1687—October 22, 1758, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard in 1707. After voyages to Barbadoes and a stay of several
years in England he returned to Boston and in 1717 was ordained as
colleague of Rev. Joseph Sewall, minister of the Old South Church. His
career was marked by frequent controversies and by his _Chronological
History of New England_, based on his great collection of rare
documents dating from the early years of the Colony. This priceless
collection was unfortunately dispersed and much of it lost after his
death. During his ministry the Tate and Brady version of the Psalms
was gradually replacing the _Bay Psalm Book_ in New England, but his
parishioners clung to the old book. He persuaded them to let him
revise it, which he did, improving or modernizing the verse and
printing after the Psalms “an addition of Fifty other Hymns on the
most important subjects of Christianity.” It included one hymn by
himself beginning
_With Christ and all his shining Train_
_Of Saints and Angels, we shall rise_ (The Resurrection)
His collection was published in 1758 and was first used in the Old
South Meeting House on the Sunday following his death. Its use there
continued for another 30 years, but it was not adopted elsewhere, the
_Bay Psalm Book_ being by that time generally superseded by
collections of _Watts and Select_.
H.W.F.
Putnam, Rev. Alfred Porter, D. D. Danvers, Massachusetts, January 10,
1827—April 15, 1906, Salem, Massachusetts. He was educated at Brown
University, A.B. 1852, and graduated from the Harvard Divinity School
in 1855. Entering the Unitarian ministry he served a church in
Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1855-1864, and the Church of the Saviour,
Brooklyn, New York, 1864-1886, when he retired. Brown University gave
him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1871. He wrote no hymns but
published in 1874 a book entitled _Singers and Songs of the Liberal
Faith: being selections of hymns and other sacred poems of the Liberal
Church in America, with biographical sketches of the writers_. This
book includes practically all the hymns by American Unitarian authors
which had come into use prior to 1870, and the biographical sketches
are generally accurate and adequate in brief space. This useful
reference book is elsewhere referred to in this Dictionary as Putnam:
_Singers and Songs_.
H.W.F.
Robbins, Rev. Chandler, D.D., Lynn, Massachusetts, February 14,
1810—September 12, 1882, Westport, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Harvard College in 1829 and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1833.
On December 4th of the same year he was ordained minister of the
Second Church (Unitarian), Boston, in succession to Henry Ware, Jr.
and R. W. Emerson. He received the honorary degree of D.D. from
Harvard in 1855. He was the author of a number of books, essays and
memorial discourses dealing with local events and persons. In 1843 he
published _The Social Hymn Book_, intended for social gatherings
rather than for church services, and in 1854 an enlarged edition
entitled _Hymn Book for Christian Worship_, though this book does not
give his name as editor. He contributed two hymns to _A Collection of
Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary_, 1845, compiled by George E.
Ellis.
1. _Lo! the day of rest declineth_ (Evening)
for which L. B. Barnes, then president of the Handel and Haydn
Society composed the tune, Bedford Street, named for the location
of Dr. Robbins’ church.
2. _While thus [now] thy throne of grace we seek_, (Voice of
God)
The first of these is included in The _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book_,
1908, and in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914. The second is in
_Church Harmonies_, 1895.
J. 966
H.W.F.
Robbins, Rev. Samuel Dowse, Lynn, Massachusetts, March 7, 1812—?1884,
Belmont, Massachusetts, he was a brother of Chandler Robbins, _q.v._
He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1833 and on November
13 of the same year was ordained minister of the Unitarian Church in
Lynn. He subsequently held pastorates in Chelsea (1840), Framingham
(1859) and Wayland, Massachusetts, 1867-1873.
He wrote a good many poems on religious themes, which were published
in magazines and newspapers but were never collected in a volume. The
Unitarian _Hymn and Tune Book_, 1868, included four of his hymns, viz:
1. _Down toward the twilight drifting_, (Sunset)
2. _Saviour, when thy bread we break_, (Communion)
3. _Thou art my morning, God of light_, (Day)
4. _Thou art, O God! my East. In thee I dawned_,
In Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, etc., this is entitled “The
Compass,” with the statement, “Several mistakes in this hymn, as
it is printed in the Hymn and Tune Book, are here corrected by Mr.
Robbins.”
