Part 13

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.

Ware, Rev. Henry, Jr., D.D., Hingham, Massachusetts, April 21, 1794—September 22, 1843, Framingham, Massachusetts. His family was for three generations an outstanding one in the liberal ministry; his father, Dr. Henry Ware, Sr., was called in 1805 from a pastorate in Hingham to serve as Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard; his younger brother, William Ware, was the first minister of what is now All Souls Church, New York; and his son, J. F. W. Ware, was later the minister of Arlington Street Church, Boston. Henry Ware, Jr. graduated with high honors from Harvard in 1812, and after teaching for two years at Phillips Exeter Academy returned to Cambridge, to continue his theological studies. He was licensed to preach on July 31, 1815, but was not ordained as minister of the Second Church in Boston (Unitarian) until January 1, 1817. Never vigorous in body, he offered his resignation in 1829, but the congregation refused to accept it, appointing R. W. Emerson to be assistant minister. In 1830, however, he resigned, to accept an appointment as Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care at the Harvard Divinity School, a position which he held till 1842. He then moved from Cambridge to Framingham, Massachusetts, where he died a few months later. Harvard gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1834. In spite of ill health he wrote much, and he was a greatly beloved teacher, whose saintly character commanded the highest respect. For several years he edited the _Christian Disciple_, established in 1813, and he was author of many printed books, addresses and sermons, listed in the _Memoir_ of him, published by his brother, Dr. John Ware, in 1846. His collected works were published in four volumes in 1847, the first volume including his occasional poems and his hymns. Some of these last reached a high standard of excellence and brought him wide recognition in the liberal churches of Great Britain as well as in this country. No less than eight pieces of his verse were included in _Lyra Sacra Americana_, published by the British Religious Tract Society in 1868. His hymns are some of the choicest poetical expressions of liberal religious thought in the first period of American Unitarian hymnody, but almost all have dropped out of present use. Most of them will be found in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc.

1. _All nature’s works His praise declare_, (Worship)

Headed “On Opening an Organ” and dated November 9, 1822. In view of the almost universal use of organs in modern churches it is rather surprizing that this should be a well-nigh unique example of a hymn for the dedication of such an instrument. It is also a good general hymn of worship. It was included in Horder’s British _Congregational Hymns_, 1884, and in a number of American Unitarian collections.

2. _Around the throne of God, the host angelic sings_,

A hymn of “Universal Praise,” based on Revelation IV, 2, 3; XV, 3. Dated 1823 and published in the _Christian Disciple_, vol. V. A fine hymn of its type, but little used, perhaps because of its metre, 6.6.6.6.4.4.4.4.

3. _Father of earth and heaven, Whose arm upholds creation_, (Thanksgiving for Divine Mercies)

Included in Cheever’s _Common Place Book_, 1831, and in _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

4. _Father, Thy gentle chastisement_ (In sickness)

Dated March, 1836. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

5. _Great God, the followers of thy Son_, (Ordination)

Written for the ordination of Jared Sparks, the historian, as minister of the First Unitarian Church, Baltimore, Maryland, May 5, 1819, but suitable for any service of worship and perhaps the most widely used of Ware’s hymns.

6. _In this glad hour when children meet_ (Family Gatherings)

Dated August 20, 1835. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

7. _Lift your glad voices in triumph on high_ (Easter)

Dated 1817, and published in the _Christian Disciple_ of that year, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_ and included in many 19^th century hymn books. In a few cases the second stanza alone is given, beginning

_Glory to God, in full anthems of joy!_

8. _Like Israel’s hosts to exile driven_ (The God of our Fathers)

Written for the Centennial Celebration of the Boston Thursday Lecture, October 17, 1833. It is a quasi-national hymn in praise of the Pilgrim Fathers. Included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_ and in _Lyra Sacra Americana_.

9. _O Thou in whom alone is found_ (Laying Foundation Stone for a Place of Worship)

Not dated. In _Lyra Sacra Americana_, and in Thring’s _Collection_ (British) 1882.

10. _O Thou who on thy chosen Son_, (Ordination)

Written “For an ordination, March, 1829.” Included in Dale’s _English Hymn Book_, 1874.

11. _Oppression shall not always reign_, (Anti-Slavery Song)

Dated March 15, 1843, it is the last of the author’s writings in verse. In its original form it was a poem in several stanzas unsuited for use as a hymn, but 3 stanzas, beginning as above, had been taken from it, altered and transposed, and thus adapted for worship. Stanzas one and two were included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_ and in Longfellow and Johnson’s _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864.

