STILL MORE SONGS OF THE SAINTS
By Wayne S. Walker
In Feb., 2001, and again in Nov., 2001, this writer was privileged to edit two special editions of With All Boldness regarding hymnwriters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who were associated with what is commonly called “the restoration movement.” Both of those issues received overwhelming response. According to brethren who run bookstores, books about the origin of hymns do not seem to sell well, at least among us. Perhaps this is because there are very few books that detail the origin of hymns written by members of the Lord’s church. However, it may also be due to the fact that it is only a small minority of people in the Lord’s church who are truly interested in hymn studies. Yet, if that is true, this minority is very vocal, and I have received quite a bit of positive reaction to both the special issues of With All Boldness and the hymn studies which I post on the Internet, for which I am extremely grateful.
Unfortunately, With All Boldness is no longer being published. However, I still have a lot of material that people might be interested in as a result of my continuing research into the songs commonly used among brethren during the last one hundred years or so. Some of the authors and composers are fairly well known names, whereas others are not as easily recognized, but all have contributed in one way or another to the hymns which we sing. Several people have told me that one reason why they appreciate my hymn studies so much is that knowing more about the background of the songs and their writers helps to make singing the songs more meaningful. It is my hope that you will find this material as fascinating and beneficial as I have.
BARTON W. STONE AND ALEXANDER CAMPBELL
Anyone who has studied and is familiar with the history of the call for religious reformation and restoration in the early 1800s of this nation will certainly recognize these two names. Barton Warren Stone was born on Dec. 24, 1772, near Port Tobacco in Charles County, MD. He was converted by the preaching of James McGready, received a license from the Presbyterians to preach in 1796, moved to Kentucky, married in 1801, participated in the great Cane Ridge revival, and then withdrew from the Presbyterians in 1804 with the others who signed the well-known Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery. After that, his life was dedicated to preaching only a return to the apostolic order of things as revealed in the scriptures until his death in Hannible, MO, on Nov. 9, 1844.
Alexander Campbell was born, most likely on Sept. 12, 1788, near Ballymena in Country Antrim, Northern Ireland. His Presbyterian minister father, Thomas, emigrated to the United States in 1807, making his home near Washington, PA, and Alexander and the rest of the family followed a couple of years later, eventually settling in VA near what is now Bethany, WV, where he died on Mar. 4, 1866. Both he and his father also withdrew from the Presbyterian and began preaching only non-denominational, New Testament Christianity. These facts are well-known and have been introduced here only briefly for background purposes. However, what is likely not as well-known is that both Stone and Campbell were very interested in the singing of the church, edited songbooks for use in local congregations, and even wrote hymns themselves.
In May of 1828, Campbell brought out his Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs adapted to the Christian Religion, containing 125 hymns. A second edition appeared in 1829 and a third in 1832. Meanwhile, Stone, assisted by Thomas Adams, had published The Christian Hymn-Book, Compiled and Published at the Request of the Miami Christian Conference in 1829, with 340 hymns. After Adams’s death, he joined with John Telemachus Johnson for a new edition in 1832. However, in 1832, after Campbell and Stone had determined that they were both preaching the same thing, they achieved a union in their efforts, and in 1834 also combined their hymnbooks into Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, Original and Selected–Compiled by A. Campbell, W. Scott, B. W. Stone, and J. T. Johnson–Bethany, Va. 1834, having 240 hymns. All these books had no music but contained words only.
At that time, almost all hymnbooks contained words only with no music. Within ten years, hymnbooks with music became more and more common, but Campbell vehemently opposed the use of music in hymnbooks, claiming that printed music was a distraction during the song service, and he never wavered from this opposition. Most hymn-poems were written in certain meters, and various tunes were composed to fit those meters. People usually memorized as many tunes as possible, and in a worship service the song leader chose one that fit a particular hymn. It was not uncommon for a hymn to be sung to several different tunes. Campbell never allowed any of his hymns to be set to music, and there is no historical data to indicate what tunes were used with his hymns.
In 1986, Max D. Wheeler was preparing some material for a series of lectures on church music in the early days of the “restoration movement” and compiled a collection of hymns by some of the leaders, including Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone. One evening he determined to come up with a musical arrangement for Campbell’s hymn, “Upon the Banks of Jordan Stood,” taken from the 1834 edition of Campbell’s Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. The poem was written as a narrative, beginning with the proclamation of John the Baptist that Jesus is the Lamb of God, writing about the steps of salvation, and discussing the establishment of Christ’s church which is described as the “reign of God.” After trying first one thing and then another Wheeler finally just memorized the basic tune that sounded the best.
About a month later, he was doing some recording with Ray Walker at a Dallas studio and scratched out a quick manuscript copy of the music, asking Ray to look it over. By the next night, Ray had recorded it. The producer, Bill Shockley, liked it so much that he decided to include it in one of his production tapes and market it. A few months later, Bill Humble asked to use the song as the theme music for a video that he was producing on the life of Alexander Campbell. It was first published in a new edition of V. E. Howard’s Church Gospel Songs and Hymns and has since in several hymnbooks used among churches of Christ and Christian Churches, including the 1992 Praise for the Lord, edited by John P. Wiegand. Also, Church Gospel Songs and Hymns includes a hymn by Barton W. Stone, “The Lord Is the Fountain,” from The Christian Hymn Book of 1829, with a musical setting by Max Wheeler’s cousin, Tommy Wheeler.
