Hope, Inspiration, and Resolve

There are several songs which touch the very core of my being. Oftentimes, the words are moving while it is the music in others that stirs something within me. Not nearly as frequently, however, a song is composed of both elements, and the root of the inspiration to boot, that when heard, brings me to tears. "It Is Well With My Soul," is one such song. Perhaps to you, the story is not a new one. And it is likely this song does not quicken your emotions as it does mine. I have not experienced the tragedy in my life that the man who effortlessly penned this hymn had thrust upon him for whatever reason. Thank God I have not! While I have had personal trials--and triumphs--I dare say, the resolve this lyricist had to have had as evidenced in "his" hymn, is one I have yet to achieve. I have no doubt that at the time he was inspired to form these stanzas, (I believe all true hope and inspiration comes from the one true God, [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit]) Mr. Spafford was seeking comfort and refuge from a Father with whom he had a personal relationship. And from his plea(s) "It Is Well With My Soul" was born. (Should you be unable to access the links, photos, etc. from this blog entry, simply Copy, and Paste the address below onto your address bar or more a more in depth view.) http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/americancolony/amcolony-family.html

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FAMILY TRAGEDY In 1871, Horatio Spafford, a prosperous lawyer and devout Presbyterian church elder and his wife, Anna, were living comfortably with their four young daughters in Chicago. In that year the great fire broke out and devastated the entire city. Two years later the family decided to vacation with friends in Europe. At the last moment Horatio was detained by business, and Anna and the girls went on ahead, sailing on the ocean liner S.S. Ville de Havre. On November 21, 1873, the liner was rammed amid ship by a British vessel and sank within minutes. Anna was picked up unconscious on a floating spar, but the four children had drowned. Spafford family photographic album, ca. 1880. Manuscript Division (1) Spafford Family Album The Spafford daughters, Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta (top row, left to right) drowned when the S.S. Ville du Havre sank after it was hit by a British vessel en route to Europe in November 1873. A fellow survivor of the collision, Pastor Weiss, recalled Anna saying, "God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why." The Spafford's son Horatio (bottom row second from right), born three years after the tragedy, died in 1880 at age four. The Spafford Cottage at Lake View, Chicago At their home in a north side suburb of Chicago, the Spaffords hosted and sometimes financially supported many guests. Horatio had been active in the abolitionist crusade and the cottage was a meeting place for activists in the reform movements of the time such as Frances E. Willard, president of the National Women's Christian Temperance Union, and evangelical leaders like Dwight Moody, who ignited a religious revival in America and Europe. Spafford, a senior partner in a thriving law firm, invested in real estate north of an expanding Chicago in the spring of 1871. When the Great Fire of Chicago reduced the city to ashes in October of the same year, it also destroyed Spafford's sizable investment. Spafford home. Cabinet card, ca. 1870 Manuscript Division (4) Horatio Spafford business card. Manuscript Division (4b) Currier & Ives. Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Havre. New York: Currier & Ives, ca. 1873. Prints & Photographs Division (5) Sinking of the Ville du Havre In 1873, to benefit his wife's health, Spafford planned an extended stay in Europe for his family. At the last moment Spafford was detained by real estate business, but Anna and the four girls sailed to Paris on the steamer Ville du Havre. Within twelve minutes on November 21, 1873, the luxury steamer sank in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after being rammed by the British iron sailing ship the Lochearn. Anna's Telegram to Horatio Anna was picked up unconscious by the crew of the Lochearn, which itself was in danger of sinking. Fortunately, the Trimountain, a cargo sailing vessel, arrived to save the survivors. Nine days after the shipwreck Anna landed in Cardiff, Wales, and cabled Horatio, "Saved alone. What shall I do . . ." Anna Spafford. Transatlantic cable message, December 1, 1873. Manuscript Division (6) Anna Spafford. Copyprint, enlarged from ca. 1873 original Manuscript Division (7a) Horatio and Anna Spafford, ca. 1873 Anna Larssen, later Americanized to Lawson, was born in Stavanger, Norway, in 1842. Horatio was immediately attracted by Anna's beauty and intelligence when she attended his Sunday school class in Chicago. When Horatio realized that Anna, fourteen years younger than he, was only fifteen, he arranged for three years tuition at a boarding school near Chicago before the idea of marriage could be discussed. The couple married in 1861. Horatio Spafford. Carte-de-visite, ca. 1873. Manuscript Division (7b) Horatio Spafford. "It Is Well with My Soul." Manuscript hymn, 1871. Manuscript Division (8) "It Is Well with My Soul" After receiving Anna's telegram, Horatio immediately left Chicago to bring his wife home. On the Atlantic crossing, the captain of his ship called Horatio to his cabin to tell him that they were passing over the spot where his four daughters had perished. He wrote to Rachel, his wife's half-sister, "On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs." Horatio wrote this hymn, still sung today, as he passed over their watery grave. HOME Exhibition Overview Checklist of Objects Sections: Family Tragedy | On to Jerusalem | In the Holy Land | The American Colony at Work The Locust Plague | World War I | Wartime Aid | Continuing Relief Work The Library of Congress >> Exhibitions Exhibitions Online Survey March 4, 2005 A Little Off.... Find in American Colony Exhibit Pages Exhibition Web Pages All Library of Congress Pages Contact Us