1848–1916

Introduction

illustration

Born: Ju­ly 16, 1848, Johns­burgh, New York.

Died: Oc­to­ber 18, 1916, Green Bay, Wis­con­sin, of ty­phoid fe­ver.

Buried: Bo­vi­na Ce­me­te­ry, Shi­oc­ton, Wis­con­sin.

portrait

Biography

Eben was the son of Ja­bez Bur­rows Rex­ford and Re­bec­ca Wil­cox, and hus­band of Har­ri­et Bau­man Marsh (Hat­tie) (mar­ried De­cem­ber 1890).

His fa­mi­ly moved to Wis­con­sin in 1855, set­tling in the town of El­ling­ton.

He re­ceived his ear­ly edu­ca­tion in the coun­ty schools and at Law­rence Col­lege, Ap­ple­ton, Wis­con­sin, which lat­er award­ed him a Ba­che­lor of Li­te­ra­ture de­gree.

He served as town clerk of Bo­vi­na, Wis­consin, for ma­ny years, and dur­ing the first ad­min­is­tra­tion of Am­eri­can pre­sident Gro­ver Cleve­land, he was post­mas­ter of Shi­oc­ton, Wis­con­sin.

Works

Rexford’s li­ter­ary gifts be­came evi­dent ear­ly in life, and his first vers­es were pub­lished in the New York Ledg­er when he was 14 years old.

He com­posed ma­ny hymns, in­clud­ing ones used by Ira San­key, Ed­win Ex­cell, Charles Ga­bri­el, and Bil­ly Sun­day.

