Chapter M: F. Ham and J. H. Holmes are the latest notable figures in this era of (1)

150 years since the beginning of American Unitarian hymnody, throughout which scores of lesser writers have also contributed their offerings to the main stream. These writers are far too numerous to name in this outline sketch but their thumbnail biographies and notations as to their hymns will be found in the following catalogue. A survey of this whole era discloses the evolution in liberal religious thought from the period when the emphasis was on the sinfulness of man and the redemptive function of the Christian Church, to the vision of a world wide religion taking in many forms, and manifested in that service of mankind which found expression in the “social gospel” in the first half of this century.

The production of so great a number of fine hymns (and of a long series of hymn books of a superior type) over so long a period, by persons belonging to one of the smallest Protestant denominations, commonly considered coldly intellectual rather than emotional in its approach to religion, is a phenomenon unique in the history of hymnody. When the first edition of the _Pilgrim Hymnal_ was published in 1910 it listed both the nationality and the church membership of the authors included, which led to the disclosure that nearly half the American authors were Unitarians who had contributed considerably more than half the hymns of American authorship. In answer to critics Dr. Washington Gladden replied that this was due to the simple fact that the Unitarians had written a larger number of the best hymns than had the American writers in other denominations.

Canon Dearmer in England observed the same fact and was puzzled to explain it. The explanation, however, is a simple one. With the exception of a relatively small number of writers born in other parts of the country and with different backgrounds, these Unitarian authors were men brought up in the atmosphere of the so-called “New England Renaissance,” that literary revival of which Boston, Cambridge and Concord were the chief centres in the 19^th century, and they belonged by blood, by education and by social ties to the New England literary group. The majority were also graduates of Harvard College or Harvard Divinity School, or both, in a period when the spirit of the time was most favorable to the stimulation of poetic gifts, and in a place where the intellectual level was high and there was freedom from any dogmatic control.[5] Thus they had the culture and the warmth of atmosphere needed, and the Divinity School had the admirable custom of encouraging students to write a hymn for the annual graduation exercises or for the School’s Christmas service, and so stimulated their poetic gifts.

Thanks to these favorable circumstances what has been called “the Harvard school of hymnody” has had no equal in the English speaking world, the only comparable institution being Trinity College, Cambridge, England, which, for a much briefer period (1820-1845) was the nursing mother of a notable succession of Anglican hymn writers. It was this fact which led W. Garrett Horder, an English Congregationalist who was also a highly competent hymnologist, to write, “Harvard, like our English Cambridge, has been ‘a nest of singing birds’. I was struck by this when editing _The Treasury of American Sacred Songs_. Harvard provided the bulk —— of the verse I included.” And other orthodox authorities, notably F. M. Bird and Louis F. Benson, already quoted, have borne witness to the high achievements of both the editors of the long succession of Unitarian hymn books and the authors of the hymns which they included.

_Catalogue of American Unitarian Hymn Books._
compiled by Henry Wilder Foote and reprinted (with revisions) from the
Proceedings of the Unitarian Historical Society, May, 1938, by
permission.

In the 17^th century, and down to the middle of the 18^th, all churches of the Congregational order in New England used the _Bay Psalm Book_, first printed in Cambridge in 1640, except for the use of Ainsworth’s _Psalter_ in the churches of the Plymouth Plantation and in the First Church in Salem for a part of the 17^th century. In the latter part of the 18^th century, the _Bay Psalm Book_ was gradually superseded by either the New Version of the Psalms (Tate and Brady) or, more generally, by one of the editions of _Watts and Select_, i.e. Isaac Watts’ _Psalms and Hymns_, with a supplement of hymns selected from other authors.

The first steps away from the Psalm books in general use were taken by two churches which were in the vanguard of the rising liberalism of the last half of the 18^th century. In 1782 the West Church in Boston published _A Collection of Hymns, more particularly designed for the Use of the West Society in Boston_ (1),[6] and in 1788 the East Church in Salem published _A Collection of Hymns for Publick Worship_, (2). These two books were of only local significance, but they clearly pointed the way which later publications were to follow. In 1795 Rev. Jeremy Belknap brought out his _Sacred Poetry_ (3), which was an attempt to produce a book which should be acceptable to both the liberal and the orthodox wings of Congregationalism. In this purpose it failed, though it was widely used by Unitarians. The succeeding books were more definitely Unitarian in character and illustrate the changing emphasis in religious thought and practice through five generations of religious liberals. They form a notable series, for most of them attained a literary standard and spiritual outlook higher than that of other contemporary hymn books.

The earlier books in this series were very imperfectly edited, judged by modern standards. Some of them contain no preface and no indication as to the identity of the compiler. In other cases, the compiler is indicated by initials. In some cases the names of the authors of hymns are not given at all, in others only the surname, when known, and there are frequent mistaken attributions. Directions as to the music are usually lacking, the metre of each hymn alone being indicated. In some cases the names of suitable tunes are given, but only one book (18) earlier than 1868 included any music, in that case an appendix of twenty-one tunes in two parts at the back of the book. The first American Unitarian hymn book to be printed with a tune on each page was the American Unitarian Association’s _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1868 (34). Thereafter few books appeared without tunes, but half-a-dozen other collections with music were published in the next forty years, each of which had considerable use.

It will be noted that in the course of the 19^th century no less than thirty-six different hymn-books appeared, a far larger number than any other American denomination can show for the same period, and illustrative of the extreme individualism of the Unitarian churches. Throughout the middle third of the century Greenwood’s _Collection_ (13), the _Springfield Collection_ (14), and the _Cheshire Collection_ (20), had the widest use, followed in the last third of the century by the _Hymn and Tune Books_ (34) and (36) of the American Unitarian Association, but all the other collections had some local vogue, in some cases only for a brief period or only in those churches the ministers of which had compiled the collections in question. As late, however, as the beginning of the 20^th century, at least eight different hymn-books were in use in the Unitarian churches of the United States and Canada. This diversity of usage declined rapidly after the publication of _The New Hymn and Tune Book_ (45) in 1914, and had practically disappeared by the time when that book’s successor, _Hymns of the Spirit_ (48) was published in 1937.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Copies of at least one edition of each of the following books are
in the Historical Library of the American Unitarian Association,
25 Beacon Street, Boston, except in the cases noted.