GILBERT YOUNG TICKLE
Most of the hymn writers associated with churches of Christ with whom we are familiar are American. However, Gilbert Young Tickle, who was born in 1819, was a resident of Liverpool, England, and assisted Alexander Campbell in going through customs when he arrived there for his tour through England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1847. An associate of David King of Birmingham, one of the leaders among churches of Christ in England, Tickle assisted in editing some of the editions of Hymns for Churches of Christ, which include over twenty of Tickle’s compositions. His death occurred in 1888.
Two of Tickle’s texts, both communion hymns, were used by E. L. Jorgenson in the 1922 supplement to his 1921 Great Songs of the Church (No. 1). One is “Another week, and all our cares have flown.” It is not known when these words were written, but the text was probably first published in the 1868 edition of Hymns for Churches of Christ. The tune that Jorgenson used, “Toulon,” was either composed or adapted by Louis Bourgeois for the 1551 Genevan Psalter where it was used with Psalm 124. The harmonization was made by Claude Goudimel for the 1565 Genevan Psalter. The present version appeared as early as 1848 in The National Psalmist edited by Lowell Mason and George Webb.
The second is “Lord of our highest love.” Again, no exact information is available on when these words were written. The text was probably first published in either the 1868 or 1888 edition of King’s Hymns for Churches of Christ. The tune that Jorgenson used, “Franconia,” was taken from the 1738 Harmonischer Liederschatz published by Johann B. Konig of Frankfurt, Germany. The melody is probably by Konig himself. The harmonization was made by William Henry Havergal, an English minister and father of hymnwriter Frances Ridley Havergal, for his 1847 Old Church Psalmody.
Jorgenson included both of these songs again in his 1937 Great Songs of the Church No. 2, and they are found in the 1986 Great Songs Revised, edited by Forrest M. McCann and published by ACU Press. I have not seen “Another Week” in any other books. However, “Lord of Our Highest Love” was used in the 1953 Favorite Hymns Revised published by Standard Publishing Co., the 1963 Abiding Hymns published by Robert C. Welch, the 1965 Great Christian Hymnal No. 2 published by Tillit S. Teddlie, and the 1992 Praise for the Lord published by John P. Wiegand. They are both good songs, and one could wish that they were contained in more books, because it would be interesting to sing some hymns by someone associated with the disciples of Christ in Great Britain.
ROBERT SKENE
Unlike the Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell, Robert Skene is probably not a readily recognized individual to many people. However, his name has been preserved in history as the composer of the tune for a song that has been quite popular among churches of Christ. Very little information is available about him, including the dates and places of his birth and death. However, it is believed that he was the grandson of Benjamin Skene, a long time advocate of religious reform whose obituary was given ample space in the Millennial Harbinger of April, 1859 (pp. 237-238). Benjamin had a son named Robert who lived in Louisville, KY.
The composer Robert Skene edited a hymnbook entitled The Concordia in Louisville in 1861. Also he co-edited The Christian Psaltery in 1867 with Augustus Damon Fillmore, the father of James H. and Fred A. Fillmore, all associated with churches of Christ and Christian churches of the mid to late 1800s. But he is best-known for a tune which was composed most likely around 1869 for the hymn “On Zion’s Glorious Summit Stood,” by John Kent, who was born at Bideford in Devonshire, England, in Dec., 1776. A shipwright by trade, Kent acquired only a limited education but became known for his hymns which were strongly worded, very earnest, and simple. Several of them appear in Samuel Reese’s 1799 Collection, but this one was first included in Kent’s own 1803 Collection of Original Hymns. In all probability, he was an English Baptist.
Kent died on Nov. 15, 1843, but in 1861 his Collection was still being published in its 10th edition. It contained “The Author’s Experience” and a biography of Kent by his son. The English Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, made use of Kent’s hymns in his collections employed in his tabernacle in London. This melody was first published with Kent’s hymn in the 1872 New Harp of Zion, edited by A. D. Fillmore and his son James, with an abbreviated form of the Sanctus, the origin of which is unknown. The hymn with the full Sanctus, which is sung after the third stanza, first appeared in Hermon: A New Collection of Sacred Music published in 1873 at New York City, NY, by Rigdon McCoy McIntosh.
About all we know for certain concerning Robert Skene is that he lived in the nineteenth century. However, the evidence appears to indicate that his forefathers were associated with those who called for a restoration of the ancient order of things in religion, and thus there is reason to believe that he may have been identified with non-denominational, New Testament churches in the mid-to-late 1800s, most likely in the area of Louisville, KY. And whether his name means anything to us or not, every time we sing “On Zion’s Glorious Summit Stood,” we take something that he left us and use it to praise the eternal God of heaven and His glorious Son Jesus Christ.
TULLIUS C. O’KANE
A name which may be a little more familiar, or at least recognized, than Skene but still not as well-known as Campbell or Stone is Tullius Clinton O’Kane, who was born in Fairfield County, in the vicinity of Lancaster, OH, on Mar. 10, 1830, and educated at the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, OH, with a bachelor’s degree in 1852 and a master’s in 1855. After serving at his alma mater as a tutor in mathematics for a couple of years, he became a public school principle at Cincinnati, OH, in 1857, but in 1864 became associated with the piano firm of Philip Phillips and Company, remaining with them for three years. Then in 1867, he returned to Delaware and for the next six years travelled the state of Ohio as a representative of the Smith American Organ Company of Boston, MA.