Sources

Lyrics

  1. Again the Sab­bath God Has Blest
  2. Again We Meet, This Hap­py Day
  3. All Along the Way, My Ga­ther
  4. All the Way Re­joic­ing Should the Chris­tian Go
  5. Although So Poor I Can­not Claim
  6. Another Sol­dier Fall­en
  7. Are You Build­ing Your House on the Sand?
  8. Are You Ever Worn and Wea­ry?
  9. Are You Rea­dy?
  10. Art Thou Weary with Trans­gress­ion?
  11. Art Tired and Wea­ry, Pil­grim
  12. As We Jour­ney Along Through the Val­ley of Life
  13. At Christ­mas Time the World
  14. Away to the Woods, Away, to the Temp­le God Has Made
  15. Be Brave, Lit­tle Sol­diers
  16. Be Thou Our Guide When Dan­gers Shall Be­set Us
  17. Behold That Blood­stained Ban­ner of the King
  18. Behold the Bride­groom Comes ’Twas Said
  19. Behold the Child­ren Ga­ther­ing
  20. Behold, the Pro­di­gal Comes Home
  21. Bells Are Ring­ing Clear and Sweet, The
  22. Beyond the Sea, the Jas­per Sea
  23. Brightly Beams Our Fa­ther’s Mer­cy
  24. By and By
  25. By and By, Be­yond the Ri­ver
  26. By and By, O Soft and Low
  27. By and By, the Thought Is Sweet
  28. Calling, Call­ing, Ev­er Call­ing
  29. Christ Is a Shep­herd, and We Are His Sheep
  30. Christian Reap­ers, Lift
  31. Clinging Close to Je­sus’ Hand
  32. Closer, Sav­ior, to Thy Side
  33. Come Out, Sings the Lark
  34. Cross of Christ For­ev­er, The
  35. Crown Him, Crown Him with Glo­ry
  36. Crown Him Who Died on Cal­va­ry
  37. Dark Is the Night
  38. Day Had Been Dark and Drea­ry, The
  39. Do You Hear the Sum­mons the Mas­ter Makes To­day?
  40. Do You Know a Heart That Hun­gers?
  41. Each Chris­tian Light a Bea­con Is
  42. Enemy Is Ral­ly­ing Fast, The
  43. Faith Casts Its An­chor in Je­sus’ Love
  44. Fall in Line, Fall in Line
  45. Far and Wide in Ringing Sound
  46. Far and Wide Over Land and Wave
  47. Father, in Need I Come to Thee
  48. Father, the Tem­pest Is Rag­ing
  49. Father, the Way Be­fore Me
  50. Gather Up the Sun­beams All Along
  51. Give Me a Faith That Turns to Thee
  52. Gleaning in Time of Har­vest
  53. Go Tell the Sto­ry of Je­sus
  54. God Lead­eth Me! the Tho’t Is Sweet!
  55. God Sent to the Way­ward a Mes­sage
  56. God’s Word Is Full of Pro­mis­es
  57. Going Home, Go­ing Home, to the Ede­n Hills
  58. Going Home, Yes, Go­ing Home
  59. Great Is the Har­vest and Few
  60. Had I Wings of the Morn­ing
  61. Happy Chris­tmas Morn­ing
  62. Hark! a Call for Reape­rs
  63. Hark! Hear the Call That Is Sent Thro’ the Land
  64. Hark, I Hear the Sav­ior Say­ing
  65. Hark, the Bells of Hea­ven
  66. Hark, the Tramp­ing of an Ar­my
  67. Hark, the Voice of Ma­ny Na­tions
  68. Harvester, Har­ves­ter, Ga­ther Thy Sheaves
  69. Has the Staff You Leaned on Failed You?
  70. He Reigns in Ma­jes­ty Su­preme
  71. He Saw the Wheat Fields Wait­ing
  72. Hear the Trum­pet Call­ing, Call­ing
  73. Heaven Is the Chris­tian’s Fa­ther­land
  74. Here in Thy House, O God, We Meet
  75. Here Ma­ny a Friend­ship Fails Us
  76. Here’s a Hand to the Boy Who Has Cour­age
  77. Ho, Com­rades, Heav’n­ward Far­ing
  78. How Can I Let Thee Go?
  79. How Many Times, Dis­cour­aged?
  80. How You Will Love Him!
  81. I Am Hap­py, O So Hap­py
  82. I Ask Not Earth­ly Trea­sure
  83. I at Last Have En­tered into the Peace
  84. I Can­not See the Way Be­fore
  85. I Do Not Un­der­stand God’s Love
  86. I Have Been in Ci­ty Church­es
  87. I Have Had a Glo­ri­ous Vision
  88. I Hear a Sound of Sing­ing
  89. I Hear the An­gels Cry
  90. I Love to Think of Je­sus
  91. I Love to Think of the Beau­ti­ful Land
  92. I May Be Poor and Friend­less
  93. I Often Won­der, As I Read
  94. I Often Won­der What Will Be
  95. I Read Each Ten­der Pro­mise
  96. I Read the Dear Old Pro­mise
  97. I Trust It All to God Who Knows
  98. I Was in Ut­ter Bond­age
  99. I Wonder if Je­sus Re­mem­bers
  100. I Would Sing of Je­sus’ Love
  101. If Clouds Blot Out the Sun­shine
  102. If Hearts, Grown Faint and Wea­ry
  103. If the Path That You Must Tread
  104. If Things Don’t Go to Suit You
  105. If We Grow Wea­ry in the Way
  106. If We Knew About the Tri­als
  107. If You Find a Heart That’s Hung
  108. If You Know the Migh­ty Mean­ing
  109. In Dreams I Hear a Song So Sweet
  110. In Dreams I See the Hea­ven­ly Land
  111. In Ev­ery Time of Trou­ble
  112. In Spring the Farm­er Sows His Seed
  113. In the Night When Storm and Tem­pest
  114. In the Path­ways We Are Tread­ing
  115. In the Sha­dow of His Wings
