Born: September 27, 1872, Spring Hill, Pennsylvania.
Died: September 3, 1958, Winona Lake, Indiana.
Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Warsaw, Indiana.
Pseudonyms
Bentley was the son of Stanley Frank Ackley and Ophelia A. Cogswell, husband of Bertha Myers, and brother of Alfred Ackley.
He learned the melodeon, piano, coronet, clarinet and piccolo as a boy. After moving to New York City in 1888, he began playing the organ in several churches.
In 1907, Bentley joined the Billy Sunday-Homer Rodeheaver evangelism team as secretary-pianist, and traveled with them for eight years.
As a composer and editor with the Rodeheaver Company, Ackley wrote over 3,000 Gospel tunes. His other works include:
If you know where to get a better photo of Ackley,