At the termination of his apprenticeship he went
to Suffield, Connecticut, where at the age of twenty-

*s

m *
o

3

COMPILERS QF SACRED MUSIC 105

five he married a daughter of the Rev, Ebenezer
Gay, D.D. (Harvard, 1792), the pastor of the First
Congregational Church of that place. He lived
there for twenty-eight years, and wrote there most
of the music which he published. His church tunes
of greatest merit are "Poland," "Quincy," "Lon-
don," "Spring," and "China." The last named he
regarded as his best, and in this estimate the public
has agreed with him, for this is the only one that
now finds a place in modern hymn books. In the
copy of The New England Harmony, in the library
of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester,
there is a notation over the tune "China" to the
effect that it was composed in 1790, and was first
sung in public in 1794. It is written in a minor
key, and is usually set to the words of Watts, "Why
do we mourn for dying friends?" It has been styled
"one of the most unscientific tunes ever published,"
but the people regarded it as the most effective.
These verdicts indicate the force of that genius
which could burst through the barriers by which
it was surrounded and produce such results. That
one could be scientific with the advantages that Swan
enjoyed is not, of course, to be expected. Science
did for him almost nothing nature everything.

In 1807 Timothy Swan removed to Northfield,
Massachusetts, where he continued to reside till his
death, which took place July 23, 1842, the very
day which completed his eighty-fourth year.

He was a fine-looking gentleman, had a well-stored
mind, a retentive memory, and a genial tempera-
ment, which made him an agreeable companion.
He was a great reader, sitting up till past mid-

106 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

night, and then lying late in the morning. This led
his Northfield neighbors to say he was "Poor,
proud, and indolent." He was an ardent admirer
of Robert Burns, and often wrote poetry in the
Scotch dialect, as the verse at the head of this
sketch indicates. He is said to have been a fre-
quent contributor of poetry to the local press, and
he was for a long time in charge of the library
in Northfield. He was very fond of the lilacj and
planted three rows of Lombardy poplars around his
house. The flocks of blackbirds that nested in their
branches he guarded as his especial pets.

BOOKS

Three if not four books may be attributed to
Timothy Swan. The Songsters 9 Assistant was a
collection of secular songs set to music, about half
of which was the composition of Mr. Swan. The
engraving was done by A. Ely, and its thirty-six
pages were printed at Suffield by Swan and Ely,
without date, probably about 1800. The Songsters*
Museum was printed anonymously at Northampton
in 1803. The title page of his New England Har-
mony indicates its contents, and is as follows :

THE NEW ENGLAND HAKMOSY

containing

A variety of Psalm Tunes in Three and Four Parts adapted

to all meters; also a number of Set Pieces of several

Verses each, together with a number of Anthems.

by Timothy Swan.

Published according to Act of Congress.
Printed at Northampton, Massachusetts,

by Andrew Wright.

And sold at his Office. Sold also at Suffield, in Connecticut,

by the author.

1801.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 107

It tras oblong in shape, and had 123 pages. His
family state that it was a pecuniary loss to him,
and never went beyond a first edition.

The other book that may have been his is The
Federal Harmony, first issued in 1785, in Boston
by John Norman, and attributed b j Charles Evans
to Timothy Swan. Another edition was by the
same printer in 1788; the issue of 1790 had 114
pages, and one in 1792 130 pages, all four printed
by Norman.

TIMOTHY OLMSTED
1759-1848

The Musical 'Olio, printed in Northampton by
Andrew Wright in 1805, was compiled and com-
posed by Timothy Olmsted. According to the pre-
vailing arrangement of those days, it contained an
introduction to the art of singing, a variety of
psalm and hymn tunes from European authors, and
a number of original pieces never before published.
In his advertisement he says :

The pieces given out in my name [there are twenty four of
them], must speak for themselves. I ha^e been importuned
by many of my acquaintance to insert more of them than I
intended, but to the public I now submit their trial and fate.

As the modern European authors have furnished us with
many excellent pieces of music in three parts, the air placed
for the female voice, and as that custom is prevailing, I have
adhered to it in part. Some publishers of psalmody have
exploded the alto or counter tenor and in their stead substi-
tuted second trebles; others have published in three parts
only. Objections have been made to eacli of those methods
singly. To obviate which I have inserted some tunes in three
parts and some in four, some with counters and some with
second trebles. Part of the airs are placed for the tenor

108 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

voice and part for the female voice, all of which I have thought
best to print in characters universally made use of, having
not as yet heen made to perceive the utility of the simplifi-
cations and new inventions, which are so frequently presented
us for our improvement by many of our modern masters.
These characters are not only our old acquaintance, but that
of the whole musical world, in which all nations can read and
probably never will discard.

A second edition was issued in 1811 in New Lon-
don, Connecticut. This contained a few more orig-
inal pieces. Some of his tunes were copied into other
books, even as late as Edmands* Psalmist, 1859 ; but,
like most of the tunes by the writers of a century
ago, they have been left out of the books of the
present day.

Timothy Olmsted was descended from an old
New England family, and was born in Phoenix, Os-
wego County, New York, November 12, 1759. When
only sixteen years old he marched to Boston with
the East Hartford company on the Lexington
alarm in 1775 ; served as a musician in the Revolu-
tionary War in the Seventh and in the Ninth Con-
necticut Regiments, and was present at the battle
of White Plains. Just before the close of the war,
on May 2, 1783, he married Alice Olmsted, a second
cousin, by whom he had a large family thirteen
children. In 1785 he moved to Hartford, Connecti-
cut, and later to Whitestown, New York. His wife
died February 5, 1811, in Rome, New York. Dur-
ing the War of 1812 he served from August 18 to
October 28, 1814, at New London, in Captain Eras-
tus Strong's company in the First (Brainerd's)
Regiment of Connecticut Militia. He died August
15, 1848.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 109

JOHN HUBBARD
1759-1810

JOHN HUBBAED of New Hampshire was very fond
of music, in fact, one writing of him has said that
"perhaps one of his weak points was his excessive
fondness for sacred music, on which he spent much
time, it may be, at the expense of more solid and
scholarly attainments," This remark also indicates
the small value set upon the art of music at that
time, and too much upon that which brings mere
pecuniary profit. His musical publications began
in 1789 with the issue of a book called Harmonia
Selecta. In 1807 he prepared and read before the
Middlesex Musical Association, at Dunstable, an
"Essay on Music," which was published at the re-
quest of the society in 1808 at Boston in a pamph-
let of nineteen pages. This Association was com-
posed of musicians mostly from the northern part
of Middlesex County, and in 1807 it issued The
Middlesex Collection of Church Music, or Ancient
Psalmody Revived, containing a variety of plain
tunes the most suitable to be used in Divine serv-
ices, to which is annexed a number of other pieces
of a more delicate and artificial construction proper
to be performed by a choir of good musicians
occasionally, in schools and public religious assem-
blies. 5 ' The publication of this compilation was
committed by the association to the Rev. David
Palmer as their agent. Mr. Palmer was the presi-
dent of the society, was minister of the church in
Townsend from 1800 to 1830, and during the years
1833 and 1834 represented his town in the General

110 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Court of Massachusetts. A second edition of The
Middlesex Collection was issued in 1808, and a third
in 1811.

In 1814 there was published in Newburyport a
volume of Thirty Anthems, which had been selected
by Mr. Hubbard, one of which was original. This
collection of tunes was in use for all ordinations,
installations, and Thanksgivings for more than
twenty-five years.

John Hubbard was born in Townsend, Massachu-
setts, August 8, 1759. He graduated from Dart-
mouth College in 1785, and after studying the-
ology for a time he served as preceptor successively
of the academies at New Ipswich and at Deerfield.
From 1798 to 1802 he was judge of the Probate
Court for Cheshire County, New Hampshire. In
1804 he became professor of mathematics and
natural philosophy in Dartmouth College, which
position he held until his death, which occurred
August 14, 1810, at Hanover, New Hampshire.
When the Lock Hospital Collection of sacred music
was issued in 1809, he subscribed for sixteen copies,
and this collection was doubtless used in the college.
His contributions to literature were not confined to
music, for an oration which he delivered July 4,
1799, was printed, also a book on The Rudiments
of Geography, in 1803, and an American Reader in
1808.

AMOS BLANCHARD

THE only item found regarding Amos Blanchard,
outside of his own books, is taken from Brook's Old

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 111

Time Music, and records that he will teach a school
for instruction in sacred music on Monday and
Friday evenings at the Methodist Chapel in Sewall
Street, Salem, Massachusetts, beginning in Novem-
ber, 1823. The terms were two dollars a quarter,
one half payable in advance.

The Newburyport Collection of Sacred European
Music made its appearance in 1807 from the
press of Ranlet and Norris, Exeter, New Hamp-
shire. It had 152 pages. The following year he
issued a smaller book, called The American Musical
Primer 9 and its tunes were European in origin.
None of the tunes in his first collection were re-
peated in this. His music had little usage outside
of his own collections, though one tune called
"Corinth" was introduced into The Continental
Harmony, 1857, and it also appeared in the Stough-
ton Collection in 1878*

JACOB KIMBALL, JR.
1761-1826

JACOB KIMBALL, JR., was born February 22, 1761,
at Topsfield, Massachusetts. He was the third of
ten children of Jacob Kimball and Priscilla Smith.
The father was a blacksmith, had some musical
ability, and in 1765 was "chosen to set ye psalms,
and to sit in ye elders' seat." . Ritter, in his History
of Music m America 9 attributes this honor to the
son, but erroneously so, as the son was too young
at that time. At the age of fourteen he was a
drummer in Captain Baker's company of Little's

112 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

regiment, Massachusetts Militia, from May 2 to
October 2, 1775. Soon after this he entered Har-
vard University, from which he graduated in 1780.
He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in
Stratford, New Hampshire. The Rev, William
Bentley, pastor of the church in Salem, called upon
the elder Kimball in Topsfield, and wrote in his
diary under date of December 7, 1795: "Found
Mr. Kimball, the celebrated musician, at his father's.
It is his purpose to establish himself in the law in
Maine." But he did not like that profession, and
soon gave it up for music, which suited him better.
He had considerable talent as a musician, and
adopted teaching as a permanent business. He
taught music in the different towns in New England,
endeavoring to introduce his own collection. He
was not very successful as a business man, and he
died in the almshouse in Topsfield, February 6,
1826, at the age of sixty-five. He was never mar-
ried. The style of his music is like that of his con-
temporaries. He composed single psalm tunes and
fuguing pieces, but was less original than Billings.
He also wrote some hymns, which he set to music.
His version of the sixty-fifth psalm was used in Dr.
Belknap's Sacred Poetry, 1795. The first four lines
follow :

"Thy praise, O God, in Zion waits;

All flesh shall crowd thy sacred gates,
To offer sacrifice and prayer,

To pay their willing homage there."

BOOKS

He compiled two music books. The earlier one
was The Rural Harmony* an original composition

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 113

in three and four parts, for the use of singing
schools and singing assemblies. It was printed in
Boston in 1793 by Thomas and Andrews, and had
seventy-one pieces. His other book was The Essex
Harmony, which he also calls an original composi-
tion. This was printed by Henry Ranlet in Exeter,
New Hampshire, in 1800, for T. C. Cushing and
B. B. McNulty, of Salem, Massachusetts. The dedi-
cation is to the Essex Musical Association, founded
in 1797, "with an ardent wish that it may contribute
in some small degree toward furthering the objects
of the society; the ameliorating and refining the
taste for music; and that it may have a tendency
to increase innocent amusement, as well as to exalt
the feelings in public devotion." This book con-
tained forty-four tunes and two anthems. An imper-
fect copy of it is in the Boston Public Library. This
is not the same book issued by Daniel Bayley in
various editions from 1770 to 1785. But it is the
book to which the Rev. William Bentley refers when
he writes : "Mr. McNulty has published a book of
KimbalPs psalmody. This young man was very
amiable until he became addicted to intemperance.
It is lamentable that so many publications in this
country are evidently only catch-penny productions
not even suggested by genius but first asked by
the promise of cash for the compilation.' 5

The Essex Institute has a copy of The Vil-
Iag4 Harmony in which there is a pencil notation
attributing it to Jacob Kimball, but there is some
question about his connection with it. The Village
Harmony was a very popular book in eastern Mas-
sachusetts during the twenty years following 1795,

114 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the various editions being printed in Exeter, New
Hampshire; Newburyport and Boston, Massachu-
setts, tut the compiler is not named. The tunes of
Kimball had a short life. They are no longer found
in the hymn books, though one or two are occa-
sionally heard at "Old Folks' Concerts." Bentley's
comment is true "His tunes did not prove pop-
ular, 5 *

SAMUEL HOLYOKE
1762-1820 1

THU most important contribution of Samuel
Eolyoke to the musical literature of America was
(as shown by its title page) :

TEE COLUMBIAN REPOSITORY OF SACRED HAR-
MOBY, selected from European and American authors, with
many new tunes not before published, including the whole
of Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns, to each of which a tune
is adapted, and some additional tunes suited to the particular
meters in Tate and Brady's and Dr. Belknap's Collection of
Psdlms and Hymns; with an introduction of practical prin-
ciples. The whole designed for the use of schools, musical
societies, and worshipping assemblies.

This is the largest collection of music that had been
gathered in this country up to that time. It was
dedicated to the Essex (Mass.) Musical Association,
of which he was a member. It was sold by subscrip-
tion for three dollars, contained 472 pages, and had
734 tunes. In the advertisement he says :

It is presumed that there has no work of the kind yet
appeared in the United States in which there is a greater
variety of style to be found than in the present, and should
i From The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 115

the encouragement be equivalent to the time and labor
bestowed upon it, the design will be answered.

It was published in Exeter, New Hampshire, by
Henry Ranlet, but there is no date upon it. James
Warrington, in his Short Titles, says about 1800.
In the Christian Harmonist, published in 1804,
there are two tunes credited to The Columbian
Repository, which would indicate that the latter was
in print prior to 1804. A search of the copyright
records in Washington was rewarded by finding that
it was entered for copyright April 7, 1802, thus
fixing a date which for more than a century has
been only conjectural.

Neither of the works mentioned was the first of
Holyoke's collections, for in 1791 there had issued
from the press of Thomas and Andrews, in Boston,
a book of two hundred pages of sacred music called
Harmonia Americana. The following quotation
from the preface contains some good advice for the
present time:

With respect to the design of the composition it may be
observed that it is adapted as far as possible to the rules
of pronunciation. Consequently, the music requires a mod-
erate movement, for it is very difficult to follow the exact
motion of the pendulum and pronounce with that propriety
and elegance which the importance of the subject may demand.
It may then be proper here to remark that sentiment and
expression ought to be the principle guide in vocal music.
Perhaps some may be disappointed that fuguing pieces are
in general omitted. But the principal reason why few were
inserted was the trifling effect produced by that sort of
music; for the parts, falling in one after another, each con-
veying a different idea, confuse the sense, and render the
performance a mere jargon of words. The numerous pieces
of this kind extant must be a sufficient apology for omitting
them here.

116 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

It is noticeable at the present time that "senti-
ment and expression" are not always the "principle
guide" in the rendition of vocal music.

His next effort was a third interest in the Massa-
chusetts Compiler, a book of seventy-two pages,
published in Boston in 1795 by Thomas and An-
drews. The preface is dated at Charlestown
(Mass.), and is signed by Hans Gram, Samuel
Holyoke, and Oliver Holden. The latter is a familiar
name the composer of "Coronation" and as he
lived in Charlestown he probably did the larger part
of the compiling. Hans Gram was the organist of
the Brattle Street Church in Boston, and had
already published anthems and hymn tunes which
had been recommended by some of his contemporary
composers as worthy of a favorable reception.

The next music of Mr. Holyoke which we have
found was written for the funeral of Washington.
The title page reads:

Hark from the Tombs, &c, and Beneath the honors, &c.
Adapted from Dr. Watts and set to music by Samuel Holyoke,
A.M. Performed at Newburyport, 2d January, 1800, the day
on which the citizens expressed their unbounded veneration
for the memory of our beloved Washington.

Opposite the title page were two odes to Washing-
ton, "to be performed at the Brattle Street Church
(Boston) on Wednesday, February 19, 1800.'*

The Christian Harmonist was printed at Salem,
Massachusetts, in 1804 and contained tunes
adapted to Doctor Bippon's selection, Mr. Joshua
Smith's collection of hymns, and Doctor Watts*
psalms and hymns. There were 195 pages of music.
The tunes were partly selected and partly composed

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COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 117

by Mr. Holyoke, and the book was especially de-
signed for the use of Baptist congregations. Dr.
John Rippon was an English Baptist whose first col-
lection of hymns was issued in 1787, and successive
editions with additional numbers were printed until
his death in 1836. Joshua Smith was a member of
the Baptist church in Brentwood, New Hampshire*
from 1792, and his Divme Hymns had been first
issued in 1784.

The last published work of Samuel Holyoke was
printed by Henry Ranlet at Exeter, New Hamp-
shire, in 1807, was called The Instrumental Assist-
ant, and contained instructions for the violin, Ger-
man flute, clarionet, bass viol and hautboy. There
were two volumes under this title: Volume I, of
eighty pages, bears no date ; Volume II is bound with
it and has one hundred and four pages of minuets,
airs, rondos, marches, and is dated 1807. The
original draft of the Articles of Agreement .for the
publication of this book is in the possession of the
writer. It is signed by -Samuel Holyoke and Henry
Ranlet, and stipulates that "1,500 copies shall be
'printed, and that 750 shall be delivered to Holyoke
for his compensation*"

Samuel Holyoke was the second son of the Rev.
Elizur Holyoke and Hannah Peabody. He was
born October 15, 1762, at Boxford, Massachusetts,
where his father was the minister of the Congrega-
tional church for forty-seven years. His mother
was the daughter of the Rev. Oliver Peabody, one
of the early ministers to the Indians of Natick,
whose conversion was due to the labors of John
Eliot. It is interesting also to note that his father

118 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

was a nephew of Edward Holyoke, one of the early
presidents of Harvard College, and a cousin of that
Edward A. Holyoke who was a noted physician in
eastern Massachusetts, and lived to be nearly one
hundred and one years old.

.Samuel was graduated from Harvard in the class
of 1789. He became a noted music teacher, organ-
izing and conducting classes in many of the towns
in that section of the country. The fact that his
books were printed in Boston; Salem, Massachu-
setts; and Exeter, New Hampshire, indicates the
territory over which he traveled in his work. In
1806 we find him advertising in a Salem newspaper
that he proposes to give a concert of vocal and
instrumental music in the New South Meeting
House on Wednesday, September 24. The tickets
were a quarter of a dollar each, and the perform-
ance was announced to commence at three o'clock
p. M. In the same paper he requests the aid of all
those who attended the dedication of the New South
Meetinghouse, and also the members of the two
bands. He states that when the music is ready
"notice will be given when and where to meet for
preparatory rehearsals." He was a member of the
Essex Musical Association, and several of the annual
festivals of that society were held in the Congrega-
tional church in Boxford, where his father was min-
ister. His most popular tune was "Arnheim," and
this was among the first of his compositions. It re-
tained a place in collections of church music for
seventy-^five years, but the latest books that I have
been able to find it in are E. F. Hatfield's Church
Hymn Book, printed in 1872 and 1874, and The

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 119

Methodist Hymnal of 1878. Of course it is to be
found in the New Hymn and Tune Boole for the use
of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,
copyrighted in 1909; but this was the Methodist
book of 1878, with a few additional hymns at the
end, which were covered by the later copyright.

In early life Mr. Holyoke had a fine voice, but in
later years it became so harsh that in the teaching
of his vocal classes he was obliged to use a clarionet.
A few days before his death he was at a social
gathering of his musical friends, February 2, 1820,
at the home of Jacob B. Moore in Concord, New
Hampshire. He asked that "Arnheim" be sung, for
he said that perhaps he would never meet with a
choir on earth so well calculated to do justice to his
first composition. They sang it over twice for him,
bringing tears to his eyes, as he seemed to realize
that he would never sing it again. He was sick
but a few days, closing his earthly career February
7, 1820, at Concord. He was unmarried. The
notice of his death that appears in the New Hamp-
shire Patriot, printed at Concord, February 29,
1820, refers to him as "Samuel Holyoke of Boston,
aged fifty-seven, celebrated as a teacher and com-
poser of sacred music."

The Jacob B. Moore referred to above was a
physician of Andover and Concord, New Hamp-
shire. He was a born musician also, and composed
many pieces. I have been unable to identify any of
them, but his son tells us that some of his earliest
tunes were published in Holyoke's Columbian Re-
pository. Many of the pieces in that book are
marked with * f t an d ^ e explains that these were

120 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

never before published. At first I thought that the
different marks were used to indicate the different
composers of the tunes, but I have finally come to
the conclusion that, after using all the asterisks
(*) in the font of type he was obliged to use also
the dagger, the double dagger (f, J). Besides the
hymn tunes which Mr. Moore contributed to
Holyoke's collection he published a number of songs
in periodicals. One of his sons was John Weeks
Moore, the author of a Cyclopedia of Music, first
published in 1852, a pioneer book of the kind, and
one showing much research into the history of early
music in America.

The Rev. William Bently, a minister of Salem,
Massachusetts, writes of Samuel Holyoke in 1791,
just after his first music book had been published:

This gentleman is the first son of Harvard of whom I have
heard that has published an original collection of music from
his own compositions. The name given him was the American
Madan, from the character of the music.

CHAUNCEY LANGDON
1763-1830

CHATTNCEY LANGDON, while an undergraduate at
Yale, probably in his junior year, compiled a col-
lection of sacred tunes, containing selections from
Swan, Billings, Edson, Brownson, and other New
England composers. It was called The Beauties of
Psalmody, was an engraved pamphlet of fifty-six
pages, oblong in shape, and appeared as the work of
"A member of the Musical Society of Yale Col-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 121

lege." Judge Langdon, as he afterward became,
was born in Farmington, Connecticut, November 8,
1763. He graduated from Yale in the class of 1787,
three of whose members besides himself were mem-
bers of Congress, and one of his classmates was a
postmaster-general. He studied law in Hebron,
Connecticut, and was married there to Lucy Nona
Lathrop, a sister of one of his classmates. Soon
after this he settled in Castleton, Vermont. He
served as register of the Probate Court for several
years between 1792 and 1813, was judge of the
Probate Court in 1798-99, was a State representa-
tive in 1813-14, 1817, 1819-20, and a member of
Congress from 1815 to 1817. He was given the
degree of A. M. by Middlebury College in 1803, and
was elected a trustee of that college in 1811, hold-
ing that office until his death July 23, 1830, at
Castleton, Vermont.

JEREMIAH INGALLS
1764-1828 1

JEREMIAH INGALLS was the eldest child of his
parents and was born March 1, 1764, at Andover,
Massachusetts. When he was thirteen years old his
father, Abijah, died as a result of the privations of
the Revolutionary War. His great-grandfather
was one of the settlers of Andover, and the name
was a common one in that town. To this day one
of the railroad crossings preserves the name as
Ingalls* Crossing. Soon after reaching his ma-

iFrom The Choir Herald, July, 1914.

122 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

jority Jeremiah settled in Newbury, Vermont, and
on April 28, 1791, was married to Mary Bigelow,
also a native of Massachusetts (Westminster). He
built for himself in 1800 a two-story house in which
he kept a tavern for ten or more years. At various
times he was engaged as farmer, cooper, or singing
master. In 1819 h removed to Rochester, Ver-
mont, later going to Hancock in the same State,
where he died April 6, 1828, at the age of sixty-
four. He left a number of descendants who in-
herited a musical instinct, but not as much talent as
their father, although they were considered very
good musicians. His widow returned to Rochester,
Vermont, where she died April 18, 1848.

Mr. Ingalls had a high voice, was expert on the
bass viol, and a ready reader of music. He was a
member and a deacon of the Congregational Church,
as well as a leader of the choir, and his Newbury
singers had the honor of introducing into the sanc-
tuary his two very best tunes, "New Jerusalem" and
"Northfield," sung from manuscript copies, though it
is believed that "Northfield" was composed at an inn
in Northfield, New Hampshire, while the author was
waiting and hungering an unusually long time for
dinner. He frequently composed both words and
music for special occasions. Of this sort we find in
his book three pieces, namely, "Election Hymn,"
"Election Ode," "An Acrostic on Judith Brock," a
funeral piece. He had a book published containing
J44 pages called The Christian Harmony. A very
imperfect copy of this book has been examined in
the Boston Public Library. It was printed for the
compiler by Henry Ranlet at Exeter, New Hamp-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 123

shire, in 1805. The preface is dated at Newbury,
Vermont, November, 1804. The music is printed
from type, and there are 134 pages of hymn tunes.

A letter before me states that "in an advertise-
ment it is stated that nearly the whole of the tunes
were the original composition of the author and
there was but one in the book that was known to
be composed by any one but Mr. Ingalls." This is
erroneous, for the names of the composers are given
in the index, and include the well-known names of
Billings, Swan, Read, Edson, and Brownson. And,
further, an advertisement in the book itself shows
that "some are wholly and some in part the original
composition of the author, and others selected from
various authors which are credited where they are
known."

An interesting story is told of him as follows :

His children were musical and his sons could play clarinet,
bassoon, flute, and violin, and they would often practice for
hours, the old man leading the band with his bass viol. One
Sunday they were having an excellent time performing
anthems, and after a while the youngsters started a secular
piece, the father with composure joining in. Prom that they
went on until they found themselves furiously engaged in a
boisterous march, in the midst of which the old gentleman
stopped short, exclaiming, "Boys, this won't do. Put away
these corrupt things and take your Bibles."

In stature he was short and corpulent. In 1800 we
find him among the list of subscribers of Samuel
Holyoke's Columbian Repository.

Much of the old-fashioned conference meeting
music is in his Christian Harmony, and attributed
to his authorship by later compilers, making him the
author of many of the tunes sung from forty to

124 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

seventy years ago, to the sweet old "Pennyroyal
Hymns" of those times. His "Lavonia" and "Penn-
sylvania" were for years very popular.

"The operatic warbler may voice her culture rare,
With Wagner, Rubenstein, and Bach, or any high-flown air,
But still her notes are lacking, they're so very straight and

prim
By the side of that old melody, the Pennyroyal hymn."

A number of his tunes have survived in common
use. "Northfield" seems to be the most popular in
modern hymnals, while "Come, Ye Sinners, 55 some-
times called "Invitation," is remembered by some of
us who are not yet so very old. These two, with
"Filmore" and "Kentucky," are in The Methodist
Hymnal of 1878. The primitive Baptist Hymn
Book, 1902, has two of his tunes not found in other
recent books. The words set to the tunes in the
various books are different in each one, and no hymn
appears to be wedded to any one tune. This is to
be expected, as when Ingalls composed his music, it
was not written for any definite words.

OLIVER HOLDEN
1765-1844 1

OLIVER HOLDEN, the carpenter-composer, is the
first one of the earlier tune writers whose work is
still found in the hymnals. He is known almost
entirely by his tune "Coronation," and this tune is
in every one of the twenty-five modern hymnals

iFrom The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 125

which I have examined, and which are used by the
various denominations of evangelical churches. His
other musical compositions, which were numerous,
are not so well known. Born September 18, 1765,
in Shirley, Massachusetts, he lived in that town with
his parents till he was twenty-one years of age, and
then the family moved to Charlestown. Being a
carpenter, the rebuilding of that town, which had
been burned by the British, promised employment.
Here he prospered. He became a large operator in
real estate, and when a new Baptist church was
organized he gave the land on which to erect the
building. Later another organization was effected,
popularly called for many years the Puritan
Church, of which he became the head, and was its
preacher all through its existence. Their meetings
were held in a one-story wooden church erected
largely by the personal labors of Mr. Holden. Their
services were congregational in form, and the sacra-
ment of the Lord's Supper was observed every Sun-
day. He represented Charlestown in the Massa-
chusetts House of Representatives for eight annual
terms between the years 1818 and 1833. He was a
prominent Mason, and the records of his lodge fur-
nish many allusions to his musical entertainments
at its meetings.

Music

But circumstances turned him to music ; he opened
a music store, became the leader of a choir, and con-
ducted singing schools. Then he began to compose
music and compile music books. The letter-book of
Daniel Read, under date of March 12, 1793, states

126 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

that he had subscribed to the periodical issues of
music that were made by Oliver Holden. So many
books were arranged by him that it would seem that
most of his time during his later years must have
been devoted to his favorite muse. Indeed, when his
strength was almost gone, and he lay dying, his wife
and daughter heard him whisper, "I have some beau-
tiful airs running in my mind, if I only had strength
to note them down." These were his last words and
indicate his all-absorbing thoughts. He died Sep-
tember 4, 1844, and over his grave in Charlestown
his name is inscribed as "the composer of the tune
Coronation,"

AMERICAN HARMONY

His first contribution to the literature of psalm-
ody was a small volume of thirty-two pages, "the
whole entirely new," and called American Harmony.
The preface is dated at Charlestown, September 27,
1792, and Mr. Holden refers to himself as a teacher
of music. His next compilation was a more pre-
tentious effort, The Union Harmony, or Universal
Collections of Sacred Music, in two volumes, aggre-
gating 300 pages. It was in this collection that his
"Coronation" was first printed, and set to the words
of Edward Perronet, "All hail the power of Jesus'
name," with which the tune has ever since been asso-
ciated in this country. The name of the Rev. Mr.
Medley appears as the author in Mr. Holden's book,
but we know this was an error, for these familiar
lines first appeared in Occasional Verses, Moral and
Sacred, published in London in 1785, and were writ-
ten by Edward Perronet. The Union Harmony was

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 127

issued in a second edition in 1796, and a third edi-
tion appeared in 1801.

The Massachusetts Compiler was published early
in 1795 in Boston by Thomas and Andrews. It was
a small book of seventy-two pages and was the joint
work of Hans Gram, Samuel Holyoke, and Oliver
Holden. The Modern Collection of Sacred Music,
by an American (Oliver Holden), appeared in No-
vember, 1800. It was a book of 254 pages, and the
preface is signed by the publishers, Thomas and
Andrews of Boston. During this same year he pre-
pared a collection of Sacred Dirges, and A flam
Psalmody. The latter was an original composition
consisting of seventy psalm and hymn tunes. The
author says he is opposed to fugue tunes and hopes
that their omission will please the lovers of real devo-
tion. The composers of five of the tunes are named ;
the others are, of course, by Mr. Holden. In
November of this year, 1800, Mr. Bentley, min-
ister of a church in Salem, notes in his diary that a
musical composition published by Holden of Charles-
town, called "West End," was performed in his
church after the sermon.

The Charlestown Collection of Sacred Songs,
adapted to public and private devotions, was pub-
lished according to act of Congress in November,
1803, at Boston by Thomas and Andrews. It was
made up principally of original compositions by
Oliver Holden, never before published, but contained
also seven by John Cole, of Baltimore, one by Jacob
Kimball, and one by Mr. Day. In the preface Mr.
Holden says,
As this work is principally designed for & supplement to a

128 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

larger collection, and as an appendix to the eighth edition
of the Worcester Collection, it is thought unnecessary to add
the rudiments. It has been the constant endeavor of the
author to compose the music in a style suited to the solemnity
'of sacred devotion, and which he hopes will accord with the
sentiments and feelings of real worshipers. As sacred poetry
in general is best adapted to the pensive or solemn, he has
aimed to give that air or character .to the following compo-
sitions which, if he is not deceived, will produce no trifling
effect on auditors or performers.

The above reference to the Worcester Collection
requires that we notice that book which was so popu-
lar just after the Revolutionary War. It was in
fact the most popular music book of the period, and
was often reprinted. It first issued from the press
of Isaiah Thomas at Worcester, Massachusetts, in
1786, under the title, Laus Deo, or the Worcester
Collection of Sacred Harmony, in three parts con-
taining

I. An Introduction to the grounds of music or rules for

learners.

II. A larger number of celebrated psalm and hymn tunes
from the most approved ancient and modern authors,
together with several new ones [the index shows eight]
never before published; the whole suited to all meters
usually sung in churches.

III. Select anthems, fugues and favorite pieces of music
with additional number of psalm and hymn tunes, the
whole compiled for the use of schools and singing soci-
eties, and recommended by many approved teachers
of psalmody.

The compiler of this collection is not named. Some
have assumed that the publisher, Isaiah Thomas,
was also the compiler, although he says that he is
unskilled in music. Still it is safe to say that even
if he did have the assistance of some one else, his

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 129

was the directing mind in its preparation. This
book was also notable in being the first book printed
in New England from music type. In 1767 James
Parker had issued from his printing office in Beaver
Street in New York city the psalms of David edited
by Francis Hopkinson, with the music printed above
each line. This was the first book printed from
music type in America. The type had been im-
ported from Amsterdam. Only the melody was
printed above each line alternating with the lines of
words. The Worcester Collection, however, had all
the parts printed on the double staff, as is the rule
at the present day, so that it can claim to be the
first book of complete music from type. It was
dedicated to the several musical societies in New
England, and of its contents the publisher says,

Mr. William Billings, of Boston, was the first person
we know of that attempted to compose church music in the
New England States. His music met with approbation.
Some tunes of his composing are inserted in this work, and
are extracted from The Chorister's Companion, printed in
Connecticut from copper plates. [This had been first issued
in 178S at New Haven.] Several adepts in music followed
Mr. Billings' example, and the New England States can now
boast of many authors of church music whose compositions
do them honor. A number of their tunes are in this collec-
tion, and we hope are done in such a manner as will give
them satisfaction. A few copies of this work will by
request be published separately, in order to accommodate a
few schools which are at present destitute of books. The
Third Part is now in the press and will be published with
all possible expedition.

As a matter of fact, Part Three was not published
until the next year, 1787. With regard to his new
type the publisher says :
Having observed with pleasure the attention paid to church

130 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

music by most classes of people in the New England States,
and knowing many of the books now in use, necessarily high-
charged owing to their being printed from copper plates, he
was induced both by inclination, and at the request of several
friends, to attempt a work of this kind from types, hoping to
afford it somewhat cheaper than any other book of its bigness
printed after the usual manner. He accordingly engaged a
set of musical types to be made in England by one of the
most ingenious type founders in Great Britain, which he hopes
on inspection of the tunes will be found to have answered the
purpose. Many gentlemen lent their aid in furnishing tunes.
Notwithstanding the expense of executing, this work has much
exceeded his expectation, yet he hopes that he has so far
answered the intention proposed as that the price fixed to it
will not be thought unreasonable.

The Hallelujah Chorus appears in Part Three, and
the publisher says :

Having been favored with a copy of the grand chorus
in that celebrated work, the Messiah, by Handel, one of the
greatest musicians that ever delighted the ears of mortals, I
am happy to give it a place in this Collection. Although it
has been thought by some too hard to be learned and too
delicate to be sung even by the best performers in this coun-
try, I doubt not that there are many who have not only skill
to learn, but judgment to perform it, at least equal to some
of the best singers in Europe.

Two years later a second edition was printed, and
the publisher says :

It gave great pleasure to the editor of the Worcester Col-
lection of Sacred Harmony that the first edition of it was
so generally approbated. Owing to the small number of
which that edition consisted, it was soon out of print, and
many persons who were desirous of purchasing could not
obtain copies. Some persons in Boston, taking advantage of
the scarcity, printed a spurious edition from copper plates,
and p&lmed it upon the undiscerning for the real Worcester
Collection. The editor, therefore, has been induced to publish
a second edition. A few tunes, mostly out of use, and some
others not used in public worship, are omitted, and others more
modern and adapted to the present taste inserted in their

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 131

room. A considerable number of psalm tunes are also added,
some of which were never before published, without any addi-
tion in price.

The index indicates a number of tunes that are not
in the first edition, and four that never were before
published. It would be very satisfying to be able to
identify the spurious edition referred to as having
been made by Boston parties from copper plates,
but diligent search of the music books published be-
tween 1786 and 1788 fails to reveal any one that
resembles The Worcester Collection either in name
or contents.

The third edition with large additions was issued
in 1791. In the preface he notes the increasing de-
mand for the work, and alludes to the spurious edi-
tion, saying:

Advantage has been taken of the scarcity of genuine
copies to impose incorrect and spurious ones, of which those
who wish to be supplied with good books will beware. . . .
A complaint hath been made that good tunes soon wear out by
becoming too familiar by frequent repetition. To remove this
evil the editor has had a tune made by way of experiment,
(Worcester, New, by Mann) long enough for the usual number
of stanzas without repetition.

This tune is more like an anthem than a hymn tune.
The fourth edition was published in Boston in
1792, and besides Parts One and Two had an "Ap-
pendix containing a number of excellent psalm
tunes, several of which are entirely new, and other
pieces of sacred vocal musick, many of which are
composed by eminent European authors, and never
before published in this country." This edition was
hurried through the press and "many errors escaped
the observation of the corrector." These were cor-

132 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

rected in the fifth edition in 1794. In this edition
we note one composition each by Oliver Holden and
Hans Gram, the latter being an anthem dedicated to
the Singing Society of Newburyport. These two
musicians were assisted by Samuel Holyoke in the
preparation of the Massachusetts Compiler in 1795.
The sixth edition of The Worcester Collection,
printed August, 1797, is by Oliver Holden, and Mr.
Thomas "informs his musical friends who have so
liberally encouraged the five former editions of the
Worcester Collection that he has contracted with
Mr. Oliver Holden, who is interested in the work, to
compile and correct the present and future edi-
tions." The seventh edition, 1800, contains many
new pieces, probably by the editor, though his name
is not appended to any of them. The eighth edi-
tion, 1803,

has some new tunes and some European music not much
known in this country. It is to be lamented that among so
many American authors so little can be found well written
or well adapted to sacred purposes, but it is disingenuous
and impolitic to throw that little away while our country
is in a state of progressive improvement. Some tunes are
inserted which do not merit approbation. The motive needs
no explanation. The new tunes, which are more numerous
than in any former edition, are impressed by themselves in
an appendix, and may be had separately.

As a separate book it was known as The Charles-
town Collection of Sacred Songs.

ORGAN

The organ that was once the property of the
Charlestown musician, and upon which he composed

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 133

his tune "Coronation," is now in the rooms of the
Bostonian Society in the Old State House, Boston,
Massachusetts, and it was my privilege, some years
ago, to be one of a company which stood around
it and sang a stanza of "America" to the accompani-
ment of its tones. Above the keys is a case much like
the old-fashioned secretary with two doors. On
opening these one sees a number of short pipes, from
a few inches to about twenty for the longest. The
compass of the organ is four and a half octaves. It
gives forth good music in summer, but.it is said that
in winter it is mute.

On October 21, 1789, when Washington visited
the city of Boston, he was escorted along Washing-
ton Street past the State House. There a triumphal
arch had been erected and an "Ode to Columbia's
Favorite Son' 5 was sung by the Independent Musical
Society of that city. The words and music were
said to have been composed, by Oliver Holden, and
it is also said that he led in the singing. This same
"Ode" was sung by the Stoughton Musical Society
in 1893 at the Chicago Exposition. The original
print of this Ode and music appeared in the Massa-
chusetts Magazine in 1789, and it is reproduced in
facsimile in Elson's National Music in America.

POETRY

In 1806 The Young Convert's Companion, a Col"
lection of Hymns for the Use of Conference Meet-
ings, was published in Boston. It was edited by
Oliver Holden, and there are nineteen hymns in it
signed "H," One of these, beginning "All those who
seek a throne of grace," is in long meter, and con-

134 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

sisted of six stanzas. Every line has been altered to
convert it into the meter of sevens, and a hymn of
four stanzas has been produced which is now found
in many present-day hymnals, and ascribed to Hoi-
den. The first stanza is

"They who seek the throne of grace,
Find that throne in every place,
If we live a life of prayer
God is present everywhere."

This hymn and the tune "Coronation 5 * are all of
Holden's work that has been retained in our hymn
books, although up to the time that he ceased pub-
lishing music there had been no American author
whose productions had been so well received and so
generally sung. He was a conscientiously religious
and amiable man as anyone might judge from the
style of his compositions, and his "Coronation" will
live for generations yet to sing and admire.

HANS GRAM

NEITHER the date of the birth or death of Hans
Gram has come to our notice, but from the dates
of his musical compositions we place the period of
his active life in Massachusetts as about that of Mr.
Graupner. . Gram was a native of Denmark, liber-
ally educated at Stockholm. He possessed a sound
and discriminating mind, well stored with knowl-
edge of men and books. For many years he was
organist of the Brattle Street Church in Boston,
and he taught many of the early native musicians
of that vicinity, such as Jacob Kimball, Oliver Hoi-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 135

den, and Samuel Holyoke. He wrote and published
little music, though we do find a few pieces scattered
here and there in the literature of the day, both
secular and sacred.

In 1793 he published a small work, called Sacred
Lines for Thanksgiving Day, November 7, 1793.
"Written and set to music by Hans Gram, organist
to Brattle Street Church, Boston; to which are
added several tunes of different meters by the same
composer." This was recommended by Jacob Kim-
ball, Dr. Nahum Fay, and Isaac Lane.

In 1795 he was one of the compilers, with Oliver
Holden and Samuel Holyoke, of The Massachusetts
Compiler, in which appeared the first article upon
harmony ever written in this country. This was
written by Mr. Gram, and Doctor Bentley, of Salem,
tells us in his ,diary that the rules were compiled
mostly from the foreign writers D'Alembert, Rous-
seau, Selzer, and others. His other sacred pieces
were an anthem for Easter, and one entitled "Bind
Kings in Chains." Another anthem dedicated to the
Singing Societies of 'Newburyport, and dated
Charlestown, October, 1794, appeared in the ap-
pendix to the Fifth edition of the Worcester Col-
lection. Of secular music we may note a "Hunting
Song" which was printed in the Massachusetts
Magazine of 1789, another "Song" in the same
magazine for 1790, and an "Ode to the President"
by a lady, set to music by Hans Gram. It is to be
regretted that so little has been found regarding one
whose influence was felt by the Massachusetts group
of psalm tune writers.

136 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

GOTTLIEB GRAUPNER
1767-1836

JOHANN CHBISTIAN GOTTLIEB GRAUPNEK, to use
his full name, and Hans Gram were two foreign-born
musicians who came to this country during the last
decade of the eighteenth century, settled in the east-
ern part of Massachusetts, and became quite promi-
nent in the musical affairs of that period. The
former, and probably the older, was born October
6, 1767, in Verden, Germany. He was for some time
an oboe player in a Hanoverian regimental band,
from which he was discharged April 8, 1788. He
then went to London, where he played in an orches-
tra under Haydn in 1791-92. From London he went
to Prince Edward's Island, thence, in 1796, to
Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he married Mrs.
Katherine Hillier. He established himself in busi-
ness in Boston as a teacher and publisher of music,
and a leader of both instrumental and vocal con-
certs. Por May 15, 1798, he advertised a concert in
Salem, the tickets being priced at "half a dollar."
The doors were opened at six o'clock and the per-
formance began at precisely half-past seven. There
were two parts to the program and twelve persons
who took part. The numbers taken by Mr. Graup-
ner and his wife included a clarinet quartet, in which
Mr. Graupner played one of the instruments, a solo,
"He Pipes So Sweet," by Mrs. Graupner, a vocal
quartet in which Mrs. Graupner took the soprano,
and an echo song by her, accompanied by her hus-
band on the hautboy.

Mr, Graupner was one of those who signed the

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 137

call, March 24, 1815, for a meeting which resulted
in the formation in April of the Handel and Haydn
Society. The first concert of this society was given
at Christmas, 1815, and the program ..consisted
largely of selections from "The Creation." There
were one hundred in the chorus including ten ladies ;
there were twelve instruments and an organ. The
tickets were one dollar apiece, 945 were sold, and the
net proceeds were $533. In 1810 the instrumental
players in Boston were organized by Graupner into
a Philharmonic Society, and soon began to give con-
certs. This society was continued for fourteen
years, their last concert being given on November
24, 1824. His business as a publisher of music was
located in 1801 in Sweetser's Alley. Later he estab-
lished a "Musical Academy" at 6 Franklin Street,
near Franklin Place, and in 1817 we find th& firm
of Graupner and Company at 15 Marlboro Street,
where they advertise they have just printed the
popular piece of music, "Strike the Cymbal," ar-
ranged for the pianoforte. One of the advertise-
ments of this musician states that he had piano-
fortes for sale and to let, and that private instru-
ments would be tuned both in town and country.