1. _A Collection of Hymns, more particularly designed for the Use of the West Society in Boston_—Boston, 1782; 2nd ed., 1803; 3rd ed., 1806; 4th ed., 1813.

The editor is said to have been Rev. Simeon Howard (1733-1804), (See Bentley’s _Diary_, II, 371), Jonathan Mayhew’s successor as minister of the West Church. Mayhew’s congregation was notably liberal and this book represents the first step away from psalm-books of the traditional type. It contains 166 hymns, including a number of classics by Watts, Barbauld, Addison, etc. The tone in general is ethical rather than theological, and many of the hymns are moral precepts in mediocre verse, some, at least, probably of local production, but the authors cannot be identified as no author is named; there is no preface, and the compiler’s name is not given.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy.
There is one in the Congregational Library, 14 Beacon Street,
Boston.

2. _A Collection of Hymns for Publick Worship_—Salem; n.d. (1788)

Edited by Rev. William Bentley (1750-1819) of the East Church, Salem, Mass., and used there until superseded in 1843 by Flint’s _Collection_ (17). There is no preface and the compiler’s name is not given. There are no musical directions except the metre of each hymn. The book consists of two parts, the first containing 40 psalms “according to Tate and Brady’s Version,” arranged by metre; the second containing 163 hymns of high quality, including many of the classics of the period. The book is much superior to No. 1, but had little use outside the church for which it was intended, perhaps because Bentley, though one of the earliest outspoken Unitarians, was _persona non grata_ in a Federalist stronghold on account of his political opinions.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy.
There is one at The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.

3. _Sacred Poetry: consisting of Psalms and Hymns adapted to Christian devotion in publick and private. Selected from the best authors, with variations and additions_—By Jeremy Belknap, D.D., Boston, 1795.

Many editions. Some included a supplement of _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper, selected and original_, (7) prepared by Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, minister of the First Church in Dorchester, 1801. In 1812 an edition appeared with 28 additional hymns, “Selected by the successor of the Rev. Author,” i.e. by W. E. Channing.

Dr. Belknap (1744-1798) was the first Congregational minister of the Federal Street Church (his predecessors having been Presbyterians), and his immediate successor was William Ellery Channing. Belknap endeavored to compile a collection which should serve both the orthodox and the liberal wings of the New England Congregationalism of his day. In his preface he says, “In this selection, those Christians who do not scruple to sing praises to their Redeemer and Sanctifier, will find materials for such a sublime enjoyment; whilst others, whose tenderness of conscience may oblige them to confine their addresses to the Father only, will find no deficiency of matter suited to their idea of the chaste and awful spirit of devotion.” Belknap, however, failed in his attempt to produce a compromise book, as it found favor only in the liberal churches, which used it for some forty years.

The book contains 150 psalms, selected from versions by Tate and Brady, Watts, and others, often “with variations”; and 300 hymns, widely selected from English sources, including Pope’s “Universal Prayer” (altered), Helen Maria Williams’ “While Thee I seek, protecting Power,” hymns by Cowper, Newton, Doddridge, Merrick, Addison, Anne Steele and others. Belknap introduced Anne Steele’s hymns to Americans. There are no hymns by Charles Wesley, and the only hymns of American authorship appear to be Mather Byles’ “When wild confusion rends the air,” and a metrical version of Psalm 65 by Jacob Kimball.

There are no musical directions save the metre of each hymn and the key. “The characters denoting the sharp or flat key are prefixed to each psalm or hymn, at my request, by the Rev. Dr. Morse, of Charlestown.”

The book was much the best of its period. When, in 1808, the vestry of Trinity Church, Boston, impatient at the delay of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in getting out a hymnal, issued one for their own use, they drew heavily on Belknap’s, saying in their preface, “In this selection we are chiefly indebted to Dr. Belknap, whose book unquestionably contains the best specimens of sacred poetry extant.”

4. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for public worship._—Boston, 1799; edited by Rev. James Freeman (1759-1825). 2nd ed., 1813.

This was the first of the hymn-books prepared for use in King’s Chapel, Boston, where it was used for 30 years until succeeded by Greenwood’s _Collection_ (13). No preface; no musical directions except that the metre is indicated. The names of some authors are given in the index of first lines. The book contains 155 psalms, or parts of psalms, “selected principally from Tate and Brady,” followed by 90 hymns and 8 doxologies. The collection is decidedly inferior to that of Belknap (3) in range and quality.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy, but
King’s Chapel does.

5. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns_—by William Emerson, A.M., Pastor of the First Church in Boston; Boston, 1808.

Rev. William Emerson (1769-1811) was the father of Ralph Waldo Emerson. His book is more handsomely printed than most hymn books of the period and contains 150 hymns. It was very liberal in tone and was assailed by the orthodox for having omitted hymns on several of “the most essential doctrines of Christianity.” Its most notable feature was its endeavor to improve the singing by “prefixing to each psalm and hymn the name of a tune, well composed and judicially chosen” as “a valuable auxiliary to musical bands. No American hymn-book has hitherto offered this aid to the performers of psalmody.” The key in which the tune is set and the metre are also indicated at the head of each hymn. There is also an interesting “Index of Tunes, and Musical Authors,” with references to the various collections in which the recommended tunes may be found. As this list of collections of tunes was prepared by a person particularly interested in promoting good music it is here reprinted as indicating the best available sources at the time:

Mass. Com., Massachusetts Compiler; Sal. Coll., Salem Collection; Lock H. Coll., Lock’s Hospital Collection; Sac. Min., Sacred Minstrel; B.C.M., Beauties of Church Music; Psal. Evan., Psalmodia Evangelica; F. C. Coll., First Church Collection; Suff. Selec., Suffolk Selection; Bos. Selec., Boston Selection; Newb’t Coll., Newburyport Collection; Mus. Olio, Musical Olio; Col. Repos., Columbian Repository; B. Coll., Bridgewater Collection.

While this book thus made the selection of tunes easier than did most of its contemporaries, it is needless to point out how inconvenient it was not to have the tunes in the same book with the words. With all its excellencies the book had small use, being rather too far in advance of its time.