Julian’s _Dictionary_, p. 967, also cites one beginning
5. _Thou art our father! thou of God the Son_ (Christ)
but it is a religious poem rather than a hymn and there is no evidence
that it was included in any hymn book.
J. 967
Revised H.W.F.
Sargent, Lucius Manlius, Boston, Massachusetts, June 25, 1786—June 2,
1867, Boston. A layman of independent means, author of many articles
advocating temperance. His temperance hymn beginning
_Slavery and death the cup contains_
“was written during the Washingtonian Temperance Revival” and appeared
in Adams’ and Chapin’s Unitarian _Hymns for Christian Devotion_,
Boston, 1846. In the American Methodist Episcopal _Hymnal_, 1878 the
first line is altered to read
_Bondage and death the cup contains_,
The hymn is included, with the original wording, in the Universalist
_Church Harmonies_, 1895.
J. 1061
H.W.F.
Savage, Rev. Minot Judson, D.D., Norridgewock, Maine, June 10,
1841—May 22, 1918, Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were strictly
orthodox Congregationalists whose resources were meagre, but a
generous benefactor made it possible for him to enter Bangor
Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1864. He served as a
Congregational minister in California, Massachusetts and Missouri,
but, having become acquainted with the works of Darwin and Herbert
Spencer, he transferred his membership to the Unitarian denomination
in 1872 and became minister of the Third Unitarian Church in Chicago.
Two years later he accepted a call to Unity Church in Boston, which he
served until 1896 when he moved to New York as minister of the Church
of the Messiah. He was one of the earliest advocates of a religious
interpretation of the doctrine of evolution, a bold thinker and
forceful speaker in great demand, and the author of many books and
printed sermons. In 1883 he published _Sacred Songs for Public
Worship; a Hymn and Tune Book_, with music arranged by Howard M. Dow,
for use in Unity Church. It contained 195 hymns and songs, 42 of which
were from his own pen. It had the shortcomings of a “one-man book” and
was musically nearer akin to the typical gospel song-book than was
usual in Unitarian hymn-books, and it had little use outside his own
congregation. Several of his hymns passed into other collections in
England and America, viz:
1. _Dost thou hear the bugle sounding_, (Duty)
2. _Father, we would not dare to change thy purpose_ (Prayer)
3. _God of the glorious summer hours_, (New Year)
4. _How shall come the kingdom holy_ (Coming of the kingdom)
5. _O God, whose law is in the sky_ (Consecration to Duty)
6. _O star of truth, down shining_, (Devotion to Truth)
7. _Seek not afar for beauty_, (God in Nature)
8. _The God that to our fathers revealed his holy will_,
9. _The very blossoms of our life_, (Baptism)
10. _What purpose burns within our hearts_, (Church Fellowship)
11. _When the gladsome day declineth_, (Evening)
Of these nos. 4, 6, 7 and 11 are included in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
J. 1698
H.W.F.
Scudder, Eliza, Boston, Massachusetts, November 14, 1821—September 28,
1896, Weston, Massachusetts. She was a niece of Rev. E. H. Sears,
_q.v._ Early in life she joined a Congregational Church, throughout
her middle years was a Unitarian, and late in life entered the
Episcopal Church. She wrote a small number of poems which were
published in Boston in 1880 under the title _Hymns and Sonnets, by
E.S._, and again with her two latest poems and a brief biographical
sketch by Horace E. Scudder, in 1897, but most of her hymns had
appeared at earlier dates in other places. They are characterized by a
profound mystical spirit expressed in terms of great literary beauty,
and some of them passed into a considerable measure of common use.
1. _And wherefore should I seek above_,
This hymn, included in _The Isles of Shoals Hymnbook_, 1908,
consists of the last three stanzas of a much longer poem entitled
“The New Heaven,” dated 1855.
2. _From past regret and present faithlessness_, (Repentance)
written in August, 1871, and published in _Quiet Hours_, Boston,
1875. This was altered in some hymnbooks to,
_From past regret and present feebleness_,
In most cases the opening stanza has been omitted and the hymn has
begun with the second stanza,
_Thou Life within my life, than self more near_,
see no. 9, below.
3. _I cannot find Thee, still on restless pinion_, (Seeking
after God)
This first appeared in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864.
4. _In Thee my powers and treasures live_, (Faith and Joy)
This appeared in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. It is part of a hymn
of 10 stanzas beginning
_Let whosoever will inquire_, dated 1855.