12. _To prayer, to prayer, for morning breaks_, (Prayer)

In 1826 he wrote a poem of 10 stanzas, 6 lines each, entitled “Seasons of Prayer,” printed in full in _Lyra Sacra Americana_ and in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, from which at least three variant centos were in use in the 19^th century. One beginning with the first line, as above, adapting it for morning worship, was included in Lunt’s _Christian Psalter_, 1841, and in later collections. Another beginning with the second stanza

_To prayer, the glorious sun is gone_,

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

_To prayer! for the day that God hath blest_,

was included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_.

13. _We rear not a temple, like Judah of old_, (Dedication of a Place of Worship)

“For the dedication of a church, April, 1839.”

14. _With praise and prayer our gifts we bring_ (Opening of a Place of Worship)

In Dale’s _English Hymn Book_, 1874. Not in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc.

None of the hymns listed above are in current use except nos. 1 and 5, both of which are included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914, and _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1937.

J. 1233, 1595 Revised by H.W.F.

Waterston, Rev. Robert Cassie, Kennebunk, Maine, 1812—February 21, 1893, Boston, Massachusetts. He studied for a time at the Harvard Divinity School. In 1844 Harvard gave him the degree of Master of Arts, following the publication of his book on _Moral and Spiritual Culture_. In 1839 he was ordained to the ministry-at-large (Unitarian) in Boston, in charge of the Pitts Street Chapel, where he remained till 1845. From 1845 to 1852 he served as minister of the Church of the Saviour, Boston, and from 1854 to 1856 he was minister of the First Religious Society of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Thereafter he gave himself to educational and literary pursuits. He was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society and was long active on the Boston School Committee. He wrote many essays, addresses and poems, the most important of which are listed in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc., pp. 390-410. He contributed one hymn to the Cheshire Pastoral Association’s _Christian Hymns_, 1844, and eight to his own _Supplement_ to Greenwood’s _Psalms and Hymns_, 1845.

1. _God of the soul_ (The soul and God)

2. _Great God, in heaven above_,

Written for a Sunday School.

3. _Great Source of Good, our God and Friend_ (Worship)

4. _In ages past, majestic prophets_, (The Coming of Jesus)

5. _Nature with eternal youth_

Written before 1853 and included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, published in that year. It is a selection of 4 stanzas, numbers 4 to 7, from a longer poem entitled _Nature and the Soul_, printed in full in Putnam.

6. _Lord of all, we bow before Thee_

Entitled “Christian Benevolence.”

7. _O God of Light and Love_,

Written for the annual meeting of the American Unitarian Association, Boston, 1845.

8. _O Lord of Life! to Thee we pray_,

Written for the dedication of a church.

9. _One sweet flower has drooped and faded_,

Included in the Cheshire _Collection_, 1844, entitled “Death of a Pupil.” In Putnam the opening line reads

“_One bright flower has drooped_”, etc.

and the hymn is entitled “On the Death of a Child”, with a note, “Sung by her classmates.”

10. _Theories, which thousands cherish_, (Truth)

Published in _The Religious Monthly_, Boston, and included in several collections.

11. _Thou who didst aid our sires_ (On leaving an old house of worship)

Written for the last service of worship held in the Federal Street Meeting House, Boston, March 13, 1859.

All of these hymns, and a number of other poems by Waterston, are included in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs_, etc., but few of them are dated or annotated as to use. The author was a popular writer of verses which were respectable expressions of the religious thought and feeling of his community, in which they had considerable vogue, but they rarely rise above mediocrity and have long since dropped out of use.

J. 1235, 1724 H.W.F.

Weir, Hon. Robert Stanley, D.C.L. 1856-1926. Judge in Admiralty of the Exchequer Court of Canada. He translated, from the original French by Calixa Lavallée, the hymn beginning, in his English version,

_O Canada, our home, our native land_,

which was adopted by the Canadian government as Canada’s national hymn. It is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914. He was a member of the Church of the Messiah (Unitarian), Montreal.

H.W.F.

Weiss, Rev. John, Boston, Massachusetts, June 28, 1828—March 9, 1879, Boston. He graduated from Harvard College in 1837, and from the Harvard Divinity School in 1843. He was ordained minister of the First Church, (Unitarian) Watertown, Massachusetts in 1843; was minister of the First Church, New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1847-1858; and served the church at Watertown again 1862-1869. He was a leader in the anti-slavery movement and a prolific author of books and essays. For Visitation Day at the Divinity School, 1843, he wrote a hymn beginning,

1. _A wondrous star our pioneer_,

which was included in the _Book of Hymns_, 1846, compiled by S. Longfellow and S. Johnson, and in their later book, _Hymns of the Spirit_, 1864. The _Book of Hymns_ also included a hymn “For a Summer Festival” beginning,

2. _Beneath thy trees we meet today_,

which is in the Universalist _Church Harmonies_, 1895.

His hymn

3. _The world throws wide its brazen gates_

was included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.