6. _A Selection of Sacred Poetry consisting of Psalms and Hymns from Watts, Doddridge, Merrick, Scott, Cowper, Barbauld, Steele and others_—Philadelphia, 1812; 2nd ed., 1818; 3rd ed., 1828; 4th ed., 1846.

Edited by Ralph Eddowes (1751-1833) and James Taylor (1769-1844) two laymen of the church in Philadelphia in which Joseph Priestley had preached after coming to America, but which remained without a settled minister until Rev. W. H. Furness was installed in 1825. A good collection of 606 psalms and hymns, from varied English sources, as indicated by the following quotation from preface:—“The Society of Unitarian Christians in Philadelphia, from its first formation, has used, in its public devotional exercises, the collection of hymns and psalms made by the Rev. Doctors Kippis and Rees, and Messrs. Jervis and Morgan.... A late collection by the Rev. Mr. Aspland, of Hackney, has also afforded assistance, of which advantage has been freely taken; and by resorting to another, published in 1789 by the Rev. Messrs. Ash and Evans of Bristol, this work has been enriched with several pieces of Mrs. Steele’s exquisitely beautiful and highly devotional poetry.”

7. _Hymns for the Lord’s Supper_, Original and Selected. [edited] by Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D., Boston; printed by Sewall Phelps, no. 5 Court Street, 1820; 2nd ed., 1821.

In 1801 Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, minister of the First Church in Dorchester, Mass., printed a few hymns for use at the Lord’s Supper, and these formed the basis for this enlarged collection published in 1820. This edition contains original hymns by Rev. John Pierpont of Boston, Rev. Samuel Gilman of Charleston, S. C., and others, none of them in use today. The booklet probably had more circulation for private reading than for public use.

8. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, for social and private worship_—New York, 1820; 2nd ed., 1827; 4th ed., 1845.

Compiled by Dr. Henry D. Sewall, one of the laymen who founded the First Congregational Society of New York, now All Souls Church, which was organized in 1819. Commonly called “the New York Collection.” It contains 504 psalms and hymns arranged in three sections in alphabetical order of first lines. There are no musical directions except that the metre of each hymn is indicated. The Collection is chiefly notable for the inclusion, without the author’s name, of five original hymns by William Cullen Bryant, a member of the congregation, who had written them at the instance of Miss Sedgwick.

The fourth edition, 1845, made some substitutions and added 146 hymns to the original number.

9. _A Selection of Psalms and Hymns, for social and private worship_—Andover, 1821; 2nd ed., Cambridge, 1824; 11th ed., Boston, 1832.

Edited by Jonathan Peele Dabney (1793-1868), a graduate of Harvard who had studied for the ministry but was never ordained. The book was smaller, cheaper and better arranged than Sewall’s (8), and had considerable use. It contains 385 hymns, and 21 “Ascriptions and Occasional Pieces,” these last including Henry Ware’s Easter hymn, “Lift your glad voices,” and Heber’s “From Greenland’s icy mountains.” There are no musical instructions beyond indication of metres.

10. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Social and Private Worship, compiled by a committee of the West Parish in Boston_—Boston; printed by John B. Russell, 1823.

This book was a successor to No. 1. No preface; no copyright; no indication of the identity of the compilers. It contains 320 psalms and hymns by Tate and Brady, Watts, Doddridge, Barbauld, Steele and others. No hymn by Charles Wesley, but it has John Wesley’s “Lo, God is here,” attributed to “Salisbury Coll.” Also 6 communion hymns; 5 for Christmas, including Tate’s “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” attributed to Dr. Patrick; Milton’s “Nor war nor battle’s sound,” altered by Dr. Gardiner; and Sir Walter Scott’s “When Israel of the Lord beloved”.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy, but
there is one at the Congregational Library, 16 Beacon Street,
Boston, Mass.

11. _A Selection from Tate and Brady’s Version of the Psalms: with Hymns by various authors_—For the use of the church in Brattle Square, Boston. Boston: Richardson & Lord, 1825.

Compiled by a committee of that church. The church used the _Bay Psalm Book_ until 1753; then Tate and Brady’s _New Version_ of the Psalms, with an appendix of hymns selected by a committee. In 1808 another committee published another appendix, entitled _A Second Part of Hymns_. The book issued in 1825, by a committee the membership of which is unknown, is a revision and enlargement of the original Tate and Brady and the appendices. It contains 150 psalms and 363 hymns. No musical directions save indications of metres.

12. _Sacred Poetry and Music reconciled, or a Collection of Hymns original and compiled_—by Samuel Willard, D.D., A.A.S. Boston: L. C. Bowles, 1830.

This book, “adopted while in manuscript, by the Third Congregational Society in Hingham,” had little use beyond that parish. It contains 518 hymns, and 7 chants, the latter being a feature not met with in any earlier book in this series. Tunes are indicated for each hymn, but the editor had some peculiar theories about the “reconciliation” of words and music. The editor, Rev. Samuel Willard (1776-1859), had been minister at Deerfield but had retired on account of blindness and was temporarily resident in Hingham when this book was published.

13. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship_—Boston: Carter and Hendee, 1830.

Edited by Rev. Francis William Pitt Greenwood (1797-1843), minister of King’s Chapel, Boston. _Greenwood’s Collection_, as it was generally called, containing 560 psalms and hymns, superseded Belknap’s (3) as the hymn-book most widely used in Unitarian churches in the first half of the 19^th century. It ran to fifty editions and was used in King’s Chapel, for which it was prepared, until superseded there by _Hymns of the Church Universal_, 1890, (39). Based upon Watts, the book contains the then very recent hymns by James Montgomery, Harriet Auber, Bowring and Heber, and practically introduced Charles Wesley to American Unitarians. In _Young Emerson Speaks_, edited by A. C. McGiffert, 1937, pages 145-150, will be found a sermon on “Hymn Books” preached by R. W. Emerson in 1831, while still minister of the Second Church in Boston, in which he recommends the church to adopt _Greenwood’s Collection_ in place of Belknap’s. Emerson, in his Journal for 1847, noted that _Greenwood’s Collection_ was “still the best.”

