Thomas_Chisholm_(songwriter)

Thomas Chisholm (songwriter)

Thomas Chisholm (songwriter)

American hymnwriter (1866–1960)

Thomas Obadiah Chisholm[lower-alpha 1] (July 29, 1866 – February 29, 1960) was an American hymnwriter, poet, and Methodist minister.

Quick Facts The Reverend, Born ...

Chisholm was born on July 29, 1866, in a log cabin near Franklin, Kentucky.[4] He became a teacher at the age of 16.[5] Circa 1893, aged 27, Chisholm had a Christian conversion experience during a revival in Franklin led by Henry Clay Morrison.[6] Following his ordination in 1903,[7] served as a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for one year before resigning due to poor health.[8] After 1909 Chisholm began working as a life insurance agent in Winona Lake and later in Vineland, New Jersey.[5]

Chisholm wrote over 1,200 sacred poems over his lifetime, many of which appeared in various Christian periodicals, and he served as an editor of The Pentecostal Herald in Louisville for a period.[9] In 1923, Chisholm wrote the poem "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" which he submitted to William M. Runyan who was affiliated with the Moody Bible Institute and Runyan set the song to music.[10] He also wrote the lyrics "Living for Jesus", composed by C. Harold Lowden.[7] Towards the end of his life, Chisholm retired to the Methodist Home for the Aged in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.[5] He died on February 29, 1960, in Ocean Grove.[4]

Notes

  1. Pronounced /ˈtʃɪzəm/.

References

Footnotes

  1. [1]
    Gabriel 1916, p. 76.
  2. [2]
    Osbeck 1985, pp. 178–179.
  3. [3]
    Reynolds 1976, pp. 80–81.
  4. [4]
    Reynolds 1976, p. 281.
  5. [5]
    Osbeck 1982, p. 84.
  6. [6]
    Osbeck 1982, p. 84; Reynolds 1976, p. 281.
  7. [7]
    Osbeck 1985, p. 178.
  8. [8]
    Gabriel 1916, p. 76; Osbeck 1982, p. 84; Reynolds 1976, p. 281.
  9. [9]
    Osbeck 1982, p. 84; Osbeck 1999, p. 15; Reynolds 1976, p. 281.
  10. [10]
    Osbeck 1982, pp. 84–85; Osbeck 1999, p. 15.

Bibliography

  • Gabriel, Chas H. (1916). The Singers and Their Songs: Sketches of Living Gospel Hymn Writers. Chicago: Rodeheaver Company. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  • Osbeck, Kenneth W. (1982). 101 Hymn Stories. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications. ISBN 978-0-8254-3416-7. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  •  ———  (1985). 101 More Hymn Stories. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications. ISBN 978-0-8254-3420-4. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  •  ———  (1999). Amazing Grace: Illustrated Stories of Favorite Hymns. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications. ISBN 978-0-8254-3433-4. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  • Reynolds, William J. (1976). Companion to "Baptist Hymnal". Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press. ISBN 978-0-8054-6808-3. Retrieved January 10, 2022.

Further reading

  • "Rev. Thomas Chisholm, 93, Dies; Wrote 1,200 Protestant Hymns". The New York Times. March 2, 1960. p. 37.


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