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John B. Matthias

Short Name: John B. Matthias
Full Name: Matthias, John B. (Barnet), 1767-1848
Birth Year: 1767
Death Year: 1848

Born: January 21, 1767, Germantown, New York.
Died: May 27, 1848, Hempstead, Long Island, New York.
Buried: Methodist churchyard, Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

Matthias moved to New York City as a young man, and attended the John Street Methodist Church. He was licensed as a Methodist preacher in 1793, and four years later Bishop Asbury ordained him a deacon. He entered the "itinerant connection" in 1811, and in 1813 Bishop McKendree ordained him an elder. He pastored at a number of locations in New York, and by 1836 was in Huntington, where he wrote Deliverance Will Come. In 1841, failing eyesight forced him to retire to Hempstead, Long Island.

Sources:
Choir Herald, June 1947, pp. 222-23

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/a/t/matthias_jb.htm

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Matthias

Wikipedia Biography

John B. Matthias (January 1, 1767 – May 27, 1848) is known as the writer of the words and music for the gospel song, “Palms of Victory” (also known as “Deliverance Will Come” or “I Saw a Way-worn Traveler”), for which he is generally given credit. He was typical of Methodist Episcopal circuit riders in early 19th Century United States. During his years of retirement, Matthias received a pension based on whatever congregation members in the New York Conference contributed that year. The Minutes indicate that his annual pension ranged between $86.40 and $157.28.
Wikipedia Biography

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