14. _The Springfield Collection of Hymns for sacred worship_, by William B. O. Peabody—Springfield: Samuel Bowles, 1835.

Rev. William Oliver Bourne Peabody (1799-1847) was minister at Springfield, Mass. His collection contains 509 hymns, admirably chosen from the accepted classics of the period, Watts and Doddridge predominant, but with an increasing number of the recent compositions by Unitarian hymn-writers of the first third of the 19^th century. No musical instructions beyond indication of metres. On its merits the _Springfield Collection_ rightly shared with _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) and _The Cheshire Collection_ (20) the largest measure of popularity and use among Unitarians in the middle of the 19^th century.

15. _The Christian Psalter: A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for social and private worship_—Boston, 1841.

Edited by Rev. William Parsons Lunt (1805-1857), for use in the First Church in Quincy, Mass. It contains 702 hymns and psalms and represents a reversion to the older type of hymnody, “but, if old-fashioned, it was excellent and serviceable.” Lunt included 22 pieces by his parishioner, ex-President John Quincy Adams, whose wife had put into his hands a complete metrical psalter which Adams had composed. At least one of Adams’ psalms is still to be found in some hymn-books.

16. _A Manual of Prayer for public and private worship, with a collection of hymns_—Boston, 1842.

Edited by Rev. William Greenleaf Eliot (1811-1887). Although printed in Boston, this book was prepared for The First Congregational Society of St. Louis, Missouri, of which the editor had become minister in 1834. The Society was the earliest Unitarian church in the Mississippi Valley, excepting that at New Orleans. The book is primarily a collection of service materials followed by 272 well-selected hymns from standard sources. It was the earliest volume of the sort to be prepared for Unitarian use in the Middle West.

17. _A Collection of Hymns, for the Christian Church and Home_—Boston, 1843.

Edited by Rev. James Flint (1779-1855). The editor was minister of the East Church in Salem, Mass., and based his book upon the 18^th century collection of his predecessor, William Bentley (2). He borrowed the title and much of the contents of James Martineau’s book published in England in 1840. The book contains 415 hymns.

Note:—The American Unitarian Association does not own a copy of
this book. One is in the Congregational Library, 14 Beacon Street,
Boston.

18. _The Social Hymn Book; consisting of psalms and hymns for social worship and private devotions_—Boston, 1843.

Edited by Rev. Chandler Robbins (1810-1882), minister of the Second Church in Boston. The book, which contains 350 psalms and hymns, is based upon Watts and Doddridge, but it introduced new hymns from various sources, among them about twenty of Bishop Mant’s translations of “ancient hymns” from the Roman Breviary. Dr. Robbins was one of the earliest American hymn-book editors to avail himself of the English versions of Latin hymns which were among the fruits of the Oxford Movement. His book has an appendix of 21 tunes in two parts, the book being thus the first in this series to include any printed music.

19. _The Disciples’ Hymn Book; a collection of hymns and chants for public and private devotions, prepared for the use of the Church of the Disciples_—Boston, 1844.

Edited by Rev. James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888) for use in the Church of the Disciples, Boston, which had been organized in 1841 and of which he was the first minister. The first edition is commonly bound up with _Service Book: for the use of the Church of the Disciples_. A revised and enlarged edition appeared in 1852. The collection contains 318 hymns and an appendix of chants. It was notable for its freshness and progressive outlook, and drew upon the most recent English sources. It introduced into American use the hymn “Nearer, my God, to thee,” by Sarah Flower Adams, published in England only three years earlier, and other hymns by the same author. It also included some of Clarke’s own hymns, more of which appeared in the second edition.

20. _Christian Hymns for public and private worship. A Collection compiled by a committee of the Cheshire Pastoral Association_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. Abiel Abbott Livermore (1811-1892), Chairman; Rev. Levi W. Leonard (1790-1864), Rev. William A. Whitwell (1804-1865) and Rev. Curtis Cutler (1806-1874), ministers at Keene, Dublin, Wilton, and Peterboro, New Hampshire, respectively. The editorial work was chiefly done by Livermore, who also contributed to it his communion hymn, “A holy air is breathing round.”

This book, commonly called _The Cheshire Collection_, ran through sixty editions and was widely used. Its popularity was due in part to its wide range—908 hymns—and to its provision for special occasions, but more to the inclusion of fresh material of high quality.

21. _A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. George E. Ellis (1814-1894) for use in the Harvard Church in Charlestown, Mass., of which he was then minister. It contains 658 hymns and psalms, and is based on _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) and _The Springfield Collection_ (14). A Selection from the Psalms, apparently intended for responsive reading, is bound up with the hymn-book, of which it is an unusual feature.

22. _Hymns for Public Worship_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. George W. Briggs (1810-1895), minister of the First Church at Plymouth, Mass. (1838-1852). The book contains 601 hymns; no musical directions beyond indication of metres. There is a strong emphasis on hymns of the inner life, the compiler having sought “to bring together the most fervent expressions of a profound spiritual life,” many of which “have never been in familiar use in Unitarian churches.”

23. _Service Book: for the Church of the Saviour, with a Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship_—Boston, 1845.

Edited by Rev. Robert Cassie Waterston (1812-1893), minister of the Church of the Saviour, Boston. _The Collection of Psalms and Hymns_ bound up with the services is _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) with a supplement of 116 hymns selected by Waterston, so that the book is more accurately described as one of the editions of Greenwood than as an independent publication. The supplement, however, is notable for the high proportion of good new hymns, not available when _Greenwood’s Collection_ first appeared. Among them are hymns by Samuel F. Smith, G. W. Doane, the early and mid-century Unitarian writers, and some taken from Breviary sources.

No musical instructions beyond indication of the metres.

24. _A Book of Hymns for public and private devotion_—Cambridge: Metcalf & Company, printers to the University. 1846.