In _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, another arrangement of
stanzas forms a hymn beginning
_My God, I rather look to Thee_
5. _Life of our life, and light of all our seeing_, (Prayer)
Written in August, 1870, it was included in _Quiet Hours_, 1875.
6. _The day is done: the weary day of thought and toil is past_,
(Evening)
Included in _Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life_, E. H.
Sears, Boston, 2^nd ed. 1878, p. 296, entitled “Vesper Hymn,”
dated “October, 1874.”
7. _Thou Grace divine, encircling all_, (Divine Grace)
This appeared in E. H. Sears’ _Pictures of the Olden Time, as
shown in the Fortunes of a Family of Pilgrims_, 1857. Written in
1852, it was included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. In the
Universalist _Psalms and Hymns_, 1865, it was mistakenly called
“An Ancient Catholic Hymn.”
8. _Thou hast gone up again_ (Ascension)
In _Hymns and Sonnets_, 1880.
9. _Thou Life within my life, than self more near_,
As noted above, this is part of No. 2, beginning with the second
stanza of that hymn. In this form it is perhaps Miss Scudder’s
most beautiful hymn.
10. _Thou long disowned, reviled, opprest_, (Spirit of Truth)
Written in January, 1860, it was included in _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864. A cento from this hymn, altered to read,
_Come Thou, with purifying fire_,
was included in Stryker’s _Church Song_, 1889.
Of these hymns nos. 3, 4 (selected stanzas), 7, 9 and 10 are included
in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and nos. 3, 7 and 9 in _Hymns
of the Spirit_, 1937.
J. 1035, 1589, 1700
H.W.F.
Sears, Rev. Edmund Hamilton; Sandisfield, Massachusetts April 6,
1810—January 16, 1876, Weston, Massachusetts. Studied at Union
College, graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1837. Ordained
minister of the First Parish (Unitarian) of Wayland, Massachusetts, on
February 20, 1839. He soon after went to Lancaster, Massachusetts;
returned to Wayland, 1848-1864; and was minister of the First Parish,
Weston, Massachusetts, 1866 until his death. He was author of many
books and printed sermons, and of a good many poems, often hymns
supplementary to his sermons. None of these, however, have come into
general use, and his reputation as a hymn writer is based on his two
widely used Christmas hymns, found in many hymn books. The first,
_Calm on the listening ear of night_,
was written in 1839. It was included as “Anon.” in _The Christian
Psalter_, published in 1841 by Sears’ friend, Rev. W. P. Lunt, _q.v._
of Quincy, Massachusetts. In the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, the
second line of sta. 6
The Saviour now is born!
was changed to read
The Prince of Peace is born!
but the original reading was restored in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.
His second hymn,
_It came upon the midnight clear_,
was written in 1849. One tradition about it reports that it was
written at Mr. Lunt’s request and was first used at the Christmas
celebration of the Sunday School in Quincy in that year. Sta. 5 of
this hymn
For lo! the days are hastening on
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing
has appeared in re-written forms more than once because its “backward
look” to a golden age is not Biblical but is derived from the Fourth
Eclogue of the poet Virgil. In the Episcopal _Hymnal_ of 1874 this is
altered to read
For lo, the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old,
Till with the ever circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace their King- - - -
and this version was reprinted in the Episcopal hymnals of 1892 and
1916, and passed into other collections. In the _Hymnal_, 1940, it was
again altered to read
For lo, the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever circling years
Shall come the time foretold
These alterations may have brought the hymn into closer accord with
orthodox theology, but at the expense of some of its poetic beauty.
Two patriotic songs by Sears were included in the army hymn book, _The
Soldier’s Companion_, 1861. One headed “A Psalm of Freedom” begins,
_Still wave our streamer’s glorious folds_,
The other is headed “Song of the Stars and Stripes,” and begins,
_We see the gallant streamer yet_,
Neither has any great merit, though both may have served the purpose
for which they were written.
J. 1036
H.W.F.
Sewall, C.
