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P. H. Brown
1783 - 1861 Person Name: Phoebe H. Brown Author of "Solitude" in Perfect Praise Brown, Phoebe, née Hinsdale. A member of the Congregational body, born at Canaan, Columbia County, New York, May 1, 1783, she was left an orphan when two years old. At nine she fell into the hands of a relative who kept a county gaol. These, says her son, "were years of intense and cruel suffering. The tale of her early life which she has left her children is a narrative of such deprivations, cruel treatment, and toil, as it breaks my heart to read." Escaping from this bondage at 18, she was sought by kind people, and sent for three months to a common school at Claverack, N.Y., where she learned to write, and made profession of faith in Christ. In 1805 she was married to Timothy H. Brown, a painter, and subsequently lived at East Windsor and Ellington, Connecticut, Monison, Mass., and at Marshall, Henry County, Illinois. She died at the last-named place, Oct 10, 1861. Most of her hymns were written at Monison, Mass. Through a life of poverty and trial she was "a most devoted mother, wife, and Christian." Her son, the Rev. S. R. Brown, D.D. became the first American Missionary to Japan, and two of her grandchildren are now in the same mission. In addition to her hymns, two or more volumes of prose by her have been published. Her Autobiography and Poems were being prepared for publication, when the editor died, and they are yet to appear. Despite all her disadvantages, Mrs. Brown's talents and work are superior to those of any other early female hymnist of America. It is hoped that her manuscript may some day be competently examined, and selected portions from them be published. Four of her hymns appeared in Nettleton's Village Hymns, 1824, with the signature "B."
1. As once the Saviour took His seat. Penitence.
2. Go, messenger of love, and bear. Missions.
3. I love to steal awhile away. Retirement.
4. Welcome, ye hopeful heirs of heaven. Young Converts.
Of these No. 2 is a Missionary hymn, written in 1817, but first published in the Village Hymns, 1824; No. 3 was written in 1818, and few hymns have a more pathetic history. It is this:—
Mrs. Brown was living at Ellington with "four little children, in a small unfinished house, a sick sister in the only finished room, and not a place above or below where I could retire for devotion." Not far off stood the finest house in the neighbourhood, with a large garden. To-wards this the poor woman used to bend her steps at dusk, loving, as she writes, “to smell the fragrance of fruits and flowers, though I could not see them," and commune with Nature and God. This she did, never dreaming that she was intruding, her habits watched, or her motives misconstrued, till one day the lady of the mansion turned rudely upon her with "Mrs. Brown, why do you come up at evening so near our house, and then go back without coming in? If you want anything, why don't you come in and ask for it?" Mrs. B. adds, "There was something in her manner more than her words, that grieved me. I went home, and that evening was left alone. After my children were all in bed, except my baby, I sat down in the kitchen with my child in my arms, when the grief of my heart burst forth in a flood of tears. I took pen and paper, and gave vent to my oppressed heart."
The Poem then written is headed "An Apology for my Twilight Rambles, addressed to a Lady, Aug. 1818.” The original has nine stanzas, the second beginning “I love to steal awhile away.” Years after, when Nettleton was seeking original matter for his Village Hymns (1824), this piece was abridged and altered into the present familiar form, either by Mrs. Brown herself, her pastor (Mr. Hyde), or Nettleton. Its popularity was great from the first. In 1853 it was included in the Leeds Hymn Book, and thus became known to English collections. It is found in Lyra Sacra Americana, p. 29.
In 1819 Mrs. Brown wrote two hymns which were strangely overlooked by Nettleton, and did not appear till 1831 in Hastings's Spiritual Songs. These are:—
5. How sweet the melting lay. Morning.
6. 0 Lord, Thy work revive. For a Revival. Both are found in Lyra Sacra Americana, pp. 28-30.
No. 6 was altered by the author for Nason's Congregational Hymn Book, 1857. This, according to Nason, is her authorized text. It is widely used in America, and is also found in a few English collections, including Reed's Hymn Book and the New Congregational Hymn Book, and sometimes is attributed in error to Hastings.