  116. In the Strength of God Go Forth to Win
  117. In Time of Trou­ble and Grief
  118. Into the Light of God’s Glo­ri­ous Love
  119. It Will Be a Hap­py Day
  120. Jesus Has Come to Re­deem
  121. Jesus, Lover of My Soul, Sor­row’s Lips
  122. Jesus Loves Me, Bless­ed Thought
  123. Jesus Loves Me, Ev­en Me
  124. Jesus Loves Us, Je­sus Loves Us
  125. Jesus Loves Us, Sing It Glad­ly
  126. Jesus, Who Loves the Child­ren
  127. Just for To­day
  128. Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Je­sus Has Come to Reign
  129. Keep Striv­ing, the Win­ners Are Those
  130. Keep Up the Fight, the Bat­tle Must Be Won
  131. Knock, Knock, Knock
  132. Knowing Our Weak­ness
  133. Land Is Stirred by a Great Com­mo­tion, The
  134. Lend a Help­ing Hand
  135. Let Ev­ery Voice for Glad­ness Sing
  136. Let Me Be Some­thing for Je­sus
  137. Let Me Do Some­thing for Je­sus
  138. Let Us Come Be­fore the Lord
  139. Let Us Scat­ter Sun­shine All Along Life’s Way
  140. Let Us Sing as We Jour­ney Along
  141. Let Your Light Shine Out
  142. Let’s All Be Birds
  143. Let’s Dare and Do for the Pure
  144. Life’s Work Is Be­fore Us
  145. Lift Up Your Hearts in Ex­ul­ta­tion
  146. List, to the Bells in the Stee­ples
  147. Listen Heart, Be Still, I Pray
  148. Listen, O Child­ren
  149. Little Hands, Be Bu­sy
  150. Little Sun­beams
  151. Lives Are Fields Where­in We Sow
  152. Lo, a Con­quer­ing Ar­my March­ing Gainst
  153. Lo! the Ban­ner of the King
  154. Lo the Har­vest Is White
  155. Long Had He Wan­dered Far
  156. Lord of the Low­ly
  157. Lord, We Pray Thee, Give
  158. Make Me a Work­er for Je­sus
  159. Make Thy Dwell­ing in My Heart, Christ Who Died
  160. March On, March On, the Bat­tle Is at Hand
  161. Marching, March­ing Forth to Meet
  162. Marching on to the Land
  163. Master Has Need of Brave Hearts, The
  164. My Heart Cries Out When Wea­ry
  165. My Name Is Ap­ril, I Have Come
  166. No Day Has Had a Dawn­ing
  167. No Night in Hea­ven, but Cloud­less
  168. No Time for Rest­ing Till Work Is Done
  169. Nothing, No­thing but the Blood of Je­sus
  170. O Blessed Je­sus, in My Sor­row Call­ing
  171. O Christ Our Mas­ter, We Would Sow
  172. O Christ, Who Died for Sin­ners
  173. O Could I Sing a Song to Touch
  174. O Do Some Good Deed Ev­ery Day
  175. O Friends, As Jour­ney­ing Onward
  176. O Go and Tell Je­sus, My Bro­ther
  177. O Great, O Aw­ful Judg­ment Day
  178. O Haste, the Night Is Near­ing
  179. O It’s Grand to Be a Sol­dier
  180. O Jesus, I Love Thee
  181. O Land of God
  182. O Let Us Be En­dea­vor­ers to Do the Mas­ter’s Will
  183. O Love of Christ
  184. O My Fa­ther, Rough and Steep
  185. O Ring, Glad Bells
  186. O Savior, Come and Walk with Me
  187. O Sing a Song for May Day
  188. O Sing, Fel­low Sol­diers
  189. O Sing on Earth, for Up in Hea­ven
  190. O Sinner, De­lay Not
  191. O Speak Kind Words to One and All
  192. O Speak Kind Words, Wher­e’er You Be
  193. O the Cross of Christ, Be­hold It
  194. O the Gold­en Sun­set Fer­ry
  195. O Thou Our King, En­throned in Realms on High
  196. O Thought So Sweet with Com­fort
  197. O to Win a Soul for Je­sus
  198. O What a King, Be­hold He Stands
  199. O Where Are You Go­ing
  200. O Why Have You Wan­dered So Far From the Right Way?
  201. O Wondrous Thought: Christ Died for Me
  202. O Weary with Trans­gress­ion
  203. O We Are the Reap­ers
  204. O Where Are the Reape­rs?
  205. O Whither Are You Go­ing?
  206. Of All God’s Ten­der Pro­mis­es
  207. Of All the Bi­ble Sto­ries
  208. Oh, Ci­ty of the An­gels!
  209. On Cal­va­ry
  210. On Ju­dea’s Star­lit Plain
  211. On Leaves of Stone Our God Made Known
  212. Once I Was Lost, and in Dark­ness Wan­dered
  213. One of Christ’s Bur­den Bear­ers
  214. Only a Lit­tle Way Far­ther
  215. Onward To­ward Hea­ven
  216. Open the Door of Your Heart
  217. Our Praise to Thee, O Fa­ther
  218. Outward Bound, to the Land
  219. Over, Ov­er and Ov­er the Call
  220. Over the River, Oh, What Is There?
  221. Over the Ri­ver the Hills of the Blest
  222. Over There What Rest Is Wait­ing
  223. Papa, Are You Rea­dy?
  224. Praise the Lord for All His Lov­ing Kind­ness
  225. Pray, Bro­ther, Pray, Dis­cour­aged Nev­er Grow
  226. Rally Round the Ban­ner of Our Sav­ior King
  227. Reapers for the Har­vest
  228. Rejoice, for the Wan­der­ers Are Com­ing
  229. Rise Up to La­bor, Ye Who Sit
  230. Roads Steep and Sto­ny Our Feet Find to Tread
