THE LORD BE WITH US
John Ellerton, a clergyman of the Church of England, was born in London in 1826. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1849. From 1850 until his death in 1893 he filled various positions in the Church of England as vicar and rector, being appointed Canon of St. Albans in 1892.
WHILE LIFE PROLONGS ITS PRECIOUS LIGHT
Timothy Dwight, a distinguished Congregational minister and educator, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1752. His mother was a daughter of Jonathan Edwards. He entered Yale College at the age of 13 and, graduating four years later, became a tutor; which position he resigned in 1777 to become chaplain in the Revolutionary army.
O HAPPY DAY, THAT FIXED MY CHOICE
Philip Doddridge, one of the most distinguished Dissenting ministers of the eighteenth century, was the youngest of 20 children. He was born in 1702 and entered the ministry at the age of 19. In 1729 he moved to Northampton where he became pastor of the Dissenting Church and also organized and conducted a theological school for young preachers.
SOFTLY NOW THE LIGHT OF DAY
George Washington Doane, a bishop in the Episcopal Church, was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1799. He graduated from Union College in 1818 and entered the ministry in 1821. He served various churches until he was elected, in 1832, to the bishopric of New Jersey.
BLESSED ASSURANCE
Fanny Crosby was the most prolific and perhaps the most popular writer of Sunday school hymns that America has ever produced. She was born in Putnam County, New York in 1820. When only six weeks old she lost her eyesight. Her first poem was written when she was eight.