During this time, O’Kane began attending regularly at county and state Sunday School conventions and soon started publishing his own Sunday school song collections, for which he produced many tunes. The first of these publications was Fresh Leaves in 1868. Later that year, he published Additional Fresh Leaves, a Supplement to Fresh Leaves, which contained one of his best-known tunes with the hymn, “O Think of the Home Over There,” written by DeWitt Clinton Huntingdon (1830-1912). A later edition of Fresh Leaves, printed around 1870, included a tune often accompanied with a chorus beginning, “We shall stand the storm,” by O’Kane, or perhaps a traditional melody arranged by him, that has been used with several different hymns, including Isaac Watts’s “When I Can Read My Title Clear” and “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?”
One of O’Kane’s tunes that has become very popular among churches of Christ was composed for “Is It For Me, Dear Savior?” written by Frances R. Havergal (1836-1879). Miss Havergal’s poem was published in her 1874 Under the Surface, but it must have been written earlier, because the date usually given for the first publication of the song is 1871. The following year, O’Kane provided a melody and added a refrain for an anonymous poem beginning, “There Stands a Rock,” which first appeared in the Sunday School Journal of 1871 (sometimes erroneously ascribed to a non-existent author S. S. Journal) and is also much used among brethren. These may have been first published in his 1873 Dew Drops of Sacred Song, Songs of Worship.
O’Kane’s next work, Jasper and Gold published in 1877, contained what is probably his most famous melody, “Evergreen Shore,” used with the old hymn “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand,” which had been written in 1787 by Samuel Stennett (1717-1795). Again, O’Kane added the chorus which begins, “We will rest in the fair and happy land by and by.” Also, at some time or another, he arranged a traditional air for use with the hymn, “There Is A Spot” written by William Hunter (1811-1877), which may have first published in Joy to the World which O’Kane co-edited in 1878 with C. C. McCabe and John R. Sweney. Also, he assisted with the compilation of Songs of Redeeming Love No. 1 in 1882 and No. 2 in 1887 with McCabe, Sweney, and William J. Kirkpatrick.
The preceding paragraphs identify almost all of O’Kane’s tunes, at least that I am aware of, which have been included in books published for use among churches of Christ. Max D. Wheeler, in his 1992 booklet Reflections on Our Hymns, which is a compilation of articles that he had written for the Christian Journal, affirmed that O’Kane “was a member of the Church of Christ.” It seems to me that I have also read this statement made in some other book as well, although I cannot remember or find where just now. I have not been able to confirm the truthfulness of this claim, but neither do I know of any evidence to doubt it. This may explain why so many of O’Kane’s melodies remain in our books but not in most denominational books. While searching through several hymnbooks from different sources, I did find one other tune that he composed for a text, “Church of God Whose Conquering Banners,” by Mrs. Emily Bugbee, but I have no further information about it. O’Kane died at Delaware, OH, on Feb. 10, 1912.
JAMES W. MCFADDEN
In his book Hymns and History, Forrest M. McCann wrote, “Various individual Christians have published hymnals used more or less regionally in the United States and by segments of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Among these, without any effort to be definitive, are the following: S. H. and Flavil Hall, The Gospel Message in Song (1910); Redemption’s Way in Song (1911); and the Cross and Resurrection (1920, 1927). The songs included were chiefly by the editors and their friends….F. L. Rowe, editor of the Christian Leader, published these hymnals.” One of the songs that the Halls published in many of their books was “Beautiful Home.” The text was written and the tune was composed both by James Wesley McFadden, who was born on October 27, 1873, in Bethel Township, Monroe County, OH, to William Ray and Louisa May Day McFadden.
On July 16, 1893, McFadden married Mary Evalyn Morrison, of Mt. Ephraim in Noble County, OH. The wedding took place at Sycamore Valley in Monroe County, where the young couple lived, and he became an elementary school teacher. Their first eight children were born there. A lifelong member of the church of Christ, he preached some, taught Bible classes, and conducted funerals. In the early days of the century, the church was the center of family activities, especially during gospel meetings. The church usually had no full-time preacher, and his home always seemed to keep the preacher for the meetings. His grandson, James R. McFadden of Hilliard, OH, remembered seeing Flavil Hall at his grandparents’ home when Hall was conducting a meeting. Hall published McFadden’s song and helped him with a couple of spots in it.
Mrs. McFadden played the old-fashioned pump organ around which the musical family liked to sing. McFadden taught singing, both in the church and outside as well. One of their daughters, Addie Louisa Sharp Albaugh, who lived from 1908 to 1996, also composed a song, “The Realms of Somewhere,” which was published by the Halls as well. McFadden’s teaching career took him first to Tuscarawas County, in the Dover/New Philadelphia area, and then to Wheeling Township near Old Washington in Guernsey County, both in Ohio. While they were living in Guernsey County, two more children were born to the McFaddens, and they continued to reside there until McFadden’s death on Feb. 18, 1933. His wife survived and lived until 1966.
My first acquaintance with McFadden’s song was the result of visiting during gospel meetings with the church assembling on Cemetery Rd. in Hilliard, OH, where his grandson, James R. McFadden, was a member and would occasionally lead it from copies that had been pasted in the back of their songbooks. After asking for and receiving copies of the song, I later obtained a copy of the 1927 revised and enlarged edition of The Cross and Resurrection in Song edited by Samuel H. and Flavil Hall which contained the song. Through the years, many good brethren have written songs which have been used for a while and then forgotten. This seems to be undoubtedly quite normal because, as time passes by, new songs are written and many older ones naturally fall into disuse. But there was something about this song which caught my attention the very first time that I heard it. While we already have many songs about heaven in our books, this is a good one that perhaps deserves “dusting off” and being given a second look.