Mr. Graupner married in Charlestown, April 6,
1796, Mrs. Catherine Comeford Hillier, the daugh-
ter of a London attorney. When she appeared
in public she was known as Mrs. Heelyer, and it
was said that for many years she was the only vocal-
ist in Boston. After her death, which occurred May
28, 1821, Mr. Graupner married again, for at the
settlement of his property his widow is given as
Mary H. Graupner,

138 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

He died of ulcerated sore throat at No. 1 Prov-
ince House Court, Boston, April 16, 1836. His
funeral was held April 20, in Trinity Church, and
he was buried in the family vault under Saint Mat-
thew's Church in South Boston. When this church
was demolished in 1866, his body was removed to
Mount Hope Cemetery, West Roxbury, Massa-
chusetts. He left no real estate ; his personal prop-
erty was appraised at $975.

PETER ERBEN
1769-1861

THE Erben family were organ builders in New
York. From Messiter's history of the music in
Trinity Church we learn that Henry Erben built
the organ that was installed in 1842, Michael Erben
was an occasional organist in the church during the
sixties. Peter Erben, born about 1769, was director
of the society for cultivating church music con-
nected with Trinity Church as early as 1800. Seven
years later he was appointed organist of Saint
George's Chapel, a mission that was supported by
that church; and in 1813 he was made the first
organist of Saint John's Chapel, another branch
of that parish. From 1820 to 1839 he was the
organist of Trinity Church, and in that year was
retired on a gratuity of three hundred dollars a
year. He was followed by Dr. John S. B. Hodges.
Mr. Erben continued his connection with Trinity
Church till his death, which occurred April 30, 1861,
in Brooklyn, when he had attained the age of ninety-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 139

one years. His funeral took place from the church
which he had served for so many years. In 1806
he published a volume of Select Psalm and Hymn
Tunes.

BENJAMIN CARR
1769-1831

PROBABLY the first music store in Philadelphia
was "The Music Repository," opened by Benjamin
Carr about 1793. Benjamin Carr was born in Eng-
land about 1769, received a thorough musical train-
ing in that country, and had been connected with
the London Ancient Concerts before he emigrated
to America in 1793. After landing in New York
he set up as a music dealer for a short time, then
went on to Philadelphia, where he advertised him-
self in 1793-94 as "B. Carr & Co., Music Printers
and Importers." From 1794 to 1800 he carried on
his Musical Repository in Philadelphia. His New
York branch he sold in 1797 or 1798 to James
Hewitt. Joseph (probably a brother) Carr opened
a Musical Repository in Baltimore in 1794 in Mar-
ket Street near Gay, and the next year the address
was changed to 6 Gay Street. Joseph first appears
as a music publisher in connection with Benjamin
in 1796, and the firm continued far into the nine-
teenth century, Joseph having the Baltimore branch,
while Benjamin remained in Philadelphia. William
Carr, probably another member of the family, was
born in Yorkshire, England, worked as an engraver
in Philadelphia, and died there January 14, 1852.
He is buried in Saint Paul's churchyard.

140 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Benjamin Carr's distinctive work for music and
musicians was the organization of the Musical Fund
Society. Its history cannot be written without weav-
ing into it many threads from Mr. Carr's brain. As
early as 1816 Mr. Carr was one of a quartet of musi-
cians who tried to form a society for regular prac-
tice. The first meetings for discussion and organi-
zation were held at his house, and before the soci-
ety was finally constituted it was decided that one
of its subjects should be the assistance of needy
musicians. So that when it was instituted it was
called the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.
As its birth was February 29, 1820, its anniver-
saries must be marked in quadrenniums. A charter
was granted to it February 22, 1823. Some of its
earliest members included Leopold Meignen, Raynor
Taylor, and John Darley, all composers of church
music; Thomas Loud, sometime organist of Saint
Andrew's, and Joseph C. Taws, a piano maker.

For a while Benjamin Carr was organist of Saint
Joseph's Catholic Church in Philadelphia. He com-
piled one book of music whose title reads Masses,
Vespers, Litanies, Hymns, Psalms, Anthems and
Motetts "composed, selected and arranged for the
use of the Catholic churches in the United States of
America and respectfully dedicated by permission of
the Right Reverend John Carroll, D. D., Bishop of
Baltimore."

In 1811 he issued Lessons and Exercises in Vocal
Music, an engraved pamphlet of sixty pages, which
is marked "Opus VIII." "The Archers, or the
Mountaineers of Switzerland," an opera founded
upon the story of William Tell, was probably the

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 141

first American opera ever composed. The words
were written by William Dunlap, and the music by
Benjamin Carr. It was first produced in the John
Street Theater, New York, April 18, 1796.

We close this sketch with a copy of the inscrip-
tion upon his monument, erected in Saint Peter's
Church, which recites that

Benjamin Carr, a distinguished professor of music,
died May 24, 1831, -aged 62 years. Charitable without
ostentation, faithful and true in his friendships, with
the intelligence of a man, he united the simplicity
of a child.

In testimony of the high esteem in which he was held,
this monument is erected by his friends and associates
of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.

Of all the early musicians of Philadelphia he wrought
the most vigorously to introduce the best musie and
especially the oratorios into the church.

JOHN WYETH
1770-1858 1

HALTLE:LUJAH" that's the title of Wyeth's
"Nettleton" in Part II of his Repository, 1813.
Thus wrote a correspondent whom I had asked to
look up this tune. The hymn that is usually set to
it is the well-known one by Robert Robinson,
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." As orig-
inally written the tune was in the key of F, and in
common time, and there was a refrain "Hallelujah,
hallelujah, we are on our journey home, 59 It was
this refrain that gave it the name, I have not been
able to discover when it was rearranged and given

i From The Choir Herald.

142 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the name of "Nettleton." About half of the mod-
ern hymn books attribute it to Asahel Nettleton,
while the others give it to John Wyeth, and one to
the Rev. John Wyeth. In many of the older books
it is anonymous. The date given for its composi-
tion by Nettleton is 1824 and 1825, while for Wyeth
his collection for 1812 is noted. Its first appear-
ance was really in the second part of Wyeth's Re-
pository of Sacred Music, copyrighted in 1813, not
1812.

ASAHEL NETTLETON

The Rev. Asahel Nettleton was a noted Congre-
gational minister, who was born April 21, 1783, at
North Killingworth, Connecticut, and died May 6,
1844, at East Windsor in the same State. He
graduated from Yale College in 1809. He began to
preach two years later, but was not ordained till
1817. He traveled through western Massachusetts,
Connecticut, and New York, preaching and holding
revival services. The winter of 1827-28 he spent
in Virginia and in 1831 went to Great Britain. In
1832 he was appointed professor of pastoral duty
in a newly established seminary at East Windsor,
and although he did not accept the appointment he
settled in that town and lectured occasionally at the
school. His work in hymnology was the compilation
of Village Hymns, first issued in 1824. There were
six hundred hymns, but I have never seen it printed
with tunes ; in fact, it is stated in the preface that
a small collection of music, called Zion's Harp was
designed to accompany the volume. To go back
to the beginning of the history of his compilation:

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 143

in the year 1820 the General (Congregational)
Association of Connecticut appointed a committee,
of which Mr, Nettleton was a member, to make a
new selection of hymns, and when four years had
elapsed without anything having been done, Mr.
Nettleton began to compile a collection of his own.
He tells us that he was guided by his experience as
a preacher, and knew the demands for hymns espe-
cially suited for revivals. He spent nearly two
years in gathering his materials and consulted all the
collections of hymns that were available. Many of
the hymns were original, while some were taken by
permission from what were then recent books. Mrs.
Brown's "I Love to Steal a While Away" was first
used in Village Hymns. Robinson's "Come, Thou
Fount of Every Blessing" is hymn. No. 439, and the
tunes suggested are "Love Divine" and "Good
Shepherd." The tune "Nettleton" is not in Zion's
Harp, and it is the only tune attributed to Asahel
Nettleton; but I can find no evidence that he had
anything to do with it except the name, and that
is by no means convincing. One hymn, "Come, Holy
Ghost, My Soul Inspire," which first appeared in
Village Hymns, has been attributed to the com-
piler, though his authorship is by no means con-
clusive. One hymnologist has written that "he
knew and could appreciate a good hymn, but it is
doubtful if he ever did or ever could have written

JOHN WTETH

John Wyeth was a native of Massachusetts, hav-
ing been born in Cambridge March 31, 1770. Nich-

144 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

olas, his ancestor, came from England and pur-
chased land in Cambridge prior to 1645. John was
fifth in descent, and was the son of Ebenezer. When
a young man he was apprenticed to a printer, and
upon reaching his majority he was induced to go to
San Domingo to superintend a large printing estab-
lishment. While there the insurrection of the
Blacks occurred, and all that he had acquired was
lost. It was with difficulty that he succeeded in
escaping from the island, and this was only accom-
plished with the connivance of a friend, who was one
of the officers to search the vessel before it left the
port. Dressing himself as a common sailor and
working among them, he eluded the search of the
inspectors, and finally reached Philadelphia. There
he found work in various printing offices until 1792,
when he went to Harrisburg and in company with
John Allen he purchased a newspaper that had been
started the year before. Thus began his connection
with the Oracle of Dauphin, a newspaper for
Dauphin County, which he successfully carried on
until November, 1827. Mr. Wyeth's paper was a
weekly, published every Saturday morning, and sup-
ported the views of the Federal party during the
whole course of its existence. The file of this paper
in the Library of Congress, covering the last year
that it was conducted by John Wyeth, was once the
property of that great Federal Leader, Henry Clay.
Mr. Wyeth was appointed postmaster of Harris-
burg in October, 1793, under Washington, of whose
administration he was a strenuous advocate and
strong admirer. He held this office for nearly five
years until July, 1798, when he was removed by Mr.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 145

Adams, the postmaster-general, on account of "the
incompatibility of the office of postmaster and editor
of a newspaper." In connection with his other
work he established a book store, and a publishing
house, from which he issued a large number of books,
the most notable of which were Judge Henry's Nar-
rative of the Quebec Expedition, Graydon's Memoirs,
and a music book.

REPOSITORY OF SACRED MTTSIC
His Repository of Sacred Music was first issued
in 1810, and continued to be printed in succeeding
editions, the fifth being dated in 1820. After that
two stereotyped editions were issued in 1826 and
1834. These last editions were copyrighted in 1826.
This volume contained many selections from the
well-known Ne>v England composers, Read, Billings,
Swan, Holyoke, and Holden.

Few of the tunes introduced in this work have claim to
originality. The lovers of ancient melody will here recog-
nize a good number of old acquaintances that "dead and for-
gotten lie," while the friends to modern composition will find
themselves by no means neglected.

The circulation of this book at that early day was
wonderful, aggregating 120,000. To this he sup-
plemented a Second Part, of which there were pub-
lished about 25,000, intended especially for the
Methodist Church. This book came out in 1813, and
more than a third of the tunes were original, his
"Hallelujah" being included among that number.

Mr. Wyeth was one of Harrisburg's most indus-
trious and energetic citizens and became deeply
interested in her prosperity and welfare. He
caused the construction of several valuable improve-

146 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ments which remain as evidence of his enterprising
spirit and good judgment. He was one of the
earliest friends of Harrisburg Academy, and served
as trustee, and later as president of the board of
trustees. He was twice married, and had seven chil-
dren. His youngest, Samuel Douglas Wyeth, was a
writer, published a book entitled The Ins and Outs
of Washington, and died in the Capital City, Jan-
uary 18, 1881. One of the older brothers of John
Wyeth was a member of the famous Boston Tea
Party in 1773; this was Joshua, at that time six-
teen years of age and a journeyman blacksmith in
that city.

After John Wyeth had retired from his publish-
ing business he moved to Philadelphia, where he
divided his time between reading and social pleas-
ures. His life was marked by affability and cheer-
fulness. He died in the City of Brotherly Love at
the age of eighty-eight, January 23, 1858.

DANIEL BELKNAP
1771-1815

DANIEL BELKNAP was a native of Framingham,
Massachusetts, where he was born February 9,
1771. His father was Captain Jeremiah Belknap,
captain of a company of militia during the French
and Indian Wars. Captain Belknap was at one time
the owner of a slave, Peter Salem, who made himself
famous at the battle of Bunker Hill by firing the
shot which mortally wounded Major John Pit-
cairn, the commander of the British forces, just as

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 147

he was about to enter the redoubt. After a long
life Salem was reduced to poverty, and returning
to Framingham would have become a charge upon
the town had not his former owner with several
others of his fellow townsmen given bond to sup-
port him during the remaining years of his natural
life. Daniel Belknap received only a common-school
education, and settled down on the farm in his native
town as a farmer and mechanic. His leisure hours
were devoted to music, and he acquired such skill in
the art of singing that he began to teach at the age
of eighteen. He taught mostly in the town of Fram-
ingham, and the neighboring towns, but once on
invitation he went to Whitesboro, New York, where,
however, he spent but a short time. He married
Mary Parker, of Carlisle, about 1800, and had at
least five children born in Framingham between 1801
and 1809. He continued to live in his native town
until 1812, when he removed to Pawtucket, Rhode
Island, and died there of fever October 31, 1815.

The first musical publication of Daniel Belknap
was in 1797, when a small pamphlet of thirty-one
pages was issued from the press of Thomas and
Andrews in Boston, called The Harmonist's Com-
panion, containing a number of airs suitable for
divine worship, together with an anthem for Easter
and a Masonic Ode. The latter had been performed
by the author and several brethren of the fraternity
at the installation of the Middlesex Lodge in Fram-
ingham in 1795. In 1800 The Evangelical Harmony
was published by the same firm in Boston and con-
sisted of thirty-two pages. His third and last musi-
cal venture was The Village Compilation of Sacred

148 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Music, printed in 1806, and was a more pretentious
work. It had 152 pages, and contained many
pieces that had never before been published, quite
a number of which bore the names of Middlesex
County towns. Mr. Belknap bore an unblemished
reputation, and was worthy of the respect which was
always accorded him. His opportunities for acquir-
ing a knowledge of music were few, and his music,
which was copied into several compilations, includ-
ing The St ought on Collection, 1829, The Antiqua-
rian, 1849, and The Continental Harmony, 1857,
became more or less popular for awhile, but it has
not survived, and is no longer sung.

JONATHAN HUNTINGTON

1771-1838

THE musical compilations of Jonathan Hunting-
ton were issued from New England presses, and in-
cluded The Apollo Harmony, 1807, and Classical
Sacred Music, 1812:

The Apollo Harmony contains Plain and Intelligible Rules
for singing by note, a universal collection of Psalm and
Hymn Tunes suited to all meters and keys, with a number
of set pieces and anthems, proper for all occasions together
with the instructions for the bass viol and German flute,
selected from the most celebrated European and American
compositions, with some pieces entirely new.

It was a copyrighted book, and was printed at
Northampton. A dozen of the writers of that day
were represented with one or more tunes. The
Classical Sacred Music was made up from Euro-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 149

pean sources, contained seventy-five pages, and was
printed in Boston by the well-known printer J. T.
Buckingham, in 1812.

Jonathan Huntington was a native of Connec-
ticut, born in Windham, November 17, 1771. He
married October 29, 1796, Ann Lathrop, who died
in Boston, May 3, 1826, and he was married again,
but the name of his second wife has not been found.
He was by nature possessed of a voice of fine tone
and great strength, which he had cultivated with
great care while he was living in Norwich with his
uncle Samuel. He had ten children, and from the
places of their birth we assume that from 1797 to
1804, he was living in Windham, Connecticut; in
1806 at Troy, New York; 1808 to 1811 at North-
ampton, and from 1814 to 1829 in Boston. His
whole life was devoted to the teaching of music in
Albany, Boston, and afterward in Saint Louis,
which was his home at the time of his death, July
29, 1838.

ZEDEKIAH SANGER
1771-1821

ONLY a few facts have been found about Zedekiah
Sanger, but these are recorded. Zedekiah Sanger
was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, July 27,
1771. He resided there till he had reached the age
of manhood, was in Boston between 1813 and 1821,
where he was known as a singer, a teacher, and a
composer. He later removed to Albany, where he

150 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

became a storekeeper, but returned to Boston, where
he died in August, 1821, at the age of fifty.

In 1808 he compiled and issued from the press
of Herman Mann in Dedham The Meridian Har-
mony, which he states was compiled by himself and
others. Original music was contributed to it by
Walter Janes, Stephen Jenks, Lewis Edson, and
Abraham Wood. The fugue style, which was the
prevailing type of music at that time, predominated.

BARTHOLOMEW BROWN

1772-1854

BARTHOLOMEW BROWN was born September 8,
1772, at Sterling, Massachusetts, and graduated
from Harvard University in the class of 1799. He
was a lawyer of standing, a friend of temperance,
and "foremost in every good work." When the Lock
Hospital Collection of music was printed in 1809,
Mr. Brown was put down as a subscriber from
Sterling. He left his native town in that year and
took up his residence in Boston. In 1813 we find
him in Abington, where he was a teacher of music,
whose reputation grew continually until it extended
beyond the limits of that town. He was one of the
original members of the Boston Handel and Haydn
Musical Society, founded in 1815, the date of his
joining it being November 5, 1815. He was elected
its eighth president in September, 1836, and served
for one year. He was its first president to draw
a salary which then amounted to $300 per annum.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 151

When he failed of reelection in 1837, he was much
displeased, and soon after joined a rival organiza-
tion, "the Boston Oratorio Society," and assisted
it in presenting on the same evening as the Handel
and Haydn Society, Newkomm's "Hymn of the
Night. 55 It was partly for this offense that he and
two others were expelled from the membership of
the society of which he had been its former president.

One of the most popular of his compositions was
a hymn tune called "Tilden, 55 written in memory of
a classmate and loved friend, James Tilden, who
had died in 1800. He was a poet as well as a musi-
cian, and could write a song or hymn, set it to
music and then sing it.

For many years he wrote the calendar pages for
that famous almanac, which was founded in 1792
and later printed by Robert B. Thomas, of Sterling,
and known as The Old Farmers' Almanac. Its one
hundred and thirtieth yearly number was issued for
1921.

COMPILATIONS

In 1802 he was assisted by Nahum Mitchell and
others in compiling The Columbian and European
Harmony, or Bridgewater Collection of Sacred
Music. A second edition was issued in 1804. The
third edition, in 1810, was called the Templi Car-
mma, or The Bridgewater Collection and the suc-
cessive editions were popularly known by the second
titk. This collection was highly esteemed and was
much used in New England for twenty-five years or
more, and editions succeeded each other at,- short
intervals until the twenty-seventh in 1839, when

152 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

more than one hundred thousand copies had been
printed and circulated.

He was one of the committee appointed January
14, 1810, by the parish of Brattle Street Church
in Boston to prepare a collection of tunes for its
use. The other members were Ebenezer Withington,
Bryant P. Tilden, the Rev. Joseph S. Buckminster,
and a later addition, Elias Mann. The Rev. Joseph
Stevens Buckminster was the pastor of the church,
was a graduate of Harvard the next year after Mr.
Brown, 1800, and two years before this, that is, in
1808, he had compiled a book of hymns for the use
of his society. The result of the labors of this com-
mittee was issued in 1810 as LXXX Psalm and
Hymn Tunes -for Public Worship "adapted to the
metres used in churches." This book is usually
known as The Brattle Street Collection. It is inter-
esting to know that copies of the votes of the parish
are filed in the copy of this book in the Library of
Congress.

Bartholomew Brown lived to be over eighty-one
years of age, and died in Boston April 14, 1854.

ELIAKIM DOOLITTLE
1772-1850

ELIAKIM DOOUTTLB was a brother of Amos
Doolittle, the engraver, and was born August 29,
1772. He studied for a while at Yale College, but
did not graduate, engaging in teaching both the
common-school branches, and the art of singing,
which in those days was taught in evening classes.

COMPILERS OF SACKED MUSIC 153

Music seemed to be his delight, and he composed
with great ease. This he published in 1806 at
New Haven in The Psalm Singers Companion, a
book of forty-nine pages, containing forty-one tunes
and one anthem. During the War of 1812 after
the Hornet had engaged and sunk the English man-
of-war Peacock, in February, 1813, he wrote a pop-
ular war song, "The Hornet Stung the Peacock."
His brother Amos also noted this action in a cari-
cature engraving representing a hornet stinging
John Bull, shown as a peacock. About 1802 Mr.
Doolittle had removed to Hampton, New York, and
in 1811 he married Miss Hesadiah Fuller, of that
town. Six children were born to them one son and
five daughters. He was a deeply religious man, a
Congregationalist, and a devoted student of the
Bible, but of a roving disposition, nervous and sen-
sitive, impulsive and excitable ; and finally he became
partially insane, wandering the streets in tattered
garments, with untrimmed locks and long beard, so
that while living in Pawlet, Vermont, where many
of his later years were spent, it is said that he was
the terror of timid women and children as he roamed
about in slovenly dress, and he found rest only when
lodged in his grave. He died in April, 1850, at
Argyle, New York.

AMOS ALBEE
1772-

AMOS ALBEE was the teacher in the first singing
school that Lowell Mason attended. In a copy of

154 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Albee's Norfolk Collection, once the property of
Mason, and now in the Library of Yale University,
Mr. Mason wrote: "This is the book used in first
singing school I ever attended, which was taught by
Amos Albee, the compiler. I must have been thir-
teen years old then, and I am now seventy-three."
Amos Albee was born in Medfield, Massachusetts, in
1772, where his parents, Asa Albee and Sarah
Perry, had settled a year or two before. He became
a musician, taught singing schools, and also taught
a common school in Medfield during the years 1796-
98. He was married in Medfield and three children
were born there. He made that town his home until
1820, when he and his wife Judith were dismissed to
the church in Watertown. I have been unable to learn
how long he lived after going from Medfield. The
Norfolk Collection of Sacred Music, compiled by
him, was printed at the music press of Herman
Mann in Dedham in 1805, and was an oblong book
of forty-eight pages. Three years later he collabo-
rated with Oliver Shaw and Herman Mann and pro-
duced The Columbian Sacred Psalmonist, which was
printed at the press of Herman Mann in Dedham.

STEPHEN JENKS
1772-1856

SOME of the music of Stephen Jenks is still in
use in the books of to-day. An examination of
seventeen has shown his work in six. It is said
that he was one of the most prolific writers of music
of his time. No less than five books were published

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 155

by him. His first effort was a small book of only
sixteen pages, printed in New Haven, Connecticut,
in 1800, and called The New England Harmony.
Warrington says it was The New England Har-
monist, and was printed at Danbury, Connecticut.
It was reissued in 1800 and also in an enlarged form
in forty pages, engraved by Amos Doolittle in New
Haven, Connecticut, and the name changed to The
Musical Harmonist. A second edition in 1803 was
printed from type. The Delights of Harmony was
a collection of psalm and hymn tunes and the pre-
face is dated at New Canaan, Connecticut, October,
1805. This was also printed for the editor and
engraved by Amos Doolittle of New Haven. It had
pieces by Daniel Read, Oliver Holden, and Amos
Doolittle, and a number of others whose names as
composers have long ago gone from the indexes of
our hymnals.

His third book was called The Delights of Har-
mony, or The Norfolk Compiler, and was printed
in 1805 by the Manns in Dedham, which is in Nor-
folk County, Massachusetts. The Manns had been
printers in New Haven before they removed to
Dedham, and this is probably why they came to
print this book for Mr. Jenks. A large number of
his subscribers were from Connecticut. An imper-
fect copy of this book is in the Massachusetts His-
torical Society in its original binding of leather, and
appears to have had ninety-five pages with index
on page ninety-seven, and there was a supplement
of fourteen pages of "Additional Music." The Con-
necticut Courant in February, 1807, carries an
advertisement dated at Dedham, December 6, 1806,

156 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

as follows: "Abner Ellis publishes a supplement
of 32 pages to go with Stephen Jenks Delights of
Harmony or Norfolk Compiler." In his advertise-
ment "The author returns his respects to the sub-
scribers for his book; as their liberality so far
exceeds his expectations he is determined to put the
book to the subscribers at eighty-eight cents a book,
although the conditions were one cent a page."

The next compilation upon which Mr. Jenks 5 name
appears was called The Hartford Collection of
Sacred Harmony, and was printed in Hartford in
1807. Jenks was assisted by Elijah Griswold and
John C. Frisbie. This was a collection from the
most approved American and European authors,
and was designed especially for singing schools and
musical societies, and contained sixty pages. The
workmanship was so perfect that I thought the
pages must be engraved, but the date being after
the use of type had become so common I was
in doubt as to whether it was a specimen of engrav-
ing or of type. After closely examining several
pages, the mark of the plate was discovered on some
of them, which settled the question.

His last book was called Laus Deo, the Harmony
of Zion, or The Union Compiler, and was printed
by Daniel Mann for the author, proprietor of the
copyright, in Dedham in 1818. This collection was
made chiefly from European authors, though there
were some from the works of Americans, these last
being printed verbatim from the original copies of
the American composers. There were eighty pages
and eighty-five tunes. His tune "Communion,"
also called "St. Stephen," is found in three of the

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 157

seventeen books of recent date examined, and "Bar-
timaus" in three. Mr. Simeon Pease Cheney, in
his New American Singing Book, tells this story
of Mr. Jenks: When he was about to publish his
Norfolk Compiler he went around among his scholars
and acquaintances to secure subscriptions. Meeting
a rich but miserly farmer named Sellick, he solicited
his help but received such a crushing refusal that
his ardor was cooled for a time. Finding the fol-
lowing words, he thought them appropriate to his
experience.

"Some walk in honor's gaudy show;

Some dig for golden ore;
They build for heirs they know not who
And straight are seen no, more."

The tune which he composed to these words, while in
such a frame of mind, he called "Sellick," and when-
ever the old farmer was present at church, or at
social gatherings, he would always have this tune
sung.

Stephen Jenks was born in 1772 in New Canaan,
Connecticut. He loved music and did all he could
to advance its influence both by teaching and by com-
posing. He was married twice, first to Hannah
Dauchey, who died at Ridgefield, Connecticut, Aug-
ust 11, 1800. They had two sons, and it was while
living at Ridgefield that his first book was published.
When his second book was issued he was living in
New Salem, New York. His second wife he married
in Providence, Rhode Island, and they had two sons
and four daughters. In 1829 he moved with his
family to Thompson, Ohio, where he made drums and
tambourines until his death, June 5, 1856.

MAAJLM

1773-1829

Two brothers, Abraham and John Maxim, con-
tributed considerable music to the first half of the
nineteenth century. Abraham was born January
3, 1773, at Carver, Massachusetts, a town which
was named for the first governor of Plymouth
colony. From his early youth he was noted for his
love of singing and his uncommon attachment for
music. His heart and mind were so absorbed in it
that he was of little use on the farm. He began his
composing early, and when thus engaged knew noth-
ing else, and would be as likely to take a basket to
bring water from the well as a pail,

Maxim had a bright, active mind, and at music
parties would interest the company by singing, play-
ing the bass viol, doing a sum in the rule of three,
and telling what the company was talking about, all
at the same time. He studied music for a time with
William Billings, of Boston, and composed many of
his tunes while living at Carver. After he became
of age, and before 1800, he moved to Turner, Maine.
This town had been incorporated in 1786, and named
for the Rev. Charles Turner, of Scituate, Massachu-
setts, one of the proprietors. The name of one of
the neighboring towns, Buckfield, he gave to one of
his tunes, and his best known tune he called
"Turner." This tune was retained in numerous eol-

161

162 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

lections up to 1879, when it was used in Rev. Charles
S. Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, and this is
the latest use of it that I have noted. At Turner
Mr. Maxim married and raised a family of singing
children. He taught reading schools and singing
school in that town and others in the vicinity, and
there he compiled his books. His first book was an
original composition called The Oriental Harmony,
containing fifty-six pages and thirty-nine tunes.
The preface is dated at Turner, July, 1802, and
it was printed by Henry Ranlet in Exeter, N. H.
His second compilation was The Northern Harmony,
the fifth edition of which was published in Hallowell,
Maine, in 1819. This was a collection of tunes from
various authors, and had 128 pages. In December,
1827, he moved from Turner to Palmyra, Maine,
continuing farming and teaching, and he died there
suddenly of apoplexy one evening, just after leaving
his singing school, aged fifty-six. He appears to
have been a very cheerful, happy man with a natu-
ral taste for literature.

Just as this sketch is being prepared for print The
Gospel Hymn Book comes to notice, copyrighted in
1818 by Abraham Maxim. It is a little book of 216
pages, without music, containing both original and
selected hymns, but no authors are given.

The date of the birth of John Maxim has not
been discovered. A tune called "Maxim" is found
among his music which was composed for his half-
century birthday, January 24, but the year is not
shown. An oblong manuscript book of 140 pages is
in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Soci-
ety, containing 100 tunes and fifteen anthems, com-

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 163

posed between 1842 and 1848. To a committee to
whom this manuscript was submitted he wrote :

The music publishing committee are at liberty to use all or
any part of the inclosed music that they see proper, free
of charge, and to make any alterations either in the music
or in the words or even in the names of the tunes as they
deem proper. In either case no offense will be given, the
tunes being original and all the author's own. Please retain
what is not used until called for. Such as they are the pub-
lishers are entirely welcome to them.

No printed book of his has been discovered. He
wrote many political songs about 1840, some of
which were used in the Tippicanoe Songster.

JOEL HARMON
1773-1833

JOEL HARMON was a native of Connecticut,
though his adult life was spent in Vermont. He was
born in Suffield, Connecticut, in May, 1773. In 1808
he settled in Pawlet, Vermont, where he was one of
the earliest merchants of that town. Music, how-
ever was his chief delight. He taught music all his
life, and used his own music exclusively in his schools.
He was opposed to the fugue, which had been so
popular during the preceding years a and made an
effort to introduce a different style; but his music
did not get into general use, nor find general favor
with the people. His first book was The Columbian
Sacred Minstrel, a book of eighty pages, containing
fifty-three original pieces and was sold for 75 cents
a copy. It was printed in Northampton in 1809.
A Musical Primer was printed in Harrisburg about

164 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

1814 or later, and he was preparing another when he
died at York, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1833. He
was a major in the War of 1812. The history of
Pawlet, Vermont, says he moved to Richland, New
York, in 1804.

JOHN COLE
1774-1855 1

VEEY early in the history of our country Balti-
more assumed an important place in its musical
development. Much of the credit for this is due to
John Cole, one of the earliest printers, organists,
and composers in that city. Born in Tewksbury,
England, in 1774, he emigrated with his parents to
the United States in 1785, being then in the eleventh
year of his age. He was brought up in the Monu-
mental city, eventually married there, and made it
his permanent home. At an early age he showed a
natural genius and a great love for music and
attended the singing schools of that day conducted
by Andrew Law, Thomas H. Atwill, Spicer, John-
son, and others. By diligent study and practice he
became wiser than his teachers, and soon he himself
began to instruct in psalmody. He also devoted
some time to practice upon several instruments, and
became the leader of a band, which gained great
popularity during the War of 1812. His business
as an organist and a printer brought him into the
company of many distinguished musicians, from
whom he received various hints and suggestions that
proved very advantageous to him. At a very early

* From The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 165

period in his musical career Mr. Cole discovered the
necessity for a change in the then prevailing taste
of the public for music, and by extraordinary and
persistent exertions induced a few others to join
with him in this opinion, and by that means Balti-
more was foremost in putting a stop to that species
of psalmody which then prevailed universally in the
schools of the continent. His voice was a baritone,
he was a most correct sight singer, and he pos-
sessed a general knowledge of the principles of com-
position.

ACTIVITIES

For a long time he was conductor of the choir
as well as organist of the Saint Paul's Episcopal
Church in Baltimore, and during that period this
church was celebrated for the still and taste dis-
played in the performances of its sacred music. The
direction of most of the public performances of
sacred music that occurred in his adopted city
usually devolved upon him as did also the presenta-
tion of the several oratorios given there. He
became a publisher as early as 1797* buying the
music stock of Mr. Carr, and continuing to pub-
lish and sell music almost up to the day of
his death. During his later career his son was
associated with him as a member of the firm,
and at the death of the latter the business was sold
to and conducted by F. D. Benteen. Mr. Cole
issued a great variety of collections and editions
of psalmody and anthems of considerable merit, as
was indicated by their extensive circulation.

As many as thirteen different compilations bear

166 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

his name as composer or compiler, and all but one
of them were printed in Baltimore. In the library
collected by Dr. Lowell Mason, and now owned by
Yale University, there is "A Collection of Psalm
Tunes and Anthems, composed by John Cole, author
of the Divine Harmonist, . . , printed at Boston,
Dec. 1803." Inside the cover is this note addressed
to

Mr. Lowell Mason, Boston. Dear Sir: I send you this as a
curiosity. Thomas and Andrews published it on their own
account and sent me one hundred copies. I was then a young
man, and was made very proud on hearing from them that
"some of their best judges pronounced the music too good
for the prevailing taste!! I" Having a few days since visited
a church in which I formerly officiated I found two copies,
and send you one as a memento of former times. John Cole.

This book was oblong and had fifty-five pages.

BOOKS

Besides the book already mentioned there were
the following:

Beauties of Psalmody, third edition printed in
1827.

Collection of Anthems^ 56 pages a printed in Bal-
timore, no date.

Devotional Harmony, 1814.

Divine Harmonist, 1808.

Ecclesiastical Harmony, 1810.

Episcopalian Harmony, 1800 ; another edition in
1811.

Laudate Dommum, a book of chants, 1842 ; third
edition, 1847.

The Minstrel, a book of songs, 1812.

Sacred Melodies, 1-3, 1828.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC

The Seraph, 1821, 1822, and 1827.

Songs of Zion, psalm tunes, 1818.

Union Harmony.

This last named book was printed in patent notes,
and was "intended for the use of such teachers as
are in the habit of using such notes, and to remove
the prejudice of those who have never fairly exam-
ined the system."

TUNES

The most popular tune of Mr. Cole's numerous
compositions is "Geneva," and whenever any of his
work is selected for insertion in hymnals this is
always included, and where there is only one of his,
this is sure to be the one chosen. Many of the
recent hymnals include John Cole among the com-
posers whose work is used. The Methodist Har-
monist, printed in 1833, has nine of his tunes, a
larger number than in any other compilation that
I have examined, with the exception of his own.

Mr. Cole died in Baltimore August 17, 1855.

BENJAMIN HOLT
1774-1861

WHEN Benjamin Holt died in 1861 at the age of
eighty-seven it was said that he was the oldest
American composer, and that he had been a well-
known musician all his life. He was a teacher of
music in Boston for many years, and had served as
the second president of the Handel and Haydn Soci-

168 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ety in that city. His compositions were quite pop-
ular in his day, and appeared in many contemporary
singing books. In 1853 he removed from the Hub
to the country town of Lancaster, there to pass the
remaining eight years of his life, and he died there
March 9, 1861. Before he had reached the age of
thirty he issued The New England Sacred Harmony ;
"being principally," as he says, "an original com-
position in three and four parts adapted to the
various meters in common use." It was printed in
Boston by the firm of Thomas and Andrews, the
preface being dated March, 1803. This is "the
first essay of the author, and rests its destiny
entirely upon its own merits." "The author has
taken much pains in the pieces of his own composi-
tion to have them correct." Many subscribers for
his book were obtained in Boston, while of those from
outside of that city the larger number were from
Windham, Connecticut. This small book of fifty-
six pages has twenty-two pieces by Mr. Holt never
before published* There were also other pieces by
both European and American authors. In 1812
Mr. Holt assisted in the preparation of the

BBEDGEWATEB COLLECTION

This collection took its name from the town of
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, which was the birth-
place of one of the men who assisted in its compila-
tion. Nahum Mitchell was born in East Bridge-
water, February 12, 1769. His first American
ancestors came to Plymouth in the third ship, which
arrived there in 1623. One who knew the musician
says of him, "He was one of nature's noblemen, a

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 169

gentleman of the old school, courteous, compas-
sionate, unselfish, honorable and industrious." He
graduated from Harvard in 1789, taking the
Bachelor's degree, which was followed in due time
by the Master's degree. He studied law in Ply-
mouth and began its practice in his native town in
1792. He was for many years in the public serv-
ice of his State. He was a State representative
1803-05, and 1839-40; judge of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas for ten years from 1811 to 1821 ; State
senator, 1813-14; a representative to the Eighth
Congress at Washington, D. C. ; one of the council
of the governor of Massachusetts, 1814-20, and State
treasurer from 1822 to 1827. He also served for a
time as treasurer and librarian of the Massachusetts
Historical Society. His love for music began in
early life, and continued to the end. His early pro-
ductions were written in the style which predomi-
nated in that day, wh2e his later worts, which were
attempts at reform, were very popular. His name
does not appear as the compiler of the Bridgewater
Collection, but it was known by his contemporaries
that his was the moving spirit in its preparation.
It was the joint product of Benjamin Holt, Nahum
Mitchell, and Bartholomew Brown. It was first
issued in 1812, and during the next twenty-four
years passed through twenty-six editions. Some of
these editions were merely reprints, with the year
of printing changed, while others differed in having
some tunes omitted and new ones added. This col-
lection was also called Songs of the Temple or Tern-
pli Carmina, and on account of its popularity
exerted a great influence in promoting a reform in

170 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the style of church music in New England; and in
some of the common tunes the compilers ventured
an improvement of the harmony.

On the first day of August, 1853, Judge Mitchell
went to Plymouth, where he was witnessing from
the steps of Pilgrim Hall the pageant of the
embarkation of the Pilgrims from Delft Haven for
America. Missing his pocketbook he stooped over
to look for it, when he fell senseless. He lived, how-
ever, to reach his home in East Bridgewater, but died
the same day at the age of eighty-four. Of him
also it was said that he was the oldest of the Ameri-
can composers of note. Mr. Moore, in his Cyclo-
pedia of Music, published in 1856, says that Mr.
Mitchell "in conjunction with the Rev. Mr. Buck-
minster, of Boston, compiled a small volume of
church music called The Brattle Street Collection,
which was published in 1810. In that year there
was printed in Boston by Manning and Loring, a
collection of tunes which is probably the one referred
to, bearing the title, LXXX Psalm and Hymn Tunes
for Public Worship "adapted to the meters used in
churches." In the copy of this book which is in the
Library of Congress there is folded within the cover
the following note apparently in a contemporary
hand :

At a meeting of the standing committee of the church in
Brattle Square, January 14, 1810, voted that Mr. Bryant P.
Tilden, Mr. Bartholomew Brown, and Mr. Ebenezer Withing-
ton be a committee with the advice and assistance of the Rev.
Mr. Buckminster to have a small selection of sacred music
to be used in the publick worship of the society and to cause
the same to be published and distributed in the several pews.
At a meeting of the church in Brattle Square January 14,

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 171

1810 voted that the society approve of the above vote, and
that Elias Mann be added to the said committee. Attests
Peter Thacher, clerk.

This action of the church and its standing com-
mittee was carried out and the volume prepared,
but neither the book itself nor the vote of the
church shows that Mr. Mitchell had any hand in
it ; however, as he and the others named had worked
in conjunction on other selections, it is not improb-
able that he did some of the labor on this.

JOHN W. NEVIUS

1774-1854

JOHN W. NEVIUS was one of the three compilers
of The New BrimswicJc Collection of Sacred Music,
printed in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1817. Of
the other two, Cornelius Van Deventer and John
Frazee, I have been unable to find any information.
John W. Nevius was born in Somerville, New Jersey,
December 22, 1774. On May 12, 1796, he married
Mary Rollin. He was a carpenter by trade but
took a lively interest in music, taught it for several
years, and was the leader of a brass band while living
in New Brunswick. He was a probate judge for the
decade from 1839 to 1849, and an elder in the Old
School Presbyterian Church for over fifty years.
The later years of his life were spent in Sunbeam,
Illinois, where he died October 12, 1854.

172 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

GEORGE E. BLAKE
1775-1871

GEORGE E. BLAKE, one of the extensive publishers
of music in Philadelphia, was born in Yorkshire,
England, in 1775. He came to America in 1793
when the yellow fever was raging in the Pennsyl-
vania city and the people were dying so rapidly that
there were scarcely enough able-bodied left to bury
the dead or care for the sick. "Every one," he said,
"seemed frightened out of their wits." He did not
flee from the city, as many who were able had done,
but did his part in helping those in need, and when
the danger had passed he began teaching the clarinet
at South Third Street, in a room over John Aitken's
music store. Benjamin Carr was Aitken's successor,
and he was followed by Mr. Blake. The latter com-
menced the publishing and selling of music in 1802
at No. 13 South Fifth Street, in a small odd-fash-
ioned building that served him both as a store and
a residence for many years, and that was still stand-
ing in 1875.* At the time of his death, which
occurred February 14, 1871, at the age of ninety-
six, he was the oldest music publisher in America.

His contribution to the literature of music in-
cluded a number of books of piano music, and The
Vocal Harmony, "a collection of psalms, hymns,
anthems, and chants, compiled from the most
approved authors, ancient and modern." This has
over fifty pages of engraved music, is not dated,
but was issued from his office when it was located at
No. 1 South Third Street.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 173

STEPHEN ALDINGTON

REFERENCE must be made to another Philadelphia
book, A Valuable Selection of Psalm and Hymn
Tunes "from the most esteemed English authors . . .
and now used by the congregation at the Inde-
pendent Tabernacle in Philadelphia," compiled by
Stephen Addington, and published in 1808 by Mat-
thew Carey, The congregation for which this book
was especially printed was organized in 1804 under
the title of "The Independent Tabernacle," and it
had erected a building in Ramstead Court, west of
Fourth Street and above Chestnut. In 1816 the
Tabernacle was carried over to the Reformed Dutch
denomination, and three years later its members
renounced that jurisdiction, and were received into
the Presbytery of Philadelphia as the Seventh Pres-
byterian Church. The old church was removed in
1842, and a new one erected in a new location.
Stephen Addington was an Englishman, and his
"Selection" had been first published in London in
1792.

SAMUEL WILLARD
1776-1859

SAMTTEI, WIIXA&D was the author of nearly two
hundred hymns and he compiled two books of hymns,
and two editions of his Deerfield Collection of music
were issued. He was a native of Massachusetts, hav-
ing been born in Petersham on April 16, 1776. His
early years were spent on a farm, and he was nearly
twenty-one before he began to prepare himself for

174 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

college. He was graduated from Harvard in the
class of 1803, and was a classmate of James Savage,
whose Genealogical Dictionary did so much to pre-
serve the records of the early families of New Eng-
land. The year following his graduation from col-
lege was spent as assistant in Exeter Academy, and
for the two following years he was tutor at Bowdoin
College. In 1807 he received a call to the church in
Deerfield, Massachusetts, but his theological views
were so broad that the first council to examine him
would not pass him or ordain him. Later another
council was called, and he became pastor of this
church. His eyes gradually failed him until he
became totally blind, and in 1829 he felt it his duty
to resign from his active ministry* He continued to
reside in this town most of the balance of his life,
preaching occasionally up to the time of his death,
October 8, 1859, He was married in 1808, and had
three children.

