Lelia N. Morris
Lelia Naylor Morris (April 15, 1862 – July 23, 1929) was an American Methodist hymnwriter. Some sources give her first name as Leila, but her obituary, grave marker, and other sources give her name as Lelia.[1][Note 1] She is sometimes known as Mrs. Charles H. Morris, as (Mrs.) C. H. Morris, or as (Mrs.) C. H. M., having adopted her husband's forenames upon marriage after the custom of the time.
Lelia N. Morris | |
---|---|
Born | Lelia Naylor April 15, 1862 |
Died | July 23, 1929 67) Auburn, NY | (aged
Nationality | American |
Other names | Mrs. Charles H. Morris, (Mrs.) C. H. Morris, (Mrs.) C. H. M. |
Occupation | Hymnwriter |
Years active | 1890s – 1910s or later |
Biography
Morris was born in Pennsville, Ohio. While still a child, she moved with her family to Malta, OH. Later, she and her sister and her mother ran a millinery shop in McConnelsville, OH. In 1881, she married Charles H. Morris. The couple were active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and attended camp meetings at places such as Old Camp Sychar, Mount Vernon, OH and Sebring Camp, Sebring, OH. In the 1890s, she began to write hymns and gospel songs; it has been said that she wrote more than 1,000 songs and tunes, and that she did so while doing her housework. In 1913, her eyesight began to fail; her son thereupon constructed for her a blackboard 28 feet (8.5 m) long with oversized staff lines, so that she could continue to compose.
Around 1928, she and her husband moved to live with their daughter in Auburn, NY, where she died. She is buried in McConnelsville Cemetery, McConnelsville, OH.[2][3][4]
Songs
- "Are You Looking For The Fullness"[5]
- "Bring Your Vessels, Not a Few", 1912[6]
- “Can the World See Jesus in You”
- "Called unto Holiness"
- "For A Worldwide Revival" [5]
- "For God So Loved This Sinful World"[5]
- "Fully Surrendered To Jesus The Lord"
- "Hallelujah for the Blood"
- "Holiness Unto the Lord", 1900[6]
- "Hymn, to Fight!"
- "I Know God's Promise is True", 1899[6]
- "Let All the People Praise Thee", 1906[6]
- "My Stubborn Will at Last Hath Yielded"
- "Nearer, Still Nearer", 1898[6]
- "Sanctifying Power", 1908[6]
- "Sweet Will of God", 1900[6]
- "Sweeter as the Years Go By", 1912[6]
- "The Fight is on" circa 1905
- "The Stranger of Galilee"
- "'Tis Marvelous and Wonderful"[6]
- "Victory all the Time", 1901[6]
- "Let Jesus Come into Your Heart"
Notes
- A plaque erected to her memory at McConnelsville, OH in 1998 by the Trinity United Methodist Church and the Ohio Historical Society gives her name as Lelia Morris.[2]
References
- Morris, Lelia Naylor. "Lelia Naylor Morris". Findagrave.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- "Lelia Naylor Morris (Mrs. Charles H. Morris) 1862–1929". hymntime.com. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- "Mrs. C. H. Morris". hymnary.org. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- "Leila Naylor Morris (Mrs. Charles H. Morris) 1862–1929". nethymnal.org. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- Redemption Hymnal
- Sing to the Lord (1993), Lillenas Publishing Co., Kansas City, Missouri