LULA K. ZAHN
Lula (or Lulie, as her grave marker reads) Klingman Zahn was born on Nov. 6, 1876, in Louisville, KY. Her parents, Frederick and Katherina (Katie) Klingman, were of German Lutheran descent. Katie had grown up in Germany where her father experienced some great financial troubles, owing a large debt to a friend who had emigrated to the United States. Finally, he wrote to his creditor that he had tried his best but was unable to pay. Therefore, he sent his daughter to work in America for the friend without wages (except room and board) until the debt was settled.
However, before long the friend wrote back and told her father to forget the debt because he wanted to marry the daughter. That friend was George Klingman. Thus, Katie became Mrs. Klingman. Katie’s age at the time of her marriage is not known, but she must have been quite young because she gave birth to fifteen children and died at age thirty. It is said that she memorized a vast portion of the Bible. The Klingman family attended the Portland Ave. church of Christ in Louisville. Three of the sons became preachers–George, John, and C.C., and her daughter Lula married a preacher.
Lula’s brother George was a well-known minister among churches of Christ in the early twentieth century, working with the Portland Ave. church in Louisville, where he had been baptized as a teenager, and the Palm St. church in Detroit. In addition, he served as Dean of Childer Classical Institute, the forerunner of Abilene Christian College (now University) from 1907 to 1908. Later, he returned to become dean of the Bible department at Abilene Christian College in 1917and spoke on the first Abilene lecturship in 1918.
After attending Abilene Christian College herself, Lula married Robert A. Zahn, also of Louisville. He was a preacher who had been born in 1869 and was minister with the Rowan St. church in that city for twenty years. She is primarily remembered today as the author and composer of the song, “There Is A Sea.” It was first published in 1921 in Great Songs of the Church (No. 1), edited by Elmer Leon Jorgenson (1886-1968). Jorgenson identified the first two stanzas of the song as being of unknown origin, with the third stanza and the music supplied by Mrs. Zahn. Jorgenson’s wife, Irene Doty Jorgenson, attributed the first two stanzas to her husband. Perhaps he revised or edited them, but he never claimed them as his work in any printing of Great Songs. Further research has identified a poem, “The Two Seas: A Parable of Giving and Hoarding” in The Church Missionary Gleaner, Volumes 16-17, written by “the Rev. Richard Glover, M.A., Vicar of St. Luke’s, West Holloway,” published in 1889. The Zahns later moved to Florida and Oklahoma, but returned to Louisville, where they lived until their deaths. Lula died in Louisville on June 7, 1948, and her husband followed her in death eight years later.
“There Is A Sea” was included in Jorgenson’s 1937 Great Songs of the Church No. 2. It has appeared in many books published by members of the Lord’s church since then, such as the 1948 Christian Hymns No. 2 and the 1966 Christian Hymns No. 3, both edited by L. O. Sanderson and published by the Gospel Advocate Co.; the 1959 Majestic Hymnal No. 2, and the 1978 Hymns of Praise, both edited by Reuel Lemmons and published by the Firm Foundation Co.; and the 1963 Abiding Hymns edited by Robert C. Welch. Today, it is found in the 1956 Sacred Selections for the Church edited by Ellis J. Crum; all of Alton Howard’s books–the 1971 Songs of the Church, the 1990 Songs of the Church 21st C. Ed., and the 1994 Songs of Faith and Praise; the 1987 Hymns for Worship, edited by Dane K. Shepard and R. J. Stevens; and the 1992 Praise for the Lord, edited by John P. Wiegand.
FRANK ROUSH AND J. E. STURGIS
Frank E. Roush was born on Apr. 11, 1884, at Dodsonville in Highland County, OH, to Isaiah and Lida McDaniel Roush. With his family, he moved to nearby Lynchburg in 1897. Then on Feb. 25, 1903, he was baptized and became a member of what is now the First Church of Christ, an “independent,” instrumental Christian Church, in Lynchburg. However, the history of this congregation may date back into the early to mid 1800’s before instrumental music became a troubling issue among churches of Christ, although it is likely that by at least 1915 the “First Church” had accepted instrumental music because around then the Pearl St. church of Christ was established in opposition to such innovations. Devoting his life to living for Christ, Roush expressed himself in well over 200 gospel songs, not all published. The most popular of all his hymns is “I Love Him Because He First Loved Me.”
This writer also happened to be born and raised in Highland County, OH, although some seventy years after Mr. Roush. I never had the privilege of meeting or knowing him, but I knew some folks who had known, or at least had known of, him, and they reported that he was reputed to have been known as somewhat an eccentric personality around Lynchburg. In my possession are several other songs, four copied from handwritten sheets and one printed, by Roush with music by others. The hand copied songs are “How Beautiful Heaven Will Be” with Paul Jones, who was a long-time minister with the First Church of Christ (Christian) in nearby Hillsboro, OH; “They Will Open Wide Those Pearly Gates” with Ed Bousman, who was another Christian Church preacher in Highland County and had a well-known national radio broadcast, “God Is Just A Prayer Away,” for many years; “Christ’s Way” with Roberta Bousman, who was Ed Bousman’s wife and a noted musician; and “King of My Heart” with David W. Williams, about whom I know nothing.
The printed sheet included the hymn “The Wonderful Story of Love” with music by Bernadine E. Minzler, who also lived at Lynchburg. It also contained a poem “Tribute” by Minzler about Roush and announced “Frank Roush Day” on Sunday, November 15, 1959, at the First Church of Christ in Lynchburg, saying, “Since the death of Fanny Crosby, Frank is believed to have more songs to his credit than any remaining living Gospel writer.” I have put some messages out seeking further material on him, but as of yet I have been unable to find any information about him after 1959, except that his death occurred in Dec. of 1968 at Greenfield, OH, also in Highland County. Other songs by Roush that appear in a 1953 book Favorite Hymns Revised include “Blue Galilee” dated 1926, and “Christ’s Way” dated 1951 (mentioned in the last paragraph). Another song of Roush’s that is sometimes listed is “The Dearest One of All Will Be Jesus.”