WRITINGS

He was a prolific writer, most of his work having
been prepared for the press and printed after the
loss of his sight. One of the first efforts of Doctor
Willard in his parish was a reform of the church
music, which had been degraded to the light compo-
sitions of the day. He restored the old stately
tunes, training the choir, leading in church, holding
singing schools sometimes Sunday evening after the
two services of the day. Besides numerous religious
articles he prepared a series of school readers, several
books on the subject of education and several col-
lections of music and hymns. Of these latter were

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 175

his Regular Hymns 9 numbering 158 songs, composed
altogether by himself, and published in 1823 ; a small
tract, also written by himself, and printed in 1826,
entitled An Index to the Bible with Juvenile Hymns;
and a compilation, Sacred Music and Poetry Recon-
ciled, which was issued in 1830, and which contained
518 hymns from various authors, nearly 180 of
them being his own. In the Library of Harvard
College is a manuscript in which all of his hymns
appear, revised and corrected by their author, and
preceded by an elaborate treatise, in which he
explains and advocates the theory of "a coincidence
between the musical and the poetical emphasis."
The subject was one that engaged his mind and
occupied his pen for many years, and all his own
hymns were written or altered with a view of prac-
tically illustrating this thought. Doctor Willard
claimed no high poetic merit. Yet his hymns, how-
ever modest their claim, are filled with the sanctity
of his own spirit; they are musical in their rhythm
and smooth in versification. To such an extent had
he exercised and strengthened his memory after he
was deprived of his sense of sight that he could
readily repeat any one of his hymns.

His wife was born in Hingham, and thither he
moved for a few years after he resigned from his
church. It was while here that one collection of
hymns was made, and on the title page he states
that it was "adopted, while in manuscript, by the
third Congregational Society in Hingham. 55 The
first edition of The Deerfield Collection of Sacred
Music was printed in Greenfield in 1814, and a
second was issued four years later containing addi-

176 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

tional pieces. Mr. Willard returned to Deerfield
after a few years of absence, and there remained
for the rest of his life. Harvard conferred upon him
the degree of A.M. in 1810, S.T.D. in 1826, and
from Bowdoin College he received the honorary:
degree of A.M. in 1815.

SOLOMON WARRINER
1778-1860

SOLOMON WABEINEE was a descendant of the
William Warriner who settled in Springfield, Mas-
sachusetts, about 1638. He was born March 24,
1778, at Wilbraham; married in 1801 Eleanor
Keep, sister of the Rev. John Keep, of Oberlin, Ohio,
and a year after her death in 1810 he married Mary
Bliss, the daughter of Luke Bliss, of Springfield.
His family was an interesting one. The oldest son,
who bore his father's name, was a singer in Saint
George's Church, in New York city, at the time of
the pastorate of Dr. Stephen Tyng. Another son
was a minister; another a Sunday-school superin-
tendent, and a daughter married Charles Merriam,
one of the publishers of the early editions of Web-
ster's Unabridged Dictionary.

The early years of Solomon's life were spent on
his father's farm. When still young he gave evi-
dence of extraordinary musical powers and used to
sing the alto in the village church. At twelve he
was drummer in the militia company at Wilbraham.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 177

He became a lieutenant about 1802 and during the
War of 1812 his regiment, which was an artillery
regiment under Lieutenant Colonel William Ed-
wards, of Northampton, was called out for thirty-
five days duty at South Boston, from October 2 to
November 5, 1814. When old enough to enter busi-
ness on his own account he became a dealer in gen-
eral merchandise in Springfield*

Doctor Josiah G. Holland, in an editorial pub-
lished after his death, thus summarizes the musical
career of Mr. Warriner :

That which has made Colonel Warriner more widely known
than anything else was his devotion to sacred music and his
agency in developing it in this region. He had the direction
of the music in the old church of this city for a great many
years with one intermission. His work led him to Pittsfield
in 1815, but after remaining there for five years the people of
Springfield fairly brought him back* They could not get
along without him. He was here in May, 1820, when the
First Church was dedicated and got up the music for the
occasion. He became a somewhat noted compiler of music.
The Springfield Collection was the name of the book of sacred
music published by him in his younger days (1813). After
this he was associated with the celebrated musician, Thomas
Hastings, in the composition and publication of Munca Sacra,
a first-class book of sacred music. He maintained a very
pleasant correspondence with Doctor Hastings till his closing
days. Colonel Warriher was the first leader of the first
music society ever formed in Springfield, -the old Handel and
Haydn Society. Indeed, Colonel Warriner was the great
authority and standard in all musical matters throughout this
region, and did more than any other man to elevate the style
of sacred music in western Massachusetts. In the old church
his choir numbered from seventy five to one hundred, filled
all the singing seats and ran over.

His later years were spent in his garden and as
prudential committee of the city schools. He led

178 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the choristers in singing Doctor Holland's hymn,
"Thou didst bless the garden land/* at a famous
horse exhibition in Springfield in 1853. In 1886 at
the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anni-
versary of the founding of Springfield the tunes
were selected from Colonel Warriner's publications.
He became the chorister in the First Church in
1801 and held the position for more than forty
years. He could sing bass or tenor with equal ease,
and he was so good a leader that when he left the
city temporarily, the members of his church raised
twelve hundred dollars to bring him back.

Music

Warriner's Springfield Collection, copyrighted
and printed in 1813, was a book of 150 pages, and
was oblong in shape. It is said that in this book
the air was for the first time in this country given
to the treble instead of the tenor voice. Thomas
Hastings had about this time issued a Utica Collec-
tion for the use of the Handel and Burney Society
of that city, and in 1816 these two were united and
published as the Musica Sacra, or the Springfield
and Utica Collections United, This became a very
popular book, was reprinted in as many as ten edi-
tions, both in the oblong form, and some in octavo
style.

Solomon Warriner continued to reside in Spring-
field until his death, June 14,. 1860, at the age of
seventy-two.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 179

OLIVER SHAW 1
17791-1848

Music has always been a favorite vocation for
those who are blind, since it is their most effective
means of communication with the world without
them. Therefore it was most natural that Oliver
Shaw, when he became blind at the age of twenty-
one, should turn toward music as the most available
means of earning a livelihood. He was born March
13, 1779, at Middleboro, Massachusetts. Both his
parents, John Shaw and Hannah Heath, were also
natives of that town. He had two brothers and five
sisters, but he was the only son who reached major-
ity. When he was a young boy he was cautioned
about handling a pen knife, but in spite of the warn-
ing he stuck it into his right eye, and in a short
time the sight of that eye was gone. His father was
a navigator, and in order to be nearer the sea,
moved his family to Taunton, in Bristol County,
where Oliver had the advantages of Bristol Academy,
he being one of the first pupils of that institution
which had been only recently established in that city.
He was then seventeen years old. As soon as he
had finished his schooling he went to sea with his
father and often assisted in taking the observations.
On one occasion he was observing the sun when he
had only partly recovered from an attack of yellow
fever, and so injured his left eye that at the age of
twenty-one he became totally blind. Now every
avenue for advancement seemed closed before him,
and for a while he knew not what he could do. Then

*From The Choir Herald.

180 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

his father learned that a Mr. Birkenhead had just
arrived from England, and had established himself
as a teacher of music in Newport, so the blind boy
was placed under his instruction for two years. His
next teacher was Gottlieb Graupner, of Boston.
This was about 1803. Graupner had arrived in
Boston in 1798, and established a music printing
business, which he continued for twenty-seven years.
He also kept pianofortes on sale and for rent and
did tuning for those who called upon him. He was
one of the founders of the Handel and Haydn Soci-
ety and played the double bass in its orchestra for
many years. It may be that Shaw took lessons from
him on other instruments than the piano and organ ;
we are sure, however, that he continued to learn in
Boston from another teacher named Thomas Gran-
ger, an Englishman, and by him was taught to play
upon wind instruments. After two years instruc-
tion he located in Dedham, where he began his career
as a teacher of music. It is probable that while he
was in Dedham Lowell Mason came under his influ-
ence. Mr. Mason was a native of Medfield, a neigh-
boring town, and on one occasion remarked that he
was "indebted to him [Oliver Shaw] for his start
in life that he owed all to him. 5 ' This is certainly
a superb honor to have started the career of one
who did so much for the cause of sacred music as
Lowell Mason.

PROVIDENCE, R. L

Dedham was not to be the scene of Mr. Shaw's
life-work, for in 1807 he was induced to move to
Providence, where he had a boy lead him about

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 181

as he visited the homes of his pupils. For many
years he was organist of the First Congregational
Church, of which the Rev, Henry Edes was the
pastor from 1805 to 1832. He organized several
bands of music, and for many years selected the
musicians that took part in the commencements of
Brown University. He was a. very popular teacher
and often gave forty lessons in a week. Frequently
he both boarded and lodged his scholars, providing
for ten at a time in his own home. This home was
a veritable house of music, with a piano in every
room, and in a large one on the first floor there were
three pianos and an organ.

THE PsAiiLosriAN SOCIETY

Oliver Shaw had not been in Providence long before
he and seven others joined in meetings for mutual
improvement in psalmody. This was in 1809, and
among the members were Moses Noyes and Colonel
Thomas S. Webb, of whom the latter moved to
Boston in 1815, and was elected the first president
of the Handel and Haydn Society there. After sev-
eral years of "informal meetings this group was in-
corporated as the Psallonian Society "for the pur-
pose of improving themselves in the knowledge and
practice of sacred music and inculcating a more
correct taste in the choice and performance of it."
The attendance books of this society are in the
rooms of the Rhode Island Historical Society in
Providence, and the first list gives the names of
thirty-five men and fourteen women, while the last
roll shows forty-one men and twenty women. The
last annual meeting was held October 10, 1832, and

182 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

so the organization came to an end. During the
sixteen years of its incorporated life it gave thirty-
one concerts the programs of which are still pre-
served in Providence. One of them, given February
15, 1820, was for the sufferers from the fire in
Savannah, and the net proceeds were $82. These
concerts were held at various hours, the times of
opening the doors ranging from five-thirty to seven-
thirty, and the concerts beginning at times from
six-thirty to seven-forty-five.

FAMILY

Having settled in Providence as his home, he soon
found a wife, and was married October 20, 1912, to
Sarah Jencks, the only daughter of Oliver Jencks,
a surveyor of that city. Their family consisted of
two sons and five daughters. One of the sons, Oliver
J. Shaw, inherited the musical qualities of his father,
became a teacher and composer, settled in Utica,
New York, and died there in 1851. Of the girls,
Sarah was a singer, and often took part in the
concerts given by her father. In 1834s Mr. Shaw
allied himself with the church, joining the Second
Baptist, now the Central Baptist Church, of Provi-
dence, He was very devout in his religious life and
often used his own music for his favorite hymns, and
the singing of them to his accompaniment upon the
organ was an inspiring addition to his family devo-
tions. Frequently the students from the college and
other visitors stayed to family prayers. His patri-
otism was voiced in the stirring inarches which he
composed; his politics may be surmised from the
names of the instrumental pieces that he wrote, and

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 183

the titles he gave to his hymn tunes suggest the
local geography. "Taunton" was the home of his
youth, "Bristol" the county in which it was located,
"Dighton" a neighboring town; and the following
are streets in Providence: "Weybosset," "Meeting,"
"Benevolent," "Pleasant," and "Planet."

Music AND BOOKS

A complete list of his vocal pieces shows at least
seventy-one, written between the years 1812 and
1846; his instrumental numbers, written from 1831
to 1840, were twenty-six. This does not include
the sacred music that was contained in the books
he compiled. His first book was a small one of a
few pages called The Gentleman's Favorite Selection
of Instrumental Music, and is said to have been
published at Dedham in 1805. The Columbian
Sacred Harmonist was the joint work of Oliver
Shaw, Amos Albee, and Herman Mann, and was
printed in Dedham in 1808. Amos Albee was a
native of Medfield, and in 1805 had issued from
Dedham the Norfolk Collection. He was a teacher
in Medfield during the years 1796-1798. In the
book that he compiled with Oliver Shaw he had two
tunes "Tennessee" and "Medfield." Herman
Mann was the printer. Born in 1771, he had estab-
lished his business in Dedham in 1797, and continued
there with a single year's intermission until his
death in 1833. In this book Mr. Shaw had four-
teen pieces.

His next book was The Musical Olio, consisting
of songs, and it was printed in Providence in 1814.
The next year he finished his Providence Selection of

184 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Psalms and Hymns, a book of 110 pieces, including
thirteen of his own, and had it printed at Dedham
by his friend Herman Mann. This book also con-
tained four pieces by Moses Noyes, one of the
founders of the Psallonian Society. In 1819 he pub-
lished in Providence The Melodia Sacra, to which
he added a subtitle, "The Providence Selection of
Sacred Music," and dedicated it to the Psallonian
Society, of which he was the dominating spirit for
the sixteen years of its existence. A collection of
sacred songs, anthems, and other pieces, all orig-
inal, was copyrighted in 1823. Another volume of
Original Melodies followed in 1832, and then his last
was The Social Sacred Melodist, printed for him in
his home town of Providence in 1835.

HYMNS

As early as 1830, when Button and Ives com-
piled The American Psalmody, Shaw's hymns began
to be copied into other books besides his own. The
book referred to has three of Mr. Shaw's. The
Melodia Sacra, 1852, had one. Few later hymnals
have contained any work of his. The Baptist
Hymnal of 1883 has his tune "Gentleness," which is
repeated in Sursum Corda, another Baptist book,
and it is also in the book formerly used in the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, South. It is arranged from
his most popular song, "There's Nothing True but
Heaven." It is said that the proceeds from this
one song amounted to $1,500. It was repeated
night after night by the Boston Handel and Haydn
Society, and was widely circulated. It was also one
of the pieces played at his funeral.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 185

EZEKIEL GOODALE
1780-

The Hallowell Collection of Sacred Music was the
product of the Handel Society of Maine. It is not
stated who was the compiler, but it was recommended
by both the president and the vice-president of the
society named. It was printed and published by
Ezekiel Goodale at Hallowell, in 1817. For a second
edition issued two years later there were added six-
teen pages. Most of the tunes were by European
composers, though we find Tuckey's Psalm 97, and
a tune named "Canton," by Supply Belcher, a Pine
Tree State musician. One tune y here called
"Oporto," is the well-known "Portuguese Hymn."

Mr. Goodale was born in West Boylston, Massa-
chusetts, in 1780. After passing his majority, in
1822 he removed to Hallowell, Maine, and having
spent a few years in book-selling, he opened a print-
ing establishment in 1813, "At the Sign of the
Bible." In 1820 Frank Glazier, the son of Mr.
Goodale's sister, entered the business with his uncle,
and with changing partners the firm continued until
1880.

ANTHONY PHILIP HEINRICH
1781-1861

ANTHONY PHILIP HEINRICH, often called "Father
Heinrich," was born in affluence in Schoenbuchel,
Bohemia, March 11, 1781. When he reached man-
hood he became the principal in an extensive bank-

186 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ing house in Hamburg, and during his travels in
connection with his business he went to Malta, where
he purchased a Cremona violin, and at once pro-
ceeded to learn to play it. His next extended
travels brought him to Lisbon, thence to America in
1818, and he settled in Philadelphia for a while,
where he directed the music in the Southwick The-
ater. It was while there that he learned of the
failure of his business house, and he was reduced
to poverty thus suddenly. From Philadelphia he
went on to Louisville, Kentucky, supporting himself
by giving violin lessons. He lived for some time at
Bardstown among the Indians who then inhabited
that section of the country, and many of his musical
compositions refer to these aboriginal companions.
He was a species of musical Catlin, painting his
dusky friends upon the musical staff, instead of upon
canvas. His work as an American composer is
important from the fact that "though not the first
to recognize the North American Indian as a fit
subject for music he was the first to do so in sym-
phonic and choral works of large dimensions calling
for an orchestra of almost Richard Straussian pro-
portions, and indeed, the first to show, as a sym-
phonic composer, pronounced nationalistic aspira-
tions. 55 (See the report of the Library of Congress
for 1917.)

In 1832 we find him in Boston, where he was for
a while the organist in the Old South Church. It
was during this year that Nathaniel D. Gould pub-
lished his National Church Harmony and he placed
therein four of the hymn tunes of Professor Hein-
rich. One was called "Antonia," the Latin form of

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 187

his own name, and it was also the name of his daugh-
ter. In 1838 we find that this venerable and tal-
ented musician had taken up his residence in New
York, and a writer in the Boston Musical Gazette
for that year has the following :

Years have passed since we had the pleasure of taking him
by the hand, or of seeing that hand sweep the keys with its
lightning rapidity, producing its enraptured tones. We most
cordially wish him success, both with his "Bonny Brunette,"
which no doubt is worthy of all the critical care and attention
he has paid to it; also with his mighty "Condor," of which
we have had a goodly account. Cannot this gigantic bird
wing its way hither, or is our climate too cold and uncon-
genial to excite it into song? We understand that Mr.
Heinrich still employs his time in composing, and that the
fire of his genius is still in full glow.

In the meantime "Father Heinrich" had visited
London, where he played in the Drury Lane Orches-
tra for thirty-six shilling a week. Then he went on
to Germany, and the scenes of his youth. After his
return to this country a short biography of him
was printed in a Baltimore paper, which called out
a correction from Mr, Heinrich, giving us some idea
of his married life. He said, "Having only been
wedded once and not to a lady of wealth, but one
abundantly rich in beauty, accomplishments, and
qualities, of a noble heart, I draw a veil over my
(other) private life."

His wife was an American, whom he had mar-
ried, presumably, in Bohemia, for she died there in
1814, and their infant daughter, Antonia, was com-
mitted to the care of a relative at Grund near Rum-
burg. During his visit to his native land he tried
without success to find his daughter, but on his

188 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

return to America he found that she had followed
her father, and they finally discovered each other.

In 1842 he took part in a Grand Musical Festival
in the Broadway Tabernacle in New York, and this
city was his home for most of the remaining years
of his life. He died in New York, May 3, 1861, and
the notice of his death states that for the last four
months he was confined to his room by a serious
illness which he bore with Christian resignation.

Soon after his arrival in this country he learned
of the failure of the banking house with which he
was connected, and so to earn a livelihood he began
to compose music. He had finished seventy-five
complete works, including several operas, when they
were all destroyed by fire. A number of his com-
positions were written for such an extensive
orchestra that many of them were never given, and
a still larger part remain in manuscript. A for-
tunate purchase by the Library of Congress has
placed his work where it is accessible to the music
student, and there is also among his papers much
material consisting of letters, memoranda, and news-
paper clippings for a future biography. We will
close this article with an incident from Hewitt's
Shadows on the Wall.

The eccentric Anthony Philip Heinrich, generally known as
"Father Heinrich," visited Washington, while I resided in
that city, with a grand musical work of his, illustrative of
the greatness and glory of this republic, the splendor of its
institutions and the indomitable bravery of its army and navy.
This work Heinrich wished to publish by subscription. He
had many names on his list; but, as he wished to dedicate it
to the President of the United States, and also to obtain the
signatures of the Cabinet and other high officials, he thought
it best to call personally and solicit their patronage.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 189

He brought with him a number of letters of introduction,
among them one to myself from my brother, a music publisher
in New York. I received the old gentleman with all the
courtesy due to his brilliant musical talents; and, as I was
the first he had called upon, I tendered him the hospitalities
of my house "potluck" and a comfortable bed, promising to
go the rounds with him on the following morning .and intro-
duce him to President Tyler (whose daughter, Alice, was a
pupil of mine) and such other influential men as I was
acquainted with.

Poor Heinrich! I shall never forget him. He imagined
that he was going to set the world on fire with his "Dawning
of Music in America"; but, alas! It met with the same fate
as his "Castle in the Moon" and "Yankee Doodliad."

Two or three hours of patient hearing did I give to the
most complicated harmony I ever heard, even in my musical
dreams. Wild and unearthly passages, the pianoforte abso-
lutely groaning under them, and "the old man eloquent," with
much self-satisfaction, arose from the tired instrument, and
with a look of triumph, asked me if I had ever heard music
like that before? I certainly had not.

At a proper hour we visited the President's mansion, and
after some ceremony and much grumbling on the part of the
polite usher, were shown into the presence of Mr. Tyler, who
received us with his usual urbanity. I introduced Mr. Hein-
rich as a professor of exalted talent and a man of extraor-
dinary genius. The President after learning the object of our
visit, which he was glad to learn was not to solicit an office,
readily consented to the dedication, and commended the under-
taking. Heinrich was elated to the skies, and immediately
proposed to play the grand conception, in order that the
Chief Magistrate of this great nation might have an idea
of its merits.

"Certainly, sir," said Mr. Tyler; "I will be greatly pleased
to hear it. We will go into the parlor, where there is a
piano, and I will have Alice and the ladies present, so that
we may have the benefit of their opinion; for, to confess the
truth, gentlemen, I am but a poor judge of music."

He then rang the bell for the waiter, and we were shown
into the parlor, and invited to take some refreshments at the
sideboard. The ladies soon joined us, and in a short space of
time we were all seated, ready to hear Father Heinrich's
composition; I, for the second time, to be gratified. The com-

190 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

poser labored hard to give full effect to his weird production;
his bald pate bobbed from side to side, and shone like a bubble
on the surface of a calm lake. At times his shoulders would
be raised to the line of his ears, and his knees went up to
the keyboard, while the perspiration rolled in large drops
down his wrinkled cheeks.

The ladies stared at the maniac musician, as they, doubtless,
thought him, and the President scratched his head, as if
wondering whether wicked spirits were not rioting in the
cavern of mysterious sounds and rebelling against the laws of
acoustics. The composer labored on, occasionally explaining
some incomprehensible passage, representing, as he said, the
breaking up of the frozen river Niagara, the thaw of the ice,
and the dash of the mass over the mighty falls. Peace and
plenty were represented by soft strains of pastoral music,
while the thunder of our naval war-dogs and the rattle of our
army musketry told of our prowess on the sea and land.

The inspired composer had got about half-way through his
wonderful production, when 3VIr. Tyler restlessly arose from
his chair, and placing his hand gently on Heinrich's shoulder,
said,

"That may all be very fine, sir, but can't you play us a good
old Virginia reel?"

Had a thunderbolt fallen at the feet of the musician, he
could not have been more astounded. He arose from the
piano, rolled up his manuscript, and, taking his hat and cane,
bolted toward the door, exclaiming:

"No sir; I never plays dance music!"

I joined him in the vestibule, having left Mr. Tyler and
family enjoying a hearty laugh at the "maniac musician's"
expense.

As we proceeded along Pennsylvania avenue, Heinrich
grasped my arm convulsively, and exclaimed:

"Mem Got in himmel! de peoples vot made Yohn Tyler
Bresident ought to be hung! He knows no more apout music
than an oyshterl"

He returned to New York by the next train, and I never
heard any more of the "Dawning of Music in America."

Mr. Heinrich died quite poor in New York. He was, in his
earlier days, a very wealthy and influential banker in the city
of Hamburg. His fondness for music, however, drew him
away from the less refined but more profitable operations in
the money market.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 191

CHRISTOPHER MEINECKE
1782-1850

MUCH of the musical history of Baltimore during
the early part of the nineteenth century centers
around Saint Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church.
As early as 1817 its fourth edifice was erected, and
it was in this building that John Cole and Chris-
topher Meinecke officiated. Only a very few facts
have been gathered about Mr. Meinecke. First let
us quote from Hewitt's Shadows on the Wall:

Charles Meinecke was a fine pianist as well as organist. A
German by birth, he possessed the German faculty of amass-
ing money, leading a bachelor's life and economizing to a
miserly extent. He was a quiet, unobtrusive man, easy in his
manners, and when he died he left a large property to his
relatives in Europe. He composed many secular songs as
well as sacred, and his piano music, generally variations, was
quite popular. He died in 1850.

After a long search a correspondent in Baltimore
found the exact date of his death to be November
6, 1850, and he quotes the following from The Sun:

Death of a musician. Mr. Christopher Meinecke, exten-
sively known in this city as a composer and a musician, died
on Wednesday evening. The deceased had attained to a con-
siderable eminence in his profession, and was much esteemed
for his integrity and virtue.

The American added that he died after a brief
illness, was a native of Germany and for many years
a resident of this city;

,The records of the Probate Court reveal the sur-
prising fact that at his death he possessed an estate
which amounted to $190,000, a very large sum for
that period. Curiosity led us to investigate the

192 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

reason for the accumulation of such an amount, for
surely it could not have been gathered from his
receipts as a teacher of music, or a church organist.
The real source of his wealth was fortunate invest-
ments. He bought real estate in the city of Balti-
more, and held it until its value was greatly
enhanced.

Christopher Meinecke, often called Charles, was
a native of Germany. He came to this country in
1800, at the age of eighteen, landed at Baltimore,
and continued to live in that city as his home until
his death. His father was organist to the Duke of
Oldenburgh, and consequently the son had the advan-
tages of a complete musical education. His talents
both as a composer and performer were of a very
superior order. He excelled especially as a pianist ;
he was a brilliant concerto player, a quick reader,
and accompanied the voice as only the sympathetic
performer can. In 1817 he visited Europe where
he was introduced to Beethoven, and submitted to
him a "concerto" which won from him high approba-
tion. Mr. Meinecke returned to Baltimore in 1819.

Music

He composed considerable music, both secular and
sacred, and his productions were highly esteemed in
his day. In 1821 he composed a "Te Deum" which
was performed in Saint Paul's Church, and drew
favorable comment from a musical journal called
The Euterpiad. A "Messe, (Lateinisch)" of
eighty-two pages and marked "Op. 25,'* is undated
and was published in Leipzig; a co'py of this is in
the Lowell Mason Collection of Yale Library. In

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 193

184*4 John Cole copyrighted a book called Music
for the Church, "containing 62 Psalm and hymn
tunes, . . . composed for the use of the choir of
Saint Paul's Church," Baltimore, by C. Meinecke,
organist. This was a book of 100 pages, and near
the end appears his "Gloria Patri," a melody which
has been the most commonly used of all the work
of this composer. His music has been introduced
into hymnals only to a limited extent. In 1859 the
Rev. N. C. Burt, a Baltimore 'pastor, made A
Pastor's Selection of Hymns and Tunes and used
three of Mr. Meinecke's tunes. As Dr. Burt was a
resident of the Monumental City when his book
was prepared, a few words regarding him may not
be out of place in this article about a fellow-citizen.

NATHANIEL CLARK BUET

Nathaniel Clark Burt, born in Fairton, New Jer-
sey, April 23, 1825, graduated from Princeton in
1846, and from its theological seminary three years
later. After ordination into the Presbyterian min-
istry he held three pastorates of five years each at
Springfield, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; and Cin-
cinnati, Ohio. Then on account of failing health
he traveled in Europe and the Holy Land, spending
the last years of his life in Southern Europe, where
he undertook the care of young ladies who wished
to complete their education abroad; and he died
in Rome March 4, 1874. It was while pastor of
the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church in Balti 1 -
more that he prepared especially for the use of his
own congregation the book of music already named.
He wrote considerable for the religious press, and

194 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the observations on his trip to Egypt were given
to the public in a book called The Far East. His
love for music is there manifested by numerous
examples of the songs of the boatmen on the Nile,
the stringed band at the hotel, and the Moham-
medan worship.

THOMAS HASTINGS 1

1784-1872

THOMAS HASTINGS, born in Connecticut, spent the
greater part of his active musical career in the
Empire State, first at Utica, and later in the city
of New York To him and Lowell Mason is due a
larger proportion of the psalm tunes of American
origin now in common use among Protestant
peoples than to any other two men. The Episcopal
hymnals, however, still cling to music of English
origin including many by Barnby and Dykes, though
slowly introducing tunes by American composers.

BIOGRAPHY

Thomas Hastings was born October 15, 1784, at
Washington, Connecticut, and was the son of Seth,
a country physician and farmer. When the boy was
twelve years old the family removed to Clinton, New
York, a town which was then near the western fron-
tier, and at eighteen he was leading the village choir.
Such education as could be obtained in the country
school was all the preparation he had for his life-
work. In 1828 he moved to Utica, where for nine

1 Vom The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 195

years he edited a weekly religious paper, The
Western Recorder. This gave him a channel
through which to express his musical opinions, and
these were the subject of many an editorial. In
1832 he went to New York city at the request of
twelve churches which had combined to secure his
services in the leadership of their choirs. He was
a Presbyterian, and for several years was choir-
master in the Bleecker Street Church of that denomi-
nation. His son, Thomas S., once president of the
Union Theological Seminary, said of him, "He was
a devout and earnest Christian, a hard student, and
a resolute worker, not laying aside his pen until three
days before his death." He was a diligent reader
of the Scriptures, was a concordance in himself, and
his own copies of the Word of God form quite a
little library. He is properly referred to as Doctor
Hastings, for the University of the City of New
York, recognizing his musical abilities, conferred
the degree of Mus. Doc. upon him in 1858. He
died in New York city May 15, 1872.

MUSICAL WOEK

Doctor Hastings is said to have written six hun-
dred hymns, composed about one thousand hymn
tunes, issued fifty volumes of music, and published
many articles on his favorite subject. All the recent
hymn books contain both hymns and music of his.
The first lines of some of his most frequently used
stanzas are, "Delay not, delay not, O sinner, draw
near," "To-day the Saviour calls," "He that goeth
forth with weeping," and "Hail to the brightness of
Zion's glad morning." His Essay on Musical Taste

196 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

was first given to the public in 1822, and it excited
so much interest that he was said to be a generation
ahead of his time. A new edition appeared in 1853,
and a reviewer says that "it speaks well for the
advance of musical knowledge and taste that this
scholarly treatise should be called for anew. It
treats upon precisely the topics on which correct
views are most important, and it treats of them with
great ability.* 5 In 1854* a book dealing with Forty
Choirs came from his pen. These forty groups do
not, he says, represent actual choirs, but all the
characters had been met with in those that he had
taught.

MUSICA SACEA

When Hastings was directing a County Musical
Society he felt the need of a small collection of tunes
for his work, and he proceeded to compose music
adapted to that purpose. This was called The Utica
Collection, and was merely a pamphlet of a few
pages. A few years before this Solomon Warriner,
of Springfield, Massachusetts, had issued The
Springfield Collection (1813), a selection of 150
pages of sacred music from the works of European
authors, and in 1816 these two collections were
united to form the first edition of the Musica Sacra,
which became so popular that it was reissued with
slight changes almost every year up to 1836, The
first four editions were printed in the quarto form,
like the present-day hymn books, but the fifth was
issued in two forms, the quarto and the oblong, so
as to suit all tastes. The preface says :

The shape of the book which has always incommoded the

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 197

instrumental executant, is now changed for his accommodation,
and though the vocalist might have preferred the former
shape, yet in consequence of the present arrangement he will
have the advantage of possessing a greater quantity of matter
than could otherwise have been presented to him at the present
reduced price.

OTHER BOOKS

A Musical Reader of eighty-four pages was
issued from Utica, New York, in 1819 : then followed
The Juvenile Psalmody, in 1827, and many others
in rapid succession. It will suffice to name only
those that were the most popular. These were The
Manhattan Collection, 1837; The Sacred Lyre,
1840; The Selah, 1856; and The Songs of the
Church, 1862. The Mendelssohn Collection he edited
with William B. Bradbury in 1849, and he was one
of the four who issued The Shawm in 1853. His son,
Thomas S., helped him in the preparation of the
Church Melodies in 1858. And so we might go on
with a list that would be uninteresting to the ordi-
nary reader.

USE

During the life of Mr. Hastings his music was very
popular, and some of his compositions still hold a
place in the hymnals. It is but natural that some
of his lesser pieces should give place to the new
music that is constantly coming into use. An
examination of a dozen hymnals, both denomina-
tional and unsectarian, shows at least four that are
contained in eight of them. "Toplady" is in every
one; "Ortonville," in ten; "Retreat," in nine; and
"Zion" in eight. Each book has from one to eight
of Hastings* tunes. Mr. Hastings did not always

198 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

write over his true name, and for that reason did
not receive credit for all the pieces that he wrote.
His "Selah" is made up largely from his own com-
positions, and even if we take only those that bear
his name, we have ninety-nine. We also find a num-
ber attributed to "Kl ff." This is a nom de

plume used by him, and this is his reason: **I have
found that a foreigner's name went a great way, and
that very ordinary tunes would be sung if 4 Pales-
trina* or *Pucitto' were over them, while a better
tune by Hastings would go unnoticed." The Selah

has a tune by Zol ffer, which is probably another

of his nom de plumes. There are also a number
under the name "Carmeni," a name which I have not
been able to locate in any other book, and these may
be tunes by our author.

ANECDOTES

Many interesting facts are told of the Utica
musician. He and two of his brothers were complete
albinos. His hair was entirely destitute of color so
that he looked old while he was still young. He
was absent-minded at times, and it is told of him that
one evening he rode to his school and walked home,
oblivious that his horse was still hitched outside. He
was nearsighted, and when directing his classes his
head was bowed down close to the book, and moved
across the page as his eyes followed the music. In
spite of this defect he was able to direct with the
book either side up, and when practicing with his
brothers he would sometimes stand in front of them
and follow from over the back of the book.

Much of his work was done in connection with

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 199

Lowell Mason and William B. Bradbury, and these
three led the prevailing school of sacred music at the
beginning of the last century.

ARTHUR CLIFTON

1784-1832

WHAT became of Philip Anthony Corri, the eldest
son of that Dominico Corri, who came from Italy
to England in 1774, and soon thereafter established
himself in a music business? The members of the
Corri family were all more or less musical. The
second child was Sophie, a singer and a harpist, born
in 1775, who married, in 1792, a Bohemian musi-
cian, J. L. Dussek. A few years later he and his
father-in-law began a partnership in a music store,
which soon ended in failure, and Dussek fled to the
Continent, where he had varying fortunes till his
death in 1812. Montague was the next son, born in
JMinburgh, who became a composer and arranger
of music. Dominico, the father, left London after
the failure of his music venture, and went to Edin-
burgh, where he was a publisher and teacher for
many years. He was the conductor of the Musical
Society of Edinburgh, was a fine musician and an
enterprising business man, and did much to improve
the musical tastes of the Scottish capital. He wrote
a number of operas, made a collection of the favorite
songs of Scotland, and compiled a Musical Dic-
tionary.

But it is the career of the oldest son which inter-
ests us just now. The English National Biography

200 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

tells us that Philip Anthony Corri published many
songs and piano pieces, and in 1813 did much to
promote the foundation of the Philharmonic Society.
Shortly after this date he settled in America, and
there the authentic history of him seems to lose
itself.

The recently published history of the London
Philharmonic Society states that the first meeting
for its organization was held on Sunday, January
24, 1813, and that P. A. Corri was one of those
present. He was one of the original members, and
also a director for the first season. The first con-
cert was given on Monday, March 8, 1813, and Mr.
Corri took one of the parts in a vocal quartet, sung
in Italian, and in the second part of the program
he took part in a chorus from Mozart, also sung in
Italian. As no further reference to him occurs in
the history of this society, it is evident that he left
England shortly afterward, and that further record
of him is to be sought in the United States.

The next item is an advertisement, copied from a
London paper into The Euterpiad of Boston, Sep-
tember 14, 1822, and reads as follows:

ADVERTISEMENT. 100 REWARD

"Whereas, Philip Anthony Corri, musical composer and
teacher, left this country aibout five years ago for New York,
and his personal abode is desired to be known to the adver-
tiser, but not for any hostile purpose, this is to give notice
whoever will, within six months from this date, furnish satis-
faction to Mr. Harmer, solicitor, Hatton Garden, of the pres-
ent residence of the said Mr. Corri, so that an interview may
be obtained with him, shall be paid a reward of 100.

N. B. It has 'been reported that the above-named P. A.
Corri, after his arrival at New York, proceeded to Philadel-
phia, thence to Baltimore and there married a Quaker lady.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 201

It has also been asserted that he is returned to England. The
said P. A. Corri has a sharp, Italian visage, sallow com-
plexion, black curly hair, black eyes, and is bald on the
crown of the head. He is forty years of age, five feet eight
inches high, and has a soft voice and a gentlemanly manner.
London, June 17, 1822.

Arthur Clifton was an early organist of Balti-
more, and little seems to be known about his life
before he went to the Monumental City till the
appearance of a book. Shadows on the Wall, in
1877. This book was written by John H. Hewitt,
and dealt with people of Baltimore known to the
author. Many of them* were musicians. Of Arthur
Clifton he writes :

Clifton's real name was Arthur Corri. He was an English-
man by birth, and the son of the celebrated Corri, of London,
an Italian. The reason for his changing his name when he
came to this country was of a domestic nature, and I therefore
avoid giving it. He was a musician of talent: composed many
songs, duets and glees, also the opera of "The Enterprise,"
which brought out the vocal talent of Mrs. Burke (afterward
Mrs. Jefferson) on the boards of the old Holliday Street
Theater. Many of his songs were very popular; they were all
in the English style. He was a handsome man, but a man
of care, always brooding over the miseries of life, look-
ing on the dark side, never the bright. Nevertheless, when
in company, he was full of wit and anecdote, and one of the
staunchest pillars of the Anacreontic Society. H was found
dead in bed, some averring that he died of a broken heart,
his domestic misfortunes having been given to the public.

This seems to identify Arthur Clifton as the son
of Dominico Corri, and so his history acquires an
added interest for us. Following the clue of the
advertisement we sought the directories of New
York, but were unable to find either name therein.
In the Baltimore Directory for 1814 there was an
Anthony Corry, who may have been the person we

202 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

are seeking, and who had a dry goods and grocery
store on Union street. If this was Arthur Clifton,
it was before he had made the change in his name.

Arthur Clifton was the organist of the First
Presbyterian Church in Baltimore as early as 1819,
when he issued a book of music under the title of
An Original Collection of Psalm Tunes "extracted
from Ancient and Modern Composers, to which are
added several tunes composed especially for this
work."

His services were during two pastorates, those of
James Inglis and William Nevins.

The First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore was
at this time the only church of that denomination
on the west side of the city, though the Second
Church had been organized in 1804 and located in
East Baltimore. Its congregation was large,
wealthy, and influential, and it had a central loca-
tion on the site of the present Courthouse, which it
retained until 1859, when it was removed to its
present corner at Madison and Park Streets. Its
minister was the Rev. James Inglis, a native of
Philadelphia, who had been installed its pastor in
1802. He died so suddenly of apoplexy on Sunday
morning, August 15, 1820, that while his congrega-
tion was waiting for his arrival, a messenger
appeared to tell them that Doctor Inglis had
passed away. He was followed as pastor by Dr.
William Nevins, October 19, 1820. The member-
ship was strong in all the elements of material and
social power, but was waiting for pentecostal power.
In 1827 Doctor Nevins preached a sermon which
resulted in awakening a revival which spread to all

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 203

the churches of the city, and added largely to their
spirituality and numbers. Doctor Kevins died Sep-
tember 14, 1835, thus passing beyond the lifetime
of Arthur Clifton.

A few other facts about his music have been
gleaned as follows : At the laying of the first stone
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, July 4, 1828,
"The Carrollton March by Mr. Clifton was per-
formed." He composed a March in 1824 at the
request of the committee of arrangements for the
city of Baltimore which was used during the serv-
ices of welcome to General Lafayette upon the
occasion of his visit to the United States. He also
composed the music for the Annual Coronation Ode
sung at the Academy of the Visitation in George-
town, D. C., in 1831* This was one of his last com-
positions.

la the Baltimore directory for 1822 his name
appears as a professor of music at number 19
Second Street. In 1824 he is at the same address.
In 1827 he was living on Holliday Street, opposite
the theater; in 1829 and 1831 he was over 69 East
Baltimore Street. We miss his name from the 1833
book (he died in 1832), but we find one, A. Clifton,
in 1836 keeping a fancy dry-goods store at 69 Bal-
timore Street. There is no A. Clifton in the direc-
tory for 1838, but we do have a Mrs. A. Clifton in
the dry-goods business at 69 Baltimore Street, and
in 1841 Mrs. A. Clifton is in the same business at
61 Baltimore Street.

Arthur Clifton died February 10, 1832, and the
notice of his death is thus recorded in a Baltimore
paper: "Died suddenly on Friday night, Arthur

204 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Clifton in the 48th year of his age." His estate
was administered by Catherine Ringgold, and was
probated February 29, 1832. The total amount of
his estate was $639.54, and included a piano, $125,
music $10 and a gold watch, $25.

A few more facts from directories may be of
interest : Mrs. Ringgold appears in 1824 as the pro-
prietor of a dry-goods store at 43 Baltimore Street.
In 1827 Mrs. Ringgold had a fancy-dress store at
76 Baltimore Street, and in 1829 Mrs. C. Ringgold
had her fancy dry-goods store at 69 East Baltimore
Street. In 1831 there is the same entry, and it will
be noted also that Arthur Clifton appears in that
same year as a professor of music over 69 East
Baltimore Street. In 1833 Mrs. Catherine Ring-
gold had a fancy store at 69 Baltimore Street, and
in the next directory, which is for the year 1837-38,
Mrs. Ringgold's name does not appear, but Mrs.
A. Clifton has a dry-goods store at the same address.

Now we seem to have partially solved the mys-
tery of his marriage and family life, though the
record is not entirely complete. He was baptized
December 31, 1817, according to the register of
Saint Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, perhaps
by Bishop James Kent, who was then its rector, and
the next day, January 1, 1818, he was married to
Miss Alphonsa Elizabeth Ringgold, the city records
state, by Minister Kent, while the newspaper reports
of the event give the name of the officiating clergy--
man as the "Right Reverend Archbishop Marechal,"
who was then at the Roman Catholic Cathedral.
The burial records of the Cathedral have this record:
"October 9, 1829 was buried the child of Mrs. Clif-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 205

ton, whose age and sickness are not known." These
records would seem to indicate that Mrs. Clifton
was a Catholic, yet Mr. Clifton may have been an
Episcopalian, though he was organist in a Presby-
terian church. Catherine Ringgold, who adminis-
tered his estate, was probably a sister of Mrs. Clif-
ton, lived with them, and conducted the dry-goods
store at the same address. Several further facts are
necessary for a complete record, but we must be
satisfied for awhile with the results of the long
search, which has been so well rewarded.

SAMUEL DYER
1785-1835 1

SAMUEL DYER, who introduced the tune **Mendon"
into this country, was a native of England. His
father was James Dyer (1744-1797) and his mother
was Sarah Barton (1744-1833). His parents lived
first at White Chapel in Hampshire, but in 1782
they removed to Wellshire, where Mr. Dyer, Sr.,
was ordained as preacher and ministered in the
Baptist church of that place. There were eight
children born to this couple, Samuel being the
seventh, born November 4, 1785, after their removal
to Wellshire. This date is verified by the state-
ment of Mr., Dyer himself in one of his books when
he says that in 1811 he was in his twenty-sixth year.
In the summer of 1806 the family moved to Cov-
entry. Samuel spent his childhood in his native
land of England. He received some instruction in

x From The Choir Herald.

206 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

music from Mr. Thomas Walker, of London, begin-
ning in 1808. Mr. Walker was an eminent singer
and leader, and the most distinguished chorister in
London, one hundred years ago. His voice, Mr.
Dyer tells us, "was a fine counter-tenor, and of
extraordinary compass and power, and his style
animated and expressive."

In 1811 Mr. Dyer came to New York, where he
began his musical career in the United States as a.
choir leader and a teacher of sacred music, being
then in his twenty-sixth year. His first residence in
the metropolis continued only for about one year,
for in 1812 he went to Philadelphia, where a society
was soon afterward formed for the practice of ora-
torio music, and a series of sacred concerts was
given under his leadership. In July of 1815 he
visited his father's home in England, and while in
London had the great pleasure of meeting his former
instructor, Mr. Thomas Walker, and of singing
with him at the regular rehearsal of the Cecilian
Society. Mr. Walker was the compiler of a collec-
tion of tunes to accompany Doctor Rippon's hymn
book, first brought out about 1797. Just before
Mr. Dyer's visit, that is, in 1814, he had published
a selection of his own, intended as a supplement,
and entitled Walker's Companion to Rippon's Time-
book.

