Introduction

Words: Ira D. San­key, in The Gos­pel Sing­er, ed­it­ed by Phi­lip Phil­lips (Phi­la­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: Lee & Wal­ker, 1874), num­ber 97.

Music: Lec­ce Ira San­key, 1874 (🔊 pdf nwc).

In San­key’s 1880 Sac­red Songs and So­los, this in­tro­duc­tion app­ears with the song:

Written on the dy­ing words of a young con­vert (Mag­gie Lind­say) who lost her life in the rail­road ca­tas­tro­phe at Man­uel Junc­tion, Scot­land.

…All was packed, and rea­dy for her go­ing home to Aber­deen, her school-days be­ing over. At 6:35 on Tues­day morn­ing, the train for the North start­ed; and she, with her eyes up­on her hymn-book, the leaf turned down at her best-loved song, The Gate Ajar for Me, tast­ed once more of the love of Je­sus.

The aw­ful ca­tas­tro­phe took place; and the col­li­sion with the min­er­al train left her se­vere­ly in­jured, and the page of hymn-book stained with her blood.

During the two days of suf­fer­ing that fol­lowed in the house to which she was moved at Man­u­el, the scene of the rail­way ac­ci­dent, she oft­en whi­spered and sang the words of the hymn which was to be her song till death.

The min­is­ter who watched by her said the ex­press­ion of her coun­te­nance could not be des­cribed as she again and again re­peat­ed the words, Yes, for me, for me!