Edited by Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892) and Samuel Johnson (1822-1882). The editors were, at the time, students in the Harvard Divinity School (class of 1846), and the book “grew out of an offer to provide a new book for a minister who found even the recent ones too antiquated.” It was marked by poetic excellence and freshness, and introduced to American use “Lead, Kindly Light,” and hymns by Whittier, Longfellow, Lowell, Jones Very, Mrs. Stowe and others, besides hymns by the editors themselves. First used in Church of the Unity, Worcester, Mass., of which Edward Everett Hale was minister; then in the Music Hall congregation of Theodore Parker, who is said, on receiving a copy, to have remarked, “I see we have a new book of Sams.” It ran to a twelfth edition in two years, but its greatest influence was as a source-book for later editors. A somewhat enlarged edition appeared in 1848.

25. _Hymns of the Sanctuary_—Boston, 1849.

Edited by Rev. Cyrus A. Bartol (1813-1900), minister of the West Church in Boston, assisted by Charles G. Loring, Joseph Willard, and other laymen of the church. The book is a revised and enlarged edition of the “West Boston Collection” (10) of which the original edition had been prepared by Rev. Simeon Howard (1). It contains 643 hymns and a few chants. No musical directions beyond indication of metres.

26. _Hymns for the Church of Christ_—Edited by Rev. Frederic H. Hedge and Rev. Frederic D. Huntington, Boston, 1853.

Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890) later became a distinguished professor in the Harvard Divinity School. Frederic Dan Huntington (1819-1904) later joined the Episcopal Church, in which he attained a bishopric.

The book contains 872 hymns,—no musical instructions beyond indication of metres. It is conservative in tone but is marked by high literary standards, and by a catholic inclusiveness beyond that of most books in this series. It includes a number of translations of Breviary hymns, and in it appears, for the first time, Hedge’s translation of Luther’s “Ein’ feste Burg.” Better printed than most contemporary hymn-books, it was hailed as “much the best book of hymns yet published.” Many hymns are listed as “Anon.” and some authors are given by surname only, making identification doubtful.

27. _Services and Hymns for the use of the Unitarian Church of Charleston_, S.C., 1854, 1867.

The preface to the first edition, dated “April, 1854,” was signed by S. Gilman and C. M. Taggart, then joint ministers of the church. No copy of this edition appears to be extant. A new and enlarged edition, with an unsigned preface but reprinting the earlier preface signed by Gilman and Taggart, appeared in 1867, “Printed by Joseph Walker, Agt., Charleston.” “Hymns for Christian Worship,” 171 in number, make up the second half of this volume. Almost all of them are the standard English hymns in current use in the first half of the 19^th century, with 10 hymns by American authors, three of which are by Dr. Gilman and two by his wife, Caroline Gilman, all of which had appeared in earlier collections.

28. _Hymn Book for Christian Worship_—Boston, 1854.

There is no preface and the name of the compiler nowhere appears. It was, however, edited by Rev. Chandler Robbins (1810-1882), minister of the Second Church in Boston, and is, in effect, an enlargement of his earlier _Social Hymn Book_, (18), with 761 hymns, better adapted to church use. Like its predecessor, it contained chiefly the older type of hymns,—107 by Watts, 62 by Doddridge, 40 by James Montgomery, 13 by C. Wesley, and 20 more called “Wesleyan.”

29. _The Soldier’s Companion: Dedicated to the Defenders of their Country in the Field, by their Friends at Home_, published as the issue of _The Monthly Journal_, Boston, for October, 1861, vol. II, No. 10.

This was a small paper bound collection of a few traditional hymns, supplemented by a dozen anti-slavery or wartime songs by living writers, including J. Pierpont, E. H. Sears, and J. R. Lowell, with a supplement of devotional readings and prayers. Presumably it had some use in the Army, but copies are now very rare.

30. _Christian Worship_—New York, 1862.

Edited by Rev. Samuel Osgood (1812-1880), then minister of the Church of the Messiah, New York, and Rev. Frederic A. Farley (1800-1892), minister of The First Unitarian Congregational Church, Brooklyn, N. Y.

A small collection of 159 hymns, bound up with a liturgical type of service-book indicating the trend which later took Osgood into the Episcopal Church.

31. _The Soldier’s Hymn Book, containing a supplement of national songs for the use of chaplains and soldiers in the army and navy of the United States_—Prepared by J. G. Forman, Chaplain of the 3d Regiment Missouri Infantry, Army of the U. S., Alton, Illinois, 1863.

Rev. Jacob G. Forman (d. 1885), the compiler, was at the time minister of the Unitarian Church at Alton. This little pocket hymnal contains 99 hymns, and 26 additional patriotic songs.

32. _The Soldier’s Hymn Book for Camp and Hospital_—Cambridge, printed at the University Press, 1863.

There is no indication as to the source of this little book, and the identity of its compiler has not been discovered. Its contents, however, indicate that it came from a Unitarian source. It is a pocket hymnal containing 150 familiar hymns and a few prayers, somewhat larger and better printed than (31).

33. _Hymns of the Spirit_—Boston, Ticknor & Fields, 1864.

Edited by Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892) and Samuel Johnson (1822-1882). This is the second and more famous hymn-book compiled by the editors. It contains 717 hymns and represents their later and more radical trend of thought, the book being theistic rather than explicitly Christian in its emphasis. It introduced many hymns by the editors themselves, and made drastic adaptations or revisions of hymns by other authors. Like their first book (24), it was more generally drawn upon as a source-book by later editors than it was used in the churches. In that respect it was one of the most important books in this series.

34. _Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and Home_—Boston, 1868.

This book was compiled by a committee appointed by the American Unitarian Association, but the editorial work was chiefly done by Rev. Leonard J. Livermore (1822-1886). It is the first hymn-book to be issued by the Association and the first American Unitarian hymn-book to be completely furnished with tunes. It contained 740 hymns, about 30 chants, etc., and 299 tunes, a large proportion of which have since dropped out of use. Regarded as in some measure an authorized denominational hymn-book, it had wide use, though it “marked no advance over its predecessors, but its tunes were well up to the average level and gave it a great advantage,” and stimulated congregational singing.

35. _Hymns for the Christian Church, for the use of the First Church of Christ in Boston_—Boston, 1869.

Edited by Rev. Rufus Ellis (1819-1885), minister of the First Church, Boston. It was based on Lunt’s conservative Christian Psalter (15) which had been in use in the First Church for 25 years. About 250 hymns were retained from the earlier volume and enough more added to bring the total to 469. The selections were well made, but, without music, the book could not compete with the more inclusive _Hymn and Tune Book_ (34) which the American Unitarian Association had published the preceding year.