“I Love Him Because He First Loved Me” was copyrighted in 1922 by the composer of the tune, J. E. Sturgis. I have been not been able to find very much information on him either, except that he was also apparently associated with the “independent” instrumental Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in the early twentieth century. According to Forrest M. McCann in Hymns and History, he co-edited the Christian Hymnal in 1924 and edited Favorite Hymns in 1933 both for Standard Publishing Co., a firm in Cincinnati, OH, which was founded by and produces material for members of the Christian Church. When the copyright was renewed in 1950, the song was owned by the Stamps-Baxter Co. In addition to Favorite Hymns and Favorite Hymns Revised, the song appeared in Wonder Hymns of Faith, published by Standard Publishing Co. (my copy is undated but other sources say that it was published in 1923), and Favorite Hymns of Praise, published in 1972 by Tabernacle Publishing Co., a division of Hope Publishing, which was very popular at one time among Christian Churches in Highland County.
The earliest hymnbook used among (non-instrumental) churches of Christ in which I have found the song is the 1935 Christian Hymns (No. 1), edited by L. O. Sanderson and published by the Gospel Advocate Co. It next appeared in the 1940 Complete Christian Hymnal edited by Marion Davis. What popularity it has achieved among brethren is probably due to its being included in the 1956 Sacred Selections of the Church edited by Ellis J. Crum. The only other book in print today which I know of that has it is the 1978/1983 Church Gospel Songs and Hymns edited by V. E. Howard. This is regrettable because it really is a good song. Roush and Sturgis were associated with the instrumental Churches of Christ and Christian Churches, but they left us a song that is worthy of our use.
STEPHEN DANIEL ECKSTEIN SR.
Stephen Daniel Eckstein, Sr., was born April 9, 1893, in Sassmach, Latvia, which later became part of Russia, the son of Samuel and Sarah Eckstein. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish home in Latvia, he attended two years at a rabbinical school in Latvia. Coming to America before World War I, where he heard and obeyed the gospel, he roamed the nation and told his thrilling story in his first book, entitled, From Sinai To Calvary, in a chapter, “A Hebrew Mission In Dallas.” On Dec. 24, 1921, he married Miss Bertha Margaret Foster. They had four boys and one girl, Stephen Daniel, Jr., Paul David, John Milton, William Louis, and Adele Ruth.
Also in From Sinai To Calvary, Eckstein tells about his conversion to Jesus Christ in 1921. Later that same year, he began preaching in Denver, CO. From 1922 through 1934 he had a Jewish mission in Dallas, TX, and spoke at churches in many cities in Texas and Oklahoma. After moving to Kansas City, MO, he worked out of his own home from 1934 to 1975, preaching the gospel in twenty states and speaking at many seminars, lectureships, and area-wide meetings. For ten years, Eckstein served as an elder of the Grandview Church of Christ in Grandview, MO, a suburb of Kansas City, where he taught many classes explaining Old Testament passages and their application in the New Testament.
Eckstein’s second book, From Golgatha To Heaven, printed in 1974, came from the popular demand from many readers of his first book. It tells of many Jewish customs and problems which help Christians to understand why it is difficult to convert Jews, especially because of their objection to baptism. Yet, during his ministry, Eckstein baptized 24 Jews into Christ and hundreds of non-Jews. Eckstein had an aged sister, Rachael Himelhoch, who lived in Flint, MI, and a brother, Isaac, who lived in Tel Aviv, Israel. In 1955 Isaac came to America to visit Eckstein. They talked about the Bible and spiritual things. Later Isaac indicated to Eckstein’s son, Stephen, that his father “did the true and right thing” in becoming a Christian.
Eckstein could speak Hebrew, Yiddish, German, and Lettish, and could use a Greek Lexicon. He wrote many tracts and articles for the Firm Foundation and a few for the Gospel Advocate. In addition, he wrote a hymn entitled, “I Glory In The cross of Christ” with the tune composed by James E. Ferrell, who also produced “A Soul Winner for Jesus” and “Wonderful City of God.” Eckstein died on Mar. 13, 1975, in Kansas City, MO, survived by his wife, four sins, daughter, and eleven grandchildren. The funeral service was conducted in Kansas City, with Robert Jarrell officiating, assisted by Stephen Jr. and Paul, with interment in Floral Hills Cemetery.
PAUL H. EPPS
Paul H. Epps was born on Mar. 20, 1914, in Booneville, AR. Living in Muskogee, OK, from 1923 to 1945, he attended the West Texas University in Canyon, TX. His interest in music goes back to his early life when he studied rudiments and harmony in summer singing schools. Also, he graduated from the Hartford School of Music in Arkansas. In addition, he studied voice under W. W. Combs and began teaching singing himself in 1934. In 1937 he married Josephine Rachel Osburn of Muskogee and they had three sons, Barry, Robert, and Joel. His baptism into Christ took place in November of 1942 at Muskogee.