SACRED Music

When Mr. Dyer returned to America he brought
with him a large amount of new music, to be used in
his work. In November he was induced to settle in
Baltimore, and he was so much encouraged by the

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 207

patronage offered him that he undertook the publi-
cation of a book of tunes and anthems. This was
Dyer's New Selection of Sacred Music, and was
printed in Baltimore in 1817. This collection com-
prised not only a great variety of psalm and hymn
tunes, but anthems, odes, and choruses from many
ancient and modern composers, most of them being
such as had never before been published in this
country. He aimed to correct the faults he had
found in previous books, and mentions among others,
the following: insufficient attention to the insertion
of the useful and pleasing description of church
music, the alteration and mutilation of tunes, inac-
curacy in engraving, indifferent paper, and the use
of shaped notes. He calls attention to the clear
type and letters in his book and notes that this
class of music is mostly used "by candle light/* For
the purpose of introducing the work to more general
notice he visited, in 1818, many places south of Bal-
timore, traveling even as far as Savannah, Georgia,
and then back along the Atlantic coast as far north
as Salem, Massachusetts. In numerous places he
taught singing schools and conducted public per-
formances, and was generally "successful in effect-
ing some improvements in church music." He also
had a good opportunity of forming an opinion of
the class of pieces that were most likely to prove
generally successful.

OTHEE EDITIONS

The first edition of his hymn tunes having been
sold, he left out the anthems and issued a second
edition in Baltimore in 1820, a third in 1824, a

208 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

fourth in 1828, and the Philadelphia Collection of
Sacred Music, known as the sixth edition, enlarged,
was printed in New York the same year, 1828. The
second edition of his anthems was issued separately
in Baltimore in 1822, the third in 1834, and the
sixth, though copyrighted in 1835, was printed in
1851. Years afterward a reprint was issued by the
Oliver Ditson Company in Boston. The second and
third editions of his Anthems are especially valu-
able to the historian, as they contain biographical
sketches of the composers and much data about him-
self. He is authority for the statement that the
words. to the music of Pucitta's "Strike the cymbal"
were written by William Staughton. This piece is
contained in Father Kemp's Old Folks Concert
Tunes, and is a favorite for such concerts. The
author of the words is not shown in any copies I
have seen. But Mr. Dyer writes in the third edi-
tion of his Anthems:

Familiar as this piece is and extensive as its circulation
has Jbeen, it is yet probable that great numbers of those who
perform it are unacquainted with its origin and introduction
into this country. It was originally set to Italian words, **Viva
Enrico," and was received by Mr. Benjamin Carr, organist
and professor of music in Philadelphia, with a variety of
other music from England about 1812. On inspection Mr.
Carr was confident this piece was of a character, that would
please; he accordingly applied to the Rev. William Staughton
of that city to adapt English words to it, and brought it
forward first as a grand oratorio held under his immediate
direction in Saint Augustine's Church, April 13, 1814, at which
I had the pleasure to be present. It was published by Mr.
Carr immediately afterward and became, as was predicted, a
universal favorite* The author is an eminent composer. We
have no means of ascertaining the date of its composition, but
think it probable that it was first brought out in Italy about
1800.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 209

William Staughton was an Englishman by birth,
and removed from Philadelphia to Washington,
D. C., in 1820, to become the first president of
Columbia College, now known as George Washing-
ton University.

In the preface of his secod edition of Anthems,
Mr. Dyer says that he "proposes to publish a sup-
plement of from twenty-five to fifty pages, to appear
upon the first of October of each year, consisting
of gleanings from the latest European works and
the productions of living authors in the United
States." One other publication, copyrighted in
1880, comprising "Choruses, solos, etc.," is often
found bound in with the 1834 edition of his Anthem
book.

BIOGRAPHICAL

Samuel Dyer was married in 1807 at Bedford,
England, to Sarah Owen, and had four children.
Their second child was Samuel Owen Dyer, who was
born at Norfolk, Virginia, August 4, 1819, and died
in Brooklyn, New York, April 2, 1894. During the
years from 1829 to 1834 he was in England study-
ing music. After returning to the United States he
lived for a while in New Orleans. In 1839 he went
to New York, where he was married the next year
to Emma Price, and where he entered into employ-
ment with Firth, Pond and Company. Here he
learned the trade of piano-tuner, and it was this
company that issued the edition of his father's
Anthems that he edited. After this he devoted all
of his time to music teaching, tuning instruments,
and playing church organs. For many years he

210 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

served churches in Brooklyn in that capacity.
Samuel Dyer was a member of the Musical Fund
Society of Philadelphia, and in 1829 was the con-
ductor of the New York Sacred Music Society. The
name "Samuel Dyer" appears in the New York
directories from 1824 to 1828 as residing at 44
Lumber Street, and his New York Selection of
Sacred Music, the fourth edition of 1821, shows
upon its title page that it will be sold by him at
that address. The next directory, 1829-30, shows
him as a music teacher in Brooklyn. As his name
then disappears from the New York directories, it
may be that he moved across the river into New
Jersey, for he died at Hoboken, New Jersey, July
20, 1835.

"MENDON"

The tune "Mendon" usually attributed to Lowell
Mason, first appeared in the "Supplement of Samuel
Dyer's Third Edition of Sacred Music"; but there
it had an extra note in each line. In his fourth
edition he omitted this additional note, saying, "It
is believed that the present arrangement is the orig-
inal form." He called it a "German Air." Later
when it was introduced into other hymn books, the
melody of the last line was altered, and it became
the tune as it is now known in most of the present-
day collections. It is supposed that this change
was made by Lowell Mason, and that he gave it the
name of "Mendon." Most of the recent hymnals
give the credit for its introduction into this country
where it properly belongs, to Samuel Dyer,

I

2

l
p s

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 211

LOWELL MASON
1792-1872 1

LOWELL MASON was eight years younger than
Thomas Hastings, and both died within a few months
of each other in 1872. The first named was born
in Medfield, Massachusetts, January 8, 1792, and
was the son of Johnson Mason and Catherine Harts-
horn. His aptitude for music showed itself at an
early age and he became the leader of the choir in
his native town. The weaving of straw and its man-
ufacture into hats had been introduced about 1800,
and young Mason started in on this work with his
father; but when he had reached his majority he set
out with two other young men for Savannah,
Georgia, traveling by post chaise, and the expense
of this trip has been recorded /as ninety-seven dol-
lars. For the next fourteen years Savannah was his
home, his business that of a clerk in a bank, while
incidentally he was leading church choirs and making
a collection of music. For seven years he was
organist in the Independent Presbyterian Church,
and just before he left the city he was one of the
four who asked dismission for the purpose of form-
ing the First Presbyterian Church of Savannah.

HANDEL AND HAYDN COLLECTION OP SACBED Music

It is interesting to note the extreme modesty with
which his first collection of music was placed before
the public. While in Savannah he had compiled
from various sources a large manuscript, and return-

ifrom The Choir Herald.

212 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ing North had offered it in Philadelphia and Boston,
but without finding a publisher. He was about to
start back to Georgia when he was introduced to
the Handel and Haydn Society, and his music was
submitted to Dr. George K. Jackson, the organist
of the society, and having been approved by him an
agreement was entered into by which the book was
to be issued as the work of that body. The name of
Lowell Mason was omitted at his request, for, he
says, "I was then a bank officer in Savannah and did
not wish to be known as a musical man, and I had
not the least thought of making music my profes-
sion."

It is rather amusing to see the studied effort to
make it appear that the book was the product of
the Society, and in later editions we read, "In the
selection of the music and the arrangement of the
harmony the Society are happy to acknowledge their
obligations to Mr. Lowell Mason, one of their mem-
bers," etc. This book became very popular, running
through seventeen editions beginning with 1822 ; and
during the thirty-five years following over 50,000
copies of the various editions were sold. This was
a profitable investment for the Handel and Haydn
Society, as well as for the compiler, for first and
last it brought to each over $30,000. Doctor Mason
was a prolific writer of books, and an enumeration
of those that were issued from his pen would more
than fill the space allotted to this article. The
Choir, 1833, sold more than 50,000; The Modern
Psalmist, 1839, as many; Carmma Sacra, 1841, and
the New Carmina Sacra, 1852, more than 500,000,
while in its revised form as The American Tune

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 213

Book, the circulation of the three books reached more
than a million.

When the Handel and Haydn Collection was issued
in 1822 Mason was thirty years old, and returning
to Savannah he remained there for five years longer,
when he received an offer from Boston to go there
and lead the music in three churches, six months in
each in succession, for which he was guaranteed an
income of $2,000 a year. This contract he did not
carry out, and on being released returned to banking
for a short time, serving also as organist in the
Bowdoin Street Church. But music was to be his
life work, and he needed all his time to devote to his
plans. One of his objects was to secure the teach-
ing of music in the public schools as a regular study.
This he accomplished only after a long period of
labor culminating in 1838.

BOSTON ACADEMY OP Music

When Mason went to Boston he became a member
of the Handel and Haydn Society, was elected its
president in 1827 and served in that capacity for
five years. In 1829 W. C. Woodbridge, well known
by his series of school Geographies, returned from
Europe, where he had been to study the methods of
instruction used by Pestalozzi, and Mr. Mason, slow
in being impressed with the advantages of this meth-
od, but seeing the results attained, adopted it in
his musical work. For the purpose of promoting his
plans for the introduction of music into the public
schools he withdrew from active work in the society
that had fathered his first book and that was wedded
to oratorio and organized the Boston Academy of

214 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Music in 1832. He associated with himself in this
work George J. Webb, and together they began to
instruct children in music. Their first classes were
held in one of the rooms of the Bowdoin Street
Church, where he was organist, and the children were
taught free, the only condition being that they
would promise to attend for the entire year. By
persevering with the school officials he was at length
allowed to teach one class as an experiment, and
at no expense to the city. Thus he carried his point,
and in 1838 music was adopted as one of the reg-
ular school studies. The chief objection had been
that this study would no doubt divert the minds of
the pupils, so they would not make the desired
progress in their other work. The result was that
music really added to the zest with which their
other work was done.

CONVENTIONS

One of the most important means for teaching
music to the people was the Musical Convention,
introduced by Lowell Mason in 1834. These con-
ventions were meetings, which usually held for ten
or twelve days, and were attended by those who
wanted to learn to sing by note ; and on returning
home many of them became teachers. At first these
conventions were held in or near Boston, but when
their good effects were realized, demands were made
for them at other places, both west and south, and
good music was brought to the attention of the mass
of the people.

Mason continued to reside in Boston until 1851,
when he removed to New York, making his home with

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 215

his sons, Daniel and Lowell, Jr., who had estab-
lished a music business in that city. The degree of
Doctor of Music was conferred upon him in 1855
by the University of New York, the first instance
of the granting of such a degree in this country.
His later years were spent in Orange, New Jersey,
where he died August 11, 1872, at the age of eighty
years.

LIBBABY

Doctor Mason's library was one of the largest and
most valuable of the kind in America. A consider-
able addition was made to it in 1852 when he pur-
chased that of C. H. Rinck, who had died six years
before. This library included 830 manuscripts and
700 volumes on hymnology, and among its rarities
were volumes printed in Venice in 1589, Heidelberg
in 1596, and a French book of songs in Paris, 1755.
When he learned that the books of Professor Dehn,
a famous teacher in Berlin, and a former librarian
of the Musical Library of that city, were to be sold,
he sent an agent to secure them for his collection.
It is said that he was unable to read one of the
books that were thus acquired, but he wanted them
to add value to his growing collection. After his
death his family presented this library to Yale Col-
lege, where it is kept as a special collection.

OPPOSITION

It is not surprising that a man with such pro-
nounced as well as advanced ideas in music as
Lowell Mason should have met opposing minds. In
fact, it is only the man who moves along with the
current that finds his progress easy.

216 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

The following is taken from a reply by L. 0.
Emerson in 1916 to an attack which had been made
years before by John S. Dwight in his Journal of
Music upon the methods of teaching that subject
by Lowell Mason, I. B. Woodbury, and Mr. Emer-
son himself, to which his attention had then been
called. He says:

So it was Dwight's Journal of Music that said Lowell
Mason and other psalm-tune writers were degrading and
cheapening music? Well, we could not have expected anything
better than that from that source, for Mr. Dwight w.a 7 s not
in sympathy with the good work we were doing.

In reality we were doing more to help his cause than he
himself was doing.

His Journal was a good one, the best published at that
time. It stood for the highest and best music of -all kinds.
It did not have a large circulation. It did not go abroad
among the masses of the people.

He could talk about the musical giants of the past and
of his own time, if there were any, criticize the performances
of their music, the soloists, etc., which was all very well.

While he was doing this we were carrying the best choral
music of the various kinds, from church music to the oratorio
and opera, and also the best soloists obtainable, to thousands
and thousands of musically hungry singers and people all
over the country, teaching them how to render it and giving
them opportunities to hear the best solo singers of the
country.

If this kind of work was degrading and cheapening music,
then revive the convention and musical festival and let the
good work go on, for it is still needed.

If the thousands of singers who attended the festivals, and
the greater number of thousands who attended the concerts,
could speak with one voice, they would send up a shout in
their favor that would be heard across the continent.

When Lowell Mason organized the musical convention in
Boston and carried it from thence into the country, he set in
motion an influence that for forty years or more did more
to make this nation a musical one than any one thing else has
done.

SACRED SOXG9.
OLIVET, 6 & 1*3*

A Q . Q. j .{ % ;-y^Hpg-*~ ] 0' m g -I

'rerrl)^ * ^TTTi^T r r ii

jt^y"^5S * * I | [^ i t i i ! t ; y I T
My faith looks up to thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary,

35

S

:r- r- f

Savior di' - vine ! Now hear me while I pntj, Take ail my

- s J J I rf*

S

guilt away, Diet me from this day Be wholly thine.

First printing of Lowell Mason's OLIVET from tfacrecZ Songs,
1832. In the author's collection

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 217

In 1846 W. H. Day, editor of the American Jour-
nal of Music in Boston, and the promoter of a
numerical notation, which he had used in a recent
book, denounced Doctor Mason for his methods of
teaching, and his use of the round-note notation,
and spoke sneeringly of his Academy of Music.
Even Theodore Seward, who wrote a pamphlet on
The Educational Work of Dr. Mason, records the
fact that he did not always agree with the plans and
methods of the doctor. It is therefore pleasing to
note in this connection that Mrs. Mason wrote upon
her visiting card, and inclosed it in the copy of Mr.
Seward's essay now in the Library of Congress,
"The accompanying pamphlet gives the best repre-
sentation of my husband's work, and the only one of
any value to the world/'

TUNES

Doctor Mason's compositions are still very much
used in the hymnals. Ten of the different books now
used by as many different denominations and not more
than twenty years old have from eleven to sixty;
six tunes are in each of the ten books. Of these six
"Missionary Hymn" is said to have been the first
of his published tunes, having been issued in sheet
form in Boston, before it was included in the ninth
edition of the Handel and Haydn Collection in 1829.
It is there used with Heber's hymn, "From Green-
land's Icy Mountains," and because hymn and tune
are usually found together, the tune is called in
some books "Heber*" "Hamburg" was in the Handel
and Haydn Collection of 1824. "Olivet," with Ray
Palmer's hymn, first appeared in print in Hastings

218 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

and Mason's Spiritual Songs, 1832. "Boylston"
was printed the same year in the Choir. "Bethany"
appeared in 1858 in The Sabbath Hymn and Tune
Book. "Hebron" dates from 1830. "Olmutz,"
found in nine of the ten books examined, was
arranged in 1834 from the eighth Gregorian Tone.
Three were found in eight of the books "Laban,"
"Uxbridge," and "Ward." Had books bearing dates
nearer the lifetime of Mason been examined, the pro-
portion of his tunes would have been much larger.
But it will be a long time before all of his work has
passed out of common use.

THE REV. JONATHAN MAYHEW
WAINWRIGHT

1792-1854

JONATHAN M. WAINWEIGHT was born in Liverpool,
England, September 21, 1792. His parents were
American citizens and were on a business sojourn
there at the time of his birth, and two of their other
children were of English birth. The family returned
to this country when Jonathan was eleven years
old, and he entered Harvard college, from which he
was graduated in the class of 1812. He was a tutor
at his Alma Mater from 1815 to 1817, and part of
the time while at college he served as organist in
Christ Church, Boston. Having fitted himself for
the ministry in the Protestant Episcopal Church, he
was made a deacon in 1816, and two years later
became rector of Christ Church in Hartford, Con-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 219

necticut. While in that city he was also a member
of a literary club, associated with Peter Parley and
William L. Stone. His service to his church may
be briefly stated as follows: From 1819 to 1821
he was an assistant at Trinity Church in New York ;
from 1821 to 1834, rector of Grace Episcopal
Church, New York. In 1834 he was at Trinity
Church in Boston; from 1837 to 1854, rector of
Saint John's Chapel in New York; and from 1852
to 1854 was provisional bishop of New York. He
died September 21, 1854, and his funeral was con-
ducted from Trinity Church in New York.

His musical talent was displayed from early boy-
hood. In college he served as organist ; he presided
over the meeting at which the Harvard Musical
Association was organized. In 1819 there appeared
as his compilation "A set of chants adapted to the
Hymns in the Morning and Evening Prayer, and to
the communion service of the Protestant Episcopal
Church.' 5

Music of the Church was copyrighted in 1828, and
was an oblong book having two sets of double brace
music at the top, and several hymns at the bottom
of each page below the music. In 1852 a new edi-
tion under the same title appeared, the page made
narrower by the omission of the hymns at the bot-
tom, and printed from entirely new plates. Many
tunes occurring in the former edition were omitted,
either from the inferior character of the music or
because they were to be found in the majority of
books of psalmody ; and many new tunes were added.
In the first edition there were two compositions with
his initials attached, and the plates used in this

220 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

book were used also for the second part of Psalm-
odia Evangelica, "a collection of Psalm and Hymn
Tunes by the author of the Music of the Church,
printed in New York by Elam Bliss in 1830."

CHARLES ZEUNER 1
1795-1857

THE town of Eisleben, near Gotha, in Saxony,
where Martin Luther was born in 1483, claims also
to have been the birthplace three hundred years later
of Charles Zeuner, the distinguished organist and
composer, September 20, 1795. He was baptized
Heinrich Christopher Zeuner. We are quoting from
the Musical Cyclopedia of John W. Moore when we
write that we have no means of knowing why, on
coming to this country, he took the name of Charles.
But such was the fact. He came about 1824, and
settled in Boston, Massachusetts. After a residence
of thirty years in that city, during which he com-
posed most of his music and assisted in editing sev-
eral music books, he removed to Philadelphia, where
he served as organist first of Saint Anne's Episcopal
Church, and afterward of the Arch Street Presby-
terian Church. For several years before his death
his friends had noticed a peculiarity in his demeanor,
indicating at times a certain aberration of mind. On
Saturday, November 7, 1857, he left his boarding
house and was seen to cross the Delaware by steam-
boat; and walk into the woods. Not long after this

1 From The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 221

the body of a man was found with the head entirely
shattered with a gun, and the body was proven to
be that of Mr* Zeuner. An examination showed
plainly that he had taken his own life.

Before leaving his native land he had been a court
musician, and after he had become established in
Boston he was considered one of the best educated
musicians and organists in the country. For several
years he led an active life in the musical circle of
the Hub, and when he was to remove to Philadelphia
in 1840 one of the magazines wrote of him:

He has contributed materially toward elevating our style
of church music by his publications, and yet at the present
time his loss is comparatively little felt. He has lately kept
much retired: he bas hidden his talent and wasted it on trifles.
We hope that his new career will excite him to new exertions
and will again place him in that station in regard to the art
which he is qualified and ought to fill.

But it did not. Few if any new compositions were
written and no new books edited.

In Boston he had been president of the Handel
and Haydn Society, 1838-39, during a period when
it was expected that the president would also be the
director of the society's chorus. But his temper was
such that he could not keep harmony among the
singers, and he resigned when requested to do so.
It is said that when he did not know there was any
critic in his audience he would often play very indif-
ferently, although he was well able to perform in a
masterly manner. One morning while he was organ-
ist in Philadelphia his fancy led him to improvise
an exquisite fugue which astonished the few appre-
ciative members of his audience, but others were

222 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

shocked at the wonderful performance that they
could not comprehend. One of the latter, meeting
him in the vestibule after the service, said to him:
"Mr. Zeuner, pray is our organ out of order?
There was such an unaccountable jolting and rum-
bling in the pedals this morning that altogether it
sounded very strange indeed." This lamentable dis-
play of musical ignorance entirely overcame the
testy and sensitive harmonist, and with a contemptu-
ous hiss between his teeth he strode from his inter-
rogator and never went near that stately church
again either professionally or otherwise.

THE AMERICAN HAEP

The year 1832 seems to have marked the climax
of Mr. Zeuner's musical work. In that year his
American Harp appeared, and so successful was it
that a second edition was issued before the close of
the same year. The second edition was merely a
second printing, the contents being the same save
the arrangement of some of the pages, and the
addition of a preface, explaining why this collec-
tion was so different from those usually put forth.
Up to this time the usual collection was made up
largely of tunes from the older composers, and a
few only that were new or original. The American
Harp was an entirely new composition of Mr.
Zeuner, with the exception of five tunes, one of which
was "Old Hundred." He deprecates the adaptation
of music from secular or operatic sources. "Church
music," he says, "ought to be the most perfect in
character and style, and ought always to be free from
unhallowed associations; and its dignity and sol-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 223

emnity ought to be constantly guarded and as far
as possible religiously preserved from all derogatory
influences and corrupt and debasing tendencies."
His two tunes that are now most commonly used,
"Hummel" and "Missionary Chant," are in this
book. During this same year of 1832 he composed
three pieces for Lowell Mason's Lyra Sacra, and
also some piees for N. D. Gould's National Church
Harmony. Many of his compositions were used in
The Psaltery, 1845, by Mason and Webb. These
two musicians were members of the Boston Academy
of Music, and the choir of that organization had
presented Zeuner's oratorio, "The Feast of Taber-
nacles."

A writer in 1873 says that this oratorio was
probably destroyed a belief which arose from the
following incident : The manuscript was first offered
to the Handel and Haydn Society; the price set
on it was three thousand dollars, but the Society
declined to purchase. It was presented, however, at
the Odeon by the Boston Academy for eight even-
ings, but the result was a financial failure. Incensed
at this, Zeuner stole into the Academy, tore up and
burned all the manuscript and printed score that
he could find. One copy at least escaped destruc-
tion, and is in the Library of Congress. Its date
is 1837.

THE ANCIENT LYRE

His second book, The Ancient Lyre, was issued
under the approbation of the Professional Music
Society of Boston, and was different from The
American Harp, in that it contained both old and

224 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

new music. It was copyrighted in 1836, became very
popular, and passed through at least twenty edi-
tions. A copy of the 16th, printed in 1848, is in the
library of the American Antiquarian Society in
Worcester, Massachusetts. A book of anthems was
issued in 1831 and considerable secular music came
from his fertile mind at short intervals marches,
songs, a quickstep, etc.

PSALM TUNES

Out of the large number of psalm tunes that were
composed by Charles Zeuner only two are still in
common use. "Missionary Chant" is by far the most
popular, and is to be found in nearly all of the
larger books in use at present in the churches.
Lowell Mason once asked him why it was so pop-
ular. He said, "I was sitting on one of these seats
on Boston Common on a most beautiful moonlight
evening, all alone, with all the world moving about
me, and suddenly 'Missionary Chant 5 was given me.
I ran home as fast as ever I could and put it on
paper before I should forget. That is what makes
it please." His tune "Hummel" is almost as fre-
quently used. In this name he records his esteem
for the teacher of his early years.

Zeuner was never married, and was without rela-
tives in this country. He is described as a plump,
good-looking man with a florid, bright face, and of
a quick nervous temperament. His compositions are
well written and based on real original merit. In
religion he was a Lutheran, and his chief object in
all his compositions was to establish a chaste and
pure style in church music.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 225

SIMEON BUTLER MARSH 1
1798-1875

ONE of the first pieces of sacred music that the
amateur tries to learn is "Martyn." The reason for
this is its simplicity and its slow movement ; and it is
also probably that the words, which are usually
those of Wesley, beginning, "Jesus, Lover of my
soul," attract by their noble sentiment and their
appeal to rest from the troubles that assail us all at
one time or another. The tune was written by
Simeon Butler Marsh, and one is surprised to learn
that there is no other music of his in common use,
though he wrote many other pieces. He loved music
from the time when, as a boy of seven, he joined a
children's choir; and he wrote other music which
was sung more or less in his day. But "Martyn"
alone has survived in the hymnals of the present
time. This tune and the words of Wesley are now
so firmly wedded that the one suggests the other, and
in recent hymnals it is seldom that the tune appears
without these words. The tune was written in 1834,
but where it first appeared in print I have been
unable to determine. In the- Plymouth Collection,
compiled by Henry Ward Beecher in 1855, we find
Martyn with words of John Newton, "Mary to the
Saviour's Tomb" ; the hymn by Robert Grant, begin-
ning, "Saviour, when iir dust to thee," is set to this
tune in a book printed in 1859. But during the last
fifty years the joint product of Marsh and Wesley
has appeared together in every hymnal.

i From The Choir Herald.

226 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

The parents of our author had five children, four
of whom were born in Weathersfield, Connecticut.
In 1797 the family removed to Sherburne, New
York, and here Simeon was born on the first of June,
1798. His father was Eli, and his mother Azubah
Butler. He was reared upon a farm, and before he
was eight years old he began to sing in a children's
choir in Sherburne. When he was sixteen years of
age he secured a music teacher, and in 1817 began
to teach the singing school, which at that period was
so popular throughout the entire country. The fol-
lowing year he met Dr. Thomas Hastings in his
school in Geneva, -and from him received much help
and encouragement. For the next thirty years he
labored with congregations within the Albany Pres-
bytery, teaching choirs, and leading singing schools
with great success. In 1837 he undertook another
line of work, starting a newspaper at Amsterdam,
New York, which he called The Intelligencer, and
which later became The Recorder. This paper he
conducted for seven years, and later established the
Sherburne News in his home town.

Not all of his work was for remuneration. For
thirteen years he gave free instruction to the chil-
dren of Schenectady in his own hired room. He
made use of his knowledge of the printer's art by
setting the type with his own hand and preparing
for the press the forms of three juvenile books. In
1859 he returned to Sherburne, where he taught
voice, piano, and violin to large classes of men,
women, and children. He was the superintendent of
the Sunday school in Sherburne for six years and
for half that time the leader of the choir. Among

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 227

his compositions were two cantatas, "The Saviour,"
for mixed voices, and "The King of the Forest, 5 '
arranged mostly for boys* voices.

On his twenty-second birthday, June 1, 1820, he
married Eliza Carrier, of Hamilton, New York.
Two children were born to them, one of whom, John
Butler Marsh, was for a number of years profes-
sor of vocal culture and organ instruction in the
Elmira Female College, New York. Mr. Marsh
celebrated his golden wedding in 1870. His wife
died in 1873, after which he removed to Albany to
live with his son, and died there July 14, 1875.

SAMUEL LYTLER METCALF
1798-1856

THE payment of one's college expenses from the
proceeds of the publication of a music book is of
such rare occurrence that it is worthy of note. This
happened in the case of Samuel Lytler Metcalf, a
native of Virginia, who was born near Winchester,
September 21, 1798. While he was yet young his
parents moved to Shelby County, Kentucky, and he
began his education in Shelbyville. His aptitude for
music led him to take up the teaching of music. He
gave lessons once a week, and when only nineteen
years old he wrote a volume of sacred music, which
was published in Cincinnati at his own risk, and
which gave him sufficient funds with which to enter
college.

This book was The Kentucky Harmonist, and was
a "choice selection of sacred music from the most

228 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

eminent and approved authors of that science, for
the use of Christian Churches of every denomina-
tion, Singing Schools and Private Societies, together
with an explanation of the rules and principles of
composition and rules for learners.* 5 It was copy-
righted in 1817, and printed in Cincinnati for the
author. A second edition was called for and was
dated at Lexington in 1819, while a fourth edition,
to which he adds the letters of his degree M. D.,
was printed in 1826.

Just as he was entering upon manhood, in 1819,
he began his studies in Transylvania University, a
school in Lexington, Kentucky, which had been
founded during the year of his birth, 1798, and
which was absorbed in 1865 by the Kentucky State
University. Here he continued for the regular
course of four years, and from this university he
received his degree of Doctor of Medicine, He began
the practice of a physician in New Albany, Indiana,
later removed to Mississippi, where he met a lady
who became his wife, but who died four years later.
For many years he was a professor of chemistry in
Transylvania University, his Alma Mater. He was
a close student of a number of subjects, and pos-
sessed a well-chosen library, which was at one time
unfortunately destroyed by fire. The results of his
studies he put into permanent form in a history
of the Indian Wars in the West, a volume of Ter-
restrial Magnetism, and two volumes on the sub-
ject of Calorie, the latter of which was first issued
in 1845, and this was followed by a second edition
in 1853. This book was well received abroad^ and
Doctor Metcalf was solicited to become a candidate

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 229

for the Gregorian chair in the University of Edin-
burgh, but this honor he declined. He had studied
his favorite science in London, and in 1846 was
married a second time to an English lady in that
city. Doctor Metcalf died at Cape May in July,
1856, leaving, besides his widow, a daughter eight
years old.

THOMAS LOUD

THOMAS LOUD was one of the musical group in
Philadelphia, and was probably a native American.
He is found in that city as early as 1812, where he
finished musical training under George Pfeffer. He
became so efficient that the rivalry between him and
his teacher was settled by a public performance in
favor of the pupil. His ability made him popular
as an organist and a conductor of choruses. He was
one of the directors of the Musical Fund Society of
his home city. In 1824, when he was organist of
Saint Andrew's Church, he published The Psalmist,
"a Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes arranged
for the organ or pianoforte." This was a book of
sixty-four pages, contained some of his own music,
and was written and engraved by Joseph Perkins.
Another book of his was printed in New York in
1853 and was called The Organ Study, "being an
introduction to the practice of the organ together
with a collection of voluntaries, preludes, original
and selected, and a model of a church service."
This was also a small book, having only seventy-five
pages. The date of Mr. Loud's death has not been
discovered.

230 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

HENRY KEMBLE OLIVER
1800-1885

STREET," the best known of the tunes
of Henry K. Oliver, was one of his first composi-
tions. In a collection of his original hymn tunes,
made in 1875, which gives the dates of the various
compositions, 1832 is assigned to "Federal Street."
One other tune is credited to this same year, but
none earlier. Its name comes from the street on
which he lived in Salem, Massachusetts. It is said
that he first thought of naming it for his wife, whose
name was Sally Cook, but finally decided upon the
street which ran past his door. The origin of the
tune is thus described by S. J. Barrows: "One
afternoon he was sitting in his library reading The-
odore Hook's novel, Passion and Principle, an
affecting story, terminating with the saddest results.
Laying down the volume, and walking around the
room, thinking of what he had read, Miss Steele's
hymn came into his mind, beginning "So fades the
lovely blooming flower," and the last verse,

"Then gentle Patience smiles on Pain.
And dying Hope revives again;
Hope wipes the tear from Sorrow's eye.
And Faith points upward to the sky."

An unbidden melody floated into his mind. He was
not attempting composition, but without effort the
words somehow melted into music. He sat down to
the piano and played the tune, adding the har-
monies ; he then put it upon paper and threw it into
a drawer, where it remained two years. When

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 231

Lowell Mason was teaching in Salem, he asked if
anyone had attempted musical composition. Oliver
produced this piece, and Mason was so well pleased
with it that he asked permission to publish it in
The Boston Academy Collection of church music
which he was then preparing. This book issued in
1836 and "Federal Street" appears in it set to the
words of the last stanza, but changed in the first
word to "See gentle Patience smiles on Pain."

No other words than the first stanza quoted are
given in the composer's collection of original tunes,
nor in his Collection of Church Music issued in 1860.
This setting does not appear in any recent books.
In fact, this tune is not wedded to any particular
hymn. In nine of the thirty books examined it is
set to the hymn of Joseph Grigg, beginning, " Jesus,
and shall it ever be."

During almost all of the long life of Henry K.
Oliver's eighty-five years, music held him captive.
"He was familiar, 55 he tells us, "with music from
his mother's knee, and sang with her the old melo-
dies of Billings, Holden, and other early American
writers. The divine art had become to him as the
years increased more alluring, more loved, and more
venerated." He was born November 24, 1800, in
Beverly, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Oliver
and Elizabeth Kemble. His education was thorough
and his public life active. From the Boston Latin
School he went to Phillips Andover, then two years
to Harvard College, entering Dartmouth College in
the middle of his course, and at the age of sixteen
graduating in 1818. Harvard honored him in 1862
by granting him his degree of A. B. and also A. M.

232 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

and placed his name among the graduates in the
class of 1818. In 1883 Dartmouth granted him the
degree of Mus.D. He entered the choir of the
Park Street Church in Boston at the age of ten
years. He was a church organist for thirty-six
years and a school teacher for twenty-four. He
married, August 30, 1825, Sarah Cook, of Salem.
A rapid survey of his labors from 1844! shows him
Adjutant-General of the State of Massachusetts for
four years, superintendent of the Atlantic Cotton
Mills in Lawrence for ten years, mayor of that
city for one year, treasurer of his native State dur-
ing the period of the war, and the first chief of
its Bureau of Labor for ten years. After four
years as mayor of his home town of Salem he
retired to his home on Federal Street, where he
died August 12, 1885. This old house has been
famous in Salem history. On the parlor walls there
is so-called landscape paper representing scenes in
Paris. There was an old-fashioned tall clock on
the stairway, and when I visited his daughter some
years ago I found upon the wall in the hallway a
picture of the old gentleman as he was winding the
clock. The door is in the colonial style, and has
been made the subject of a souvenir postal.

He was the boy soprano in Boston when the only
instrument was a bass viol. Later the bassoon and
the flute were introduced, and before many years,
but not until after much discussion and opposition,
the organ had become the accepted accompaniment
to the hymn tunes and anthems. As early as 1826
he organized and managed the Old Mozart Associa-
tion in Salem; for the twenty years from 1832 he

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 233

was connected with the Salem Glee Club. His Col-
lection of Original Hymn Tunes is dedicated to the
Salem Oratorical Society, which he refers to as an
association of amateurs which has successfully ren-
dered the most difficult and the best work of the great
authors within the brief period of a half dozen
years, and has attained a conspicuous rank among
the most eminent of kindred associations. In this
work he had no small part. The ease with which he
composed tunes is illustrated by "Merton," which
was done in church during the time of the sermon.
Not finding any tune that suited him for the hymn
to be used at the close of the service, he wrote out
the four parts of this tune, gave them to the mem-
bers of his choir, and they rendered it so acceptably
that the pastor inquired where the organist had
obtained the new tune. When he confessed that he
had made the tune during the service, the minister
rebuked him, but forgave him when reminded that
he was known to make notes on the margins of his
sermons of thoughts that came to him, which could
be developed later. For many years "Merton" was
one of his most popular hymn tunes.

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
1801-1890 1

ONE of the most difficult to sing of the hymns to
be found in many of the recent collections of church
music is Newman's "Lead, Kindly Light/ 5 First,
the irregularity of the verse. By this I do not
mean that the rhythm is irregular, for if the sense
of the words be disregarded, it will be found that
the words flow along smoothly, but I mean that
the sentences are irregular, running over from line
to line, with stops in the middle of some lines, where-
as, in most hymns each line is a sentence or a clause
by itself. A second reason is that the music too
is irregular. The short notes come in unusual
places, and the time must often be changed to suit
the words in the various stanzas. The chief reason,
however, I think, is the fact that few singers know
what the writer meant to express, and as they do
not understand what the idea really is, they cannot
reproduce it in song. One of the early compilers
of tune books says, "Sentiment and expression ought
to be the principal guide in vocal music/* But the
expression cannot be correct unless the singer feels
the sentiment of the words that are sung.

In order, therefore, to understand this hymn, we
must stop awhile and recall the facts of Cardinal
Newman's life, and try to realize to some extent his
feelings when the words of this hymn came from

iFronx The Choir Herald.

237

238 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

his heart. John Henry Newman was born in Lon-
don, February 21, 1801. Both his parents were
religious. His mother was Huguenot. His father,
a banker, died when John was quite young. Of him-
self he says: "I was brought up from a child to
take great delight in reading the Bible, but I had
no formal religious convictions till I was fifteen. 5 '
We may hastily follow his education by noting a few
dates. He was graduated from Trinity College,
Oxford, in 1820, became a Fellow in Oriel College in
1822, and a tutor in 1826. He had been ordained
a deacon in the Church of England in 1824, and
the following year was ordained a priest. In 1828
he became vicar of Saint Mary's, the university
church, a position which he retained until 1843,
just a short time before he joined the Church of
Rome. His theological studies and discussion had
inclined him toward the Roman Catholic Church, and
he was received into that communion in 1845. From
1848 to 1884 he was the Father Superior of the
Oratory of Saint Philip Neri at Birmingham, and
for the next four years he was the rector of the
Catholic University in Dublin. In 1879 he was made
a cardinal, and he died August 11, 1890, at Birming-
ham, England.

THE TEACTABIAN MOVEMENT
Beginning about 1830 there was a strong move-
ment which arose within the Church of England,
tending to clear up some of the obscure points of
difference between that church and the Church of
Rome. In 1828 Newman had met John Keble, that
quiet and zealous advocate of the doctrines of the

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 239

Established Church, who refused an influential and
remunerative position in the West Indies, preferring
rather "a better and holier satisfaction in pastoral
work in the country." They became firm friends,
though the future cardinal always held the quieter
man in awe, and when their ways diverged in 184s5,
it was a source of deep regret to Keble. On July
14, 1833, Keble had preached a sermon in the uni-
versity pulpit under the title of "National Apos-
tasy, 95 and this date has often been referred to as
the beginning of the so-called Tractarian Move-
ment, for this sermon brought about a series of
ninety tracts in which the disputed doctrines were
discussed.

THE HYMN

Keeping in mind the fact that his religious con-
victions were not firmly established until his entrance
into the Catholic Church in 1845, we may now go
back to the year 1832, when he was vicar of Saint
Mary's, and when on account of failing health he
was obliged to seek rest and change of scene in a
trip to Italy. Regaining health and strength, he
was anxious to return to England, where he felt that
he had a mission. He says : "I was aching to get
home, yet for want of a vessel, I was kept at Palermo
for three weeks. At last I got off on an orange
boat, bound for Marseilles. Then it was that I
wrote the lines, 'Lead, Kindly Light,* which have
since become well known. We were becalmed a whole
week in the Straits of Bonifacio. I was writing
verses the whole time of my passage." In another
place he gives the date of its composition as June

240 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

16, 1833. In the above quotation, taken from New-
man's "Apologia pro Vita Sua," it is noted that the
word **light" is not spelled with a capital letter.
This hymn was first published in the British Maga-
zine, and then in his Lyra Apostolica in 1836. With
these facts in mind, let us read over the words with
no reference to the lines of poetry, but with a
desire to get the meaning from "between the lines."

"Lead, kindly light,

Amid the encircling gloom, lead them me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet.
I do not ask to see the distant scene:
One step enough for me.

"I was not ever thus,

Nor prayed that thou should'st lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path;
But now, lead thou me on.

I loved the garish day; [bright or splendid day]
And spite of fears, pride ruled my will:
Remember not past years.

"So long thy power has blessed me,
Sure it still will lead me on o'er moor and fen,
O'er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn, those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since and lost awhile."

His writings are in faultless English style and
show a devout and saintly spirit. The hymn just
quoted is written in the simplest Anglo Saxon words.
Some one has called attention to the fact that at
least thirty consecutive words of one syllable may
be found in the first stanza, and it is most interest-
ing to note that of the one hundred and thirty
words in the three stanzas, only sixteen are pro-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 211

nounced as of more than a single syllable. Mr.
Newman himself, with becoming modesty, attributed
much of the popularity of his hymn to the music
which was written for it by Joseph B. Dykes, but as
the tune to which a hymn has become wedded always
suggests the words which are usually sung to its
notes, it is certain that it is the hymn itself that
attracts the soul of the listener.

Several years ago the following appeared in a
weekly paper:

Andrew Carnegie has engaged one of the most prominent
organists in the city [New York] to awaken him on the organ
with the strains of "Lead, Kindly Light." If it is true that
our first thoughts in the morning have much to do with our
conduct during the day, surely Mr. Carnegie has chosen a
most heavenly way of beginning the day.

GEORGE JAMES WEBB 1
1803-1887

A cABEPuii study of the names of the tunes given
by George J. Webb to his compositions in the M as-
sachusetts Collection of Psalmody, 1840, would
make one familiar with many of the people and
places mentioned in the Bible, for fifty-four of the
ninety-nine are from that source. Some of those
commonly known are "Abednego," "Brasilia,"
"Jubal," and "Naomi." Another series might be
made of the mental and moral qualities, such as
"peace, joy, adoration and sincerity." Still another
group suggests geography, as "Genoa," "Piedmont,"
"Thebes," "Corea" and "Amazon." He was a pro-

iFrom The Choir Herald.

242 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

lific composer, contributing nearly one hundred
pieces to this one book alone, which he edited.

His long life embraced the period covered by
George Kingsley, George N. Allen, W. B. Brad-
bury, and John Zundel, and included the active
musical careers of Lowell Mason, George F. Root,
Benjamin F. Baker, and Thomas Hastings. He was
born June 24, 1803, at Rushmore Lodge, Wiltshire,
near Salisbury, England. His father was a large
landowner, and though possessing little technical
musical knowledge, he was a good singer, and
wanted his children to have instruction in that
branch. His mother was a cultured musician, and
began the training of heF son before he was seven
years old. His first experience at a boarding school
was at Salisbury, where he came under the instruc-
tion of Alexander Lucas, ^father of the Charles
Lucas who was at one time principal of the Royal
Academy of Music in London. Here he learned to
play the piano and violin, without any idea of mak-
ing more out of his music than his own pleasure.
At sixteen he had gone back to his father's house,
but it was evident that farming was not to be his
life-work. He had felt a drawing toward the min-
istry, but realized that more education was neces-
sary for that calling than he felt that he could
afford the time to secure. When his father asked
him what he would choose for his vocation he replied
that he would be a professor of music. To fit him-
self for that work he went to Falmouth, and placed
himself under the instruction of a teacher named
.Sharp, who was also an organist there, and in a
short time he was able to take the place of his

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 243

teacher at the organ. About this time some visitors
at his home told of the opportunities that were
offered in America, and he decided to try his for-
tunes in the New World. He had engaged passage
to New York when he fell in with the captain of a
boat running to Boston, and was prevailed upon to
change his plans and sail to the latter city. It was
only a few weeks after his arrival in America that
he was engaged as organist in the Old South Church,
and for the next forty years Boston was his home,
and many of the churches of that city enjoyed his
services as a performer. The change of destination
proved fortunate for him, as he soon met Lowell
Mason, and for the rest of their lives they were
associated in musical work. The bonds that bound
them were later strengthened by the marriage of
Mr. Webb's daughter, Mary, and Dr. Mason's son,
William.

Lowell Mason had begun his plans for the instruc-
tion of children in music, and he found Mr. Webb
a valuable helper in this work. The Boston Academy
of Music was organized with this end in view, and
its classes were first held in rooms of the Bowdoin
Street Church, where Mr. Mason was the leader of
the church music. Later an unused theater was
leased and called "The Odeon." A series of Normal
Musical Conventions for teachers was begun in 1836.
The attendance at the first one was only fourteen,
but in 184*9 there were one thousand present. In
1871 he moved to Orange, New Jersey, whither
Lowell Mason had preceded him, and gave vocal
lessons in New York city, while during the sum-
mers he held a "Normal" at Binghamton, New York.

244 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Mr. Mason died in Orange in 1872, and the younger
musician died there October 7, 1887.