36. _Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and Home_—Revised edition. American Unitarian Association, Boston, 1877.

The compiler’s name nowhere appears in the book, which was edited by Rev. Rush R. Shippen (1828-1911), then Secretary of the American Unitarian Association. It is a thorough-going revision of (34), virtually a new book. It contains 871 hymns, 14 chants, etc., 316 tunes, a much richer selection than its predecessor, although the music was still of the mid-century type, with only a few examples of the newer English tunes which were being introduced into America by the choirs of Episcopal churches. The book was well adapted to the general needs of Unitarians and was the most widely used book among the Unitarian churches for the ensuing forty years.

37. _Unity Hymns and Chorals_—Edited by W. C. Gannett, J. V. Blake, F. L. Hosmer. Chicago, 1880.

A later and largely revised edition was published in 1911 by Hosmer and Gannett. The editors, Frederick Lucian Hosmer (1840-1929), William Channing Gannett (1840-1923), and James Vila Blake (1842-1925), were hymn-writers and ministers in the Western Unitarian Conference. This small book, noted for its “split-leaf” arrangement, represented the point of view of the “left-wing” group in the denomination. In its two editions it contained most of the hymns by its editors, and a good many by other authors which appeared for the first time within its covers. In this respect, as in its radical character, it may be compared to the hymn-books by Longfellow and Johnson (24 and 33). It was widely used in the Western Unitarian Conference. Musically it was mediocre.

38. _Sacred Songs for Public Worship: A Hymn and Tune Book_—Edited by M. J. Savage and Howard M. Dow. Boston, 1883.

This small book contains 195 hymns and songs for popular use, selected by Minot J. Savage (1841-1918), minister of Unity Church, Boston, Mass., and set to music by Howard M. Dow. Forty-two items are from Mr. Savage’s pen, the rest mostly from familiar sources. It is much more of a “one-man book” and musically nearer akin to the typical gospel song-book than any other collection in this series.

39. _Hymns of the Church Universal_—Compiled by the Rev. Henry Wilder Foote [I]: Revised and edited by Mary W. Tileston and Arthur Foote. Boston, 1890.

This book was compiled for use in King’s Chapel, Boston, of which Mr. Foote (1838-1889) was minister, but was not published until after his death, the editorial work being completed by his sister and brother. The book superseded _Greenwood’s Collection_ (13) in King’s Chapel, and had considerable use elsewhere. It contained 647 hymns, a number of chants, and 299 tunes. It introduced many hymns and tunes of the later 19^th century English authors and composers which were not found in any earlier American Unitarian collections, and was influential in setting a standard for later books.

40. _Hymnal: Amore Dei_—Compiled by Mrs. Theodore C. Williams, Boston, 1890. Revised, 1897.

Edited by Mrs. Williams in co-operation with her husband, Rev. Theodore C. Williams (1855-1915), minister of All Souls’ Church, New York.

It contained 382 hymns, about 25 chants and responses and 272 tunes. A collection similar to _Hymns of the Church Universal_ (39) in utilizing the newer English hymns and tunes of the nineteenth century, it had many excellencies and considerable use. The biographical indexes of composers and authors are far more complete than those of any earlier book in this series.

41. _Hymns for Church and Home_—American Unitarian Association, Boston, 1895.

Edited by Mary Wilder Tileston and Arthur Foote, it was in effect a revised and enlarged edition of _Hymns for the Church Universal_ (39), containing 801 hymns. It was an admirable compilation but rather large and heavy for handling.

42. _Hymns for Church and Home Abridged_—1902.

An edition of (41) with the number of hymns reduced to 513.

43. _Hymns of the Ages_—Cambridge: The University Press. 1904.

Edited by Louisa Putnam Loring (1854-1924). A book of high literary and musical standards, based upon the (Harvard) _University Hymn Book_ (1895). It contained 316 hymns and 205 tunes, but it represented a rather limited and individualistic point of view and did not prove adaptable to general use.

44. _Isles of Shoals Hymn Book and Candle Light Service_—The Isles of Shoals Association, 1908.

Edited by Rev. George H. Badger (1859-1954). Since the book was intended for use at the summer meetings on the Isles of Shoals, off Portsmouth, N. H., the religious interpretation of nature is strongly emphasized. The book contains 219 hymns and 96 tunes, mostly selected from _Hymns for Church and Home_ (41), but nine of them are original contributions to this book, some with lines referring directly to the island setting or history. Both words and music represent the highest standards at the time of publication, and the book is an exceptional collection of hymns expressing this aspect of religion.

45. _The New Hymn and Tune Book_—American Unitarian Association: Boston, 1914.

Edited by a commission: Rev. Samuel A. Eliot (1862-1950), Chairman; Rev. Henry Wilder Foote, (II), (1875-____), Secretary; Rev. Rush R. Shippen, (1828-1911), Rev. Lewis G. Wilson, (1858-1928).

Nominally a revision of the _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1877 (36), it was in effect a new compilation, drawing largely upon _Hymns for Church and Home_ (41), _Amore Dei_ (40) and _Unity Hymns and Chorals_ (37). It contained 546 hymns, 28 chants, etc., and 268 tunes. It also included a set of services and responsive readings, prepared by another committee. It represented a great advance on earlier books and was more widely adopted than any of them. In its music it was less progressive than in its selection of hymns, representing the musical standard and practice of about 1900.

46. _Twenty-five Hymns for Use in Time of War_—The Beacon Press. Boston, n. d. (1916).

A pamphlet of hymns, more than half of them reprinted from the _Hymn and Tune Book_ of 1914 (45) for use during the Great War.

47. _Songs and Readings_—compiled and edited by Jacob Trapp and R. T. Porte. Salt Lake City, 1931.

This booklet contains 58 songs and hymns, without music, and 32 responsive readings for use in the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City, of which Mr. Trapp (1899-____) was then minister. Intended for ministers with “Humanist” leanings.

48. _Hymns of the Spirit_—Beacon Press, 1937.