In 1945, Epps began full-time song-leading work in Waxahachie, TX. Also in that year, he became associated in music normals with Lloyd Otis Sanderson. For nine years he labored as song director with three congregations in Texas, after which he served as local minister with churches in Texas, at Tenth and Bell in Shawnee, OK, and at Enterprise Blvd. in Lake Charles, LA. Having led singing in countless gospel meetings with many well-known gospel preachers, he taught hundreds of singing schools in various churches and in music camps such as the Camp Hensel Music School in Travis Peak, TX, for more than 25 years, and the Haskell, TX, singing school for thirty years.
Epps was the author and composer of over twenty songs. “Jesus Knows and Cares” was one of his first published hymns. Written in 1961 and copyright by the Firm Foundation Publishing House, it appeared in Christian Hymns No. 3, compiled for the Gospel Advocate Co. in 1966 by Sanderson. When asked what prompted the theme of the song, Epps replied, “I was just thinking about the Lord ‘knowing’ and ‘loving’ us, and how deeply He cares for us….It’s just a short step from that concept to the poetic, ‘Jesus knows, Jesus cares.'” Since then, this song has appeared in many books published for use among churches of Christ, including the 1971 Songs of the Church edited by Alton H. Howard, the 1978/1983 Church Gospel Songs and Hymns edited by V. E. Howard, the 1978 Hymns of Praise edited by Reuel Lemmons, the 1986 Hymns for Worship edited by Shepard and Stevens, and the 1992 Praise for the Lord edited by John P. Wiegand.
From 1964 to 1967, Epps was minister with the Northside church in Temple, TX, and returned to labor with that church from 1982 to 1988. Another of his songs that is found in several hymnsbooks is “God’s Mercy and Grace,” written in 1971. After living in Temple for nineteen years, he and his wife moved to Lewisville, TX, in 2001. His death at the age of 88 occurred on June 14, 2002, in a Dallas, TX, nursing center. A couple of other songs by Epps which appear in the 1999 Into Our Hands edited by Leland R. Fleming include “I’ll Keep Traveling The Glory Road” copyright in 1936 by Hartford Music Co., and “Jesus My Friend” written in 1980 with his son Barry. Another collaboration of father and son was “Strength Through Adversity” in 1976.
ELLIS J. CRUM
Ellis J. Crum was born on Apr. 11, 1928, in Bloomington, IN, the son of Ellis J. and Marion Lucille Rice Crum. Even as a child at the age of five, he was telling Bible stories to large crowds. From ages eight to twelve he spoke on such subjects as “Fighting the Good Fight of Faith” and “What Boys Can Do,” often standing before audiences of 800 or more. His first preaching took place at age sixteen at Bloomfield, IN. Also, he attended the Stamps-Baxter School of Music in 1944, where he first began to work on his dream of publishing a hymnbook.
Graduating from Linton Stockton High School in Linton, IN, Crum married Norma Nell Owens of Lyons, IN, on Aug. 25, 1946, in Vincennes, IN, and enrolled at Indiana University in Bloomington. After two years of college, he moved to work in preaching with the church of Christ at Bridgeport, CN. His evangelistic labors in North America have taken him from Connecticut to California, and from Canada to Mexico. The Crums had five children, two of whom were born when he was working with the church in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Beginning in 1958, for many years the Crums made their home in Kendallville, IN, and his work often involved home Bible studies, personal work training classes, camp directing, song instruction, and speaking at workshops, in addition to visiting over thirty countries, including several tours of the Bible lands and five preaching trips to Ghana in Africa.
In 1956, Crum published his first hymnbook, Sacred Selections for the Church. In 1977, Crum published Special Sacred Selections. Also, he purchased the R. E. Winsett Music Co. and combinedit with Sacred Selections to form the Sacred Music Trust. Among the over 150hymns which Crum has written, composed, or arranged, are some extra stanzas, found in Special Sacred Selections, for”Lead Me To Some Soul Today” with original single stanza by Will H. Houghton andtune by Wendell P. Loveless. Also he provided the lyrics to the communion hymn ”The Breaking of Bread” which he set to the tune for “Break Thou the Bread of Life” composed by William M. Sherwin. Brother Crum died at the age of 83 on Monday, October 17, 2011, in Lutheran Life Villages, Kendallville.
TOMMY L. MCCLURE
Tommy L. McClure was born on Sept. 10, 1925, at Cave Springs in a rural part of Arkansas, the son and only child of Sanford Ervin and Allie Jan Crank McClure, and obeyed the gospel at an early age. Reared on a farm during the great depression, he learned early that money does not grow on trees and that hard work is necessary in life. After entering the first grade at the school in Cave Springs, he remained there through high school. While living at home and finishing school, he worked at the Shores Hardware store and did some preaching by appointment in that part of Arkansas. From there, he went to Freed-Hardeman College (now University) at Henderson, TN, where he sat at the feet of N. B. Hardeman, James R. Cope, and W. Claude Hall among others. While a student there, from 1945 to 1947, he preached every weekend at Poplar Bluff, MO, and worked the summer with the McLemore church of Christ at Memphis, TN, in between his two years at college.
Also while at Freed-Hardeman, he met Janette Lumpkin from Marvel, AR. They were married on Mar. 17, 1947, and had three sons, Tommy G., Curtis Lynn, and Richard Dale. The day before his marriage, Mar. 16, 1947, he began his preaching work at the South Parkway church of Christ in Memphis, TN. After that, he did local work in Mobile, Alabama; Blytheville and Paragould, Arkansas; Franklin, Tennessee; El Dorado, Arkansas; and El Cajon and Antioch, California, including daily radio programs, and held meetings in several different states. Following their return to Arkansas, he and Janette lived near Marvell, and he preached for churches in Marvell, West Helena, and Pine Bluff.