Mr. Root, who was associated with him in normal
work, says of him, "He was the best vocal teacher
in Boston, and the most refined and delightful teacher
of the English glee and madrigal that I have ever
known, an elegant organist, an accomplished musi-
cian and a model Christian gentleman."

BOOKS

His compilations of music include Scripture Wor-
ship, 1834; The Massachusetts Collection of Psalm-
ody, 1840; and The American Glee Book, 1841.
His work with Lowell Mason comprised both secu-
lar and sacred music, the more important books in
the latter class being The Psaltery, 1845 ; The Na-
tional Psalmist, 1848; and C antic a Laudis, 1850.
During this period the two men were professors in
the Boston Academy of Music. Mr. Webb edited
two different journals The Musical Cabinet with
T. B. Hayward in 1841, and The Melodist with
William Mason. When he issued The Massachusetts
Collection in 1840 he was president of the Handel
and Haydn Society in Boston.

TUNES

Out of the large number of tunes that George J.
Webb composed, only one has survived the period
of his lifetime, and is found in recent hymnals. This
is known by his name "Webb." It was originally
written to the secular words, " *Tis dawn, the lark
is singing." As a church tune it was set to the
words, "The morning light is breaking," and given

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 245

the name "Goodwin." I have not traced it to its
earliest appearance, but it is found in Cantica
Laudis, compiled by Mason and Webb in 1850,
where it is called "Goodwin." This name is used as
late as Hatfield's Hymn and Tune Book, 1872,
which gives both names, but after that date the title
"Webb" is adopted. In twenty-sis hymnals exam-
ined there are as many as thirteen different hymns
set to this tune, but there are two that are most
favored by compilers. Duffield's hymn, "Stand Up
for Jesus," is found thirteen times, while Samuel F.
Smith's missionary stanza, "The morning light is
breaking," the one first used with it, still leads, and
is in nineteen of the books.

GEORGE HOOD

1807-1882

THE earliest historians of sacred music in America
were George Hood and Nathaniel Duren Gould.
Both were composers of music and compilers of
books, but the facts they put into print regarding
the early history of psalmody and those who had a
part in its making are of greater value to-day than
the music which they wrote. George Hood was the
younger of the two and was the first to turn his
attention to the subject. It was in 1846 that his
History of Music in New England appeared, when
he was not quite forty years old, for he was born
February 10, 1807, in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He
was, therefore, only a few days older than the poet
Longfellow and a few months the senior of Agassiz,

246 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the naturalist. Mr. Hood's interest in music led him
to take up the teaching of that subject, first in the
public schools and then in a female seminary. He
afterward became a Presbyterian minister, and
served several churches until his death September
24, 1882.

MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS

He did not compose much music, but in the same
year that his history appeared he published The
Southern Melodist, intended for use in the South,
This book had shaped notes and a figured bass, and
contained two tunes under his name, and two com-
posed by his brother Jacob. In 1864 George pub-
lished a Musical Manual to be used as an instruc-
tion book. His History is a small book of 259
pages, and in its preparation he spent ten years of
research, the amount of matter that he was able to
collect being remarkable, considering that his was
a pioneer work. At the end of his book he has
described all the music books that were available
to him. The list, he tells us, was made from his own
library, supplemented by Mr. Lowell's large collec-
tion of American music books. It was his intention
to include all those printed before 1800, and in this
he was quite successful. In spite of its deficiencies
the results of his labors still have considerable value
for the historian. In 1882 Mr. Hood furnished for
the Musical Herald, published in Boston, a series of
sketches of the early writers of church music, from
which much information has been taken for the
sketches in this book.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 247

DEODATUS DUTTON

1808-1832

THE career of Deodatus Button was a short one,
yet it gave great promise during the few years of
his public life. He was born in Monson, Massachu-
setts, in 1808, and as his name carried a Junior,
his father's name must have been Deodatus also.
He was a precocious musician, and at the age of
sixteen was chosen to play the first organ in the
Center Church in Hartford. He completed his col-
lege course in that city, graduating from Washing-
ton (now Trinity) College in 1828. His poetical
abilities had already been discovered, and at the
commencement he was selected as the class poet, and
delivered a poem, whose subject was "Hartford."
He was licensed to preach by the Third Presbytery
of New York, but was never ordained, as he died in
New York December 16, 1832, while he was contin-
uing his theological studies in that city. He was
buried from one of the Dutch Reformed churches
there.

AMEEICAN PSALMODY

This joint compilation of Elam Ives, Jr., and
Deodatus Dutton, Jr., was first issued in 1830 in
a small edition, and reissued in the same year in a
second edition greatly enlarged with alterations and
improvements with 368 pages. The improvement
considered of most importance by the compilers was
the system of teaching music, which had been tested
in practice for some time. A third edition was copy-
righted and issued in 1834 with the name of Elam

248 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Ives only upon the title page, for Button had died
two years before.

Mr. Ives tells us that Mr. Button versified many
of the hymns in this book, and also that he did the
same for the book called "The Juvenile Lyre"
issued in 1831 in Boston, by Lowell Mason and Elam
Ives, though he had no credit for his work.

WOODSTOCK

"Woodstock" is his best-known tune, written for
the words of Mrs. Brown's hymn, "I Love to Steal
Awhile Away," which had been printed in the Village
Hymns of Asahel Nettleton in 1824s. It is in The
American Psalmody, was copied into The Boston
Academy's Collection in 1836, and appears in many
of the present-day hymnals. It was probably named
for the town of Woodstock in Connecticut, as a
number of his tunes are named for towns in that
State.

Mr. Gould, in his History of Church Music in
America, has this to say: "Button, who was prepar-
ing for the ministry, in connection with Mr. Ives,
published a book of church music in Hartford, called
The Hartford Collection, in which were many tunes
of his own composition. His skill and taste were of
the most promising order, and the tune 'Wood-
stock,' with the words 'I love to steal awhile away,'
will be associated with his name and handed down
to future ages, and sung by many on earth, while
he is singing the song of Moses and the Lamb in
heaven."

I

Q

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 249

DAVID CREAMER
1812-1887

THE first book of hymnology written about an
American hymn book was prepared by a native of
Baltimore, Maryland, who published in 1848 a Meth-
odist Hymnology, which was made up of annota-
tions upon the hymns in the 1836 edition of The
Methodist Hymn Book. For many years David
Creamer had been investigating the history of the
Methodist hymns ; he had employed agents in Europe
to purchase for him all the editions of Wesley's poems
and hymns that could be found until he had all but
a single small tract, and had also sought other
books of hymns from which selections might have
been made for Methodist use.

David Creamer was the fourth in descent from one
Henry Creamer, who had come from Germany, and
had settled in Westminster County, Maryland.
David was born in Baltimore, November 20, 1812,
the son of Joshua Creamer and Margaret Smith.
Both his parents were Methodists, and his mother's
father, John Merryman Smith, was also of that
faith. He was one of twelve children, eight of whom
arrived at maturity, married, and had families. He
was educated in private schools in Baltimore until
he was seventeen, when he entered his father's count-
ing room, and in 1832 he became a partner in the
business under the name of "Joshua Creamer & Son,
Dealers in Lumber," The firm lasted for eleven
years, when his father withdrew to engage in a com-
mission branch of the business. In the financial

250 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

crisis of 1857 his profits were swept away, and the
next year he retired from active commercial life.

He was married November 27, 1834, by the Rev.
G. G. Cookman, to Eliza Ann Taylor, a daughter of
Judge Isaac Taylor, of the Orphans' Court, who
was also a local preacher of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church^ Of this union there were four chil-
dren two boys and two girls. Mr. Creamer was
loyal to the government before and during the Civil
War, and when the inquest was held over the per-
sons killed in the attack on the Sixth Massachusetts
Infantry, April 19, 1861, as it passed through the
streets of Baltimore, he was foreman of the jury.
There is in the Library of Congress a memorandum
book, once the property of Mr. Creamer, in which
among other notes he has put down a number of
items about the trial, which appear to be summaries
of the testimony of the witnesses. It was through
his efforts that the citizens of Massachusetts learned
of the care given to the wounded and the dead by
the authorities of Baltimore. In August, 1862, he
was appointed a recruiting officer for the State of
Maryland, and in September of that year was
selected by Governor Bradford to visit the regi-
ments in and around Washington to find out their
needs. In July, 1863, he was made an assessor of
the internal revenue, and from 1882 he was a clerk
in the post office department in Washington. A
copy of his Methodist Hymnology in the possession
of the present writer contains his photograph, the
date of his birth, and a presentation to Ephraim
Wheeler, a fellow clerk in the same office.

Mr. Creamer was a life-long member of the Meth-

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 251

odist Church, having joined it when he was seven-
teen years old. At that time he was a member of
Philip Shepherd's "Sunrise Class" which met in the
Old Town Meeting House on Green Street in Balti-
more, and in 1878 he was the leader of the North
Baltimore "Sunrise Class." He was for twenty-
one years a trustee of Dickinson College, resigning
only when the infirmities of age made it difficult for
him to attend the meetings of the Board. In 1855
he was one of the School committee of the city of
Baltimore, and he was also one of the Board of Man-
agers of the "Baltimore Association for the Educa-
tion and Improvement of the Colored Race," travel-
ing, speaking and writing in its interests.

In 1836 David Creamer and John Nelson McJil-
ton started a weekly journal, The Baltimore Monu-
ment, devoted to literature, science, and music.
This contains some poems of Mr. Creamer, several
of which are set to music. The Rev. G. G. Cookman
was among its list of contributors. Mr. Creamer
seems to have withdrawn from its editorship after
Volume II, for Volume III shows T. S. Arthur as
coeditor with McJilton.

The one outstanding result of the labors of David
Creamer was the Methodist Hymnology, published
in 1848. At the General Conference of the church,
held in Pittsburgh in May, 1848, the matter of a
new hymn book was brought up, and on the second
day of the Conference James Floy, of the New York
Conference, moved that a committee of seven be
appointed to consider whether a revisal of the hymn
book were necessary. This committee reported that
a revision seemed desirable, and that it was expected

252 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

by the people, whereupon a committee of five bishops
and two laymen was appointed to make the neces-
sary revision. David Creamer of Baltimore and
Robert A, West of New York were the two laymen.
Later it was moved that William Hunter be added to
the committee, but this motion was lost. The result
of the work of this committee was issued in 1849 as
the Methodist Hymn Book of that date. Much of
the work of selecting the hymns for the new book
was done in New York, Mr. Floy assisting Mr. West
in this direction, though Mr. Floy was not of the
official committee.

The edition of 1836, which was used as the basis
of the new book, was carefully annotated by these
laymen, who placed opposite each hymn its original
source, and a number of books of various denomi-
nations in which it was then used. This book was in
the possession of Mr. West, and is now owned by his
son, and a copy of many of the notations has been
made in an edition of the 1836 book now in the
hands of the present writer. Mr. Creamer doubt-
less was the leading authority of sources. When
past seventy he writes of this book:

I was a young man in 1848 when as a native American I
received from the General Conference of that year the first
office it ever conferred upon a layman, in connection with
another member of the church, Mr. B. A. West* an English-
man, by being placed upon the Hymn Book Committee to-
gether with five ministers of the gospel. To-day, though in
my three score and tenth year, I am not in feeling an old man,
and with almost pristine vigor of soul and body it falls to
my lot in this unexpected and informal way not only to bid
farewell to the old "Collection of 1849," but to welcome with
hearty approval and high appreciation of its superior merits,
the New. Hymnal of 1878.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 253

The fraternal delegate sent from England to
this Conference in Pittsburgh was James Dixon, who
had been a minister from the year 1812, and con-
tinued to preach till 1871. Mr. Creamer met the
delegate on his arrival in New York, and accom-
panied him through Philadelphia to Baltimore,
thence by way of Washington, D. C., to the seat of
the Conference. After his return to England Mr.
Dixon put into book form his impressions of this
visit, and he has this to say regarding David
Creamer, to whom he refers as a merchant living
in Baltimore : "This gentleman left an employment
dear to his heart at New York for the purpose of
accompanying me to his native city. He had been
employed for several years in studying the hymns
and poetry of the Wesleys, and was at the time
employed in bringing out a work partly historical
and partly critical, through the press, on this inter-
esting subject. He had spared neither trouble nor
expense in the pursuit of his object, employing all
sorts of agents in Europe to collect every edition in
existence of Charles Wesley's poetic effusions. I am
not able to give an opinion of this work, as it was not
published at the time I left : but from a portion of
*copy* shown me on our route I judged it would
prove an acceptable addition to the literature of the
American Methodist Church. It had been submitted
to the inspection of a committee of the Baltimore
Conference, who reported favorably, and the Confer-
ence recommended the work to the public. This
gentleman, like all fine enthusiasts, seemed to live in
Wesleyan poetry. It was his ideal of everything
beautiful and glorious ; his mind was fascinated and

254 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

absorbed in his theme ; he discoursed not of politics,
or merchandise or material things, but of Charles
Wesley, of sacred songs, of meters, sublimities, and
devotional praise to God. It was really refreshing
to see a young man (thirty-six years old), a mer-
chant in active life, enabled to turn his thoughts so
completely from buying and selling and getting gain
as to devote his time and energies to a subject so
delicate and sacred."

From the report of the committee of the Baltimore
Annual Conference in March, 1848, the following
extract is of interest :

The book contains the results of six years of absorbing study
of this engaging branch of sacred poetry, with unequaled aids
and facilities, embodying a 'brief memoir of each Ijfcist to
whose sanctifying genius the church is indebted for these
"Songs of Zion"; verifying the authors of the hymns in our
book, as far as they have been discovered, giving in many
instances the time and occasion of their composition, and,
besides, a mass of critical observations, which we are convinced
will give new information to a majority of readers. The
entire production is so fully Wesleyan and Methodistic that
your committee are of opinion that this conference may safely
advise its immediate publication by our Book Concern; and
as the hymnology of the church is in various quarters attract-
ing increased attention, we may, as a Conference, recommend
the book to the favorable consideration of the coming General
Conference of our church.

The authority of Mr. Creamer as a hymnologist
was recognized by no less a person than Daniel
Sedgwick, a bookseller of London who devoted his
energies largely to the location of hymn books.
There is in the library of the Episcopal Diocese in
Baltimore a little book of Hymns and Spiritual
Songs, by James Maxwell, printed in 1768 and sold
by Samuel Brown in Smith Street near the foot of

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 255

Potbaker's Hill in New York. In it is the following
letter from Daniel Sedgwick to Bishop W. R. Whit-
tingham, of whose collection it now forms a part :
He writes under date of January 31, 1871 :

My anxiety to see "Maxwell" was that I supposed it to be an
English book (Mr. Creamer not informing me that it was
American) and not knowing in all my researches of such a
volume. It now appears to be a reprint of his little volume,
"Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in three books, with a prefatory
essay on Psalmody, 18mo. Birmingham, 1759." This is the
only copy of his work I ever saw, and the person I sold it to
had been looking for it twenty years and though this is some
twelve years ago, I have never been able to procure another
copy. The little volume is valuable as containing several
hymns now in use in various collections. There is never a
copy of this book in the British Museum, or in any other
person's possession than the one I possessed, I wonder if
Mr. Bird has a copy of the American edition.

The library of Mr. Creamer was sold at a public
auction sale in December, 1884. About seven hun-
dred volumes of sacred poetry went to Drew Theo-
logical Library and furnished the nucleus of the fine
hymnological collection of that institution. The
wealth of material relating to the history of Meth-
odism is indicated by the statement that the library
consisted of several thousand volumes, embracing
102 volumes of the Arminian and Wesleyan Mag-
azines, fifty years of The Christian Advocate, sixty
volumes of the Evangelical Magazine, besides other
magazines and pamphlets of denominational value.
There were also in the sale many relics and memen-
tos of the Civil War.

Mr. Creamer died on Good Friday, April 8, 1887,
in the seventy-fifth year of his age.

256 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

HENRY WELLINGTON GREATOREX 1
1813-1858

THE family of Henry W. Greatorex were famous
both as musicians and as artists. His father,
Thomas, was one of the foremost organists and con-
ductors of his time in England. For the last twelve
years of his life, covering the reign of George IV, he
was organist in Westminster Abbey, and was hon-
ored at his death with a burial within the walls of
that famous shrine. There is a tradition in his
family that while 'talking one day with the king he
claimed higher power than his sovereign. When his
Majesty pressed him for his reason, he replied,
"You are only a king, I am a Greater-Rex." It was
during the period just preceding the birth of Henry
that the Duke of Wellington was winning favor by
his military genius, and it may be that this will
account for the middle name of our musician.

The date of the birth of Mr. Greatorex is vari-
ously given, and in the absence of official documents
to determine which is correct, we will state what we
find. Appleton's Cyclopedia says that he was born
at Burton-on-Trent in 1816, and this date has been
followed by others who have written about him. But
in the notice of his death, printed in the Charleston
(S. C.) Daily Courier of September 18, 1858, the
very definite date of December 24, 1813, 2 is given.

From TLe Choir Herald.

in iV **P' ? enr ? "^sUinsto? GREATOREX on the morning of September
JSu 18 . 58 ?. * 7 dlow fever ^ Charleston, S. C.)- He was bom December 24,
1813, in London, came to America in 1836, and removed, to Charleston in 1863.

HENRY WELLINGTON GREATOREX

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 257

It is possible that the person who had the notice
written had access to his papers and that this is the
correct date. As to his birthplace it may be said
that his grandfather lived at Burton-on-Trent in
Derbyshire, and that his oldest aunt, Martha, also
had an estate there ; later when his father had settled
in London, several years before the birth of Henry,
he retained a country residence at Burton. It is
therefore more than likely that though his parents
had their home in London, they were at Burton at
the time of Henry's birth, and this surmise is veri-
fied by the records of the family. Of his early life
we have found no record, but as his father was a
thorough musician there is no doubt that the boy
received a complete training in that branch. In
1839, so one record shows, he was engaged to go
to the United States to play the organ in Center
Church in Hartford, Connecticut. He remained
there for two years, and then after an absence for
a short period returned to play the organ in Saint
John's Church for .a while. He was considered a
remarkable player for the times, and enjoyed an
unusual popularity. t

His next location was in New York, and in Novem-
ber, 1846, a local item referred to him as of Saint
Paul's Church. Later he was organist and director

To his absent relatives it will be * consolation to know that he was surrounded
by the kindest friends.

"What is this absorbs me quite,

Steals my senses, shuts my sight,

Drowns my spirit, draws my breath,

Tell me, my soul, can this be death?

Heaven opens on my eyes, my ears

With sounds seraphic ring,

Lend, lend your wings, 1 mount, I fly,

O grave, where is thy victory,

O death, where is thy sting?"

258 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

of the music in Calvary Protestant Episcopal
Church in the metropolis. In 1853 he went to
Charleston, South Carolina, as organist of an Epis-
copal church, and fell a victim to the yellow fever in
1858. He was buried in this Southern city.

FAMILY

So little regarding the family of Mr. Greatorex
has appeared in print, and the members of it have
been so difficult to locate, that an unusual interest
has been aroused to persevere until all the scattered
threads should be found and woven into a complete
whole. The following may be taken as a correct
record : Across the river from Hartford is the town
of Windsor, and here on March 11, 1822, was born
Samantha Filley, daughter of Horace Filley and
Thirzah Thorp. (This statement is from the his-
tory of Windsor, by Henry R. Stiles.) The family
records give her name as Frances. She became the
first wife of Mr. Greatorex, and while they were
living in New York there was born to them a aon,
July 11, 1846. This son, called Frank Henry, for
his mother and father, inherited the musical instincts
of his father and became a splendid singer. While
yet a young boy he enlisted during the Civil War as
a drummer in the eighty-fourth New York State
Militia, and later in the one hundred and forty-sixth
New York Infantry. During this service he was
detailed to instruct the band in one of the colored
regiments of volunteers in Texas. After his discharge
from the Volunteers he enlisted again in the regulars
July 7, 1866, in the seventh United States Infantry;

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 259

and on December 19, 1867, he was discharged in
Saint Augustine, Florida, where he settled, married,
and raised his family, and one of his granddaughters
is now singing in the oldest church in the United
States in that city. Thus the musical tastes of the
father have persisted in the line of the oldest son.
The mother died soon after the birth of her son and
was buried in her native town.

While located in New York, Henry W. Greatorex
met Miss Eliza Pratt, the daughter of a retired
Methodist minister from Ireland, the Rev. James
Calcott Pratt, and they were married in 1849.
She became as famous as her husband, though in a
different line of work, for she studied art, and won
considerable reputation with her pen-and-ink
sketches. Her pen drawing of "Durer's House in
Nuremberg" is in the Vatican. Mrs. Greatorex
was born December 25, 1810, at Manor Hamilton,
Ireland, and died February 9, 1897, in Paris,
France. Her family consisted of one son and two
daughters. The son grew to maturity, moved to
Colorado, and died there several years ago. The
daughters followed their mother's bent and became
artists, and some of the paintings of these three
ladies, mother and daughters, adorn the home of
relatives in the city of Washington, D. C. Let no
one be misled by the statement of Mr. Stiles, who
says in his History of Ancient Windsor, Connecti-
cut, that the first Mrs. Greatorex died 'leaving two
daughters, now well-known artists in New York
city,'* for these daughters were members of the
second family, as stated before.

262 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

TUNES

His Collection of 1851 has thirty-seven pieces
marked U H. W. G.," besides seventeen chants and
other pieces. This was a very popular book and
was in common use for many years, the copyright
being issued in the name of Mrs. H. W. Greatorex
at its expiration in 1879. Some of these tunes have
never been used in any other books, but a few have
been introduced into a number of recent hymnals.
The most popular tunes are "Leighton," "Geer,"
"Bemerton," and "Grostette"; "Manoah" and
"Seymour" are used as arranged by him, and his
"Gloria Patri" is found frequently. Had it not been
that the scourge of 1858 claimed him in early life,
there is no doubt that much more excellent music
would have come from the pen of Henry W.
Greatorex.

JONATHAN CALL WOODMAN 1
1813-1894

JONATHAN CALL WOODMAN is known to hymn-
book compilers by the one tune "State Street." He
was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, July 12,
1813, and died in Brooklyn, New York, February
5, 1894. He was the first assistant of Lowell Mason
in introducing the teaching of music into the public
schools of Boston. He was one of the first soloists
of the Boston Academy of Music, and on one
occasion took a solo part in the "Messiah." Several
members of the Woodman family were in Professor

iFrom The Choir Herald.

fp *>

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 263

Mason's choir, and when George F. Root went to
Boston as Mr. Mason's assistant in the schools, he
became acquainted with them, and in 1845 married
Mr. Woodman's sister, Mary Olive. Mr. Root once
said of his wife, "She was an accomplished singer,
and if my children inherit musical qualities they get
quite as much from her side of the family as from
mine." Mr. Woodman married Sarah Ann Cope-
land in 1839, and their only son, Raymond Hunting-
ton Woodman, is one of the prominent music teach-
ers and organists in Brooklyn. The father was a
fairly good organist for those early days, and his
excellent taste and ability as a choir director made
up for any lack of technical facility. He played in
the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, and at
the Packer Collegiate Institute, both of which places
have in later years been filled by the son. He was
one of the assistant teachers in the first Normal
Musical Institute held in New York by Lowell Mason
and George F. Root in 1853. He composed a num-
ber of pieces, seventeen of which appeared in The
Musical Casket, compiled by him in 1858. The copy-
right of this book was reissued in 1886. A large
part of its contents was from foreign writers ; of his
own compositions more than half were secular. One
of his hymn tunes he named "Call" his own middle
name, and the maiden name of his mother. "State
Street 55 is the last tune in the book, and is set to the
hymn of Isaac Watts beginning, "Blessed are the
sons of peace." No single hymn is wedded to this
tune, each compiler having used a different one with
the melody. The tune, however, is a very popular
one, and scarcely a book is issued without it.

264 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ABNER AND DARIUS ELIOT JONES 1

ABNEB and DARIUS E. JONES, father and son, have
at least seven books to their credit. Abner Jones
was a music teacher in New York for a number of
years. In 1835 he conducted the New York Insti-
tute of Sacred Music, and in May of that year a
concert was given under his direction by the children
of the Seventh Presbyterian Church, corner of
Broome and Ring Streets, the proceeds of which
were to be used for continuing the instruction of
the youth of that congregation in singing. He had
a tenor voice, and took a tenor part at the dedication
of Trinity Church, May 21, 1846. Very few
biographical details have been found regarding him,
but without doubt much of his time was occupied in
teaching music and arranging the collections of
sacred music that he issued.

BOOKS

In 1830 he prepared the introduction for
Psalmodia Evangelica, a collection of psalm and
hymn tunes, published by Elam Bliss in New York.

The preface states that he brings "to the work
not only skill and science, but a practical knowledge
of the art of teaching sacred and vocal music. 5 ' His
Melodies of the Church, 1832, was a collection of
psalms and hymns adapted to public and social wor-
ship, seasons of revival, and various similar occa-
sions, accompanied with appropriate music. There
were twelve pages devoted to an explanation of the

1 Prom The Choir Herald

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 265

rudiments of music, so that the book could be used
in schools or in families where the study of the sub-
ject was desired. Five of Mr. Jones' compositions
were inserted. He was assisted in this compilation
by William Blondiell, organist of the Saint Paul's
Church, who examined and corrected the music, and
by Cyrus P. Smith, organist of the First Presby-
terian Church of Brooklyn, who set the marks of
expression. In this same year he published Church
Melodies, a collection of hymns without music. In
1834 he issued in New York another book, which a
review states was his fourth. This was Evening
Melodies, a collection of sacred music, both original
and selected, together with a new and improved sys-
tem of elementary instruction in the art of singing.
His next compilation, on which he had been at work
for a long time, was not issued till 1854. This was
The Psalms of David, rendered into English verse
of various measures by Abner Jones, "professor of
music in New York." The completion of this book
had been delayed, he states in his preface, for two
reasons, partly by financial embarrassments, and
partly by the affliction which had come upon his
family in the loss of his two surviving daughters dur-
ing the years 1837-88. This is the only reference
I have found to his family except his son Darius,
who will be noticed later. In 1860 he issued The
Psalter, defined and explained.

In June, 1835, there was an Abner D. Jones sec-
ond vice-president of the Handel and Haydn Society
of Newark, N. J., and as we know that his son was
employed in Newark during his early manhood, it
seems likely that the family were living there, and

266 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

that the father may have been a member and officer
of the musical society in that city. Some of his
tunes were copied into the singing books for the next
twenty or more years, but none of them are found
in recent hymnals.

DARIUS ELIOT JONES
1815-1881

DAEIUS was the son of Abner, and was born at
Carroll, New York, October 18, 1815. For twenty
years his interests were with the business world in
New York and Newark, New Jersey. He was em-
ployed by the Mason Brothers in the former city
for a considerable time, and when in June of 1850
they began the publication of a musical monthly
called The Choral Advocate, Lowell Mason became
its editor, and Mr, George J. Webb and Mr. Jones
assistant editors. At the same time Mr. Jones was
conducting the music in Plymouth Church, and when
his pastor, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, wanted
a new hymn book for the use of his church,, he sug-
gested that Mr. Jones prepare it. The result was
Temple Melodies, issued in 1861. In Chicago he
edited the Congregational Herald ; then, feeling the
call to the Christian ministry, he entered Iowa Col-
lege at Davenport as a student, and on February 13,
1858, was ordained as a Congregational minister.
He served churches at Columbus City and Newton
Center until 1863, when he became treasurer of the
Iowa General Association. For a year he was agent
for the American Bible Society, and during the four

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 267

years from 1866 to 1870 he was agent for Iowa Col-
lege with residence at Grinnell. This school is now
located at Grinnell and is called Grinnell College.
It was while here that he issued his second hymn
book, Songs for the New Life, in 1869. From that
time on he supplied various churches in the Hawkeye
State until his death August 10, 1881, at Daven-
port, Iowa.

BOOKS

He compiled two collections of hymns, both of
which have been already mentioned. Temple Mel-
odies was the first hymn and tune book that secured
any extensive use among the Congregationalists. In
it he placed six tunes composed by his father, two
of which had been previously used in the Melodies
of the Church, 1832. There were also two of his own
compositions, including the tune "Stockwell." Songs
for the New Life was copyrighted in 1869, and the
preface is dated at Grinnell,. Iowa. In it there are
eighteen tunes by the compiler, including his "Stock-
well,* 5 which appears twice, and also one of his tunes
which he named "Magoun" in honor of the Rev.
George F. Magoun, the president of Iowa College.

STOCXWXLL

The one tune of his which has been used in most of
the recent hymnals is "Stockwell," and it usually
appears with the date 1851. It was written at least
a year earlier, for it is found in Lowell Mason's
New Carmma Sacra, copyrighted in 1850, set to the
words that are generally sung to it, "Silently the
shades of evening." The Carmma Sacra, by Lowell

268 AMERICAN WBITERS AND

Mason, was first issued in 1841, and proved such a
popular compilation that 400,000 copies of it were
sold. In 1850 a new edition of it was prepared,
called the New Carmina Sacra, and Mr. Jones con-
tributed this tune. During the same year it was
copied from this book into the first volume of the
Choral Advocate, a musical monthly magazine of
which he was one of the assistant editors. A word
may be said about the hymn that has been so long
wedded to the tune. "Silently the shades of eve-
ning" was written by Christopher C. Cox (1816-
1881), a physician of Baltimore, and was first pub-
lished in Woodworth's Cabinet in 1847, set to music ;
but after Mr. Jones had set it to his tune "Stock-
well" the hymn and tune have seldom parted com-
pany.

MARCUS M. WELLS 1
1815-1895

MAECUS MOB&IS WEIXS was born in Otsego, New
York, October 2, 1815. In early manhood he went
to Buffalo, in the same State, where he was converted
in a Baptist mission church. Later we find him at
Cooperstown, and then at Hardwick, where he had a
farm which he cultivated, and where he also made
farm implements. He died July 17, 1895, and a
memorial window was placed in the Baptist church
of that town in January, 1903. The one hymn by
which he will be known begins "Holy Spirit, faithful
Guide," and the tune which he wrote for it usually is
found with it. Concerning the origin of the hymn he

1 From The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 269

says: "On a Saturday afternoon in October, 1858,
while at work in my cornfield, the sentiment of the
hymn came to me. The next day, Sunday, being a
very stormy day, I finished the hymn and wrote a
tune for it and sent it to Professor I. B. Woodbury."
Mr. Woodbury was the editor of the New York
Musical Pioneer, but when this piece came into the
office he was in the South on account of ill health.
The hymn and tune therefore came to the attention
of Hubert P. Main, who was selecting the music for
the paper in the absence of the editor, and it was
first published in the November number of the
Pioneer for 1858. It was afterward printed in The
Pi dim King, 1866, and gradually crept into use
in the church hymnals. It is a classic as a devo-
tional hymn. It appears under different names;
often under the first line of the words, once as "Tay-
lor," twice as "Eucharist," sometimes as "Faithful
Guide," but more frequently under the single word
"Guide." In sixteen books which were examined it
appears six times with the words written for it, be-
ginning "Holy Spirit." Nine times it is set to as
many different hymns. In most of the later books,
however, both hymn and tune as written are used
together.

JOHN ZUNDEL 1
1815-1882

JOHN ZTTOTEII was German-born, but the greater
part of his life was spent in this country. He lived
here during thirty of his maturer years, and then

1 From The Choir Herald.

270 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

returned to his native land. He was born December
10, 1815, at Hochdorf, and died July, 1882, at
Cannstadt, Germany, in his sixty-sixth year. He
was an accomplished musician before he came to
America. He had been organist at Saint Anne's
Lutheran Church in Saint Petersburg, and had
served as bandmaster of the Imperial Horse Guards
in that same city ; he was also the instructor of the
children of Madame Sontag, who by her marriage in
1829 became the Countess Rossi. In October, 1847,
Mr. Zundel arrived in New York, and began his
work which was to have such an influence on the
development of sacred music. For a short time he
was organist of the First Unitarian Church in
Brooklyn, and then of Saint George's (D-octor
Tyng's) in New York. On the first of January,
1850, he became organist of Plymouth Church in
Brooklyn, and during the twenty-eight years that
followed he retired from and returned to the church
three times. Beginning with a salary of seven hun-
dred dollars, it was gradually raised until at the end
of his services he was receiving fifteen hundred dol-
lars a year. During the last few months of his
American career he was organist of the Central
Methodist Church in Detroit, Michigan. When he
left that appointment he sailed for Europe with no
intention of returning.

PUBLICATIONS

Three books were issued by him for use in the
services of the church. The Choral Friend, 1852,
was a small book of ninety-five pages, and was
printed in a limited edition, but it was warmly wel-

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 271

corned by his musical friends and contained a num-
ber of his earlier compositions that were used in his
later books. Some of the tunes had been composed
to German words, and had been sung from manu-
script at Saint Anne's Lutheran Church in Saint
Petersburg. ZundePs Psalmody appeared in 1855.
It contained many original tunes and was recom-
mended to the musical public because it was a smaller
book than those then in use, and was therefore less
expensive. Christian Heart Songs was copyrighted
in 1870. "It has required," he says, "almost a life-
time to compose its contents." He also prepared a
number of works for instruction on the melodeon
and the organ, a work on harmony, and a number of
collections of voluntaries and anthems. Twice he
was an editor of periodicals ; in 1863 he started the
Monthly Choir and Organ Journal, which ran for a
year, and a decade later he edited Zundel and
Brandt's Quarterly, a magazine each number of
which was made up of twelve pages of music, both
vocal and instrumental.

TUNES

Only two of his tunes are in common use at the
present time. The most popular one appeared in
his Christian, Heart Songs, 1870, under the name of
"Beecher," with the words of Wesley, "Love divine,
all love excelling." In some books it is known as
"Love Divine" or "Zundel." "Lebanon" is the
other tune that is found in several collections. At
least a half dozen others appear in one or more re-
cent books. He divides his compositions into two
classes, and says that the tunes composed during

272 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the early years that he was in New York were
mainly for quartet singing, and some for the Epis-
copal service, but by far the greater portion of them
were composed during his connection with Mr.
Beecher's church, with a view to their use by large
choirs, or for congregational singing. He says in
the preface of Heart Songs:

As a German-born citizen, I may take the liberty of saying
that, superior as musical education in Germany may be, or
even is, church singing has little profited by it. The Germans
sing their chorals mostly after hearing them, they learn them
partly at school, and the parents sing them to the children
from generation to generation. To introduce a new choral
into a congregation is no less trouble than to make a new
tune go in any American church, provided the tune be singable
and enjoyable at all.

THE PLYMOUTH COLLECTION

The most important work that Mr. Zundel did
was in connection with Henry Ward Beecher in the
successful introduction of congregational singing
into Plymouth Church. Mr. Beecher became pastor
of this church in 1847. He was not a musician him-
self, but was very desirous that all the people should
sing, and as there was no book that satisfied him he
suggested to Mr. Darius E. Jones, who was then
leading the music in his church, that a suitable book
should be prepared. The result was Temple Mel-
odies, issued in 1851. Mr. Zundel assisted in arrang-
ing the music for this book. There were nearly five
hundred hymns, with appropriate tunes upon each
page. This, however, was not Mr. Beecher's ideal
of a church hymn book, though it was a good be-
ginning. There were not enough hymns in this com-
pilation for him, so during the next few years he

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 273

devoted what time he could snatch from his
busy days to the collection and arrangement of
materials for a larger book, and in 1855 the Ply-
mouth Collection appeared. No publisher could be
found who had faith enough in the success of such a
large collection for congregational use as to under-
take its printing, so two members of Plymouth
Church agreed to furnish the money. Never before
had such boldness been shown in the selection of
materials. The poetry of all denominations and the
standard verse writers of his day were drawn upon.
Many exquisite hymns were taken from the Moravian
collections. Hymns from the Wesleys, Watts, Cow-
per, and Newton were included. "Some of the most
touching and truly evangelical hymns have been
gathered from Roman Catholic sources. It has been
a joy to us to learn, during our research, how much
food for true piety is afforded through Catholic
books."

The storm of protest that greeted this book
because of the introduction of Catholic hymns
for use in the churches of Protestantism may
better be imagined than described. The words
of the hymns were chosen by Mr. Beecher; but
the selection of the tunes was placed in the hands
of his brother, Charles Beecher, who was an
excellent musician, and being also a Congrega-
tional minister, was well acquainted with the
kind of music that was best fitted for the use
of congregations. An assistant musical editor
was found in Mr. Zundel, who was the organist
of Mr. Beecher's church. His ideas were conform-
able with those of his pastor, and he introduced

274 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

into the new hymn book twenty-eight of his own com-
positions. The success of the book was all that
could have been desired, and two years later a com-
mittee from the Baptist churches of New York asked
permission to have an edition issued that would have
some additional hymns especially suited to Baptist
usage. This was granted, and a Baptist edition
came from the press. The part that Mr. Zundel had
in the music of his church is indicated in the state-
ment of Mr. Beecher, written in 1871 : "Mr. Zundel
has cooperated with me for nearly twenty years in
building up congregational singing in Plymouth
Church."

WILLIAM B. BRADBURY 1
1816-1868

-LOWELL MASON was twenty-four years old, and
had just begun his musical career, when William B.
Bradbury was born, October 6, 1816, at York,
Maine, and he outlived the younger man four years,
both dying in New Jersey towns, where their homes
were only a few miles apart. William Batchelder
Bradbury was the middle child of the five in his
father's family. Both of his parents were excellent
singers, and from them he inherited his musical taste.
Before he was fourteen he had learned to play on all
the instruments that came in his way> but the organ
was not known in his Maine home. When a young
man he went to Boston, entering the family of Sum-
ner Hill, a musician and teacher, from whom he

4 From. The Choir Herald.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 275

received his first lessons in harmony. He was fur-
ther encouraged in his musical efforts by Calvin
Allen, a foreman in the employ of the Chickering
Piano Company. It was not long before he met
Lowell Mason and George J. Webb, entered their
school, the Boston Academy of Music, and joined
Professor Mason's choir at the Bowdoin Street
Church. Here he served as organist for three
months, performing the double duty of pressing the
keys to make the music, and pulling them up again
to stop the sound* For this he received twenty-five
dollars a month. At the end of the quarter he
obtained another place where he was paid one hun-
dred dollars,, and did not have to pull the keys up.

TEACHING

He was recommended by Mason to Machias,
Maine, and he lived there a year and a half, teach-
ing singing schools in the evenings, and giving piano
lessons during the day. There he doubtless found
much musical talent ; for America's first psalm-tune
composer, James Lyon, the compiler of Urania,
1761, was located as minister of that settlement in
1771, continuing twenty-three years until his death
in 1794. We can imagine that some of the older
people of the village could remember the musical
pastor of forty years before, and that his teachings
had been handed down to the later generation. For
the next few years Bradbury alternated between
Boston and Maine, and then went to New York,
becoming organist in a church where a new organ
had been introduced. There was considerable objec-
tion to this innovation, but he overcame the oppo-

276 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

sition by playing softly, and producing a subdued
effect. Here in the metropolis he began his juvenile
classes, giving his instructions freely, and closing
the sessions with a concert. At one of his Musical
Festivals he had a chorus of one thousand children,
and so far as the performance was concerned it was
a grand success, but financially it was a failure, the
deficit amounting to two hundred dollars. The con-
cert given by his Sunday-school classes of the Bap-
tist Tabernacle in 1847, was in the nature of a testi-
monial and a benefit, as at its close Mr. Bradbury
was presented with a watch. A few months later,
taking his wife and daughter, he sailed for England.
Later he went to Germany, where he remained for
two years. He studied at Leipzig, making the most
out of his time, practicing six hours a day, the
result being that he overworked his right arm so
that it was lame for several months after his return
home. On November 4, 1847, Mendelssohn died in
Leipzig, and the student attended the funeral. On
his return to America he called his next compilation
The Mendelssohn Collection, 1849.

CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES

Mr. Bradbury held his first musical convention in
1851 at Somerville, New Jersey, Later he joined
forces with Lowell Mason, Thomas Hastings, and
George F. Root, and these four formed the faculty
of the various Normal Institutes that were held in
the East during the next few years. In 1854 he
formed -a partnership with his brother, and engaged
in the piano business, manufacturing and selling the
instruments, and dealing in other musical supplies.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 277

His excessive labors induced disease of the lungs,
and during the last years of his life he was in feeble
health. He died January 7, 1868, at his home in
Montclair, New Jersey.

BOOKS

He was a prolific composer and compiler, and dur-
ing the twenty-six years of his active work, between
1841 and 1867, fifty-nine separate books had his
name upon the title page, an average of more than
two a year. The Yowng Choir, 1841, was his first
book. For Sunday schools he prepared The Oriola,
Fresh Laurels, and the Simday School Choir. In
the oblong shape there were The Choralist 9 The
Psalmodist 9 The Mendelssohn Collection, the very
popular Shawm, and The Jubilee, which sold over
two hundred and twenty-five thousand copies. There
were also Glee books Alpine, Metropolitan, and
New York Glee Books. In the small hymnal size
there was The Devotional Hymn and Time Book,
intended for Baptist Societies. Many of these books
sold in large numbers, and it has been estimated that
over two million of his works have been sold. This
success was not won without opposition. When his
book The Golden Chain came out in 1861 it became
exceedingly popular, and attained a large sale, but
it was mercilestsly criticized by his rivals on account
of a few trifling errors that it contained. These
were corrected by Doctor Hastings, who also assisted
Bradbury in much of his other work.

. USAGE
Taking the same ten books that we used in our

278 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

search for the tunes of Lowell Mason, we find that
Bradbury's tunes are found in them in an aggregate
of eighty-eight times, one book having twenty-one
different ones, and the lowest having but three.
Only one tune, "Woodworth," is found in all of the
ten books. The next most popular, tune is the one
usually set to the hymn "He Leadeth Me," and it is
found in nine of our list of hymnals. In one book it
is called "Aughton," and another has it under the
name of "Smither." The Pilgrim Hymnal is the
only one that omits it. It has the hymn, but uses
another tune. This too is the book that has the
least number of Bradbury's works. Seven books
have the tunes "Rest" and "Zephyr"; six have
"Aletta," "Brown," and "E*en Me." "Sweet Hour
of Prayer," which is so much used in books prepared
for the use of Sunday schools and social meetings,
is in only four of the church hymnals referred to.
In one of them it is called "Walford," for the blind
writer of the hymn. This is a very good showing
for a composer whose tunes have been in use for
more than fifty years. As much of this composition
was for children, and appeared in books intended
especially for Sunday schools, an examination of
similar books compiled in recent years will show the
retention of a large proportion of Bradbury's tunes.

VIRGIL CORYDON TAYLOR
1817-1891

COUYDON TAYLOB was born in Barkham-
stead, Connecticut, April 2, 1817, His father bore

VIRGIL CORYDON TAYLOR

Copy of a photograph furnished

by his daughter, Mrs. Peter A.

Porter, Buffalo, New York

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 279

the same name, and he traces his ancestry back,
partially through the female lines, to Elder William
Brewster, the pilgrim who drew up the compact on
the Mayflower in 1620. In his old home in the Nut-
meg State his father had placed for his benefit what
was called in those early days a church organ, and
on this instrument many of his musical compositions
were first played. His entire life was devoted to the
development and advancement of music, teaching
singing schools, holding institutes, and as an organ-
ist and private teacher. He located for a while in
Hartford, then removed to Poughkeepsie, New York,
in 1851, to take the leadership of the Poughkeepsie
Union Musical Association, which had been founded
the previous year. Upon his departure from the
city the Union disbanded. While there he was also
organist and chorister of the Central Baptist
Church. His wife was a fine soprano, and sang in
his choir. Later they went to the First Dutch
Church, where they performed similar parts. In
1861 he was organist and conductor of the music
in the Strong Place Baptist Church in Brooklyn.
He was organist in Niagara Falls, and finally settled
in Des Moines, Iowa, where he served Saint Paul's
Church, and where he was residing at the time of his
death, January 30, 1891.