An anti-slavery hymn attributed to a person of this name is included
in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853. It
begins,
_Lord, when thine ancient people cried_,
It is probable, but not certain, that the author was Rev. Charles
Chauncy Sewall, Marblehead, Massachusetts, May 10, 1802—November 22,
1886, Medfield, Massachusetts; who was a graduate of Bowdoin College
and who received the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard in 1832. He
was a Unitarian minister serving churches in Peabody, Massachusetts,
1827-1841; Sharon, Massachusetts, 1857-1862; and Medfield, 1873-1377.
H.W.F.
Sigourney, Mrs. Lydia Howard (Huntley), Norwich, Connecticut,
September 1, 1791—June 10, 1865, Hartford, Connecticut, wife of
Charles Sigourney. She was a prolific writer of prose and verse
contributed to many periodicals, and author of many books, chiefly
moral tales for young people. She became a very popular writer and
spent two years, 1840-1842, in England where she met many celebrities.
Two hymns by her were included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for
the Church of Christ_, 1853, viz:
1. _Laborers of Christ, arise_, (Brotherhood)
This was also included in _Church Harmonies_, 1895, with the first
line altered to read
_Servants of Christ, arise_.
2. _When adverse winds and waves arise_ (Trust)
Neither hymn has had later use.
J. 1057, 1589.
H.W.F.
Sill, Edward Rowland, Windsor, Connecticut, April 29, 1841—February
27, 1887, Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Yale in 1861 and spent
several months in the year 1866-1867 at the Harvard Divinity School,
writing his one fine hymn,
_Send down thy truth, O God_,
for the School’s Visitation Day exercises in 1867. It was included in
his collection of poems, _The Hermitage_, published the same year, and
passed thence into many American hymnbooks. Presumably he entered the
Divinity School intending to prepare for the Unitarian ministry, but
he did not do so and neither then nor later associated himself with
any denomination. At the end of the academic year 1867 he moved to
California where he was Professor of English Literature, 1874-1882 at
the University of California. He published several books of poems of
superior quality.
J. 1703
H.W.F.
Silliman, Rev. Vincent Brown, D.D., Hudson, Wisconsin, June 29,
1894—still living. He graduated from Meadville Theological School in
1920 and from the University of Minnesota in 1925. He has served
Unitarian churches in Buffalo, New York; Portland, Maine; Hollis, New
York; and Chicago, Illinois. He was a member of the committee which
edited _The Beacon Song and Service Book for Children and Young
People_, 1935, and edited _We Sing of Life_, 1955, an unusual
collection of songs for children and young people, with a strong
ethical emphasis, some set to familiar hymn tunes, others to
interesting folk music. Mr. Silliman contributed the words of several
songs. One of them, beginning,
_Morning, so fair to see_,
is also included in _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937, set to St. Elizabeth
(Crusader’s Hymn).
H.W.F.
Spencer, Mrs. Anna Garlin, (wife of Rev. William H. Spencer),
Attleboro, Massachusetts, April 17, 1851—February 12, 1931, New York.
She was ordained as a Unitarian minister, and was a lecturer and
author of books on social problems. In 1896 in her “Orders of Service
for Public Worship” she included her song entitled “The Marching Song
of the Workers,” beginning,
_Hail the hero workers of the mighty past_,
set to St. Gertrude. It was included in _Hymns of the United Church_,
1924, in _Songs of Work and Worship_, and in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
H.W.F.
Sprague, Charles, Boston, Massachusetts, October 22, 1791—January 22,
1875, Boston. A Unitarian layman. Although a business man without a
college education he wrote much verse which brought him a considerable
reputation and requests for poems to celebrate special occasions. One
of them was read before the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in
Cambridge in 1829, and was re-published, with minor alterations, a few
years later in Calcutta by a British officer, as his own work. A
collection of his poems was published in 1841, and an enlarged edition
in 1850. A number of his shorter poems are given in Putnam’s _Singers
and Songs_, and a hymn attributed to “C. Sprague” is included in Hedge
and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, beginning
_O Thou, at whose dread name we stand_.
H.W.F.
Trapp, Rev. Jacob, S.T.D., Muskegon, Michigan, April 12, 1899—still
living. He was educated at Valparaiso University and The Pacific
Unitarian School for the Ministry (now called The Starr King School
for the Ministry). He was ordained in 1929 and has served Unitarian
churches in Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; and Summit, New
Jersey. In 1932 he wrote a hymn beginning,
_Wonders still the world shall witness_,
which is included, with some revisions, in _Hymns of the Spirit_,
1937.
