1848–1923

Introduction

portrait

Born: Feb­ru­ary 23, 1848, Bowl­ing Green, Vir­gin­ia.

Died: Ap­ril 19, 1923, Mer­cy Hos­pital, Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois (hos­pi­tal is no long­er open).

Buried: Mount Green­wood Ce­me­te­ry, Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois.

Biography

Thomas was the son of John Ber­nard Wes­ten­dorf and Ma­ry Mar­gret Par­ham, and hus­band of Jane Mor­row (mar­ried May 21, 1873).

In 1880, he was mar­ried and liv­ing in Lou­is­ville, Ken­tuc­ky, list­ed as a teach­er and of­fic­er in a House of Re­fuge.

In 1910 he was head­ing a si­mi­lar in­sti­tu­tion in Shel­by Coun­ty, Il­li­nois.

Westendorf is per­haps best re­mem­bered for his se­cu­lar song I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathl­een, writ­ten while he was a school teach­er in Plain­field, In­di­ana.

Sources

Lyrics

  1. Are You Com­ing?
  2. Him That Com­eth to Me
  3. Is There Oil in Your Lamp?
  4. Let Me Tell It Again
  5. Look to the Pre­cious Je­sus
  6. Look unto the Fields
  7. Pathway of Life, The
  8. So Will I Com­fort You
  9. That Which Was Lost
  10. Through the Beau­ti­ful Gates of Pearl
  11. Trees Shall Clap Their Hands, The
  12. Trusting in the Lord
  13. We Will Go with You
  14. Will You Be with the Sleep­ers?