BOOKS

Mr. Taylor compiled a number of books of music,
both sacred and secular. His first effort was The
Sacred Minstrel, published in Hartford in 1846;
The Concordia was a book of glees, issued in 1852
at New York; The Golden Lyre, I860; The Chime,

280 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

1856, New York; The Celestina, 1856, was a revision
of The Sacred Minstrel of 1846; The Enchanter,
songs and glees, 1861, New York, and a book of
chants called The Venite, in 1865. The Praise Offer-
ing was copyrighted in 1867, and contained a new
idea, by which the location of the key note was shown
either by a heavy line or a wide space. Only a part
of the tunes in this book were printed in the new
notation, for to have delayed it for a complete font
of type would, he said, have deferred the work for
another year, It was prepared especially for his
choir at Saint Paul's Church in Des Moines, Iowa.
A compilation of Greenback Campaign Songs was
issued in 1878 at Des Moines,

LOTTVAN

His single contribution to the stock of American
tunes was the tune "Louvan." It appeared in his
first book, The Sacred Minstrel, in 1846, and in
most if not all of his succeeding books. He con-
sidered it one of his best, and hymn-book editors
have confirmed his judgment by continuing its use
in their hymnals up to the present time. It was first
set to words of Thomas Moore, "There's nothing
bright above, below." Several of his tunes were used
in other hymn books published during his lifetime,
but "Louvan" is the only one now in common use.

Mr. Taylor introduced many fugue tunes into his
first book, The Sacred Minstrel, realizing the popu-
larity with which they had been held 'for the fifty
years previous, but "with such modifications as to
render their arrangement conformable to the rules
of harmony without destroying their character. 5 *

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 281

The music was written in only four varieties of time.
In The Celestina there were a number of tunes
marked "H. EL H." of which he makes especial men-
tion, and for which he claims the copyright. In
1859 B. F. Edmands introduced three of them into
his edition of The Psalmist with tunes, and attributed
them to H. H. Hawley. A fourth tune by this same
composer was presented for Edmands' work. As a
few of the tunes in Taylor's book are under the name
of H. H. Hawley, it is safe to assume that those
under the initials are by the same writer, and
not by the editor, Virgil Corydon Taylor.

ISAAC BAKER WOODBURY 1
1819-1858

BEVERLY, Massachusetts, the birthplace of Isaac
B. Woodbury, lies to the north of Salem, and fur-
ther on, toward Asbury Grove, the placid waters of
Wenham Lake are seen on the left, while on the
right, and high up above the street, is the house
that was built and occupied by the musician as his
country home. October 23, 1819, was the date of
his birth. When thirteen years old he moved to
Boston, and began the study of music, and learned
also to play the violin. At nineteen he went to
Europe to spend a year in further study in London
and Paris. Returning to Boston, he taught music
there for six years; later he joined the Bay State
Glee Club, and traveled throughout New England
giving concerts. When he reached Bellows Falls,

*From The Choir Herald.

282 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Vermont, he met the postmaster and proprietor of
the country store, John Weeks Moore, who prevailed
upon him to remain there for a while. The result
was that he organized the New Hampshire and Ver-
mont Musical Association, and continued as its con-
ductor for a number of years.

He next went to New York, and for a number of
years prior to 1851 he directed the music in the
Rudgers Street Church. On account of ill health
he was obliged to resign this work, and again he went
to Europe. Before he left he had become the editor
of the New York Musical Review and he made good
use of the time that he was away in search of health
in seeking also new music for use in his paper. On
his return he brought a large supply to use in the
preparation of the books that he then had in mind.
In the fall of 1858 he left New York, intending to
spend the winter in the South. An accident to the
vessel on which he was a passenger compelled him
to return, but again he started south by land. Going
by easy stages of about one hundred miles a day,
he passed through Philadelphia and Baltimore, and
on his thirty-ninth birthday he had reached Colum-
bia, South Carolina. Too weak to proceed farther,
he remained there for three days until his death on
October 26, 1858. He left a wife and six little ones.

Gentleness was the characteristic of the man and
his music. His compositions were for the church,
the fireside and the social circle. He wrote with
remarkable fluency, and it was surprising how much
he could accomplish in a short space of time. Just
before his death it was said that his music was sung
by more worshipers in the sanctuary than the

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 283

music of any other man. He had a beautiful voice
and sang various styles, but excelled in the ballad
and descriptive music. For sport he was fond of
hunting and duck-shooting. And in a letter to his
paper he wrote that even in winter it was his daily
custom to ride on horseback, or, when Old Boreas
blew cold, in his carriage, among the leafless trees
or the evergreen pines.

BOOKS

Music cheered and solaced him almost to his last
hour. It was but a few weeks previous to his death
that he turned from his desk, almost sinking from
exhaustion, with the remark to his broken-hearted
wife, "No more music for me until I am in heaven,"
and from that moment his thoughts were wholly
given to preparation for the expected change. The
Dayspring, which was published soon after his
death, was a sort of memorial to him, for it was
largely made up of his music, some of which had
been used before, but much of it was taken from
manuscript found in his portfolio after his decease.
This book was compiled by Sylvester Main. His
first book had been arranged with the assistance of
Benjamin F. Baker in 1842, and was called The
Boston Musical Education Society's Collection.
With this same coworker he issued The Choral in
1845. Some of his other works were The Dulcimer,
1850; The Cythera, 1854; The Lute of Zion, 1856.
For use in the South we find The Harp of the South,
1853 ; and The Casket, 1855, the latter being pub-
lished by the Southern Baptist Society in Charles-
ton, South Carolina. Besides those just named,

284 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

which were collections of sacred music, he prepared
several instruction books, one for the voice, one in
composition, and another for the organ. He also
compiled three glee books, books for children's sing-
ing schools, and books for the Sunday school. He
assisted in compiling The Methodist Hymn Book in
1857, and also the book prepared by Philip Phillips
in 1867.

USAGE

Woodbury's hymn tunes are fast going out of use.
Leaving out the Episcopal book, because there is
none of his work therein, we have examined nine
books, and in these there are nineteen different tunes
occurring thirty-eight times. Only two of these
appear in more than two different books. "Siloam"
is in eight of them, and so is the tune set to the words
"Forever with the Lord." This tune is found under
three names : in two books it is called "Woodbury,"
and in three is entitled "Nearer Home," while in the
other three it takes the first line of the hymn. It is
interesting to note that when The Methodist Hymnal
was revised in 1849 one of the members of the com-
mittee wrote on the margin of his book, opposite the
words of Montgomery, beginning "Forever with the
Lord," "These verses were objected to by a majority
of the editors and bishops" ; but Doctor Nutter, in
his annotations of the hymnal, expresses quite
another opinion when he says, "This is no doubt the
most valuable and widely used hymn the author
wrote."

One of the most popular of his secular pieces is
"Speed Away," and this melody has been used lately

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 285

with sacred words. Another song was "The Indian's
Lament," written to his friend and neighbor in
Salem, Luther O. Emerson ; the first line is familiar :
"Let me go to my home in the far distant West."
For the first song that he wrote he received the sum
of ten dollars. Its words seemed to express his every
endeavor in life, and the first line was placed upon
his tombstone in Norwalk, Connecticut: "He doeth
all things well."

SAMUEL PARKMAN TUCKERMAN
1819-1890

SAMUEL PABKMAN TUCKEEMAN was a native of
Boston, where he was born February 11, 1819. His
musical education was obtained largely abroad. He
had been an organist in his native city from 1840
to 1849, and in the latter year he went to Europe,
where he spent four years of study. He secured his
degree of Doctor of Music from Doctor Sumner,
Archbishop of Canterbury, by special decree after
an exercise of eight real parts was approved by three
of the most prominent Eoiglish musicians. The next
year, 1852, he received the degree of Master of
Sacred Music in the Academy of Saint Cecelia,
Rome. On his return to Boston in 1853 he spent
three more years as an organist there, and then
removed to New York, where he became organist of
Trinity Church.

Besides The National Lyre he compiled a book of
Cathedral Chants, in 1858, and The Episcopal Harp,

286 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

in 1844. He lectured on music, and gave many
organ recitals. He died in Newport, Rhode Island,
June 30, 1890.

ROBERT C. KEMP
1820-1897

ROBERT C. KEMP, also known as "Father Kemp,"
compiled a selection of "Old Folks' Concert" music,
and conducted many concerts of the old music dur-
ing the fifties and sixties. He was born at Wellfleet,
on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, June 6, 1820. At the
age of nine he went with his uncle upon a fishing
boat and for three years was engaged in fishing
either on the Grand Banks or along the New Eng-
land coast. At the age of twenty we find him in
Boston engaged in the boot and shoe business on
Hanover Street, the junior member of the firm of
Mansfield and Kemp. While in Boston he was mar-
ried, and soon afterward moved to Reading, where
he purchased a farm, intending to enjoy the pleas-
ures of rural life in connection with his city business.
In those days there were not the many calls for
social evenings that there are at the present time.
Music and the singing schools took up much of the
time of the young people. Reading was a model
New England town, and the idea came to Mr. Kemp
that it would be a good plan to learn the old music
of the generation past, and so he invited some of the
young people to gather at his home to pass the time
in singing the familiar songs of the day. "It then
occurred to me," says Mr. Kemp, "to revive old mem-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 287

ories by singing some of the tunes which strength-
ened the religious faith of our grandfathers and
grandmothers, and had often been the medium
through which our sturdy and pious ancestors had
lifted their hearts in thankfulness to their Maker,
for planting their home in the land of liberty."
Then he put his idea into effect.

The rehearsals were kept up, and soon "The Read-
ing Old Folks Musical Society 5 * was organized. Its
first public concert was given in Reading on Decem-
ber 5, 1854, and was a grand success. The hall was
filled and many stood outside and listened as the
"Old Folks" sang. News of this concert spread,
and an invitation was received to visit Lynn. This
trip was made in sleighs. Boston was the next place,
and Tremont Temple was engaged, with the under-
standing that if this attempt met with success others
would follow. On this occasion a special train was
chartered to take the singers from their homes in
Reading. There were eleven members in the troupe
at this time, and eleven concerts in Boston followed.
The company was then increased to forty-seven and
a trip to Washington planned. In New York they
sang before an audience of seven thousand and in
Washington they appeared before President Bu-
chanan, while on their return they gave concerts in
Baltimore and Philadelphia, and the proceeds of the
trip were given to charity. "The laughable song,
called 'Johnny Schmocker,' " says Mr. Kemp,
"which has obtained such a wide popularity, was
first sung in public by the 'Old Folks.* It was given
to me by a student in Middletown, Connecticut, with
the agreement that it should not be published. It

288 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

was published, however, and somebody must have
made considerable out of its sale.* 5

MOEE CONCEETS

At the close of the year 1860 the troupe decided
upon a trip to England. There were thirty, includ-
ing the singers and managing agents, and they set
sail on January 9, 1861. After a trip of twelve days
they landed at Liverpool and proceeded directly to
London, where a series of forty concerts was given.
These were not such a success as Mr. Kemp had
anticipated; but as he was the only one that was
ready to return, he left the party and went back to
Boston alone. The others spent some time in seeing
the sights of England before they returned. The
troupe was again reorganized and another series of
concerts was given on Monday evenings in Tremont
Temple in Boston, and a trip was made through the
Western States.

About 1870 the concert business was given up and
Mr. Eemp again went into the business of selling
shoes in Boston. His wife died about 1882 and the
later years of his life were spent in the Old Men's
Home in Charlestown, where he died May 14, 1897.
In 1857 he assisted in the preparation of The Con-
tinental Harmony, and in 1889 he compiled Father
Kemp's Old Folks Concert Music, which will be the
book to furnish for years to come the songs of the
olden time. Mrs. Kemp compiled in 1876 the
Faneuil Hall Temperance Song Book, a paper-
covered book of words containing only forty-eight
pages.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 289

GEORGE FREDERICK ROOT 1
1820-1895

DOCTOE ROOT was one of the group of music
teachers, which included Mason, Bradbury, Baker,
and Woodbury, whose activities covered the middle
third of the last century. George Frederick Root,
to call him by his full name, was born at Sheffield,
in the western part of Massachusetts, August 30,
1820. When he was six years old the family moved
to North Reading, not far from Boston, and there
his youth was spent. He does not claim that his
bent toward music was due to the local surroundings,
yet it is of interest to note that much musical his-
tory is connected with the town of Reading. As
early as 1795 Reuben Emerson, a young man pre-
paring for college, held a singing school here, and
gave to Nathaniel D. Gould his first and only in-
struction in the art of singing. After graduating
from Dartmouth College the singing master came
back to Reading, and was pastor of its church for
fifty-five years. The pupil became a music teacher,
and wrote the first History of Church Music in
America. Here too lived "Father Kemp,* 3 who
organized the Reading Old Folks* Musical Society,
and gave so many popular concerts of old-time
music during the "sixties" both in the United States
and in England.

But as to Mr. Root, his one ambition was to
become a musician. Opportunity soon led him to
Boston, and it was not long before his teacher, B, F.
Baker, asked him to learn some hymn tunes to play

i From The Choir Herald.

290 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

at prayer meetings. Soon he was given a pupil to
instruct, and then he began to teach singing schools.
Thus he was launched upon his musical career. He
helped Lowell Mason teaching in the public schools
of Boston, and there met the composer of "State
Street," J. G. Woodman, whose sister, Mary Olive
Woodman, he married in August, 1845.

He had already been settled in New York for a
year, having gone there to teach in a Young Ladies'
School, which was being conducted by Jacob Abbott,
and later he added to his work instruction in Rutgers
Female Institute, and the New York Institution for
the Blind. It was in this latter school that he had
as a pupil the blind Fanny Crosby, who in after
years wrote so many of the verses that he set to
music. In 1852 he conceived the idea of conducting
a three-months 5 session of a Normal Musical Insti-
tute for the instruction of teachers, but owing to
the absence of Lowell Mason, whom he wanted as
one of its instructors, the first session was not held
until the following year. From this time on much
of Mr. Root's labor was devoted to the Institutes.
In 1859 he went to Chicago, where his brother had
opened a music store with Mr. Cady. He was in-
terested to a small degree in the business of the
firm, and much of his publishing was now done by
Root and Cady. In 1871 the big fire in Chicago
swept away in a few minutes the work of years, but
it did not stop his work. As soon as the losses could
be adjusted, and new stocks provided, the business
went on. He made two trips across the Atlantic,
the first in 1850, when he gave many hours to study
in Paris, and in 1886 he visited England. The

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 291

degree of Doctor of Music was conferred upon him
in 1872 by the University of Chicago. The last
sentence of Mr. Root's Story of a Musical Life
expresses the hope that he may live to see his golden
wedding day. He was married in August, 1845 ; he
died August 6, 1895, at his summer home on Bailey's
Island on the coast of Maine, being only a few weeks
less than seventy-five years old.

BOOKS

A list of the musical productions of Mr. Root
would be long and uninteresting. In his Story he
gives the names of seventy-four (one for each year
of his life). His first compilation was The Young
Ladies 9 Choir, issued to supply the needs of the
school where he was teaching, and only a few copies
were made. Among his other works were collections
of church music, The Shawm and The Diapason; for
Sunday schools, The Prize, The dory and The
Trwmph; instruction books for the organ and the
piano, cantatas, and books of selections for day
schools. He also gives us the titles of one hundred
and seventy-eight pieces of sheet music that bear his
name.

TUNES

No one of his hymn tunes has been so popular as
to have been retained in many books of recent date.
Most hymnals have at least one of his compositions,
several have three, and one has five, but this latter
book has twice the number of pieces as in the average
church hymnal. "Varina" appears in seven of the
twelve examined that contain his work. This is an

292 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

arrangement made by Mr. Root from a piece by
Charles H. Rinck, and the words usually set to it
are by Watts, "There is a land of pure delight."
"Rialto" is in five books, and "Shining Shore" in
four. "One day," he tells us, "his mother, passing
through the room where he was working, laid a
slip of paper from one of her religious weeklies
before him, saying, 'George, I think that would be
good for music. 9 I looked and the poem began,
*My days are gliding swiftly by.* A simple melody
sang itself along in my mind as I read and I jotted
it down and went on with my work. That was the
origin of "The Shining Shore. 5 " Other tunes of his
that many will recall are "Knocking, Knocking, Who
Is There?" "When He Cometh/' "Where Are the
Reapers?" and "Ring the Bells of Heaven." *

SONGS

When Foster's music was becoming so popular
Root thought that he would also write something
that would catch the prevailing taste, and so, getting
his words from his former pupil, Fanny Crosby, he
set to music "The Hazel Dell," "There's Music in
the Air," and "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower." Hesi-
tating to put his own name to them until they should
be proved successes, he signed them "Wurzel," the
German for "Root." Just about this time he went
to Boston, and a friend who had . begun to issue
music importuned him for some songs. Looking over
his stock Mr. Root found six that he offered. Most
of his music had been published on the royalty basis,
but for this lot of six he asked six hundred dollars.
His friend thought this a large amount, and made

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 293

a contract on the royalty basis. "Rosalie" brought
the composer nearly $3,000, to say nothing of the
other five, so that the lump sum would have been a
better bargain for the printer.

WAR SONGS

The best-known compositions of Mr. Root are
doubtless his war songs. In 1861 he wrote "The
Battle Cry of Freedom" to the words "Yes, we'll
rally round the Flag." This was first sung in Chi-
cago, was later taken up by the Hutchinson family,
and by them carried over the country. "Just Before
the Battle, Mother," was written the next year, and
"Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" produced in 1864
made such a hit that over ten thousand copies were
sold the first year, and for a while fourteen presses
were running off this one piece. At the battle of
Balls Bluff, October 21, 1861, Willie Grout, a sec-
ond lieutenant in the Fifteenth Massachusetts
Infantry, was killed. A friend of the family, Henry
S. Washburn, wrote "The Vacant Chair," and when
the latter was brought to the attention of Mr. Root
he made a tune for it which became very popular
both in the army and at home. The first line runs,
"We shall meet, but we shall miss him." About thirty
war songs were written by Mr. Root during 186165.

SILAS A. BANCROFT
1823-1886

SILAS ATKINS BANCBOFT was not a large com-
poser, nor did he compile many books, but he was a

294 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

musician and organist all his life, and the few facts
that have been gathered from his niece and from
printed notes found in various places are here
recorded for preservation. He was one of the trio
whose National Lyre appeared in 1848. Three
tunes of his are found in this book. By far the
greater number composed by any of the three were
by Samuel P. Tuckerman.

Silas A, Bancroft was born in Boston, April 14,
1823, and was the son of Jacob Bancroft, a mer-
chant of that city, and Martha Rowland Gray, the
daughter of Captain Robert Gray, who discovered
the Columbia River in 1792, and a lineal descendant
of John Howland, who came over in the Mayflower.
Silas was one of ten children and was musical from
his early years. It is a family tradition that while
still a small child he listened to a neighbor playing
a Mozart "sonata" across the street and when it
was finished he went to the piano and played it
through without a mistake. He could always play
by ear, was bright in his studies, and very original
in his conversation, thus making many warm friends,
especially among the musical people of his day. He
befriended many poor students, taking them into
his own pleasant home and introducing them to his
brothers and sisters, who were also musical, so giv-
ing them a friendly start, and a lift until they had
made a place for themselves. Among them was the
late Benjamin J. Lang.

He took lessons from A. N. Johnson and George
F. Root, who were for a number of years the leading
teachers of music in Boston. As his father was com-
fortably well off, Silas did not have the incentive to

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 295

work very hard, and therefore left few works behind
him; still he was for over thirty years one of the
prominent organists of the New England metrop-
olis. From 1848 to 1860 Mr. Bancroft was organ-
ist of the Mount Vernon Congregational Church,
Boston, of which Edward N. Kirk was then pastor,
and during this period he made a trip to Europe.
From this church he went to Emmanuel Church, a
position which he held for over twenty years. At
one time he conducted a class of two hundred choir
singers who met for impromptu sight-reading and
singing.

Besides The National Lyre, he assisted William
Mason in 1848 in the compilation of The Social
Glee Boofe, and some of his pieces are to be found in
this book. He died November 18, 1886. He was
never married.

STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER 1
1826-1864

IT will be a surprise to many to learn that Stephen
Collins Foster made a considerable contribution to
Sunday-school music. In a book printed in 1863
by Horace Waters in New York The Atheneum
Collection of Hymns and Twnes for Church and
Sunday Schools there are twenty-nine pieces from
his pen. This was among the last of his work, for
he died the following year, 1864. Some of these
tunes were older melodies newly harmonized, and
some of them were new compositions.

>From The Choir Herald.

296 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

WATERS* BOOKS

Henry Waters (1812-1893) was a New York
publisher who added much to musical literature.
Seventeen different books have his imprint, cover-
ing the thirteen years from 1858 to 1871. The
most popular one was The Sabbath School Bell,
1859. This, he says, was the first popular Sunday-
school book issued in this country, and 300,000
copies were sold before any other Sunday-school
book of note was published. During the next ten
years nearly one million copies were sold. We are
especially interested in those books that have con-
tributions from the pen of Mr. Foster. In a recently
published bibliography of the writings of Foster,
prepared by the Library of Congress, it is stated
that the Atheneum Collection, copyrighted in 1863,
has twenty-nine pieces by him, written expressly for
that work. Another book printed by Mr. Waters,
Heavenly Echoes, 1867, has fifteen pieces, four of
which are not in the collection of 1863, while a num-
ber of the pieces appear on correspondingly num-
bered pages in both books, indicating that the same
plates were used. The Sabbath Bell 9 No. 2, 1860,
has another piece by Foster that is not found in
any other book that I have examined. Another and
a smaller book, The Golden Harp, also called The
Choral Harp* and issued in the same year that the
Atheneum Collection appeared, contains fourteen
pieces, aH of which are to be found in the larger
work, and on .the same numbered pages evidently
printed from the same plates.

In more recent hymnals, we find in The Revivalist,

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 297

1872, a piece with words, "Sorrow shall come again
no more, 55 the tune being Foster's "Hard Times,
Come Again No More. 55 A Sunday-school Hymn
Book of 1903 has the following first line, "Hear the
gentle voice of Jesus, 55 set to Foster's "Massa's in
the cold, cold ground, 55 and another hymn, called
"Our Shepherd True, 55 set to "The Suwanee River. 55
Another recent book has the tune "Old Black Joe, 55
with the words, "Gone from my heart, the world
and all its charms. 55 Editors are often criticized
for using the words of sacred hymns with tunes that
are more familiar in their secular setting, but when
the tunes do not have to be learned the words are
more quickly adopted. These are some of Foster's
tunes that are found in recent church hymn books.
But Foster is much better known and will be longer
remembered by his secular compositions.

BIOGEAPHY

Stephen C. Foster was born on the Fourth of
July, 1826. Morrison Foster, his brother, thus
writes :

The day was a memorable one for several reasons. Inde-
pendence had readied its half century. A grand celebration
was held in my father's woods back of the house. The volun-
teer soldiers from Pittsburgh, and the Regulars from the
United States arsenal were there. At noon a national salute
pealed from the cannon at the arsenal, and the bands played
the national hymn. At that hour my brother Stephen was
born. The same day John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died.

Mr. Foster's father was of Irish descent, and had
gone from Virginia to western Pennsylvania, where
he had founded the town of Lawrenceburg, now a
part of the city of Pittsburgh, and was living there

298 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

at the time of Stephen's birth. The mother was of
English ancestry from Maryland, a lady of educa-
tion and culture, and it was from her that the son
inherited his taste for poetry and music. Without a
teacher he learned to play the guitar and flute, and
at the age of thirteen, when he was attending the
public schools in Athens, Pennsylvania, he composed
a waltz for four flutes which was performed at the
commencement there in 1839. It was called "The
Tioga Waltz" and first appeared in print in the col-
lection of his songs prepared by his brother Mor-
rison, in 1894, and written out from memory by
him. At fifteen Stephen entered Jefferson Academy
at Canonsburg. Most of his later education was
obtained from private tutors.

He was married in 1850 to Miss Jane Denny Mc-
Dowell, soon removed to New York, and spent part
of the remaining ten years of his life in that city.
He died there January 13, 1864, from the effects of
a fall. His body was carried to Pittsburgh at the
expense of the Pennsylvania; Railroad and was buried
beside his father and mother, and not far from
the place of his birth. Thirty-nine years after this,
in the month of January, 1903, his widow, then Mrs*
Wylie, was fatally burned, her clothes catching fire
as she sat in front of an open grate. He left one
daughter, Marion, now Mrs. Welch, of Pittsburgh.

SECULAE SONGS

Mr. Foster's songs fall into two classes those
in the Negro dialect, and those in the king's English.
In order to acquaint himself with the Negro, his

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 299

language, sentiments, and expressions, he attended
their camp meetings as frequently as possible. His
success in this line is seen in the familiar songs,
"Old Black Joe," "Old Uncle Ned," and "Massa's
in de CoP, Co? GrounV In his latter compositions
he abandoned dialect and wrote "Old Dog Tray,"
which became so popular that one hundred and
twenty-five thousand copies were sold in the first
eighteen months. Two other songs of his are "Under
the Willow She's Sleeping" and "Hard Times, Come
Again No More." The copyrights of "Oh Susanna"
and "Uncle Ned" were given to W. C. Peters, who
made ten thousand dollars out of them, and was
enabled thereby to establish himself in business.
Most of his songs, however, were published under
an agreement by which he received three cents roy-
alty for each copy sold. The first edition of "The
Old Folks at Home," 1851, bore upon its title page
the statement that it was an "Ethiopian melody sung
by Christy's Minstrels, written and composed by
E. P. Christy." For this privilege of claiming its
authorship Christy paid $500, but the publishers
continued to send the royalty to Foster, and later
to his heirs. This was his best-paying piece, for it
brought him over $15,000 in royalties. The popu-
larity of this song will continue as long as the home
is loved. There are times in the lives of men and
women when their thoughts turn tenderly to the
scenes of their childhood, and then it is that "The
Old Folks At Home" charms them. No matter where
that home may have been, the State makes no dif-
ference, for the strains of "My Old Kentucky Home"
carry them back. These are the songs that reach

300 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the heart, for they recall the commonplace affairs
of life, and appeal to the tender sense of sympathy,
love and home.

WILLIAM D'ARCY HALEY
1828-1890

THE life history of William D'Arcy Haley, who
was for a short period pastor of the First Unitarian
Church in Washington, D. C., now the All Souls
Unitarian Church, has -been hard to follow, but from
several sources the principal events of his career
have been compiled. He was born in London, Eng-
land, May 2, 1828. His mother, who was Harriet
D'Arcy, having died when he was a mere boy, he
came to America with his father. He attended Har-
vard College for a year or more, then went to
Meadville Theological School in Pennsylvania, from
which he graduated after two years* attendance in
the class of 1853. He entered the ministry, and was
pastor of the First Congregational Church in Alton,
Illinois, from 1853 to 1856. Thence he came to
Washington, D. C., and became pastor of the First
Unitarian Church in that city. He was chosen, Jan-
uary 10, 1858, and remained in charge until Feb-
ruary 1, 1861. In a statement which he wrote he
says that before the beginning of the Civil War he
assisted in building the barracks around the 'capital.
When the war broke out he went to Massachusetts
and offered his services to Governor Andrews, and
became chaplain of the Seventeenth Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was organized

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 301

at Lynnfield, and mustered into service at Roches-
ter, Massachusetts. He served with the colors till
May 30, 1862, when he resigned. After a short
visit to Eingland he returned, and from August,
1863, to the spring of 1864, he was a first lieutenant
in Company A, Second North Carolina Infantry.
On September 13, 1864, only a month after the
Twenty-fifth New York Cavalry had defended the
capital at Fort Stevens from the attack of General
Early, Mr. Haley entered the army a third time as
a captain in Company I, from which he was dis-
charged June 10, 1863.

For the twelve years following the war Mr. Haley
led a wandering life as a printer and newspaper cor-
respondent, wherever a job could be found, never
staying more than one year in a place. During this
period we find him in Boston, in several places in the
State of New York, in New Jersey, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania ; Columbus, Ohio ; and Chicago, Illinois.
In 1877 he went to California, where he made his
home for the remainder of his life.

He married first Archidamia Maria Gammons,
daughter of Grace Alton Gammons, who was after-
ward Mrs. Grace Gammons Barnum of New Haven,
Connecticut. After her death he married, December
10, 1873, Eizabeth Holmes, of New York, by whom
he had two children, Herbert Holmes Haley, and
lone D'Arcy Haley. For two years he was a clerk
in the custom house in San Francisco. Then fol-
lowed a long service as editor of the San Jose Mer-
cury, and he died in that city, March 2, 1890.

He was a thirty-third-degree Mason, and from an
obituary published in the "Transactions of the

302 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Supreme Council" in 1892 we extract the following:
"He received all the degrees of Freemasonry in the
city of Washington, including the thirty-third,
which was conferred upon him at the session of 1860.
He served his country faithfully in the late war,
and his death was the result of wounds received in
battle.' 5

While in Washington, Mr. Haley compiled and
arranged A Manual of the Broad Church, "contain-
ing an order of public service, catechism, forms of
administration of Broad Church rites, private devo-
tions and hymns for the use of the families and chil-
dren of the Broad Church," which was published in
New York in 1859. There are one hundred and ten
hymns, and the collection includes the following,
which have stood the test of time, and are still used
in the hymnals of the various denominations : "I Love
Thy Church, O God," "How Precious Is the Book
Divine," "By Cool Siloam's Shady Rill," "When
Marshaled on the Nightly Plain," "In the Cross of
Christ I Glory," "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the
Sun," "Lord, Dismiss Us With Thy Blessing."

Following the hymns there is bound in another
section of twenty-five pages containing "The Order
for Evening Prayer, compiled for the use of the
First Unitarian Church of Washington," which was
printed in Washington in 1858, and "Dedicated to
the church by its affectionate pastor, W. D. Haley."
This seems to be an uncommon book. I have not
found any copy in the Library of Congress, in the
Boston Public Library, nor in the library of the
Unitarian Historical Society in Boston. In fact,
the only copy I have been able to locate is my own.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 303

HORATIO G. SPAFFORD 1
1829-1881

"!T Is WELL WITH MY SOUL"

THIS beautiful hymn appeared in several books as
early as 1883, set to music by P. P. Bliss. It is in
itself expressive of calm resignation and submission
to the will of God; but when one knows the sorrow
and grief through which the author had come tri-
umphant, its meaning is increased many fold. Mr.
Horatio G. Spafford had been a successful lawyer
in Chicago, but in the financial crisis of 1873 most
of his property had slipped away. His wife and
four daughters had, on the advice of friends, been
started on a trip to France, in order that they might
be far from the scene of worry. A conference of
the Evangelical Alliance had just closed its sessions
and a number of the delegates from France had
embarked upon the same boat with Mrs. Spafford
and her daughters. The company of the Ville-Du-
Havre numbered over three hundred, and as there
were many Christians among them, religious services
were held every morning and on the Sabbath a
Sunday school was organized especially for the chil-
dren, of whom there were fifteen or twenty. The
four sisters, whose ages ranged from eighteen months
to twelve years, seem to have attracted much atten-
tion and to have made many friends.

The Ville-Du-Havre left New York on November
15, 1873, and everything went well until the twenty-
second. It was a clear, calm night, when shortly

*From The Choir Herald.

304 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

after midnight the Loch Earn, bound for New York,
came into collision with her, and in a few minutes
the French packet sank, carrying down with her two
hundred and twenty-six souls. Those who were res-
cued were taken aboard the Loch Earn, which did
not seem to be much injured by the impact, and as
soon as a count could be made it was found that
there were eighty-seven present, but this number
included only twenty-eight of the passengers. The
four girls were lost, but Mrs. Spafford was among
the survivors. She was nearly distracted by the
loss of all her children, but in a few days became
more quiet and could say: "God gave me my four
little daughters, and it is he who has taken them
from me. He will make me understand and accept
his will." As soon as she reached land she tele-
graphed from France (as reported in one of the
Chicago papers, which gave an account of the
wreck) : "Saved alone. Children lost. What shall
I do?" Mr. Spafford immediately left his home
to join his wife, and when passing the place where
the shipwreck occurred, he said: "I was deeply agi-
tated, it is true, but I could not represent to myself
my four little girls as buried there at the bottom of
the ocean. Involuntarily I lifted my eyes to heaven.
Yes, I am sure they are there on high and hap-
pier far than if they were still with me* So con-
vinced am I of this that I would not, for the whole
world, that one of my children should be given back
to me."

He and his wife returned to Chicago for a short
time, and it was during this period that this hymn
was written. As we read it over, knowing what

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 305

called it from the soul of the father, does it mean
much more to us?

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea-billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.'

"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.

"My sin oh, the bliss of this glorious thought

My sin not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.

"And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
'Even so' -it is well with my soul."

Mr. Spafford was born in Lawrenceburg, near
Troy, New York, October 20, 1829. He was an
elder in the Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian Church
in Chicago, and having become impressed with the
fact that the spirituality awakened by most forms
of Christian activities in the church, the Sunday
school, and the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tions was painfully limited, in the noon prayer
meeting he cried to God for the baptism of the Holy
Spirit and fire on his workers, that his work might
be carried out. Mrs. Spafford writes : "It is not to
be wondered at, then, that passing through that
baptism of God, by the shipwreck, which was the
experience that wrung from his inmost soul the hymn
referred to, his former yearning after God should
have become intensified and that with his whole heart

306 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

he should have turned to the Bible to find there what
the kernel of the matter might be, which seemed to be
'to love God with the whole heart, and one's neigh-
bor as oneself.' To this, then, we yielded ourselves,
and Mr. Spafford's conviction and example drew
others with like aspirations, who were seeking fel-
lowship for the expression and development of these
spiritual yearnings." This was the nucleus of the
colony which, in 1881, left Chicago and settled in
Jerusalem, there to carry out his ideas of overcom-
ing sin. They reached Jerusalem on September 26,
1881, and it was just seven years from that date
that Mr. Spafford was buried.

"Mrs. Spafford is still living, and strong and
bright as any other. She is a very kind lady, very
intelligent indeed, and has a good heart. All call
her mother." One writing of her on her sixty-fourth
birthday says: "Her hair was white, but her form
proud and erect, her face kindly, but firm."

The followers of Mr. Spafford now number about
one hundred and twenty, and are known as the
American Colony, though they say it is not a name
of their own choosing. It is a sort of religious and
cooperative community, each one having his work to
do for the benefit of all. They have a store in which
they sell the products of their workers. There is a
botanist who collects and prepares for sale the flow-
ers of the Holy i Land; a photographer who has
gathered a large stock of pictures ; a carpenter makes
articles of wood for sale to tourists; and other
trades are represented* Their home is outside the
walls, about a mile from the Damascus Gate.

While Mr. Spafford was living in Chicago he

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 307

issued a small collection of hymns, and after remov-
ing to the Holy Land he wrote others, which have
not been printed but which are used in the services
of his followers.

SAMUEL A. WARD 1
1848-1903

SAMUEL AUGUSTUS WAED was born December 28,
1848, in Newark, New Jersey. For more than
twenty-five years he conducted a music store in his
native city, selling pianos and music, and his busi-
ness had grown to such large proportions that at
the time of his death he was having his store en-
larged. He was the leader of the Orpheus Club of
Newark for fourteen years, and was a familiar
figure among the musical people of that city. He
had resigned as conductor at the close of the season
1902-03. His death occurred at Newark Septem-
ber 28, 1903.

A single tune of his composition is found in many
of the recent hymnals. It has appeared under sev-
eral names. In one book its title is "Caldwell," in
another it is found as "Resurrection," but more fre-
quently it bears the name of "Materna," and the
words placed to it are usually those of the old hymn,
"0- Mother, Dear Jerusalem." Four other hymns
were used in the twelve books examined. During
the Great War, however, it became associated with
Miss Bates' patriotic hymn, "America, the Beauti-
ful," and the more recent books use this tune and

i From The- Choir Herald.

308 AMERICAN WRITERS AND COMPILERS

hymn together. The hymn "America, the Beautiful"
was written by Katharine Lee Bates, professor of
English Literature in Wellesley College, in 1893,
soon after she had visited the Columbian Exposition
in Chicago. It was not printed till 1895, when it
was given to the public in the pages of the Congre-
gationalist in Boston. Several tunes were written
for it, one by Charles S. Brown, which was adopted
by the Christian Endeavor Society and was printed
in some of their song books. But the tune of Mr.
Ward is now sung to these words in the schools, and
the two seem destined to become wedded in popular
use*

PART V

REVIVALIST GROUP CAMP MEETING
MUSIC WASHINGTON HYMNODY

THE REVIVALIST GROUP 1

1868-1872

The Revivalist was the most popular collection of
evangelistic hymns and tunes issued during the lat-
ter half of the last century. During the seventies
it was a best seller. The first issue seems to have
appeared in the early part of 1868. There is a
statement in print (in the biography of George A.
Hall, to be referred to later) that this book came
out in 1866, and a recent letter from the musical
editor says that he is "quite sure that the first
edition was in the fall of 1867." But the records of
the copyright office show that it was entered for
copyright February 10, 1868. The writer has a
copy of that year, and as it contains two recom-
mendations dated in January of the same year, it
is certain that the first number appeared early in
1868. It was a book of 240 pages and contained
265 numbers (hymns). It was compiled by Joseph
Hillman (1838-90), a well-to-do merchant of Troy,
New York, a man very zealous for his church, and
devoted to the extension of Christ's kingdom by
means of the revival, the praying band, and the camp
meeting. Furthermore, he wrote a history of Meth-
odism in his home town of Troy, in 1880. Mr. Hill-
man gathered about him a number of consecrated
workers, whom he organized into a praying band,
and they traveled extensively in New York State

iFrom The Char Herald.

311

312 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

and in New England, stopping wherever they could
find openings. He conducted meetings in the South
Street Methodist Church in Utica when the pastor
was the Rev. Lewis Hartsough, and later this min-
ister became the musical editor of The Revivalist.
The hymns were gathered from many sources, and
were at first printed on sheets which were distributed
throughout the congregations. The popularity of
the book increased so rapidly that it was reissued
time after time, and changes were made at nearly
every printing. In 1869 another copyright was
taken out, and the content's enlarged to 264 pages ;
the arrangement was also considerably altered. A
second edition to this copyright of 1869 was printed
with the addition of twenty-four pages. Again, in
1871,. twenty-six pages were attached at the end
under a copyright of that year. In 1872 another
copyright was entered, and the book at its seventh
printing had grown to 336 pages, while to its elev-
enth edition under the same copyright twenty-four
pages had been added. Whether there were later
editions I have been unable to discover. The com-
bined circulation of this collection was over 150,000
copies.

LEWIS HAfcTSOTTGH

Lewis Hartsough, the musical editor, writes of
himself as follows:

I was born in Ithaca, New York, August 31, 1828. After-
wards as I became known by the use of some hymns of mine,
I would be informed in the hymnals, in addition to the date
of birth, correctly given, "died in 1870." This seems prema-
ture, for though a retired minister, I am still teaching an Old
Folks' Bible Class, and have been for eighteen years past

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 313

[This was written in September, 1916.] Bishop McCabe said
that my hymn, "Let Me Go," written in 1862, was my best,
while Mr. Sankey said "I Hear Thy Welcome Voice" was my
best. It was written in 1872. I have heard it sung in several
different languages, and last month a publisher, asking for
it, said "I Am Coming, Lord" is often sung in the trenches
of war-cursed Europe.

It was in 1851 that Mr. Hartsough joined the
Oneida Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in New York. After holding several ap-
pointments his health failed, and he was sent into
the Rocky Mountain district, where under his influ-
ence the Utah Mission was organized, and he was
made its first superintendent. He continued to live
in the West, residing at Mount Vernon, Iowa, when
he answered the call of the "Welcome Voice," Jan-
uary 1, 1919.

The large part that the musical editor had in the
preparation of The Revivalist will be realized from
the following statistics: In one edition there are
twelve hymns, that is, words, written by him; four-
teen of the tunes were his, and thirty were arranged
for this book by him. Of these, only one, "I Am
Coming, Lord," has survived in the hymnals of the
present day.

JOSEPH HII/LMAN

Joseph Hillman, the compiler of The Revivalist,
was born in 1833 in Schoharie County, New York.
He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in Troy
when only thirteen years old, and became, and con-
tinued, an active member throughout his life. He
was superintendent of the Congress Street Method-
ist Episcopal Church for fifteen years. He organ-

314 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

ized the Troy Praying Band in 1858, and ten years
later selected the ground at Round Lake and became
the president of an association for conducting a
camp meeting there. He became interested in the
union of the various branches of Methodism, and
in 1874 personally conveyed to the General Confer-
ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
an invitation to hold a fraternal camp meeting at
Round Lake. At this meeting, held in July, repre-
sentatives of ten branches of this denomination were
present and a commission was appointed which later
met at Cape May, N. J. This was perhaps the
beginning of the movement for the union of that
denomination, which is now well on its way toward
accomplishment. Two other fraternal meetings were
held at Round Lake in 1875 and 1876. Mr. Hill-
man died in 1890 as the result of an accident with
the electric cars.

Mr. Hillman compiled three hymn books : Sunday
School Hymns, Sacred Hymns, and The Revivalist.
In regard to the origin of The Revivalist he tells
us in his History of Methodism in Troy:

In 1866 the writer projected the publication of the popular
hymn and tune book, The Revivqlist. He proposed to expend
one thousand dollars in the preparation and publication of the
work. It was undertaken and completed. The rapid sale of
the highly commended book compelled the printing of succes-
sive editions which numbered in all about 150,000 copies. The
large amount of money arising from this unexpected popu-
larity of The RevivaMst not only paid the cost of its compila-
tion and publication but afforded a sum sufficient to build a
church and to repair many other churches.

Early in his evangelistic career Joseph Hillman
went to Utica, where he labored in the church where

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 315

Lewis Hartsough was the pastor, and the latter was
soon engaged as musical editor for the new hymn
book. Most of the matter was selected by Mr.
Hillman, but the work of putting it into proper form
was left to the musical editor. As both the per-
sons named were Methodists, and as the book was
prepared especially for revival meetings, then almost
entirely restricted to that denomination, a large
number of the contributors were ministers of that
connection. Among those who furnished hymns or
tunes were John W. Dadmun, Hiram Mattison,
the Rev. William Hunter, Abraham S-. Jenks, and
many others. Some of these we will mention more
at length.

JOHN W. DADMUN

"Rest for the Weary" is one of the tunes found
in The Revivalist, very popular in those days, and
occasionally found in present-day books. John Wil-
liam Dadmun was its composer. He was a Meth-
odist minister, born in the country town of Hub-
bardston, Massachusetts, December 20, 1819. His
preparation for his life-work, that of preaching,
was begun in the denominational academy at Wil-
braham, where he spent three years. He became a
local preacher in 1841, and joined the New England
Conference the following year. He began to preach
in the town of Ludlow, serving appointments in
several churches until the year 1868. During the
last year of the war he was a member of the Chris-
tian Commission with the Army of the Potomac. In
1868 he became chaplain in the prison on Deer
Island in Boston Harbor, where he continued for

816 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

twenty years, and where he died May 6, 1890, at
the age of seventy years.

WRITINGS

He was the compiler of many collections of evan-
gelical hymns. His first book was Revival Melodies,
1858, a pamphlet of thirty-two pages, which sold
forty thousand copies during the first eight months.
It was made up of some of the most popular hymns
and tunes of the "Great Revival" of that year.
Many of the tunes of Mr. Dadmun had been printed
on sheets for the use of his meetings, but seeing the
large sale of his first book he enlarged it to forty-
eight pages and added many of his own composi-
tions. Having discovered a new hymn writer, he
announced it in these words :

Since publishing the first edition we have learned what we
never knew before, that the Rev. W. Hunter, of the Pitts-
burgh Conference, is the author of some of the best hymns
published in this work. They are "My Fatherland," "Joy-
fully," "A Home in Heaven," "My Heavenly Home." It is
by permission of the author that we continue them in this
edition.