Over the years, Tommy had attended singing schools conducted by such men as Frank Grammar, Thomas J. Farris, James L. Neal, Tommy Nicks, and R. J. Stevens. However, the thought of writing songs did not occur to him until later in his life, some eight or so years before his death. His one published work is “O Lord, Help Us Remember,” a communion song with a minor-key tune composed by R. J. Stevens and copyright 1994 in Hymns for Worship (Revised) edited by Stevens and Dane K. Shepard. He also produced both words and music for “The Death of Christ” which was arranged by Stevens, and the text for “Praise God and Fight for the Right” with tune by Vicki Mullins Stevens and arrangement by R. J. Stevens, copyright in 1998. Tommy sent me copies of these. So far as I know, they have never been published in any hymnbook.
Tommy once wrote to me, “It pains me to see so many who are not interested in singing at present. Usually, singing schools are not well attended and many who attend are not anxious to become involved in the activities. They are afraid of ‘messing up,’ but the fellow who really ‘messes up’ is the one who doesn’t try. Better is the one who tries and ‘messes up’ than the one who is too indolent to try–he has ‘messed up’ already! Brethren, it is good to be against instrumental music in worship; but we must also be for and engage in singing in the worship (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). Merely being one of the ‘aginit’ brethren is not enough! It is not right for brethren to sit in their pews as though their mouths are paralyzed and they are as mute as an oyster while others sing the praises of God! Do they not tell denominational people that obedience to God is important? It is high time they practice their teaching, because singing is as much a command for us as baptism is for denominationalists!”
While there are certainly many good brethren who truly love and enjoy the singing of praises to God, one could wish that even more brethren had the fervent attitude toward singing in worship that Tommy expressed. Concerning his own songs, he said, “I hope the ones I have written will live and be a source of spiritual strength and stability to those who sing and hear them.” After a short period of declining health, he died at Little Rock, AR, on Sept. 20, 2001.
V. E. HOWARD
Verna Elisha Howard was born in a log cabin at Rocky Branch near Farmersville, LA, on Sept. 29, 1911. His father, Hardy Howard, was a song director for the greater part of his four score years. In 1978, Howard wrote that it had been his privilege to baptize his father into Christ. Immediately afterwards, the father joyfully directed the congregation in the singing of “Victory in Jesus,” which was then a new song. This must have been in or shortly after 1939, because “Victory in Jesus” was copyrighted that year. Having attended Abilene Christian College, Harding College (both are now universities), and Arkansas State University, Howard became a preacher among churches of Christ for over fifty years. His radio work began at Hot Springs, AR, in 1934. The program, known as the International Gospel Hour, was the longest continuous broadcast in radio history and became famous for his statement, “Are You Listening?” which is the title for two of his sermon books. Known as a very able speaker and a gifted writer, Howard authored eighteen books, including What Is the Church of Christ? and Portals to Heaven, along with many tracts. Also, he had a debate with Julian Pope on the purpose of baptism and the possibility of apostasy that is still in print.
In addition to his church work, Howard was Chairman of the Board for Howard Discount Centers, owner of Howard Jewelers and the National Recording Company, President of Central Printers and Publishers, and a member of the Board of Directors of Freed-Hardeman College (now University) at Henderson, TN. Among his special honors were the Distinguished Christian Service Award from Harding College and the Freed-Hardeman College Appreciation Award. His radio programs from the International Gospel Hour were to become part of the Archives of Abilene Christian University. Another one of Howard’s talents involved the writing and composing of gospel songs. One of his older but still well known songs is “Sing of His Love,” copyrighted in 1946 by the Marion Davis Co. in Everlasting Praises No. 3. Another one of his hymns, “The Prince of Glory” was copyrighted in 1972. “By His Wonderful Grace,” with harmony by Lowell Brown, was copyrighted in 1973 and first appeared in the revised (1975) edition of Alton H. Howard’s Songs of the Church. In 1978, V. E. Howard and Broaddus Smith compiled a new hymnbook, Gospel Songs and Hymns. It contained several songs by Howard, including “The Day They Crucified My Savior.” This song was written in memory of a Sunday morning on Mar. 26, 1972, in the Garden of Gethsemane at Jerusalem, looking across the valley to the hill of Calvary, where he, along with some 100 Christians including the small church in Jerusalem, were alone in worship. He said that tears of inspiration freely flowed in memory of the crucified and resurrected Savior.
There are some seven other Howard songs in the book, in addition to the ones previously mentioned. A couple of other titles are “By Faith I Can See” and “Telling the Story of Jesus’ Love.” Most of these are newer, but “He Died, Arose, and Lives” was also copyrighted in 1946 by the Marion Davis Co. In addition, for many years Howard was the director of the annual Gospel Hour Sing Song ‘Til Midnight, which began in 1966, and sang in The Gospel Quartet with WIlkin “Chief” Bacon, Nancy Brown, and Lowell Brown. Recordings from both are still available. Then in 1983, Howard revised the hymnbook, calling it Church Gospel Songs and Hymns. In addition to all the Howard songs from the earlier edition, it contains three new songs by him, a couple of his new arrangements, and a song, “Undying Devotion,” by Mrs. Evelyn K. Stell that is “Dedicated to V. E. Howard, 50 years a Gospel preacher, and Ruth, 50 years a devoted wife.” At the advice of his doctors, in 1995 he turned the Gospel Hour over to the West Fayetteville church of Christ in Fayetteville, TN, with Winford Claiborne as the speaker. After living many years in Texarkana, AR, Howard died there on Sept. 28, 2000, just one day before his 89th birthday. Funeral services were held at the Walnut St. church building in Texarkana.