7. Great God, we would to Thee make known. This appeared in the Mother's Hymn Book, 1834.
8. We come, 0 Lord, before Thy throne. For Sailors.
9. Grant the abundance of the sea. For Sailors. Two hymns for sailors, which appeared in Linsley and Davis's Select Hymns, 1836.
10. Assembled at [round] Thine altar, Lord. Holy Communion. This also appeared in the Select Hymns, 1836, and was altered for Nason's Congregational Hymn Book, 1857. It is a good hymn, and deserves wider adoption.
11. Jesus, this mid-day hour. Noon. "Written by special request for the Fulton Street [Noon] Prayer Meeting," about 1857.
In addition to the foregoing there are four hymns by her in Parish Hymns (Phila.), 1843, to which they were contributed; and there may be many others in various collections which are uncredited. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
P. H. Brown
L. C. Everett
1818 - 1867 Composer of "SOLITUDE" in Gospel Songs and Hymns No. 1 L. C. Everett's largest and most popular collection was The Wesleyan Hymn and Tune Book (1859), published by the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The denominational dedication page in that collection says it was "prepared by Mr. L.C. Everett, of Virginia, a gentleman well-known through the South and Southwest, as an author and teacher of sacred vocal music." In his own introductory remarks, Everett's instincts as an educator are clear. He advised churches to offer a weekly congregational singing class "for the purpose of meeting together frequently, say one evening each week, to practice the tunes under the direction of a suitably qualified chorister or leader, and ... that the entire congregation be invited to attend the rehearsals of the class and join in learning the tunes." For Everett, musical worship was not just the duty of a choir, it was the duty of everyone.
Leonard’s brothers were Asa Brooks Everett (1828-1875), N.E. Everett, & Benjamin Holden Everett. Leonard and Asa developed a successful music education system called "The Everett System," and together with R.M. McIntosh they formed the L.C. Everett Company, which employed approximately fifty music teachers throughout the American south and middle Atlantic.
—Chris Fenner
see also J.H. Hall, Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1914), pp. 96-100.
L. C. Everett
Jones Very
1813 - 1880 Person Name: James Very Author of "The bud will soon become a flow'r" in The Brethren Hymnal Very, Jones, was born at Salem, Massachusetts, Aug. 28, 1813, his father, Jones Very, being a shipmaster. He graduated at Harvard College in 1836. He remained at his College, as tutor in Greek, for two years, and then entered the Unitarian Ministry (1843). He has been engaged in the work of a preacher without a pastorate from the first, a great part of his time being devoted to literary pursuits. In 1839 he published a volume of Essays and Poems, from which several pieces have been taken as hymns, including:—
1. Father! I wait Thy word. The sun doth stand. Waiting upon God.
2. Father, there is no change to live with Thee. Peace in the Father's Care.
3. Father! Thy wonders do not singly stand. The Spirit-Land.
4. Wilt Thou not visit me? The Divine Presence desired.
These hymns were included in Longfellow and Johnson's Unitarian Book of Hymns, 1846. In the same collection also appeared:—
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.
In addition the following hymns appeared in Longfellow and Johnson's Hymns of the Spirit, 1864 :—
8. One saint to another I heard say,"How long?" The Future anticipated.
9. There is a world eye hath not seen. The Spirit World.
Most of these hymns are in the Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868; and in Putnam's Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith, 1874. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Very, J., p. 1219, i. His hymn, "O heavenly gift of love divine" (Divine assistance asked), from his Poems and Essays, 1839, is given in The Pilgrim Hymnal, 1904. He d. May 8, 1880.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
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Very, Jones. (Salem, Massachusetts, August 28, 1813--May 8, 1880, Salem). He was brother of Washington Very. He graduated from Harvard College in 1836, and served as tutor in Greek there for two years. Although Julian (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.
--Henry Wilder Foote, DNAH Archives
Jones Very