Mr. Dadmun's later books were The Melodeon,
1860; Army Melodies, 1861; Musical String of
Pearls, 1862; The Sacred Harmonium, 1864, with
Lewis Hartsough; and The New Melodeon, 1866.

His most used tune is "Rest for the Weary,'* set
to the words of Mr. Hunter, "In the Christians*
Home in Glory.'* This has been included in many a
book from the date of its composition until the
present time. Another tune is called "Land of Beu-
lah," and is used with words of the same writer, Mr.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 317

Hunter, "I Am Dwelling On the Mountain." An-
other which was very popular in its day begins with
the line, "Come, all ye saints to Pisgah's Mount."
The Revivalist has nine tunes under his name.

ABRAHAM D. MERRILL

Abraham Down Merrill was also a country boy,
born in Salem, New Hampshire, March 7, 1796.
Making the best of the advantages that his State
furnished for education, he seemed destined to a life
on the farm, and at his marriage in 1816 settled
down upon part of his father's land. On November
20, 1820, as he gives the date, he was converted at
a revival, which was being conducted three miles
from his home, and having told his parents and
friends of his experience, which seemed to direct him
toward the ministry, he was urged by them, and
influenced by his wife, to begin the preparation for
his future labors. He studied his Bible more thor-
oughly, and was soon preaching wherever a place
was opened for him. In 1822 he joined the New
Hampshire Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and continued in its ministry until the close
of his life, April 29, 1878, forty years of which were
devoted to active work. His son, John M. Merrill,
was also a minister, and together they gave to the
church ninety-five years of service.

"Father" Merrill has been characterized as a
revivalist, an indefatigable worker, and a sweet
singer in Israel. He had a wealth of emotion, and
his enthusiasm swept everything before him. Re-
vivals were usual in his churches, and his songs did
much to promote them. The one tune of his that has

318 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

been used more than the others is called "Triumph"
or "Joyfully Onward I Move," the latter name
derived from the first words of the hymn that invar-
iably accompanies it. This tune appeared as early
as 1849 in The American Vocalist.

WILLIAM HUNTER

The hymn just referred to, "Joyfully, Joyfully,
Onward I Move," was written by William Hunter.
He was a Methodist, born in Ireland in 1811. When
he was six years old his family emigrated to Amer-
ica and settled in York, Pennsylvania. Ten years
later he was converted, joined the church, and soon
entered Madison College at Uniontown. After a
short period of teaching he was licensed to preach.
In 1836 he began his work as an editor, and for
three different periods, aggregating sixteen years,
he was the editor of the Pittsburgh Conference Jour-
nal, afterward called the Pittsburgh Christian Advo-
cate. In the intervals of his literary work he was
presiding elder, pastor in the West Virginia Con-
ference, and professor of Hebrew and biblical liter-
ature in Allegheny College. This last position he
held for fifteen years. He compiled three collections
of hymns, the last one issued in 1859, called Songs
of Devotion, containing one hundred and twenty-five
of his own composition. Some of these have come
into common use. He was one of the committee for
the revision of The Methodist Hymnal, known as
the Hymnal of 1878, and two of his hymns are con-
tained therein. These are "My Heavenly Home Is
Bright and Fair," and "Joyfully, Joyfully, Onward
I Move." The Revivalist has six of his pieces.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 319

HIEAM MATTISON

Hiram Mattison, a member of the Black River
Conference, furnished two tunes for the early edition
of The Revivalist. Born in Herkimer County, New
York, February 8, 1811, he served the Methodist
Church in various relations, as pastor, professor in
Falley Seminary, secretary of his Conference, dele-
gate to three General Conferences, and secretary of
the American and Foreign Christian Union. He
died in Jersey City, November 24, 1868. He too
compiled a book of Sacred Melodies for Social Wor-
ship in 1859, and assisted Isaac B. Woodbury in
preparing his Lute of Zion, in 1853. His two tunes
are "Go, Let the Angels in" and "Heaven at Last."

GEORGE A. HALL

George A. Hall is mentioned because he was one
of the Troy Praying Band, whose religious activities
called The Revivalist into being. He was a member
of Troy University from 1858 to 1863, and belonged
to the only class that was graduated from that
institution, which was later absorbed by Middletown
College and removed to Connecticut. He was sec-
retary of the Young Men's Christian Association in
Washington, D. C., from 1870 until 1875. He died
in Montclair, New Jersey, on Washington's Birth-
day, 1904.

The Revivalist was largely the product of the
camp meetings which were so popular at the time it
was issued, and many of the persons who contributed
either words or music were leaders in such meetings.
Search has been made in many possible sources, and

320 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

a few facts have been gathered regarding the per-
sons whose names follow.

B. M. ADAMS

B. M. Adams, who contributed the hymn with
the chorus, "All I Have I Leave With Jesus," was
a Methodist minister of Brooklyn, New York, and
was present and assisted at the opening of the camp
meeting at Vineland, New Jersey, in 1867, and at
Hamilton, Massachusetts, in July, 1870. He died
about 1903.

B. W. GOEHAM

The Rev. B. W. Gorham, who furnished four
hymns, was a member of the Wyoming (Methodist)
Conference, Pennsylvania, the author of a camp-
meeting manual, published in Boston in 1854, and
a hymn book, Choral Echoes from the Church of
God, printed ten years later.

GEOEGB C. WELLS

Of the Wells family three members were musical.
The Rev. George C. Wells was born in 1819 at Col-
chester, Connecticut, united with the Troy (Meth-
odist) Conference in 1845, was transferred to the
Wisconsin Conference and later to the Minnesota
Conference, and died at Minneapolis May 31, 1873,
after a service of twenty-eight years in the ministry.
Six pieces in The Revivalist have his name attached
to them the words of one, the tunes of two, and
three were arranged as he sang them. His wife,
Elvenah Raymond Wells, wrote three hymns for this
book, one of them being "Tenting Again," a para-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 321

phrase on a popular song of the Civil War. Besides
her hymns, Mrs, Wells was a writer of considerable
prose and poetry, which was edited by her husband,
and published posthumously under the title Linger-
ing Sounds From a Broken Harp. One tune in The
Revivalist was harmonized by their daughter, Miss
Eva L. Wells.

ALVIN C. ROSE

Nine pieces were arranged for The Revivalist by
Alvin C. Rose. He was a Methodist minister, a
member of the Troy Conference, and a leader at
Holiness camp meetings, his presence being noted
at Round Lake in 1869, and at Hamilton, Massa-
chusetts, in 1870.

BENONI L IVES

Benoni L Ives was another Methodist minister,
and a fine singer of The Revivalist group, two pieces
in this book making reference to his singing. He
was born in 1822, was stationed at various places
in New York State, and was for ten years chaplain
of the prison at Auburn. He was also a delegate
to three General Conferences of his church. He was
frequently called upon to assist in the dedication of
churches and to solicit funds for their erection, and
is said to have attended twenty-five hundred such
occasions and to have raised a total of more than
twelve million dollars. He died December 9, 1912,
at Auburn, New York, at the age of ninety-one,
having spent sixty-seven years in the ministry.

WILLIAM MCDONALD-
William McDonald was perhaps the most facile

822 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

writer of the group of writers for this book. Two
of the tunes were arranged by this musician, but
only one of the hymns bears his name, yet this hymn
has been in common use ever since that date. The
first line is, "I Am Coming to the Cross." From
his own statement the following facts are gained
regarding his career: He was born March 1, 1820,
at Belmont, Maine. His great-grandfather came
to this country from Scotland. He became a local
preacher in the Methodist Church in 1839, joined
the Maine Conference in 1843, was transferred to
the Wisconsin Conference in 1855, and to the New
England Conference in 1859. For fifteen years he
was the editor of the Advocate of Christian Holiness.
He wrote a number of books on religious subjects
and several biographies, besides compiling or assist-
ing in the compilation of at least six music books.
His Western Minstrel appeared in 1840, and his
Beulah Songs in 1870. He died September 11, 1901.

WILLIAM Gr. FISCHER

William G. Fischer was the composer of the tune
set to the hymn of William McDonald in The Reviv-
alist. He also composed the music set to, and always
sung with, Katherine Hankey's hymn, "I Love to
Tell the Story." This latter music is said to have
been written expressly for Bishop Charles C.
McCabe. Mr. Fischer composed over two hundred
tunes. Besides the ones already mentioned he wrote
"Whiter Than Snow," which had a long popularity,
"I Am Trusting, Lord, in Thee," and "A Little Talk
With Jesus." He was born in Baltimore October
14, 1835, and at the age of eight was chosen to lead

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 323

the singing in a church of that city. For the ten
years from 1858 to 1868 he was professor of music
in Girard College in Philadelphia. He was very
successful in the leadership of large choruses. Dur-
ing the Moody and Sankey meetings in the Quaker
City he directed a choir of one thousand persons,
and at the bicentennial of the landing of William
Penn he led a large chorus of Welsh voices. He was
a teacher of harmony and piano for many years,
and also a dealer in musical instruments. His mem-
bership was with the Christ Methodist Episcopal
Church during his residence in Philadelphia, and
while active in its religious work, refused to hold
any office. He died August 12, 1912, at the age of
seventy years;

MBS. MARY D. JAMES

There were several female writers whose hymns
and tunes in The Revivalist have become famous.
One hymn, beginning "My body, soul, and spirit,"
was by Mrs. Mary D. James, and she tells us that
it was written July 10, 1869, at Round Lake camp
meeting, inspired by a sermon of Bishop Simpson,
and penciled impromptu. A few minutes later the
author met Mrs. Phebe Knapp, daughter of her
friends, Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Palmer, and showed
her what she had written. Mrs. Knapp sat down at
her organ, and soon had a tune just adapted to its
words and sentiment. During all the years since
that time, this hymn, with Mrs. Knapp's music, has
been one of the battle hymns of God's consecrated
hosts. Another one of her hymns, perhaps the most
widely known of her sacred songs, is "All for Jesus,"

324 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

1871. At least three different tunes have been
arranged for it by as many composers. Mrs. James
was born August 10, 1810* In early life she was
converted* and wherever she happened to be she
threw her whole soul into Christian work. Her
first experience at a camp meeting was the opening
of a series of such occasions, and she came to think
that no other place was quite so near heaven for her.
In 1840 she made the acquaintance of Mrs. Phebe
Palmer, who was to be so closely associated with
her in religious work till death parted them. Much
might be said of the contributions made by Mrs.
James to the religious papers of the day, including
the "Guide to Holiness"; of her help to the poor
by her songs and her presence, of her patriotism dur-
ing the war, and her temperance work preceding the
passage of the Maine Law. But we must refer any
who wish to know more about her to the interesting
memoir written by her son. Suffice it to say that
more than fifty of her hymns have been set to music
and published in various collections of sacred songs
for Sunday schools and social services. Her conse-
cration hymn appeared in Notes of Joy, published
by Mrs. Knapp in 1869. The music in this book
was largely the product of Mrs. Knapp's brain,
more than ninety being marked as her compositions.
The Revivalist has two hymns by Mrs. Phebe
Palmer, "Cleansing Wave," and "Welcome to
Glory," both set to music by her daughter, Mrs.
Knapp.

MRS. PHEBE PALMER KNAPP
The subject of this sketch was born in New York

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 325

city March 8, 1839, and was the daughter of Dr.
Walter C. and Phebe Palmer. She began at an
early age to show her talent for music, both in sing-
ing and composition. In 1855 she married Joseph
F. Knapp, who was successively superintendent of
two Sunday schools in Brooklyn, and under their
united labors these schools became famous. It is
interesting to know that Mr. Knapp was for a time
president of the Lithographers' Union of New York
city, that he was the founder of the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company, and a successful business
man, as well as an active worker in the church.
After his death Mrs. Knapp devoted most of her
time and income to works of charity, benevolence,
and piety.

Few hymn books have had a larger sale, or a more
extended use than The Revivalist of Joseph Hillman.

CAMP MEETING MUSIC 1

CAMP meetings were first held by the Presby-
terians, though the Methodists were not far behind
them in adopting this method of extending their
influence. In a letter written by John McGee in
1820, and recorded in the first volume of the Meth-
odist Magazine in 1821, he tells how he and his
brother William, though born and reared in a Pres-
byterian home, were converted and joined the church
William preferring the followers of Calvin, while
John followed Wesley. In 1799 they had agreed
to make a trip through Kentucky toward Ohio, and

*From The Choir Herald.

326 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

had attended a sacramental service with the con-
gregation of the Rev. Mr. McGready, a Presby-
terian, on the Red River. This was the beginning
of a glorious revival of religion, and from this gath-
ering camp meetings took their rise. The next pop-
ular meeting was on Muddy River, and Mr. McGee
goes on to state that "perhaps the greatest meeting
ever witnessed took place on Dtesha's Creek, near the
Cumberland River. Many thousands of people
attended. Here John A. Granade, the Western
poet who composed the Pilgrim Songs, found mercy
and pardon from God, and began to preach a risen
Jesus."

The date of the birth of Granade is not known to
the writer, though he says in one of his letters that
it was May 9; but he fails to state the year. In
early life he was a successful teacher of schools. He
was converted at three different times, the last time
so thoroughly that he gave up teaching and began
to preach. Lorenzo Dow, in his account of certain
camp meetings, says, "Some choice hymns, used in
the early times of this revival at such meetings in
the West, were mostly composed by J. A. G., called
the Wild Man of the Woods.' 5 In the biography of
Lorenzo Dow there are also a number of hymns, one
stanza of which corresponds so closely with the one
following, which is quoted from Finney's History of
Western Methodism, as to indicate almost conclu-
sively that the initials J. A. G. refer to John A.

Granade.

"One evening, as I pensive lay

Alone upon the ground,

As I to God began to pray,

A light shone all around.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 327

Glory to God! I loudly cried,

My sins are all forgiven;
For me, for me, the Saviour died;

My peace is made with heaven."

Two of the hymns of Granade were "The Bold
Pilgrim" and "Apollyon's Lions." The latter hymn
he says he composed while riding through a heavy
rain to attend an appointment where some wicked
men had sworn to meet him and heat him to death
because he had spoken plainly to them about their
sins. They accosted him, cursed and abused him
shamefully, but did not lay hands upon him; while
he told his trembling, weeping brethren that it was
his glory thus to suffer for Christ. He further tells
that while composing his songs, such perhaps as
"Sweet Rivers of Redeeming Love," he often had
to stop writing and praise God for his poetic gift,
for which he would not have taken ten thousand
worlds.

The following description is taken from Bang's
History of Methodism, and refers to a meeting held
on Desha's Creek:

Among others who were brought to a knowledge of the truth
at this meeting was John Alexander Granade, who after an
exercise of mind for a considerable time bordering on despair,
came forth a burning and a shining light as a public advocate
for the cause of Christ. He soon became distinguished among
his brethren as the Western poet, and the Pilgrim Songs
were the most popular hymns which were sung at those camp
meetings, and perhaps became the most fruitful source whence
sprang the numerous ditties with which the church was for a
long time deluged. These songs, though they possessed very
little of the spirit of poetry, and therefore added nothing
to true intellectual taste, served to excite the feelings of devo-
tion and keep alive that spirit of excitement which character-
ized the worshipers in those assemblies. Granade contributed

328 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

much by his energetic labors to fan the flame of piety which
had been kindled up in the hearts of the people in that coun-
try.

The extract given here is from Finney :

I have said Granade was a poet. His poetry was character-
istic of the man and his style as a preacher bold, towering,
often tinctured with the awfully sublime, yet flowing with ease
and naturalness, and sometimes extremely tender and pathetic.
In my childhood I memorized many of his Spiritual Songs,
but have forgotten most of them. I have not seen any of them
in their natural dress for many years, and fear they are out
of print. Some vestiges of them, occasionally found in com-
pilations, are so mangled and distorted that the author, if
living, would hardly recognize them. Mr. Granade labored
but three years as an itinerant. His zeal carried him beyond
his strength and under his indefatigable labors his health
failed, and he located. My last information about him was
that he was practicing medicine somewhere in southwestern
Tennessee.

Granade became a Methodist minister in 1802,
but located two years later, so that his labors as
an itinerant were of short duration. He moved from
the lower part of the State of North Carolina into
Tennessee, was married in 1805, and died December
6, 1807.

WILUAM HANBY

William Hanby compiled The Church Harp in
1841, and within eighteen months two editions had
been sold and a third was issued in 1843 "suitable
for private prayer, sanctuary, revival, and anniver-
sary meetings, designed for the sweet singers of
Israel of every denomination." This book is with-
out music, has the Indian hymn, "In de Dark Wood,"
also a hymn for the close of camp meetings, a feet-
washing hymn, and a number of choruses, several of

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 329

which begin "O halle , hallelujah." These choruses
were a characteristic feature of the camp-meeting
music of the early days, and several of the books
prepared for such occasions had two or three pages
at the end made up of choruses alone which could
be sung after any of the hymns.

The Rev. William Hanby, the fifteenth bishop of
the church of the United Brethren in Christ, was
born April 8, 1808, in Washington County, Penn-
sylvania. At the age of sixteen he decided he would
be a saddler, and apprenticed himself to a mechanic
of that trade. On account of the bad treatment he
received he ran away to Ohio, where he found a good
home and a place to follow his chosen occupation.
In 1880 he was converted, married, and the following
year was licensed to preach. He traveled circuits,
was presiding elder, and in 1836 was elected treas-
urer of the church paper, The Telescope, at Circle-
ville, Ohio. He was editor of this same paper from
1839 to 1845, and again for another period at a
later date. His Circleville home was a station of
the underground railway, which conveyed its pas-
sengers from slavery to liberty, and it was also
while there that he began his hymnological work.
This consisted of Hymns for the Swnday School,
1842; The Church Harp, already referred to, a
revised edition of which was issued in 1856, and a
Hymnal. He was elected a bishop in 1845, and died
May 17, 1880. His oldest son was

BENJAMIN R. HANBY

Benjamin R. Hanby was born July 12, 1833, and
died March 16, 1867. He was the author of the

330 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

once famous and familiar song, "Darling Nellie
Gray." During the last years of his life he worked
for the firm of Root and Cady in Chicago, assisting
in the compilation of Our Song Birds and Chapel
Gems> the latter appearing in 1868. Some who read
these pages may remember these pieces that were
contained therein: "Weaver John," "Down From
the Skies," "Santa Claus," "Who Is He in Yonder
Stall?" and the temperance song, "Crowding
Awfully."

MOSES L. SCUDDEB

Most of the camp meeting books contained the
words only, and were of the pocket size. The ear-
liest one I have found, containing the tunes, was
copyrighted in 1842, and compiled by Moses L.
Scudder of the New England Methodist Conference.
This was The Wesleyan Psalmist, or Songs of
Canaan, "a collection of hymns and tunes designed
to be used at camp meetings." It was a small book
of only 108 pages, was very widely used, and within
four years 20,000 copies had been sold.

Mr. Scudder was born November 13, 1814, at
Huntington Harbor, Long Island, and after gradu-
ating from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Con-
necticut, in 1837, joined the New England Confer-
ence, serving churches in Worcester and in Boston,
Massachusetts ; he was then transferred to the Troy
Conference, the New York Conference, and later to
the New York East Conference. His later years
were spent in retirement from the active ministry,
with his son in Washington, D. C., where he died
June 7, 1891.

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 331

The tune commonly known by the name "Webb"
appears in this book as "Millennial Dawn," with the
remark that "the very extended use of this tune for
the past year is the best evidence of its value." It
was composed upon the ocean in 1830, and printed
in James George Webb's Odeon in 1837, with the
secular words, " 'Tis dawn, the lark is singing."
Its setting in Scudder's book to the words, "The
morning light is breaking," is, so far as I am able
to discover, its first use with these words. It ap-
peared in Mason and Webb's Cantica Laudis, 1850,
under the name "Goodwin," set to these same words
of the Rev. Samuel F. Smith.

OEANGE SCOTT

Orange Scott claims our attention because of a
New and Improved Camp Meeting Hymn Book, of
one hundred and ninety-two pages, copyrighted in
1829 and printed by E. & G. Merriam at Brookfield,
Massachusetts. A fourth edition, increased to two
hundred and twenty-four pages, was copyrighted in
1833 and printed by the same firm, then located in
Springfield, Massachusetts. It will be noted that
this is the firm that first issued Webster** Diction-
ary. Orange Scott was born February 3, 1800,
at Brookfield, Vermont. He was converted at a
camp meeting in 1820, and joined the New England
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
1822. He held several pastorates in New England,
was a delegate to three General Conferences, became
interested in the anti-slavery movement, and tried
to bring the leaders of the church to his way of
thinking. His plans were voted down, and he felt

332 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

compelled to withdraw from the church he had
served for two decades, and with others in Michigan
and Ohio, who were strong advocates of an anti-
slavery church, organized the Wesleyan Methodist
Connection at Utica, New York, in 1842, two years
before the division which brought into being the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South* Mr. Scott
became the first president of the new organization,
also served as its book agent, and continued his
labors against slavery up to the time of his death,
July 31, 1847, at Newark, New Jersey. His little
book has no music and the names of the writers of
the hymns are not given, so it is not known whether
or not any of them were written by him,

ENOCH MUDGB

Enoch Mudge was the first native Methodist from
New England. He was born in Lynn, Massachu-
setts, June 21, 1776, was converted and joined the
New England Conference in 1793, continuing his
work in the ministry until his death April 2, 1850.
He served for two terms in the Legislature of his
native State, and during the last thirteen years of
his life he preached .to the seamen of New Bedford.
In 1818 he published The American Camp Meeting
Hymn Book.

ABRAHAM S. JENKS

Devotional Melodies, dated 1859, brings to our
attention a number of new names. A year or two
before this date Abraham S. Jenks had issued a
Choral Hymn Book, containing words only. Devo-
tional Melodies, copyrighted in 1859, was a collec-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 333

tion of original and selected hymns and tunes. His
third book, issued in 1865, was called Heart and
Voice, and was intended especially for the use of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. To the Devo-
tional Melodies there were three principal contribu-
tors. William J. Kirkpatrick did most of the edito-
rial work, and eighty-six of the tunes have his name
attached. Josiah Lowe composed thirteen tunes,
and J. H. Van Nardroff, twelve. The following
information, received from Mr. Kirkpatrick, is
quoted from his letter:

I have no knowledge whatever concerning Mr. Josiah Lowe.
He was an acquaintance of Mr. Jenks, and I think had no
notoriety as a musician. J. H. Van Nardroff, however, was a
professional musician, of New York and for several years
played the old organ in the Ocean Grove Auditorium.

Abraham S. Jenks was horn and brought up as a Quaker,
but being converted in the Methodist Church, became a musi-
cal enthusiast. When I became acquainted with him in 1855-
56 he taught a most successful Bible class of young ladies in
the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church of Phila-
delphia, and I became the occasional leader of his class sing-
ing, especially upon anniversary days. He was the first to
secure a cabinet organ (that I know of) for his class. He
had two sons, Daniel and James, and a daughter, who were
at that time well up in their teens. The daughter had a
fine piano. I gave one of the sons violin lessons. Mr. Jenks
himself had taken vocal lessons, and his fine, large house was
turned into a regular musical academy, so to speak. He had
a grand piano and an immense Peloubet pedal reed organ in
his parlor, a fine reed organ in his library, and a small reed
organ in his bedroom. His property contained a large lot
with fruit trees and flowers, and it was open every Sunday
afternoon to the members of his class or to his favorite
musical friends of the choir and congregation; and we had
royal good times there for an hour or two during the sum-
mers.

Mr. Jenks was then in the dry-goods business with Harper
and Jenks on Market street He met Mr. Van Nardroff on

334 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

his purchasing trips to New York and before he took any
notice or interest in my efforts. Previous to my acquaintance
with him he published a little camp meeting singing book The
Choral Hymn Book, words only, and as it had an immense
sale he determined to have a music book on the same lines.
In order to obtain the melodies for the hymns he and I
visited the leading singers in and around Philadelphia who
would sing them over while I wrote the tune down and sub-
sequently harmonized it. Mr. Van Nardroff did the same
work in New York. In 1865 he issued The Heart and Voice,
practically a Methodist hymn and tune book, for it contained
every hymn in the Methodist hymn book, though differently
arranged. This book would have had a large sale but for the
fact that Mr. Jenks refused to sell it to The Methodist Book
Concern, and they hurried and issued one of their own, and,
of course, the churches bought the official one.

Mr. Kirkpatrick did the musical work and com-
piling of this last-named collection. It contains
three tunes by Mr, Jenks and there are two hymns
in it written by Mrs. Jenks, Our informant goes
on to say :

Mr. Jenks subsequently went into the insurance business
with the Equitable Company, and lived to be well up in the
seventies. His estimable wife was a fine hostess and enjoyed
the entertainment of all his friends. After her death, his
children all having homes and families of their own, he mar-
ried a young woman and died within a year. Mr. Jenks had
radically advanced ideas in church work, and as he did not
hesitate to express them, he was not popular among church
officials.

The introduction to his Heart and Voice was writ-
ten by John F, Chaplain who was in 1865 the pastor
of the Wharton Street Church in Philadelphia. Mr.
Jenks was a member of the Board of Education in
Philadelphia from 1867 till the time of his death*
He died on Sunday, September 22, 1895, at the
age of seventy-five.

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COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 335

AN INDIAN HYMN

The hymn beginning "In de dark wood, no Indian
nigh," was one of the common hymns used in the
early camp meetings from about 1815 to 1860, and
it is found in many of the books of that period pre-
pared for such occasions. The name of the author
is not known, though Hezekiah Butterworth in his
Story of the Hymns states that it was written by
William Apes, one of the best educated and most
prominent of the Pequod tribe of Massachusetts
Indians. The only evidence of his authorship
appears to be the fact that the hymn was printed
at the end of the second edition of his autobiography
in 1831, The first edition, 1829, does not have it.
It seems more probable that it was merely a favor-
ite of his, and for that reason he added it at the end
of his book. The hymn with music is found in print
as early as 1814, when it appeared in The Youth's
Magazine or Evangelical Miscellany, published in
London in November of that year. William Apes
tells us that he was born in Colraine, Massachusetts,
January 31, 1798. If this is correct, and if it is
true that this hymn was his, it must have been writ-
ten when he was not more than sixteen years of age.
At that time he had not been converted, and during
the year 1814 he was a soldier in the army of the
Continentals, serving most of the time at Platts-
burg, where he was when peace was declared at the
close of the war. It is therefore very unlikely that
he should have written these stanzas at that age.

The title to the music in the Youth's Magazine is
"An Indian Hymn, the air and sentiment from a

336 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

North American Indian," and the hymn has at its
end the initials T. D. C, This music is doubtless
that originally set to the hymn, for the melody is
almost the same as that which I learned from my
father years ago, Und is very similar to the tune
"Ganges," to which it was later set. This latter
tune, called "Hull" in English hymnals, is said to
be the composition of an American, S. Chandler.
Not much has been found about this musician,
though he is reported to have lived in and around
Troy, New York, both before and after the year
1800. James Love, in his Scottish Church Music,
says that the earliest copy of the tune which he had
seen was in John Wyeth's Repository of Sacred
Music, 1812. In a collection of sacred music pub-
lished by Ananias Davisson in July, 1825, the tune is
named "Indian Philosopher," and is set to a hymn by
the Indian preacher, Samson Occam.

WASHINGTON HYMNODY AND PSALMODY 1

WASHINGTON CITY has always been the gathering
place for politicians, diplomats, and statesmen,
because it is the seat of the government. Inventors
and scientists are attracted here by the hopes for
assistance from the nation. The early models of
the first steamboat, the Clermont, built by Robert
Fulton, and financially encouraged by Joel Barlow
of Kalorama, were floated in the waters of Rock
Creek. The first successful trains for passengers
were run into this city from Baltimore in August,

Bead before the Abracadabra Club in Washington, D. C.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 337

1835. The first long-distance telegraph message
was received May 24, 1844, from Baltimore by
Samuel F. B. Morse in the old Indian Office building
at Seventh and El Streets. The early tests of the
airplane were made at Fort Myer by the Wrights
in 1907, and an unsuccessful attempt at flying had
been made by Professor Langley, of the Smithsonian
Institution, several years earlier not far from the
Capital City. The first telephone message from one
house to another was sent by Alexander Graham
Bell while he was a professor in Boston University,
but Washington was the home of this inventor for
many years before his death.

The Capital City has had a long and honorable
history with its Choral Society, its Oratorio Section,
and other less ambitious organizations such as the
Moody Choir, the Inaugural Choruses, and the more
recent Billy Sunday singers. But when we seek the
names of those who have contributed to sacred music
either hymns or hymn tunes, there is no single source
of information. Many denominations have had a
share in this work. The Baptists appear to have
made larger gifts than any other, for the reason,
perhaps, that they had established here the Colum-
bian College as early as 1820. Methodists, Congre-
gationalists, Swedenborgians* Reformed, Presby-
terians, Christians, Catholics, and no doubt others
have accomplished their part.

JOBI* BAELOW

The career of Joel Barlow is very interesting
aside from his Version of the Psalms, and would
furnish material for a long article, but a hasty

338 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

review of his life must suffice to allow for considera-
tion of his hymn work. Joel Barlow was a native
of Connecticut, graduated from Yale in 1778, and
after the Revolutionary War settled in Hartford
for the practice of law. Watts' psalms had been
used for many years in the churches of the General
Association of Connecticut, but after the peace of
1783 and the founding of the national government
there were many local passages in them that it
was thought should be changed to comport more
accurately with the new conditions; furthermore,
there were twelve psalms that Watts had failed to
put into meter. By vote of the General Association
Barlow was authorized to make the desired altera-
tions and add a version of the omitted psalms. This
book was issued in 1785, and immediately took the
place of the version of Watts previously used. For
awhile Barlow was a bookseller in Hartford, where,
in company with Babcock, he devoted his time to
printing his version and placing it upon the market.
Two editions were issued the first year, distinguished
by the word "Watts" upon the title page. Li the
one copy the title reads, "Dr. Watts' Imitation of
the Psalms of David, corrected and enlarged by
Joel Barlow," while the other one reads, "Dr.
Watts's Imitation . . ." This version was adopted
by the Synod of New York and Philadelphia May
24, 1787, and an edition was put out with a some-
what changed title, as "The Psalms, carefully suited
to the Christian worship in the United States of
America, being an improvement of the Old Version
of the Psalms of David."

Mr. Batlow's first public poetry was presented at

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 389

his graduation from Yale. His masterpiece was an
epic poem called "The Columbiad," written in 1808
and dedicated to Robert Fulton. "The Columbiad'*
was reprinted a number of times with successive
corrections by the author, and the last edition was
printed in Washington City, June 1, 1825, though
it was published by Joseph Milligan of Georgetown.
A copy of this very rare edition may be seen in the
Library of Congress.

Our mention of Robert Fulton introduces us to a
number of local allusions, and So we turn aside for
a moment to mention them. Barlow spent a number
of years in Paris, but in 1805 returned to America,
purchased an estate in Washington, which he called
Calorama though later invariably spelled with a
K and settled down to a quiet literary life. This
is a description of the place as given in a letter to
a nephew:

I have here a most beautiful situation; it only wants the
improvements that we contemplate to make it a little para-
dise. It is a beautiful hill about a mile from the Potomac
and two hundred feet in elevation above tidewater with Wash-
ington and Georgetown under my eye and Alexandria eight
miles below still in view, the Potomac reflecting back the sun
in a million forms and losing itself among the bills that try
on each side to shove him from his course. If you have a
plan of the city, I can show you my very spot. Look at the
stream called Rock Creek that divides Washington from
Georgetown. I am just outside of the city on the Washing-
ton side of the creek, just above where it takes its last bend
and begins its straight short course to the Potomac. My hill
is that white circular spot. I find that the name "Belair" has
been already given to many places in Maryland and Virginia,
so by the advice of friends we have changed it for one that
is quite new Calorama from the Greek signifying "fine
view," and this place presents one of the finest views in
America.

340 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Fulton's friendship with Barlow began in 1797,
when he had crossed over from England to France
for the purpose of advancing his projects for
marine navigation. In Paris the two men met, and
during the seven years the inventor remained there,
a room in the poet's house and a seat at his fireside
were always reserved for him. Barlow assisted
financially in the projects for the marine torpedo,
and later upon their return to America, he had a
part in the experiments with the steamboat, the
early models for which were tested in Rock Creek,
where it skirted the base of Kalorama. There is on
exhibition in the halls of the Library of Congress a
letter dated June 8, 1810, at Kalorama written by
Robert Fulton to a member of Congress relative to
his invention of the torpedo.

Mr. Barlow died December 24, 1812, in Poland,
whither he had gone to have an audience with
Napoleon relative to a treaty with the United States,
and he was buried in that foreign land. In 1890
a bill was introduced into Congress providing for
the return of his body to his native land, but noth-
ing came of it.

EPHRAIM M. WHITAKEE

Another Washingtonian, who may have been a
Presbyterian, was Ephraim Mallory Whitaker, who
was born in 1816 and died in 1880. After his mar-
riage he lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but was
appointed in 1865 from the State of New York as
a clerk in the Department of Agriculture, continu-
ing till into the seventies. From 1879 he was in the
book and stationery business with his son, Greenville

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 341

A. In 1872 he furnished one tune for the Church
Hymn Book, compiled by Edwin F. Hatfield, and the
complimentary copy sent him by the publishers is
now in my library.

THE BAPTIST HYMN Boos

This book introduces us to the Baptist writers,
and is itself a Washington product. It was com-
piled by two North Carolina pastors, William P.
Biddle and William J. Newborn; printed in 1825 in
Washington, D. C., by John S. Meehan, who served
later for thirty years as the librarian of Congress ;
recommended by Obadiah B. Brown, pastor of the
First Baptist Church, and by Luther Rice, who was
the virtual founder of Columbian College, now
George Washington University.

WILUAM STAUGHTON

The first president of Columbian College was Wil-
liam Staughton, a native of England, where he was
born January 4, 1770. He came to America in
1793, and after moving from South Carolina to New
York, and to Philadelphia, was secured by Luther
Rice as president for the new college ; and he directed
its destinies for eight years. He had resigned in
1829 to accept the presidency of a new college in
Kentucky, but died in Washington before reaching
his new field of labor. Doctor Staughton began to
write poems at an early age, and had published a
volume when he was only seventeen years old. When
the fourth American edition of John Rippon's
Hymns was printed in 1819 in Philadelphia, it con-
tained additional hymns by William Staughton.

342 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Another edition in 1826 also had some hymns of
his, and The Baptist Hymn Book, already referred
to, has five under his name. He was intensely
patriotic and composed words to be sung to the
French "Marseillaise," and in 1812, when music by
an Italian composer was received in Philadelphia,
he was asked to furnish English words, and wrote
"Strike the Cymbal," which is commonly sung at old
folks 5 concerts.

BABON STOW

Baron Stow was one of the first members of the
new Columbian College. Born June 16, 1801, at
Croyden, New Hampshire, he graduated in 1825
from college, was pastor successively of two Baptist
churches in Boston for thirty-five years, and died
December 27, 1869. On account of his delicate
health he decided not to attend college in the North-
ern climes of his birth, so came to Washington in
September, 1822, and entered Columbian. His
studies were so far advanced that he passed to the
sophomore class before the end of his first year. He
took a part in the first graduation in December,
1824, and completed his own course in December of
the following year, carrying off first honors as vale-
dictorian of his class. His, activities in Washington
may be judged from the fact that during his junior
year he was vice-president of the Sunday School
Union of the District of Columbia, and later served
as editor of the Columbian Star, a Baptist paper,
secretary of the board of trustees of the college, sec-
retary of Sabbath School No. 1, and director of the
Seaman's Friend Society.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 343

In 1843 he edited, in conjunction with the Rev.
Samuel F. Smith, a hymn book called The Psalmist,
intended for Baptist churches, and to take the place
of the editions of Watts that were then in common
use. A revised and enlarged edition of this book
was copyrighted in 1854. A smaller book intended
for use of prayer and conference meetings was pre-
pared in 1848 by these same compilers.

PERCY SEMPLE FOSTEE

The musical abilities of Percy S. Foster, as a
leader of large choirs, are well known to most Wash-
ington people. He was in business here for at least
twenty-five years, and has conducted most of the
large nonprofessional choruses during that time.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, September 15, 1863,
he removed to Baltimore at an early age, where he
began his business career as an expert stenographer.
In 1895 he became manager of the Washington office
of the Baltimore firm of Sanders and Stayman, deal-
ers in musical instruments and supplies. Later he
conducted business along the same lines in his own
name. When Dwight L. Moody held revival services
in Washington in 1894, Mf. Foster organized and
directed the choir which sang at the meetings ; and
for a number of years subsequently the organization
was continued with occasional rehearsals, and it
formed the nucleus of the inaugural choruses which
took part in the concerts during the inaugurations
of McKmley in 1897 and 1901, and of Roosevelt in
1905, Mr. Foster is a member of Immanuel Baptist
Church, was superintendent of its Sunday school for
a number of years, and has served as president of

344 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

the Christian Endeavor Union of the District for
two years. As a successful leader of large bodies
of singers he has directed the choruses at the Chris-
tian Endeavor Conventions at Cleveland, Ohio, in
1894; Boston, 1895; Washington, 1896; Nashville,
1898; Detroit, 1899; Cincinnati, 1901; Boston,
1902; and others. He has written a number of
tunes which have appeared in the Northfield
Hymnal, 1904, and the Christian Endeavor Hymnal,
1901. His "Loyal Soldiers," written in 1895, was
dedicated to the Christian Endeavor Union of the
District of Columbia, and was inserted in the official
program of the Convention of 1896. At a large
assembly held on the east front of the capitol this
piece was sung by a choir of five thousand voices
led by the composer. The words of this inspiring
hymn were written by John D. Morgan, who was in
that year living in Washington as a clerk in the
office of the adjutant-general, and who was secretary
of the local committee which had the arrangements
of the convention in charge.

E. HEZ. SWBM

E. Hez. Swem, one oifthe best-known of the Bap-
tist clergymen of the city, is also a musician* His
church, Centennial Baptist Church at Seventh and
I Streets N. E., is in a new building and has a large
choir and a fine new pipe organ. The church has
been using a special edition of The Gospel Message,
printed in 1912 by ijie Hall-Mack Company, and
having at the beginning a picture of Doctor Swem,
and thirty-three of his compositions, both words and
music. Recently the church has purchased a new

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 345

hymn book, The Baptist Hymnal, by W. H. Doane
and E. H. Johnson, 1883, in which there have been
bound as a supplement thirty-nine of the pastor's
compositions.

Doctor Swem is a native of Indiana, and received
his education at ItePauw University and at the
Southern Baptist Theological School at Louisville,
Kentucky. He was ordained in 1881, and held two
pastorates before coming to Washington in August,
1884, where he has served the same church for nearly
forty years. He has been moderator of the Colum-
bia Association of Baptist Churches for several
terms.

JEREMIAH MINTEE

In 1818 there was printed for the author, Jere-
miah Minter, in Washington City, A Boole of Hymns
and Spiritual Songs for the use of all Christians,
never before published, containing two hundred and
sixteen pages. He tells us that he had already issued
about one hundred and seventy hymns and songs in
three different small publications, and also a volume
of psalms, all of his own composition, but I have not
been able to find a trace of any one of them. He was
a preacher in Virginia, and we learn from his book
a few facts about him. In the preface of his book
he says:

There have been many collections of hymns and spiritual
songs published in bur country but none that can claim the
merit and attention of being all new or by one man that I
have met with or heard of, to the amount of one half the
number of this volume. There is great diversity in these com-
positions, many and far the most suiting any sincere Christian
in devotion, but some of them can be fully understood by such
Christians as have passed through very great afflictions and

846 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

tribulations and oppressions both of body and of mind with
God's special aid to triumph through.

Of himself he writes :

I stand in the ministry of the gospel as an independent,
calling myself by no name but a Christian and wish for no
other.

He then adds this experience, which may indicate
that he inclined toward the Baptists:

I am very credibly informed that an old Baptist preacher
by the name of John Courtney, has so far disgraced himself
in trying to disgrace me or in the aim of raising his fame
upon my shame or at the expense of my reputation as a Chris-
tian as to tell different persons, how many I know not, a posi-
tive lie against me, namely, that when I first embraced reli-
gion I offered myself to him to baptize me and that he re-
fused me. Now, that I asked him his principles upon pre-
destination and told him a little of my religious experience, I
by no means deny. But I said not one word about baptism
or joining him at all.

A sample verse from one of his hymns is added:

"My God is true, I know he is,

His ways are just and meet;
I'll trust his love, his goodness prove
Or perish at his feet."

The following quotation from The Recollections
of a Long Life, by Jeremiah Bell Jeter, 1891, adds a
few interesting items about Mr. Minter:

In my boyhood I saw. another man who, if less gifted and
less distinguished than (Lorenzo) Dow, was certainly not less
eccentric. This was Jeremiah Minter. He was a tall, spare
man, probably sixty years old when I saw him. His resi-t
dence was, I think, in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He was
an independent, itinerant evangelist probably an imitator of
Dow. He had been a Methodist but either from choice or
necessity, had been dissevered from that communion* He

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 347

wrote and published several small volumes which he sold
probably for his support, in his religious ramblings. He'
interpreted Matthew XIX, 12 literally, and showed his faith
by his works. His error can scarcely be considered so strange,
as it is that the same operation should be performed to
secure for the Pope's choir at Rome fine alto voices. It made
Minter, however, an object of curiosity and wonder, and
caused him to be viewed with mingled emotions of contempt
and amazement.

Whether he was a monomaniac I am not qualified to say.
His appearance, manners, and conversation, so far as I can
remember them, furnished no proof of his insanity. A state-
ment contained in one of his books seemed to evince that he
was laboring under a hallucination. In one of his journeys
among the Allegheny mountains he affirms, with great confi-
dence, that he saw the ghost of Bishop Asbury (I think that
is the name), and that he was in torment. He appeared in an
old field, on the roadside, in the form of a white horse. That
Minter saw the horse is quite likely, but how he identified him
with the good bishop he does not state. If the white horse
was really a spirit from the invisible world, it might more
reasonably be inferred from his color that he was an "angel
of light" than a lost spirit from the region of "the blackness
of darkness." To all ages and among all peoples white has
been the symbol of purity and black of guilt and error.

UNITARIAN HYMN BOOKS

In 1821 the Unitarian Church in Washington
was on the northeast corner of Sixth and D Streets
N. W. The pastor, the Rev. Robert Little, lived
near by on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue,
between Second and Third Streets. On the east
side of Ninth Street, between D and E, was the
printing office of William Cooper, Jr. During this
year the printer named issued a book of two hun-
dred and twelve pages of Hymns for the Use of the
Unitarian Church in Washington. No compiler is
named, but there is a notice of recommendation from
the pastor of the church, the Rev. Robert Little.

348 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

The following has been taken mostly from the
life of Jared Sparks. Mr, Little, the Unitarian
candidate in charge of the Washington Society, was
an Englishman, born in London, who had been six
years a Calvinist preacher in Perth, Scotland, and
for two or three years a Unitarian preacher in
Gainesborough, Lincolnshire. He had removed to
America with his family and had brought a letter of
introduction to Mr. Sparks from the Rev. Mr. Bel-
sham, of London, in the fall of 1819. He soon took
up his residence in Washington, and, assisted by Mr.
Sparks, began to develop a Unitarian society. He
served as the chaplain of the House of Representa-
tives for five months in 1821. He died in August,
1827, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, from inflamma-
tion of the brain, contracted by traveling in the
intense heat on his journey thither.