Edited by a Unitarian Commission: Rev. Henry Wilder Foote, (II) (1875-____), Chairman; Rev. Edward P. Daniels (1891-____), Rev. Curtis W. Reese (1887-____), Rev. Von Ogden Vogt (1879-____), working in co-operation with a Universalist Commission: Rev. L. G. Williams (1893-____), Chairman; Rev. Prof. Alfred S. Cole, (1893-____), Rev. Prof. Edson R. Miles (1875-1958), and Rev. Tracy M. Pullman (1904-____).

The title is borrowed from the second collection, edited by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson, 1864, (33). The book is printed with services and responsive readings prepared by the same two commissions. It is an extensive revision of the _New Hymn and Tune Book_ (45) of 1914, with special emphasis on “the social gospel” and on hymns dealing with “man in the universe.” Its most notable advance over its predecessors is in its music, edited by E. P. Daniels and Robert L. Sanders. It contains 533 hymns, 42 chants, etc., 366 tunes.

_Alphabetical List of Unitarian Hymn Writers In the Following
Catalogue_

Adams, John Quincy
Alcott, Louisa May
Alger, Wm. R.
Ames, Chas. G.
Anonymous
Appleton, Francis P.

Badger, George H.
Ballou, Adin
Barber, Henry H.
Barnard, John
Barrows, Samuel J.
Bartol, Cyrus A.
Bartrum, Joseph P.
Beach, Seth Curtis
Belknap, Jeremy
Blake, James Vila
Briggs, C. A.
Briggs, LeB. R.
Brooks, Charles T.
Bryant, William Cullen
Bulfinch, Stephen G.
Burleigh, Wm. H.

Cabot, Eliza Lee, see Follen, Eliza Lee
Chadwick, John W.
Chapman, Mrs.
Cheney, Mrs. Edna D.
Church, Edward A.
Clapp, Eliza T.
Clarke, J. F.
Collyer, Robert
Clute, Oscar

Dana, Chas. A.
Dwight, John S.

Emerson, R. W.
Everett, Wm.

Fernald, W. M.
Flint, James
Follen, Eliza Lee
Foote, H. W., I
Foote, H. W., II
Freeman, James
Frothingham, N. L.
Frothingham, Octavius B.
Fuller, Sarah Margaret
Furness, W. H.

Gannett, W. C.
Gilman, Caroline (Howard)
Gilman, Samuel
Goldsmith, Peter H.
Greenough, James B.
Greenwood, Helen W.

Hale, Edw. Everett
Hale, Mary W.
Hall, Harriet W.
Ham, M. F.
Harris, Florence
Harris, Thaddeus M.
Hedge, F. H.
Higginson, T. W.
Hill, Thomas
Holland, J. G.
Holmes, John Haynes
Holmes, Oliver Wendell
Horton, Edw. A.
Hosmer, F. L.
Howe, Julia (Ward)
Huntington, F. D.
Hurlburt, W. H.

Johnson, Samuel

Kimball, Jacob

Larned, Augusta
Lathrop, John Howland
Livermore, A. A.
Livermore, Sarah W.
Long, John D.
Longfellow, Henry W.
Longfellow, Samuel
Loring, Louisa P.
Loring, W. J.
Lowell, J. R.
Lunt, W. P.

Mann, Newton
Marean, Emma (Endicott)
Mason, Caroline A.
Miles, Sarah E.
Mott, F. B.

Newell, Wm.
Norton, Andrews

Ossoli, Margaret, see Fuller

Parker, Theodore
Peabody, Ephraim
Peabody, O. W. B.
Peabody, W. B. O.
Perkins, J. H.
Pierpont, John
Pray, Lewis G.
Prince, Thomas
Putnam, A. P.

Robbins, Chandler
Robbins, S. D.

Sargent, L. M.
Savage, M. J.
Scudder, Eliza
Sears, E. H.
Sewall, C.
Sigourney, Lydia H.
Sill, E. R.
Silliman, V. B.
Spencer, Anna G.
Sprague, Charles

Trapp, Jacob
Tuckerman, J.

Very, Jones
Very, Washington

Ware, Henry
Waterston, R. C.
Weir, R. S.
Weiss, John
Wendte, Chas. W.
Westwood, Horace
Wile, Frances W.
Wiley, Hiram O.
Willard, Samuel
Williams, Theodore C.
Williams, Velma C.
Willis, Love Maria
Willis, Nathaniel P.
Wilson, Edwin H.
Wilson, Lewis G.

Young, George H.

Biographical Sketches
with Notes on Hymns

Adams, Hon. John Quincy, Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, July 11, 1767—February 21, 1848, Washington, D. C. He graduated from Harvard in 1787. From 1794-1801 he was United States Minister to England, the Netherlands and Prussia. In 1806 he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard. In 1809 he became United States Minister to Russia, in 1817 he was Secretary of State, and from 1824 to 1828 he was President of the United States. In 1831 he was elected to the House of Representatives, in which body he served until his death.

Most of his verse, both religious and secular, was written after he had left the Presidency, but he remains the only hymn writer who has ever been President of this country. In his later years he composed a metrical version of the Psalms, best described as a free rendering in fairly good verse of what he felt was the essential idea of each Psalm. When his minister, Rev. William P. Lunt, _q.v._, of the First Parish, (Unitarian) Quincy, Massachusetts, undertook the preparation of his hymn book _The Christian Psalmist_, (1841), Mrs. Adams put the manuscript of her husband’s metrical Psalms into Mr. Lunt’s hands, and the latter included 17 of them in his book, and five other hymns by his distinguished parishioner.

The effect on Adams is recorded in a moving entry in his _Journal_ which reveals an aspect of his character quite unknown to those who regarded him as an opinionated and uncompromising though sincere and upright politician. He wrote on June 29, 1845, “Mr. Lunt preached this morning, Eccles. III, 1. For everything there is a season. He had given out as the first hymn to be sung the 138^th of the Christian Psalter, his compilation and the hymn-book now used in our church. It was my version of the 65^th Psalm; and no words can express the sensations with which I heard it sung. Were it possible to compress into one pulsation of the heart the pleasure which, in the whole period of my life, I have enjoyed in praise from the lips of mortal man, it would not weigh a straw to balance the ecstasy of delight which streamed from my eyes as the organ pealed and the choir of voices sung the praise of Almighty God from the soul of David, adapted to my native tongue by me. There was one drawback. In the printed book, the fifth line of the second stanza reads,

‘The morning’s dawn, the evening’s shade,’

and so it was sung, but the corresponding seventh line of the same stanza reads,

‘The fields from thee the rains receive,’

totally destroying the rhyme. I instantly saw that the fifth line should read,

‘The morning’s dawn, the shades of eve,’

but whether this enormous blunder was committed by the copyist or the pressman I am left to conjecture.”