  231. Rouse Up to Work That Waits for Us
  232. Savior, Bless Me
  233. Say, Lit­tle Sol­diers, Who Fight for the True
  234. See, the Hill Is Clad in Snow
  235. See the Light, Sail­ors, the Port Is Not Far
  236. Set a Glad Song Ring­ing
  237. Shall We Sing in Hea­ven’s Bright Courts
  238. Silver Threads Among the Gold
  239. Sing It, the Love of the Sav­ior
  240. Soldier of Christ, Art Thou Fam­ished
  241. Some Day
  242. Some Day Earth’s Faith­ful Ones
  243. Some Earth­ly Friend­ships Fail Us
  244. Something for Je­sus, O, What Shall It Be
  245. Something’s Go­ing to Hap­pen
  246. Sometime, God Know­eth When
  247. Sometimes the Mists of Doubt and Sin
  248. Song of Hea­ven and Home­land, A
  249. Soul From the King­dom, The
  250. Soul, Is the Conf­lict Deep­en­ing
  251. Soul of the Chris­tian, Be Hap­py
  252. Sow the Good Seed of the Spir­it
  253. Sow the Good Seed of the Spir­it God Will Send the Rain
  254. Speak a Lit­tle Word for Je­sus
  255. Speed Away, Speed Away to the Isles of the Sea
  256. Speed the Day, Hap­py Day, When Our Land Shall Be Free
  257. Stand Up for Christ, My Bro­ther
  258. Storm Is Rag­ing up­on the Deep, A
  259. Sweet Lit­tle Pan­sy, the Win­ter Is Near
  260. Swifter Than a Weav­er’s Shut­tle
  261. Tenderly, Lov­ing­ly, Call­eth To­day
  262. Tide of Jesus’ Migh­ty Love, The
  263. There Are Hills Be­yond the Val­ley Where the Ri­ver Glid­eth By
  264. There Are Times When a Word Just a Friend­ly Word
  265. There Are Times When We Grow Wea­ry
  266. There Is a Nar­row Way That Leads
  267. There Is a Song I Love to Sing
  268. There Is Glad­ness Up in Hea­ven
  269. There Is No Friend Like Je­sus, So Lov­ing, Kind and True
  270. There Is On­ly One Way of Sal­va­tion
  271. There’s a Beau­ti­ful Land o’er the Ocean of Time
  272. There’s a Bet­ter Day Ap­proach­ing
  273. There’s a Migh­ty War­fare
  274. There’s a Ques­tion We Must Set­tle
  275. There’s a Ri­ver That Runs
  276. There’s a Song I Love to Sing When My Heart Is Sad
  277. There’s a Sto­ry Old of a Christ
  278. There’s Nev­er a Day So Dreary That It Has No Hint of Sun
  279. They Brought Their Gifts to Je­sus
  280. They Tell of a Christ Who on Cal­va­ry
  281. They Tell Us of a Hap­py Land
  282. Though Faith to Move Mount­ains
  283. Though Sor­rows Come About
  284. Though the Road Is Rough and the Hills Are Steep
  285. Through the Dark and Si­lent For­ests
  286. Through the Green Pas­tures
  287. Through the Mists of Night Is Shin­ing
  288. Throw Op­en Wide the Win­dows
  289. ’Tis a Sweet and Won­der­ful Sto­ry
  290. To and Fro Our Hands Are Swing­ing
  291. To Wea­ry Hearts the Pro­mis­es of God
  292. Traveling on in the Path That the Sav­ior Trod
  293. Twilight’s Fai­ry Fin­gers, The
  294. ’Twill Not Be Long Be­fore the Night Is Ov­er
  295. Waiteth the Gold­en Har­vest
  296. Watched by the Eye That Nev­er Sleeps
  297. Way That Leads Us Hea­ven­ward, The
  298. We Are a Band of Work­ers for Je­sus
  299. We Are Loy­al Chris­tian Sol­diers
  300. We Are Sail­ing o’er an Ocean
  301. We Are Sol­diers in an Ar­my
  302. We Are Sol­diers in the Ar­my
  303. We Are Work­ers for the Mas­ter
  304. We Come with Blos­som
  305. We Shall Not Weep in Hea­ven
  306. Weary Pil­grim, Go to Je­sus
  307. Welcome, Hap­py Voic­es
  308. What Shall Be the Trib­ute
  309. What Word in All God’s Pro­mis­es
  310. When a Wan­der­ing One Comes Back
  311. When I Am Bowed with Grief
  312. When I Am Worn and Wea­ry
  313. When I Get Home to Fa­ther’s Land
  314. When I Read the Dear Old Sto­ry
  315. When I Was Wan­der­ing Far
  316. When Our Earth­ly Life Is End­ed
  317. When Tem­pests Rise About
  318. When the Bat­tle Trum­pet Calls Forth
  319. When the Bride­groom Com­eth
  320. When the Day Is Stor­my
  321. When the Friends We Have Trust­ed
  322. When the Ills of Life Bes­et Me
  323. When the Path I Am Tread­ing Is Rough and Steep
  324. When the Path of Life Has Led Me
  325. When the Way Is Rough and Steep
  326. When Trials Come as Come They Will
  327. When We Get Ov­er the Ri­ver
  328. When We Grow Wea­ry and the Way Looks Dark
  329. While Life’s Sum­mer Days Go By
  330. Who Knows What Dan­gers
  331. Wonderful, Won­der­ful Je­sus
  332. Work on Work on No Time for Rest­ing
  333. World Is Stirred by the Pomp of War, The
  334. Would You Be Saved, Then Why Not Come
  335. Would You Like a Home in Hea­ven?
  336. You Think I Am Poor?