STEPHEN GBEENLEAF BULFINCH

Another graduate from Columbian College was
Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. He was born in Boston
June 18, 1809, but at the age of nine was taken to
Washington, where his father, Charles Bulfinch, had
been engaged as architect for the rebuilding of the
capitol, burned by the British in August, 1814. Mr.
Bulfinch was educated in Washington, graduated
from Columbian College in 1827, and from the Har-
vard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
in 1830. The following year he was ordained in the
Unitarian ministry at Charlestown, South Carolina,
by Dr. Samuel Gilman, a New England preacher,
whose father-in-law was one of the "Indians 5 * who
took part in the Boston tea party. From 1837 to

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 349

1845 this young clergyman was pastor of the Uni-
tarian church in the capital city, whence he had
come from a church in Pittsburgh. He continued to
serve several churches till his death, October 12,
1870.

Mr. Bulfinch wrote many hymns which have been
in common use in various hymnals, mostly in those
intended for Unitarians. His first ones were con-
tained in his book, Contemplations of the Saviour,
issued in 1832 at Boston when he was only twenty-
one years old. This book consisted of fifty selections
from the Scriptures followed by reflections and a
hymn. Twenty-eight of these hymns were original.
In 1857 he put forth a selection of hymns called
The Harp and Cross. His most popular hymn
begins :

"Hail to the Sabbath day!
The day divinely given,
When men to God their homage pay,
And earth draws near to heaven."

JOHN QTJINCY ADAMS

Few think of John Quincy Adams as a hymn
writer, or know that he made a complete metrical
version of the psalms. This was never printed, but
when his pastor in Quincy, the Rev. William P. Lunt 5
was preparing a hymn book, The Christian Psalter,
in 1841, he selected seventeen of these psalms and
five of the other poetical compositions of the former
President, and placed them in his book. His version
of the nineteenth psalm is in three stanzas and is
very close to the original as will appear from the
first one, which is here quoted.

850 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

"Turn to the stars of heaven thine eyes,

And God shall meet thee there;
Exalt thy vision to the skies,

His glory they declare.
Day speaks to day, night teaches night.

The wonders of their frame,
And all in harmony unite

Their maker to proclaim."

Mr* Adams lived in Washington four years as
President, and then seventeen as representative
from the Bay State, dying here at his post of duty
February 21, 1848.

JOHN W, BISCHOFP

Of the three musicians from the First Congrega-
tional Church, Doctor Bischoff comes first to mind.
Most of us knew him, at least by sight, and all who
heard him play the organ were charmed by the
beauty and the resources of his execution. He was
born in 1849, became blind at the age of two years,
came to the Congregational Church as organist and
choir-director at the age of twenty-five, and
remained for thirty-five years up to the date of his
death on Memorial Day, May 30, 1909. He was a
prolific composer, most of his work being of the
lyric style. In his first book, Crystal Songs 9 com-
piled in 1877 with the assistance of Otis F. Presbrey,
there are thirty-two tunes of his composition. Dur-
ing many years of his service here he provided music
lovers with a series of monthly concerts, at which a
high grade of music was rendered.

OTIS F. PKESBEEY
Otis F, Presbrey (1820-1900) was educated for a

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 351

physician and followed that profession for four
years. Later he became connected with the Internal
Revenue Department at Buffalo, and then in Rich-
mond. He came to Washington in 1870 as attorney
for the claims made against that department. From
this city he went to New York city, and was for a
time publisher of the New York Evangelist. During
the twenty-one years that he lived in Washington he
was a trustee of Howard University. He was also
a trustee of the Congregational Church, and for
five years the superintendent of its Sunday school.
In Gospel Bells there are several pieces of music of
his composition.

JEREMIAH EAMES RANKIN

Three years after the issue of Crystal Songs, the
organist and superintendent were assisted by their
pastor in the preparation of another book called
Gospel Bells, bearing date of 1880, which is note-
worthy as containing the first appearance in print
of the farewell song, now so popular, "God Be With
You Till We Meet Again." About forty of the
hymns in this book were contributed by Doctor
Rankin, and half a dozen were set to his own music.
One tune bears the name of Walter N. Rankin, a son
of the minister, of whom we are told by the records
of the Congregational Church that he joined there
January 5, 1873, and that he died May 11, 1877.

Jeremiah E. Rankin is so well known to Washing-
tonians that it will suffice to say that he became a
native of New Hampshire, January 2, 1828, and
closed his earthly labors in Cleveland, Ohio, Novem-
ber 28, 1904. Nineteen years of his life were spent

352 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

in the capital city fifteen as pastor of the Congre-
gational church and four as president of Howard
University.

WILLIAM GOULD TOMER

The hymn "God Be With You Tttl We Meet
Again" introduces us to a Methodist composer, for
it was William G. Tomer's music which has been
wedded to this hymn since it was first used in public.
During the nine months of his war service as a mem-
ber of the One Hundred and Fifty-third Pennsyl-
vania Infantry, he was detailed at the headquarters
of General O. O. Howard, the founder of Howard
University, and at the close of the war he dame to
Washington, where he spent nearly twenty years in
the employ of the government, most of the time in
the office of the third auditor, but later in the office
of the adjutant-general. At the time of writing this
music I am told he was leading the choir in the-Grace
Methodist Episcopal Church. Both he and Doctor
Bischoff submitted a tune for the words, but Mr.
Tomer's was selected and adopted for use in Gospel
Bells. After leaving Washington Mr. Tomer taught
school for a number of years in New Jersey, where
he died in 1897.

HAEEEET EUGENIA PECK BUELL

Mrs. Buell was born Sunday, November 2, 1834,
near Cazenovia, New York, and died on Sunday,
February 6, 1910, at Washington, D. C. The hymn
"Child of a King" was suggested to her during
a Sunday-morning service which she was attending
in 1878 at Thousand Island Park, New York, and

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 353

the stanzas were largely composed while she was
walking home to her cottage after the service. She
had no thought of its ever being used as a hymn.
She was a constant contributor for something like
fifty years to the Northern Christian Advocate, pub-
lished at Syracuse, New York, and the poem was
sent, as were most of her writings, to that paper.
It was first published in 1878, and she received, much
to her surprise, a copy of the hymn and music in
the autumn of that year, from the Rev. John B,
Sumner, a total stranger to her. He found it in the
Advocate. Another surprise came to her shortly
afterward, when she first heard it sung in public.
She had returned from her summer home at Thou-
sand Island Park to her home at Manlius, New York,
and the pastor of the Manlius Methodist Church, of
which she was for many years an enthusiastic mem-
ber, had asked her to read a paper at the Sunday-
evening service. At its conclusion he announced as
a solo by the church soprano, Miss May Williams,
now Mrs. Amasa Scoville, of Chicago, the hymn,
"Child of a King." This hymn has become very
popular, has been copied into many books, and has
been translated into a number of languages. A few
of her other poems have been set to music, but are
not now in use. Mrs. Buell lived in Washington
during the winters from 1898 to the time of her
death, but always spending her summers at her loved
cottage at Thousand Island Park.

DAVID CREAMER

The first American Hymnology was based on The
Methodist Hymnal of 1832 and was compiled by

354 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

David Creamer. Though a resident of Baltimore
for the greater part of his life, he spent his last ten
years as a clerk in the Post Office Department in
this city. He died April 8, 1887. Mr. Creamer was
one of the committee of seven appointed in 1848 to
revise The Methodist Hymnal, being one of the two
laymen of this committee. The other layman was

ROBERT ATHOW WEST.

Mr. West was then a resident of Brooklyn. But
he too spent his last years in this city, residing in
Georgetown, and employed in the office of the judge-
advocate general. He died February 1, 1865, and
is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. He contributed two
hymns to The Methodist Hymnal of 1849, one of
them having the following as its first stanza :

"Come, let us tune our loftiest song,

And raise to Christ our joyful strain;
Worship and thanks to him belong,
Who reigns, and shall forever reign."

This hymn writer was the father of Henry Litchfield
West, a former commissioner of the District of
Columbia.

JOHN TUKNEB LAYTON

Washington has had one colored composer to
whose efforts are due the compilation of the hymn
book now used by the African Methodist Episcopal
Church. This book was prepared under the direc-
tion of a committee of that church, but most of the
work was done in this city at the home of John T.
Lay ton, his wife and Bishop Embry assisting. Mr.
Layton was born of free parents in 1849, and had

VYfl

ROBERT ATHOW WEST

From picture furnished by his son,

Henry Litchfield West

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 355

an exceptional training for his life-work as a mu-
sician, beginning at Round Lake, New York, then a
course at Northwestern University, Evanston,
Illinois, followed by special courses under Doctor
Kimball and Ernest Lent, of this city. After coming
to Washington he served a few years on the police
force, and in 1883 entered the public schools as a
teacher of music. In a short time he was selected
as the first male director of music in the colored
schools, and retained this position up to the time of
his death, February 14, 1916. For forty-three
years he sang in and directed the choir in the Met-
ropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, and as con-
ductor of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Choral So-
ciety secured the presence of that composer when
the society rendered his masterpiece, "Hiawatha."
His compilation already referred to contains a dozen
tunes by Mr. Layton, and at the end of the book are
a number of pieces for special occasions, written
mostly by colored authors. Among these is one by
Miss Mary E. Chur'ch, who after becoming the wife
of Robert H. Terrell, a judge of the municipal
court, served as a member of the School Board for
several years. This book also contains two tunes by
Henry F. Grant, a colored teacher of music in this
city.

FRANK SEWAIX

Frank Sewall, of the S-wedenborgian Church, has
compiled more hymn books than any other Wash-
ingtonian that I know of. He was born in Bath,
Maine, September 24, 1837, graduated from Bow-
doin College in 1858 as A. B., received the degree of

356 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Master of Arts in 1862, and S. T. D. in 1902. He
was ordained in the New Church in 1863, and held
two pastorates before coming to this city. He was
president of Urbana University for sixteen years,
came to Washington in 1890 to become pastor of
the Swedenborgian Church, and was president of the
Swedenborgian Scientific Association from 1898 up
to the time of his death. He died December 7, 1915.
Someone has divided his life into three periods of
twenty-six years each the first in preparation, the
second in pastoral work before coming to Washing-
ton, and the last twenty-six years was spent in this
city.

He began his hymnological work in 1867 with the
issue of The Christian Hymnal, to which he con-
tributed twenty-two tunes, there printed for the first
time. During the same year he prepared A Prayer
Boole for the use of the New 'Church. A book of
hymns, songs and lessons for the children of the
New Church, called The Welcome, and having
eighty pages, was published in New York in 1868.
The preface is signed F. S., Glendale, Ohio. Doctor
Sewall was a member of the committee which pre-
pared the Book of Worship for the New Church in
1912, a hymn book in which there are two anthems
and seventeen tunes credited to him.

In 1884 he edited A Daily Psalter and Hymnal,
with tunes for schools and households, and the same
year prepared A Manual of Daily Devotions con-
taining the Litany, Psalter, Gospels, and Com-
panion to the Altar. In The Hosanna, published in
1878, there are twelve pieces attributed to him. His
latest-work was perhaps as chairman of the com-

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 357

mittee in 1912 which reported a tentative edition
of the Boole of Worship for the use of the New
Church. This hook has one of his chants.

THE REV. JOHN M. SCHICK

The Rev. John M. Schick was born in Richmond,
Virginia, November 8, 1848, was educated at
Mercerburg College, Franklin County, Pennsylvania,
and had served three churches before coming to
Washington in 1900. He came here from Tiffin,
Ohio, one of the university towns of the Reformed
Church, where he had among the members of his
congregation professors from the faculties of both
Heidelberg College and the Theological Seminary.
It is from this institution that he received his degree
of Doctor of Divinity in 1891. During his pastor-
ate in this city President Roosevelt was an attendant
at his church. Doctor Schick wrote much for the
publications of his church, was for ten years stated
clerk for the Pittsburgh Synod, and held an impor-
tant position on many of the church boards.

At a meeting of the General Synod of the
Reformed Church in the United States, held in
Akron, Ohio, June, 1887, Doctor Schick was
appointed one of the committee to prepare such a
collection of hymns as should be best adapted to
the needs of the church. This book was issued in
1900. A copy in my possession is filled with his cor-
rections as to spelling, capitalization, and punctua-
tion.

FATHEB, SIDNEY S. HUELBTJT

The most recent book of sacred music by a formei

358 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

resident of Washington is A Treasury of Catholic
Song, issued in 1815 for the compiler, Sidney S.
Hurlbut, by S- Fischer & Brother in New York
city. There were some errors in this book, as shown
by a page of errata, and in the following year, with
a double copyright, 1915 and 1916, a second edition
was published under the auspices of the Saint Mary's
Auxiliary of Hagerstown, Maryland. The book con-
tains 236 pages of words and music, and is, the
compiler says, the fruit of many years' careful criti-
cal selective editorial labor.

Here and there a verse translated from Latin, in
one instance a carol from the German, and some five
musical settings the joint work of Father Hurlbut
and Mr. George Herbert Wells, the latter a music
teacher residing in this city. Father Hurlbut was
a native of Wisconsin, born in 1858 of New Eng-
land Protestant parents, and was engaged in secu-
lar activity until a period of very discreet manhood
in the city of Chicago, with the exception of two
years, 1885-86, when he held a position in the
Treasury Department at the capital. His studies
for the priesthood were made among the Passionists
in the Balkan countries and his ordination was
received in Bucharest, Rumania, in 1898. Continu-
ing his theological studies for one year in Rome he
returned to America in poor health, and after a
year or more of convalescence in Washington, the
time being spent at the University and at Saint
Paul's Church on V Street, he was adopted into the
Baltimore Archdiocese and given pastoral work in
Rockville, 1900, ClarksviUe, Maryland, 1900-11,
and in. 1911 he removed to Saint Mary's Church in

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 359

Hagerstown, where he remained up to the time of
his death in the year 1921.

Perhaps the most interesting book published in
Washington, D. C., for the Roman Church was "A
Collection of Psalms, Hymns, etc. (with the evening
office), for the use of the Catholic Church through-
out the United States." It was printed by J. F.
Haliday in 1830, and contained 289 pages. Besides
the Catholic hymns, many of which were in Latin,
there were some from Watts, Wesley, Doddridge,
and Pope, as well as from some lesser known Prot-
estant writers.

TEOBO HABBIS

Thoro Harris is a native of Washington, having
been born there March 31, 1874. He lived there for
most of the time up to 1903, when he removed to
Chicago, and since that time he has been engaged in
composing and arranging music and in editing and
publishing hymn, books. He is the owner of the
Windsor Music Company, which published almost
every class of music, his works of sacred music num-
bering more than a score. His tune in The Method-
ist Hymnal is called "Crimea." In other books he
has shown his familiarity with this vicinity by using
such names as "Takoma," "Sligp," "Anacostia,"
"Vienna," "Benning," and "Berwyn."

JOHN LUCKEY MCCBEEBY

The hymn of Mr. McCreery, "There Is No Death,"
is one of the most frequently asked for in the col-
umns of the Notes and Queries in various newspapers
and magazines. It is a long poem, but four of its

360 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

stanzas were used as a hymn in The Spiritual Harp
of 1868, and it is also to be found in another and
later hymnal for the use of Spiritualists. It is popu-
lar not only on account of the human interest that it
has for everyone, but from the fact that it was for
a long time attributed to Bulwer Lytton. The story
of the manner in which it came to be connected with
the name of Lord Lytton is a strange one.

The poem was first printed in Arthur's Home
Magazine for July, 1863. The author at that time
was living in Delhi, Iowa, and publishing the Dela-
ware County Journal. After the appearance of his
poem in the Philadelphia paper he copied it into
his own, crediting it to the Home Magazine instead
of signing his own name to it. A marked copy was
sent to a friend in Illinois, where Mr. McCreery had
learned the printer's trade, and this friend reprinted
the poem in the paper on which he was then work-
ing. Someone named Eugene Bulmer wrote an
article for a Chicago paper on immortality and
closed with these verses without attributing them
to the source from which taken. From this paper
the verses only were copied and ascribed to the
author of the article on immortality, but instead of
using the whole of the given name the verses were
signed, E. Bulmer. Now some wise body, who knew
more about Edward Bulwer than of E. Bulmer,
thought he had discovered a typographical error,
and having changed the "m" to "w" the evolution
was nearly complete. One more change and the
poem became the composition of Bulwer-Lytton,

John Luckey McCreery was born December 31,
1835, in Sweden, Monroe County, New York.

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 361

Luckey was his mother's maiden name. His father
was a Methodist minister. His brother was pre-
pared for his father's calling, but John did not
incline in that direction. He began to learn short-
hand when he was fifteen years old, thus preparing
for his life-work as a newspaper man. He learned
the printer's trade in the office of the Telegraph
at Dixon, Illinois. In 1856 he removed with his
father's family to Iowa, and grew up with the coun-
try. He founded the Delaware County Journal at
Delhi, and conducted it for four years. Later he
served for a number of years as superintendent of
the schools of Delaware County, and for fifteen years
he was connected with papers in Dubuque as edito-
rial writer. He came to Washington in 1880, and
served with the Congressional committee that went
to the South to investigate the election frauds there.
He also served with several other congressional com-
mittees, held a position in the Post Office Depart-
ment, and during the last years of his life he was
an assistant attorney in the Interior Department.
He died September 8, 1906, from the effects of an
operation for appendicitis.

"There is no death. The stars go down

To rise upon some fairer shore;
And bright in Heaven's jeweled crown
They shine forevermore.

"There is no death. The dust we tread

Shall change beneath the summer showers,
To golden grain or mellowed fruit
Or rainbow-tinted flowers.

"There is no death. The leaves may fall,
The flowers may fade and pass away
They only wait through wintry hours,
The warm sweet breath of May."

362 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

MATHIAS KELLER
1813-1875

THE AMERICAN HYMN
(THE HYMN THAT COST A HOUSE)

AFTEB a description of the writers who have lived
and produced hymns or music in our national cap-
ital, what more appropriate subject to close these
sketches than Mathias Keller and his "American
Hymn"? It may seem rather incongruous that a
foreign-born German should write a national hymn
that has been as popular as Keller's American
Hymn. Yet for over sixty years it has held a place
side by side with the other patriotic compositions
such as "Hail Columbia," and "The Star-Spangled
Banner." Mathias Keller, the writer of both words
and music referred to, was born at Ulm, in Wurtem-
burg, Germany, March 20, 1813. When very young
his musical aptitude showed itself, and this was en-
couraged by his parents, who sent him to study at
Stuttgart. At the age of sixteen he began his pub-
lic career as first violinist in the Royal Chapel,
retaining this position for five years. It was during
this period that he began to compose. Next he
studied harmony and counterpoint at Vienna, and
three years later became bandmaster of the third
Royal Brigade, which position he held for seven
years* He was a republican in politics, and quite
free in the expression of his views. So it is not
strange to find that his superior officers should have
occasion to criticize him, and that he should become

COMPILERS OF SACRED MUSIC 363

unpopular. Thoughts of leaving the Fatherland
had already come to him when he attended a Fourth
of July celebration and dinner with a Mr. Thorn-
dyke, a New Englander from Boston, Massachusetts,
and it was not long before he had made up his mind
to emigrate to that New World, where every man
could have an opinion, and need not fear to express
it. March 20, 1846, was his thirty-third birthday,
and it was also the day that he started for his new
home, taking passage from Havre. Among the
passengers upon the boat was a family named Ravel,
and the polka which he composed on the trip he
called the "Ravel Polka. 59 For this piece he received
one dollar and a half.

Once on American soil, he sought out a friend in
Philadelphia, by whose assistance he secured a
position as player of first viol in the Walnut Street
Theater. Later he was leader for Miss Jean
Davenport at the Chestnut Street Theater, after
which he removed to New York. It was while
here that he saw an offer of five hundred dol-
lars for an "American Hymn," and determined
to enter the competition. The financial part of the
offer was not the chief incentive so much as the
popularity which would come to him if he should be
successful. Both the words and the music were of
his own composition, and they won the prize. The
words begin, "Speed our republic, Father on

high!"

Having won the prize, it now remained to intro-
duce the hymn to the public at a grand concert.
Of this concert he says :

The piece was privately rehearsed by my orchestra, meet-

364 AMERICAN WRITERS AND

Ing with a hearty approval, and it was resolved that the hymn
should be brought before the public at a concert to be given
at the Academy of Music in New York, the project of which
involved an outlay of about six hundred dollars, which I had
not at hand. My brother at that time had laid aside between
three and four hundred dollars for the payment of an install-
ment on his house, which then was used, together with a bor-
rowed sum of two hundred dollars to give a grand Union Con-
cert, which brought on a loss of about five hundred dollars, the
total receipt of the concert having been only forty-two dollars.
The consequence was that my brother lost his house, and there
was yet to pay the two hundred dollars borrowed from a
. friend.

In Boston he was more successful in having his
hymn taken up by the bands and made a part of
many of their programs. For several successive
years it was played by the bands on the Common on
Independence Day, and at the surrender of the Regi-
mental Flags to the State at the close of the war
this piece was played by Gilmore's Band at the
special request of Governor Andrew.

At the beginning of the war a song by W. W.
Story, "Up With the Flag of the Stripes and the
Stars," was arranged for four male voices by
Mathias Keller, and among the music which was
used at the First Peace Jubilee in Boston in 1869,
there were three pieces by him. The music of the
Invocation Hymn was his, the "American Hymn"
was used as a setting for the "Ode of Peace," writ-
ten by D*. Oliver Wendell Holmes for the occasion,
and the "German Union Hymn," written especially
for this Jubilee. The latter was dedicated to
Emperor Wilhelm, and drew from the Kaiser an
autographic letter of acknowledgment and a small
gift of money, which later Mr. Keller, with his char-

COMPILERS OP SACRED MUSIC 365

acteristic generosity, sent home for the benefit of
the German soldiers who had suffered in the war
with France. At the Second Peace Jubilee, held in
Boston in 1872, Mr. Keller conducted his "German
Union Hymn" on the third day, and a newspaper
account of it comments as follows : "It is effective
and is constructed on the true model of national
music, being broad, simple, and imposing." He
wrote over one hundred songs, including many of a
sacred nature, such as "A Christmas Carol," and
"The Babe of Bethlehem." About fifty of his com-
positions were settings to words by Dexter Smith,
the publisher of a musical magazine for many years.
For much of his music he wrote the words himself,
and a year before he died he collected his literary
work and published a collection under the title,
Keller's Poems. One has said of his pieces, "None
poor, many are remarkable for their grace, tender-
ness and beauty."

"Possessed of a genial sunny nature, which shone
through his music as well as through his kindly eyes,
he was a general favorite among his circle of pro-
fessional and other acquaintances. Even a long
series of reverses did not seem to sour his disposition
or dampen his spirits, and he was philosopher
enough to discern even the humorous side of misfor-
tune. His venerable, patriotic form was for many
years familiar on the streets of Boston, and many
who did not even know his name nor his music missed
him when he had gone." His last days were spent
with a married daughter. He suffered much from
rheumatism, but the direct cause of his death was
paralysis. He died October 13, 1875, leaving as his

AMERICAN WRITERS AND

nost popular contribution to the music of his
idopted country the "American Hymn," which bears
lis name, and which, as he had requested, was sung
sit his funeral, rendered by a Swedish quartet. He
eras buried in the Dorchester District beside his
wife, who had died several years before him,

KELLER'S AMERICAN HYMN

"Speed our republic, O Father on high!

Lead us in pathways of justice and right;
Rulers as well as the ruled, one and all,
Girdle with virtue, the armor of might!

Hail, three times hail, to our country and flag!

"Foremost in battle, for freedom to stand,

We rush to arms when aroused by its call;
Still as of yore when George Washington led,
Thunders our war-cry, we conquer or fall!
Hail, three times hail, to our country and Hag!

"Rise up, proud eagle, rise up to the clouds,

Spread thy broad wings o'er this fair Western world;
Fling from thy beak our dear banner of old!
Show that it still is for freedom unfurled !
Hail, three times hail, to our country and flag !"

ERRATA

The following page numbers tor the subjects named should
be noted instead ol r those appearing in the Index:

American Musical Magazine, BOOKS
96 Plain Tunes, 70

Hesponsary, 91 J
Hudinients of Music, 17S3,

75, 77

Select Harmony, (>,>, 70
Songs for the* New Life,

267

Worshiper's Assistant, SO
/ion's Harp, 90, U2

BELCHER, SUPPLY, 83
BENHAM, ASAI-IEL, 90
BOOKS

American Musical Maga-
zine, 96

American Singing Book, 95

Anthems, Samuel Dyer, 208

Art of Singing, 72

Christian Harmony, 72, 122,
123 .

Columbian Harmonist, 97

Columbian Harmony, 85

Devotional Harmony, 93

Divine Songs, 87

Divine Hymns on the Suf-
ferings of Christ, 80

BWOWNSON,, OLIVER, (>5
BULL, AMOS, 93
Copyright, The second, 75
Doo LITTLE, AMOS, 89, 94
Forbush, Ahijah, 82
Funeral Elegy on the death
of George Washington, 87

Farmers Evening Enter- HOWE, Soumoir, 79

- ~ b Come, let us tune our loftiest

tainment, 80

Federal Harmony, Ben-
ham, 91

Funeral Elegy, 1800, on the
death of George Wash-
ington, 87

Harmonic Companion, 78

Harmony of Maine, 84

Hymn of Peace, 87

Introduction to Psalmody,
96

Massachusetts Collection of
Sacred Harmony, 82

Massachusetts Harmony, 62,
76, 77

Musical Primer, 72, 74, 163

New Collection of Sacred
Harmony, 65

New England Selection, 88

New Haven Collection of
Sacred Music, 98

Northampton Collection of
Sacred Harmony, 82

Original Collection of
Psalm Tunes, 202

song, 354
Jocelyn, Nathaniel, 90
Jocelyn, S. S., 90
LAW, ANDREW, 68
MANN, ELI AS, 81
Mann, Herman, 83, 154
Maxwell, James, 254
METCALF, SAMUEL LYTLKR,

227

MORGAN, JUSTIN, 66
Nettleton, Asahel, 90, 142
READ, DANIEL, 94
READ, JOEL, 87
Staughton, William, 73, 208,

209, 341

Stone, Joseph, 85
TVNES

Hymn of Peace, 87

Mear, 70

Montgomery, 68

Sherburne, 99
WOOD, ABRAHAM, 85
Woodruff, Merit N., 93

The first sentence under "Amos Doolittle," page 89, should
begin: Amos Doolittk, the partner of Simeon Jocelyn (sec
page 64),

INDEX

(Titles of articles are in capitals and small capitals)

Adams, John Quincy, 349
Adams, B. M., 320
ADDINGTON, STEPHEN, 173
ADGATE, ANDREW, 29
AITKEN, JOHN, 45
ALBEE, AMOS, 153
American Musical Magazine,

ARMBRUSTER, ANTHONY, 32
Articles of agreement for print-
ing The Instrumental Assis-
tant, 117

BAKER, BENJAMIN P., 283, 289
BANCROFT, SILAS A., 293
Barlow, Joel, 337
Bates, Katharine Lee, 308
BAYLEY, DANIEL, 23
Beecher, Henry Ward, 266, 272
Belcher, Rev. Samuel, 13
BELCHER, SUPPLY, 84
BELKNAP, DANIEL, 146
BENHAM, ASAHEL, 89
Biddle, William P., 341
BILLINGS. WILLIAM, 51, 129
Bischoff, John W., 350
BLAKE, GEORGE E., 172
BLANCHARD, AMOS, no
Blondell, William, 265
BOOKS
American Camp Meeting

Hymn Book, 332
American Harmony, 126
American Harp, 222
American Musical Maga-
zine, 95 m .
American Musical Pnmer,

in

American Psalmody, 184
American Singing Book, 94

BOOKS
Ancient I/

223

36?

j 209

Apollo Harmony, 148
Art of Singing, 74
Atheneum Collection, 295
Baptist Hymn Book, 1830,

341; 1883, 345 ^
Beauties of Psalmody, 120
Boston Musical Education

Society's Collection, 283
Brattle Street Collection,

152

Bridgswater Collection of
Sacred Music, 1802, 151;
1812, 168

Catholic Collection of
Psalms, Hymns, etc., 359
Chants for Four Voices, 49
Charlestown Collection, 127
Choral Friend, 270
Chorister's Companion, 64
Christian Harmonist, 115,

116
Christian Harmony, 73, 122,

123

Christian Heart Songs, 271
Christian Psalter, 349
Christodolphua f uneral ser-
mon of Thomas Walter, 22
Church Melodies, 265
Classical Sacred Music, 148 .
Collection of Anthems and

Hymn Tunes, 1784, 27
Columbian and European

Harmony, 1802, 151
Columbian Harmonist, 96
Columbian Harmony, 86
Columbian Repository of Sa-
cred Harmony, 114

368

INDEX

BOOKS

Columbian Sacred Harmon-
ist, 183

Columbian Sacred Minstrel,
163

Columbian Sacred Psalm-
onist, 154

Continental Harmony, 61,
288

Crystal Songs, 350

David's Psalms set to music,
49

Deerneid Collection, 175
Delights of Harmony, 155
Devotional Harmony, 92
Devotional Melodies, 332
Divine Musical Miscellany,

36

Divine Songs, 88
Divine Songs on the Suffer-
ings of Christ, 82
Dyer's New Selection of Sa-
cred Music, 207
Essex Harmony, 1770, Bay-

ley, 27

Essex Harmony, 1800, 113
Evangelical Harmony, 147
Evening Melodies, 265
Farmer's Evening Enter-
tainment, 8 1
Father Kemp's Old Folks

Concert Music, 288
Federal Harmony, Benham,

90

Federal Harmony, 1785, 107
Funeral Elegy, 1800, on the
death of George Washing-
ton, 88

Gentleman and Lady's Mu-
sical Companion, 43
Golden Chain, 277
Gospel Message, 344
Greatorex Collection of Sa-
cred Music, 260
Grounds and Rules of Mu-

sick, 1721, 19

Handel and Haydn Collec-
tion of Sacred Music, 211

BOOKS

Hark! from the Tombs, 116
Harmonia Americana, 115
Harmonia Selecta, 109
Harmonic Companion, 79
Harmonist's Companion, 147
Harmony of Harmony, 89
Harmony of Maine, 86
Harmony of Zion, 156
Hartford Collection, 248
Hartford Collection of Sa-
cred Harmony, 156
Heart and Voice, 334
Heavenly Echoes, 296
Hosanna, The, 356
Hymn of Peace, 88.
Hymns and Spiritual Songs,

Maxwell, 255

Hymns for the Use of the

Unitarian Church in

Washington, 347

Instrumental Assistant, 117

Introduction to Psalmody,

95

Introduction to the Grounds

and Rules of Music, 1764,

Bayley, 26
Introduction to the Singing

of Psalm Tunes, 14
Kentucky Harmonist, 227
Laus Deo: The Harmony of

Zion, or The Union Com-
piler, 1818, 156
Litanies and Vespers ... for

the Catholic Church, 45
Manual of the Broad

Church, 302
Massachusetts Collection of

Sacred Harmony, 83
Massachusetts Collection of

Psalmody, 244
Massachusetts Compiler,

Ii6, 127, 135
Massachusetts Harmony, 62,

77,78
Masses, Vespers, Litanies,

etc., 140

Melodia Sacra, 184
Melodies of the Church, 264

INDEX

BOOKS

Mendelssohn Collection, 276
Meridian Harmony, 150
Methodist Hyxnnology, 249,

251
Middlesex Collection of

Church Music, 109
Modern Collection, 127
Music in Miniature, 60
Music of the Church, 219
Musica Sacra, 178, 196
Musical Casket, 263
Musical Harmonist, 155
Musical Olio, 107, 183
Musical Primer, 72, 75, 163
National Church Harmony,

186

National Lyre, 294
New American Melody, 89
Newburyport Collection of

Sacred European Music,

in
New Collection of Sacred

Harmony, 66
New England Harmony, 106,

155
New England Psalm Singer,

56

New England Sacred Har-
mony, 1 68

New England Selection, 98
New Harmony of Zion, 27
New Haven Collection of

Sacred Music, 97
New Universal Harmony, 27
Norfolk Collection, 154
Norfolk Compiler, 155
Northampton Collection of

Sacred Harmony, 83
Northern Harmony, 162
Oliver's Collection of Church

Music, 231

Oriental Harmony, 162
Original Collection of Hymn

Tunes, 202

Original Hymn Tunes, 233
Original Melodies, 184
Pastor's Selection of Hymns

and Tunes, 193

BOOKS

Philadelphia Harmony, 31
Plain Psalmody, 127
Plain Tunes, 71
Plymouth Collection, 272
Praise Offering, 280
Psalm Singers Amusement,

60

Psalm Singers Assistant, 27
Psalm Singers Companion,

, The, 229, 343
Psalmodia Evangelica, 264
Psalmodist's Companion, 89
Regular Hymns, 175
Repository of Sacred Music,

145

Resgonsary, 92
Revivalist, 312
Revival Melodies, 316
Royal Melody Complete, 28
Rudiments of Music, 1783,

76,78
Rudiments of Music, Ad-

gate, 1788, 30
Rural Harmony, 112
Sabbath School Bell, 296
Sacred Dirges, 127
Sacred H^rmns, 314
Sacred Lines for Thanks-
giving Day, 135
Sacred Music and Poetry

Reconciled, 175
Select Harmony, 66, 72
Select Psalm and Hymn

Tunes, 139
Select Psalms and Hymns

. . . for Mr. Adgate's pu-

1 of Sacred Har-

mony, 31
Singing Master*!

59,

's Assistant,

Social Sacred Melodist, 184
Songs of the New Life, 267
Songster's Assistant, 106
Songster's Museum, 106
Southern Melodist, 246
Springfield Collection, 178

370

INDEX

BOOKS

Stoughton Collection, 53
Suffolk Harmony, 61
Sunday School Hymns, 314
Temple Melodies, 266, 272
Thirty Anthems, 1 10
TreasuryofCatholicSong,358
Union Compiler, 156
Union Harmony in two vol-
umes, 126
Universal Psalmodist, Aaron

Williams, 28
Urania, 32, 33
Uranian Instructions, 31
Utica Collection, 178, 196
Valuable Selection of Psalm

and Hymn Tunes, 173
Village Compilation, 147
Village Harmony, 113
Village Hymns, 142
Vocal Harmony, 172
The Welcome, 356
Wesleyan Psalmist, 330
Worcester Collection, 128
Worshipper's Assistant, 81
Young Convert's Compan-
ion, 133

Zion's Harp, 65, 142
ZundeTs Psalmody, 271
Boston Academy of Music,

213, 244

Boston Oratorio Society, 151
BRADBURY, WILLIAM B., 274
Brattle Organ, 24
BROWN, BARTHOLOMEW, 150
Brown, Mrs. Phebe H,, 248
BROWNSON, OLIVER, 66
Buell, Harriet E. P., 352
Bulfinch, Stephen C., 348
BULL, AMOS, 92
BURT, NATHANIEL CLARK, 193

CAMP MEETING Music, 325

Carnegie, Andrew, and "Lead,
Kindly Light," 241

CARR, BENJAMIN, 139

Chandler, S., 336

Christodulus, the funeral ser-
mon for Thomas Walter, 22

CLIFTON, ARTHUR, 199
COLE, JOHN, 164
Concerts by George K. Jack-
son, 47

Conventions, Musical, 276
Copyright, The second, 76
CORRI, PHILIP ANTHONY, 199
CREAMER, DAVID, 249, 353
Crosby, Fanny, 290

Dadmun, John W., 315
Day, W. H., 217
Dixon, James, 253
Doolittle, Amos, 65, 93
Doolittle, Eliakim, 152
DUTTON, DEODATUS, 247
DYER, SAMUEL, 205

Eliot, John, 22

Emerson, Luther 0., 216

Emerson, Reuben, 289

ERBEN, PETER, 138

Essex Musical Association, 114

Feast of Tabernacles, an ora-
torio, 223

Fischer, William G., 322
Foster, Percy Semple, 343
Forbush, Abijah, 83
FOSTER, STEPHEN COLLINS,

295

FRENCH, JACOB, 88
Funeral Elegy on the death of

George Washington, 91

GOODALE, E2EKIEL, 185

Gorham, B. W., 320
Gould, Nathaniel D., 289
GRAM, HANS, 116, 127, 134
Granade, John A., 326
Graupner, Mrs. Catharine,
136, 137

GRAUPNBR, GOTTLIEB, 50, 136
GREATOREX, HENRY W., 256

HALEY, WILLIAM D'ARCY, 300
Hall, George A., 319
Handel and Haydn Musical
Society, 151, 244

INDEX

371

Hanby, Benjamin R., 329
Hanby, William, 328
HARMON, JOEL, 163
Harris, Thoro, 359
Hartsough, Lewis, 312
HASTINGS, THOMAS, 194
Hawley, H. H., 281
HEINRICH, ANTHONY P., 185
Hewitt, John H., 188
Hillman, Joseph, 313
History of Music in New Eng-
land, 245

HOLDEN, OLIVER, 124

Holt, Benjamin, 167

HOLYOKE, SAMUEL, 114

HOOD, GEORGE, 245

Hopkinson, Francis, 129

HOWE, SOLOMON, 81

HUBBARD, JOHN, 109

Hunter, William, 318

HUNTINGTON, JONATHAN, 148

Hurlbut, Father Sidney S.,

Husband, John Jenkins, 31
HYMNS

All for Jesus, 323
America, the beautiful, 308
The American Hymn, Kel-
ler, 362

Child of a King, 352 f .
Come, let us raise our loftiest

song, 354
Come, thou Almighty King,

36
Come, thou Fount of every

blessing, 141 T .
Forever with the Lord, 284
German Union Hymn, 365
God be with you till we

meet again, 352
Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide,

268

I am coming to the cross, 322
I love to steal a while away,

248

In de dark wood, 335 .
In the Christian's home in

JL*JL WJUbV -v

It is well with my soul,

HYMNS
Joyfully, onward I move,

Lead, kindly Light, 240
My days are gliding swiftly

by, 292

Rest for the weary, 315
Speed our republic, 366
There is a land of pure de-
light, 292

There is no death, 359, 361
When peace like a river, 305

INGALLS, JEREMIAH, 121

Indian Hymn, 335

Institute for Vocal Music,

Philadelphia, 29
Ives, Benoni I., 321
Ives, Elam, 247

JACKSON, DR. GEORGE K., 46
James, Mrs, Mary D., 323
Jenks, Abraham S., 332
ENKS, STEPHEN, 154
ocelyn, Nathaniel, 65
OCELYN, SIMEON, 64
ocelyn, S. S., 65
ONES, ABNER, 264
ONES, DARIUS E M 266, 272

KELLER, MATHIAS, 362
KEMP, ROBERT C. (Father)

286, 289

KJMBALL, JACOB, JR., m
Kirkpatrick, William J., 333
Knapp, Mrs. Phebe .Palmei

324

Lang, Benjamin J., 294
LANGDON, CHAUNCEY, 120
LAW, ANDREW, 69
Layton, John Turner, 354
Library of Lowell Mason, 2i
Little, Rev. Robert, 347 .
London Philharmonic Societ;

200

LOUD, THOMAS, 229
305 LYON, JAMES, 32

372

INDEX

Mallet, Monsieur, 50
MANN, ELIAS, 82
Mann, Herman, 83, 154
MARSH, SIMEON BUTLER, 225
MASON, LOWELL, 211, 290
Mattison, Hiram, 319
MAXIM, ABRAHAM, 161
Maxim, John, 162
Maxwell, James, 255
McCreery, John Luckey, 359
McDonald, William, 321
MEINECKE, CHRISTOPHER, 191
Merrill, Abraham Down, 317
METCALF, SAMUEL LITLER,

Middlesex Musical Associa-
tion, 109

Minter, Jeremiah, 345
Mitchell, Nahum, 151, 168
Moore, Jacob B., 119
Moore, John Weeks, 120
Morgan, John D., 344
MORGAN, JUSTIN, 67
Mozart Association, 232
Mudge, Enoch, 332
Musical Conventions, 214
Musical Fund Society, 140

Nettleton, Asahel, 66, 142
NEVIUS, JOHN W. t 171
Newborn, William J., 341
Newbury, Mass., 13
NEWMAN, JOHN H., 237

Old Polks Concerts, 288
OLIVER, HENRY KEMBLE, 230
OLMSTED, TIMOTHY. 107
Organ on which " Coronation"
was composed, 132

Parker, James, 129
Presbrey, Otis F., 350
Psalloman Society, 181

Rankin, Jeremiah Eames, 351

READ, DANIEL, 93

READ, JOEL, 98

Regular Singing, Sermon on,

21

Revere, Paul, engraver, 58
REVIVALIST GROUP, 311
ROOT, GEORGE FREDERICK,

289
Rose, Alvin C., 321

Salem, Peter, Negro slave, 146
SANGER, ZEDEKIAH, 149
Schick, John M., 357
Scott, Orange, 331
Scudder, Moses L., 330
Sewall, Frank, 355
"Shadows on the Wall," by

John H. Hewitt, 188, 191,

201

SHAW, OLIVER, 179
Smith, Cyrus P., 265
SONGS

Hazel Dell, 292

Hornet stung the peacock,

153

Indian's lament, 285

Rosalie, the prairie flower,
292

Speed away, 284

Strike the cymbal, 208, 342

There's music in the air,

292

SPAFFORD, HORATIO G., 303
Spicer, Mr., 31
Staughton, William, 75, 208,

209, 341

STICKNEY, JOHN, 41
Stone, Joseph, 86
Stoughton Musical Society,

53f 85

Stow, Baron, 342
Strike the cymbal, 208, 342
SWAN, TIMOTHY, 103
Swem, E. Hez., 344

TAYLOR.VIRGIL CORYDON, 278
Tomer, William G. f 352
Tractarian Movement, 238

TUCKERMAN, SAMUEL PARK-
MAN, 285

TUFTS, REV. JOHN, 13

TUNES
Arnheim, 119

INDEX

373

'TUNES
Beecher, 271
Bind kings in chains, 135
Caldwell, 307
China, 105

Come, ye sinners, 124
Coronation, 124, 126
Federal Street, 230
Geneva, 167
German Air, 210
Goodwin, 331
Guide, 269

Hallelujah, or Nettleton, 141
Hummel, 224
Hymn of Peace, 88
Invitation, 124
Lavonia, 124
Lebanon, 271
Louvan, 280
Majesty, 62
Martyn, 225
Matema, 307
Mear, 71

Mendon, 205, 210
Merton, 233
Millennial Dawn, 331
Missionary Chant, 224
Missionary Hymn, 217
Montgomery, 69
Nearer Home, 284
Nettleton, 141
New Jerusalem, 122
Northfield, 122, 124
Olivet, 217
Ortonville, 197
Resurrection, 307
Retreat, 197
Rialto, 292
Selleck, 157
Sherburne, 98
Shining Shore, 292
Siloam, 284
State Street, 263

TUNES

StockweU, 267
Strike the cymbal, 137
Triumph, 318
Toplady, 197
Varina, 291
Webb, 244, 331
Whitfield's Tune, 36
Woodbury, 284
Woodstock, 248 ,
Zion, 197
Zundel, 271

Unitarian hymn books, 347

WAINWRIGHT, JONATHAN M.,

218

Walker, Thomas, 206
WALTER, THOMAS, 19
War Songs, 293
WARD, SAMUEL A., 307
WARRINER, SOLOMON, 176
WASHINGTON, D. C., PSALM-
ODY AND HYMNODY, 336
Waters, Henry, 296
WEBB, GEORGE JAMES, 214,

241

Wells, George C., 320
WELLS, MARCUS M., 268
West, Robert A., 354
Whitaker, Ephraim M., 340
Whitefidd, George, 37
WILLARD, SAMUEL, 173
WOOD, ABRAHAM, 86
WOODBURY, ISAAC BAKER, 281
WOODMAN, JONATHAN CALL,

262

Woodman, Mary Olive, 290
Woodruff, Merit N., 92
WYETH, JOHN, 141, 143

ZEUNER, CHARLES, 220
ZUNDEL, JOHN, 269