After Adams’ death his verses, both religious and secular, were published in a small volume entitled _Poems of Religion and Society_, New York, 1848, which ran to a fourth edition in 1854. This collection included the five hymns and 17 metrical Psalms printed in _The Christian Psalmist_, unchanged except that the opening line of each psalm has been substituted for the number of the psalm as its heading. Nor was the misprint which Adams lamented amended. Judged by the conventional standards of his time Adams’ poetry was consistently respectable verse, but without any notable distinction other than that lent to it by the fame of the author.

His five hymns are,

1. _Sure to the mansions of the blest_, (Death of Children)

This is part of a piece of 20 stanzas, which appeared in the
_Monthly Anthology and Boston Review_, January 1807. It is
entitled “Lines addressed to a mother on the death of two infants,
19th Sept. 1803, and 19th Decb. 1806.”

2. _Alas! how swift the moments fly_, (The Hour-Glass)

Sometimes given as

_How swift, alas, the moments fly_,

written for the 200^th anniversary of the First Parish Church in
Quincy, September 20, 1839.

3. _Hark! ’tis the holy temple bell_, (Sabbath morning) undated

4. _When, o’er the billow-heaving deep_,

“A Hymn for the twenty-second of December,” i.e., the coming of
the Pilgrim Fathers, undated.

5. _Lord of all worlds, let thanks and praise_,

“Written in Sickness;” undated.

His metrical versions of the Psalms follow:—

6. _Blest is the mortal whose delight_, Ps. 1

7. _Come let us sing unto the Lord_, Ps. 95

8. _For thee in Zion there is praise_, Ps. 65

9. _My Shepherd is the Lord on high_, Ps. 23

10. _My soul, before thy Maker kneel_, Ps. 103

11. _O, all ye people, clap your hands_, Ps. 47

12. _O God, with goodness all thine own_, Ps. 67

13. _O heal me, Lord, for I am weak_, Ps. 6

14. _O, judge me, Lord, for thou art just_, Ps. 26

15. _O Lord my God! how great thou art_, Ps. 104

16. _O Lord, thy all-discerning eyes_, Ps. 139

17. _O that the race of men would raise_, Ps. 107

18. _Send forth, O God, thy truth and light_, Ps. 43

19. _Sing to Jehovah a new song_, Ps. 98

20. _Sing to the Lord a song of praise_, Ps. 149

21. _Turn to the stars of heaven thine eyes_, Ps. 19

22. _Why should I fear in evil days_, Ps. 49

A few of these hymns and psalms found their way into other collections. Nos. 2 and 3 were included in _Lyra Sacra Americana_; no. 18 is in _Hymnal for American Youth_ and the _American Student Hymnal_; no. 16 is in the Jewish _Union Hymnal for Worship_, 1914.

J. 16, 1647
H.W.F.

Alcott, Louisa May, Concord, Massachusetts, November 29, 1833—March 5, 1888, Concord. She was the author of widely known books for children, _Little Women_, _Little Men_, and others. Julian’s _Dictionary_, p. 1602, records her hymn,

_A little kingdom I possess_,

and cites Eva Munson Smith’s _Women in Sacred Song_ as quoting a note from Miss Alcott dated “Concord, Oct. 7, 1883,” in which she says that this is “the only hymn I ever wrote. It was composed at thirteen - - - and still expresses my soul’s desire.” Notwithstanding this statement another hymn attributed to her, apparently written for use by young people and beginning,

_O the beautiful old story!_

is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.

J 1550, 1602
H.W.F.

Alger, Rev. William Rounsville, Freetown, Massachusetts, December 28, 1822—February 7, 1905, Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1847 and in the same year became minister of the Mount Pleasant Society, Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1855 he was settled over the Bulfinch Place Church, Boston. He was a popular lecturer and the author of numerous articles and several books, the most notable of which was his _History of the Doctrine of the Future Life_, 1864, and later editions.

His Christmas hymn

_Jesus has lived! and we would bring_,

written in 1845 while he was still a student, is included in Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853.

Other poems by him, including a hymn for the graduation of his class from the Divinity School in 1847 and another for the ordination of Thomas Starr King, are included in Putnam, _Singers and Songs_, but have had no further use.

H.W.F.

Ames, Rev. Charles Gordon, Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1828—April 15, 1912, Boston, Massachusetts. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1849 and spent some years as a home missionary in Minnesota. In 1859 he joined the Unitarian denomination and served several churches, his last pastorate being with the Church of the Disciples, Boston. In 1905 he wrote a hymn for the dedication of the new edifice of that Society beginning,

_With loving hearts and hands we rear_,

which is included in _The New Hymn and Tune Book_, 1914.

A hymn beginning

_Father in heaven, hear us today_,

is attributed to him in the Universalist _Church Harmonies_: _Old and New_, 1898, but is not found elsewhere.

H.W.F.

Anonymous

In Hedge and Huntington’s _Hymns for the Church of Christ_, 1853, there is no Index of Authors, but in its Index of First Lines the name of the author, (often only his or her surname) is given in most instances. The Index also lists 57 hymns as “Anon.” or, more often, with no word as to authorship. The source of several of these hymns can be traced in Julian’s _Dictionary_ or in Putnam’s _Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith_, but I have been unable to identify the author or source of the following hymns, or to check their later use, if any.

H.W.F.

_Hys. Ch. Ch._

509 Abba, Father, hear thy child,
758 Alas! how poor and little worth,
602 Behold, the servant of the Lord,
73 Blest is the hour when cares depart,
510 Come, let us who in Christ believe
288 Come, O thou universal good!
581 Come to the morning prayer,