H.W.F.
Tuckerman, Rev. Joseph, D.D., Boston, Massachusetts, January 18,
1778—April 20, 1840, Havana, Cuba. He graduated from Harvard College
in 1798, a classmate of Rev. William Ellery Channing, whose close
friend he remained through life. He was licensed to preach by the
Boston Association and in 1801 was ordained minister of a church in
Chelsea, Massachusetts, at that time a small farming community, which
he served for 25 years. He then moved to Boston to begin his
“ministry-at-large” to the unchurched elements in the population,
under the auspices of the American Unitarian Association and later of
the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches. He attained wide reputation for
his philanthropy and his wide methods of social reform. Harvard gave
him the honorary degree of D.D. in 1824.
His hymn
_Father divine! This deadening power control_ (Aspiration)
is attributed to “Tuckerman” in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the
Church of Christ_, 1853, and in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the
Spirit_, 1864, but is not listed in Julian’s _Dictionary_ or included
in later collections.
H.W.F.
Very, Jones, Salem, Massachusetts, August 28, 1813—May 8, 1880, Salem,
Massachusetts. He was brother of Washington Very, _q.v._ He graduated
from Harvard College in 1836, and served as tutor in Greek there for
two years. Although Julian, _Dictionary_, p. 1219, says that he
entered the Unitarian ministry in 1843, he was never ordained as a
settled minister though he served frequently as an occasional lay
preacher. Most of his life was given to literary pursuits. In 1839 he
published _Essays and Poems_, and thereafter was a frequent
contributor in prose and verse to periodicals, including _The
Christian Register_ and the _Monthly Magazine_. The following hymns by
him have passed into various American Unitarian collections.
1. _Father! I wait Thy word_, (Waiting upon God)
2. _Father, there is no change to live with Thee_ (Peace)
3. _Father! Thy wonders do not singly stand_ (The Spirit Land)
4. _Wilt Thou not visit me?_ (The Divine Presence)
These four, from _Essays and Hymns_, were included in Longfellow and
Johnson’s _Book of Hymns_, 1846, as were also three from other
sources:—
5. _I saw on earth another light_ (The Light Within)
6. _The bud will soon become a flower_ (Sowing and Reaping)
7. _Turn not from him who asks of thee_ (Kind Words)
Longfellow and Johnson’s second book, _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864,
also included
8. _One saint to another I heard say, How long_ (The Future)
Most of these hymns are in Lyra Sacra Americana and in Putnam’s
Singers and Songs, etc. Two other of his hymns have been published in
later collections, viz:
9. _O heavenly gift of love divine_, (Divine assistance)
from his _Essays and Poems_ is included in the _Pilgrim Hymnal_,
1904; and
10. _We go not on a pilgrimage_ (This earth as holy land)
is included in the _New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914 and in _Hymns of
the Spirit_, 1937.
Of the hymns listed above nos. 2 and 3 are included in the _Isles of
Shoals Hymn Book_, and in other publications. Another hymn beginning
_There is a world eye hath not seen_ (The Spirit World)
included in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864, and
there marked _Anon._, is attributed to Very in Julian’s _Dictionary_.
The hymn is an abbreviated and mutilated version of the beautiful poem
beginning
_There is a world we have not seen_
in A. M. Buchanan’s _Folk Hymns of America_, pp. 80-81. (See H. W.
Foote, _Three Centuries of American Hymnody_, p. 173). The original
form is in three stanzas of eight lines, long metre. The very inferior
re-written form is in four stanzas, four lines, common metre. Some of
the lines are unchanged from the original, others altered, and the
last stanza is a didactic addition. It is altogether improbable that
this was done by Very.
J. 1219, 1721
H.W.F.
Very, Washington, Salem, Massachusetts, November 12, 1815—April 28,
1853, Salem. He graduated from Harvard College in 1843, and from the
Harvard Divinity School in 1846. After preaching for a year without
settlement he opened a private school in Salem, which he conducted
until his death. He was brother of Jones Very, _q.v._ Putnam in
_Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_ includes three of W. Very’s
poetical pieces, one of which
_There cometh o’er the Spirit_ (Spring)
appeared in Longfellow and Johnson’s Book of Hymns, 1846.
J. 1219
H.W.F.