ALTON H. HOWARD
Alton Hardy Howard was born on Mar. 29, 1925, near Farmersville, LA, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Hardy Howard. Married to the former Jean Meador, he and his wife had three children, John, Mary, and Janice. During World War II, he served in France and Germany as a member of the United States Air Force. In the business realm, he was president of Howard Brothers Discount Stores and Chairman of the Board for Mid-South Development Company. Also he served as an elder in the White’s Ferry Rd. church of Christ in West Monroe, LA, where he lived for many years.
However, Howard is best-known among churches of Christ as a song-writer and hymnbook publisher. Singing was part of his family life, and he was influenced to love beautiful gospel music from his mother and father. During the summer, the entire family was required to attend singing schools. In 1969, he decided to compile a songbook that would contain a balanced selection of classical hymns and newer gospel songs. Thus Songs Of The Church was published by Howard Publishing Company in 1971. One of his best-known songs, “There’s a Rainbow in the Cloud,” was copyrighted in 1973 and first appeared in a revision of the book made in 1975. The arrangement is by Peggy Spoonts West (b. 1948). The book was revised again in 1977 to its present form.
After that, Howard edited three other hymnbooks, Songs of Praise in 1986, Songs of the Church 21st Century Edition in 1990 (revised 1994), and Songs of Faith and Praise in 1994, the latter two of which also contain “There’s aRainbow in the Cloud.” Among the many songs which he produced for his books,two others, “I Believe in Jesus” and “He Gave Me a Song” also are found in Hymns for Worship edited by Dane K. Shepard and R. J. Stevens. In addition, Howard Publishing Company has published many otherbooks, such as Our Garden of Song in 1980 by Gene C. Finley, which containsbiographies and songs of members of the Lord’s church. Howard’s brother, V. E.Howard was also a hymnbook publisher and song writer, co-editing Church Gospel Songs and Hymns in 1978 (revised 1983). Alton Howard passed away on Oct. 29,2006, in West Monroe, LA.
HOLLAND L. BORING
Holland Levelle Boring Sr. was born on Mar. 15, 1905, at Ridge in Robertson County, TX, to Phillip Henry Boring (1871 – 1953) and Emma Ophelia Cude Boring (1874 – 1912) and baptized in 1920 at the Holly Community by K. C. Moser. When Holland was quite young, his father taught him to read music. The Holly Community where the Borings lived had five singing school teachers, some of whom had studied under Franklin L. Eiland. Each summer they conducted a singing school, and Holland helped in some of them. In fact, at age sixteen he taught his first singing school away from home. Later, he attended a Vaughan Normal where he studied harmony under V. O. Stamps and Adger M. Pace. Others with whom he studied included C. C. Stafford, H. G. L. Busby, W. W. Combs, and Robert Vaughan. After finishing high school in Austin, TX, he attended Abilene Christian University where he received the B. S. degree and did some graduate work. Also, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, Sam Houston Teachers College, and Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College.
Following Boring’s marriage to Gladys Lucille Bullock of Bryan TX, in 1930, they had three sons, Holland Jr., Kenneth, and Don. Kenneth died in 1934 around a year old. For twelve years, brother Boring served as a principal in public schools then began full time work as a minister of the gospel in many Texas communities such as Ft. Worth, Lockhart, Grand Prairie, Stockdale, and elsewhere. In addition, he taught five years in private schools, was head of the music department of Columbia Christian College in Portland, OR, became the first dean of that college, and taught one year each at Abilene Christian University and Ft. Worth Christian College. During these years, he conducted hundreds of singing schools, led singing in a number of gospel meetings, conducted vacation Bible schools, and helped to establish a number of congregations. In 1946 Edgar Furr and Austin Taylor formed a partnership to establish a summer singing school known as the Texas Normal Singing School in Sabinal, TX. Furr was the school’s administrator and marketing agent. Taylor and Holland L. Boring, Sr. were the first teachers in the school. For twenty years Boring taught advanced theory, harmony, and composition. Holland Boring, Jr. and Don Boring became teachers later, and both of them also produced some hymns. This faculty of teachers was the primary instructors for the first twenty years of the school’s existence.
After 1966 the Boring family decided to establish summer singing schools in other communities, such as the Northwest Singing Normal in Portland, OR; the Haskell Singing School in Haskell, TX; and the Foundation School of Church Music in Austin, TX. As music editor for the Firm Foundation Publishing Co. of Austin, TX, Brother Boring helped in compiling the Majestic Hymnal, Hymns of Praise, and about ten other songbooks; made a number of records; and wrote several theory and harmony books, a number of poems, and some religious tracts. Furthermore, he produced some 100 songs, about fifty of which were used in major hymnbooks. Perhaps his best known song is “He Is Near” copyrighted in 1963 by the Firm Foundation. My favorite is “I Ask the Prayers of Those I Love.” I have not been able to find exactly when or where it was first published, but it appeared in the 1978 Hymns of Praise edited by Reuel Lemmons, with assistance from Boring. Don died in a car accident on a mountain road near Basalt, CO, about the year of 1966. Holland Sr. and Jr. both spent their later years living in Portland, TX, near Corpus Christi. After establishing a church in a small town next door in Gregory, Junior died of a brain tumor in about the year of 1997, and his father, who by then resided at Lakewood Village Christian Care Center in Fort Worth, died just a couple of years later, on Aug. 1, 2000, in Arlington, Tarrant County,TX, at the age of 95.
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