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Rev. Robert Lowry was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 12, 1826 and at age 22 entered the University of Lewisburg (now Bucknell University). After graduating at age 28 he served as pastor in West Chester, PA; New York City; Brooklyn; and then returned to Lewisburg, where he was a professor and received an honorary doctorate. Monument Text: The Read more...
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Hymn History: We Three Kings of Orient Are Author: John Henry Hopkins Jr. “A clergyman who combined literary ability with musical composition, writing both words and tunes for his hymns”(Wikipedia) The Origin of the Hymn “We Three Kings of Orient Are” The Christmas carol We Three Kings of Orient Are is one of the most recognizable and enduring Read more...
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From FindaGrave: Hymn Composer. The author of over 2,000 hymns which are still available in print, he is remembered his widely popular songs “What a Wonderful Savior!,” “Enough for Me,” “Is Thy Heart Right With God?,” “Are You Washed in the Blood?,” “No Other Friend Like Jesus,” “Is Your All on the Altar?,” and “I Must Tell Jesus.” He also Read more...
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Hymn History: When the Roll is Called Up Yonder Author: James Milton Black “Well, I trust when the roll is called up yonder, she’ll be there.”(Spoken by James Milton Black when a girl was absent from his Sunday school class) The Origin of the Hymn “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” The hymn When the Roll Is Read more...
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Reuben Archer Torrey, also known as R.A. Torrey, worked with Dwight L. Moody in Chicago, and became superintendent of what is now Moody Bible Institute, then-Chicago Evangelization Society. In 1894 he was pastor of Chicago Avenue (now Moody) Church. Heading to the West Coast, Torrey was dean of the Bible Institute Of Los Angeles (BIOLA), and in 1915 he was Read more...
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Although it is in a cemetery, this is not the grave of Phillip P. Bliss, rather his earthly remains are in the mass grave in Ashtabula, OH. However, because his home was in Rome, Pennsylvania, the cemetery features a cenotaph (a monument built to honor someone whose remains are elsewhere) to P. P. Bliss. Hymns by Philip Bliss found Read more...
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Image Credit: Photo: Philip P. Bliss Marker. www.hmdb.org/PhotoFullSize.asp?PhotoID=155306. The marker reads: The great singing evangelist and gospel song writer was born July 9, 1838, in a log house which stood a little distance from here. He lived and worked on the farm and in nearby lumber camps until the age of 16. _____ Hymn History: Hallelujah, What a Savior! Read more...
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Milton Stewart (1838-1923) was described in the 1924 American Biography as: A Christian layman who gave the greater part of a vast fortune and the best thought of a keen and prescient mind to the advancement of the Kingdom to which he yielded devoted allegiance. Milton Stewart furthered great practical and religious projects in a manner distinctively his own, frequently Read more...
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On our road trip filming the first season of Our Christian Heritage TV, we had just interviewed a Philip Bliss impersonator, who shared the life and songs of the second most famous Christian hymnwriter. Philip Bliss (1838-1876), wrote many songs in our hymnals, including “Almost Persuaded,” “Wonderful Words of Life,” “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning,” “I am so glad Read more...
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Watch a short video about Phillip Bliss filmed on location From the Marker: “Near this site, an iron truss bridge collapsed into the Ashtabula River during a blizzard, plunging a passenger train with 160 on board into the gulf below. Nearly 100 people were killed in this, one of the worst train disasters in American history. The most well Read more...
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Palestine Park is a unique historical and educational attraction located within the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State. Designed in the late nineteenth century, the park is a full-scale model of the Holy Land as it was understood in biblical geography, offering visitors a physical representation of the landscapes described in Scripture. The park was developed Read more...
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Three-time Democrat Nominee for President, William Jennings Bryan, was born in the small town of Salem, Illinois. Myron Lloyd and Jim Koehler from the William Jennings Bryan Boyhood Home discuss his life on Our Christian Heritage. Owned and operated by the City of Salem, Illinois, this home was constructed in 1852 for Illinois State Senator Silas Bryan. In 1860, Silas’ Read more...
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William Jennings Bryan Park, along with the nearby statue and historical marker dedicated to William Jennings Bryan, forms an important commemorative landscape in Lincoln. These sites preserve the memory of one of America’s most influential orators and political figures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, honoring both his public achievements and his deep connections to Nebraska. The park Read more...
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Ira D. Sankey (1840–1908), often remembered as the “sweet singer of Methodism,” experienced a conversion that profoundly shaped not only his own life but also the direction of gospel music in the late nineteenth century. His spiritual turning point was neither dramatic in outward spectacle nor sudden in timing; rather, it was the result of steady influence, personal reflection, and Read more...
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Referred to in the Moody Bible Institute archives. The story of the Ninety and Nine, one of Ira Sankey’s most beloved hymns is recorded in this beautiful stained glass window. Ira Sankey Stained Glass Window (Image Credit: Northeast – Sussman Architectural Products LLC. sussmanarchitectural.com/gallery/northeast.) This was a gift of Frances Victoria Edwards, Sankey’s wife, and was manufactured by Tiffany and Read more...
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On the east side of the river is a path to the bridge with additional information on the train wreck. Ashtabula Park, Marker on the Railroad Disaster. Photo by Randy Melchert Ashtabula Railroad Bridge, Photo by Randy Melchert Hymns by Philip Bliss found in Great Hymns of the Faith: #127 – Hallelujah, What a Savior! #197 – Hallelujah, Read more...
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Phillip Bliss and his wife were headed from their home in Rome, Pennsylvania, to Chicago to reunite with the evangelist D. L. Moody. On December 29th, 1876, their train, the Pacific Express was crossing a trestle bridge near Ashtabula, Ohio. The bridge collapsed, and the train cars fell into the ravine. In that day, each train car had a stove Read more...
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Listen to an audio narrative of the Ashtabula Train Disaster and learn more about Phillip Bliss in front of the hospital that was built as a result of the horrific disaster. Hymns by Philip Bliss found in Great Hymns of the Faith: #127 – Hallelujah, What a Savior! #197 – Hallelujah, ‘Tis Done! #203 – Whosoever Will #205 – Once Read more...
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Ballard Baptist Church, Seattle, WA We’re here in Seattle at Ballard Baptist Church, built in 1919, where Helen Lemmel was a member while she wrote Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus. She was born Mary Helen Howarth in the Manchester area of England, November 14, 1863, to a Methodist Minister. Her father took the family from England to Whitewater, Wisconsin Read more...
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Born in Kellyville, Texas, Stuart Hamblen made his way to Hollywood. A “singing cowboy” – he wrote the hit song “I won’t go hunting Jake (but I’ll go chasing women)” that placed #3 in the US for 1950. At Billy Graham’s 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, the “original juvenile delinquent” and alcoholic was converted, quit doing alcohol commercials, gambling, and horse Read more...