A Hymn Composer from Russell

 

Gospel music trivia --- and Russell

A column entitled "What People Are Saying" was a regular front-page feature in The Chariton Leader during the tenure of long-time editor and publisher Henry Gittinger. It consisted of a series of short items that were presented as person-in-the-street quotes from his subscribers.

The following, attributed to Russell's Thomas Stuart Crozier (1842-1919), was published on Sept. 26, 1910: "When I used to live on the farm in Washington township, there was a neighboring boy we called "Lew." His name was L.E. Jones. He was the only child of my closest neighbors and concluded he could compose music. We didn't think he would make any headway at the time but he fooled us. I notice in the hymn books we use in the Presbyterian church at Russell, there is a hymn composed by him and the music 'There is Power in the Blood,' and it is frequently sung."

As it turns out, L. E. Jones was Lewis Edgar Jones, only child of Lewis W. and Frances A. (Taber) Jones, who was born Feb. 8, 1865, in Yates City, Illinois. Federal census records show that the small family moved from Illinois to the Russell vicinity about the time the town was founded, in 1867, and lived on a farm in that vicinity until after 1880. The trio is listed in both the 1870 and 1880 census enumerations. Lewis reportedly lived on the farm near Russell until he turned 21 in 1886.

Chicago's Moody Bible Institute was founded by evangelist Dwight L. Moody in 1886 and at some point after that, Lewis enrolled and graduated. His brief biographies generally state that he graduated with Billy Sunday, perhaps Iowa's best-known evangelist. But there's a problem here --- there's no record that Sunday ever attended the institute.

Writing hymns was just a hobby for Jones --- he devoted his life to YMCA work, first as physical education director for the YMCA in Davenport, where he married; and then moving to Fort Worth, Texas, where he served as general secretary. In 1915, he became general secretary for the YMCA in Santa Barbara, California, where he worked until retirement. He died in Santa Barbara on Sept. 1, 1936.

I've written briefly about Lewis before --- thanks to Charles Wright, who shared the following information back in 2011:

"Your blog (an entry about Lucas County's connection to 'The Old Rugged Cross') brought to memory a fact that I doubt many Lucas Countyans know. Twice in the diary of my Grandmother Mollie Goltry Wright (1868-1954), she refers to a childhood friend and schoolmate named Lewis Edgar Jones. It's not clear from her October 10, 1940, entry whether they attended school together in the town of Russell or at Hawkeye rural school. She wrote that her father 'bought property in Russell and moved there so we children could go to school,' because their farm home was too far from the closest country school. She states that was in 1875 and 1876 while the Hawkeye Schoolhouse was being built 'for we started to school there in the Spring of 1876 after moving back to the farm.' Recalling this brought to her mind her schoolmate Lewis Edgar Jones, who composed the popular revival hymn 'There is Power in the Blood.' "

The family left Lucas County during December, 1889, according to another entry in Mrs. Wright's diary, according to Charles.

Although hymn writing was a hobby for Mr. Jones, he was prolific --- more than 100 are listed in online sources. Charles cites five others that were popular in their day: "I've Anchored in Jesus," "Lean on His Arms," "The Old Book Stands," "We Shall See the King Some Day," and "You Must Be Redeemed." 

So there you have it,  links between Lucas County and two of those great old gospel songs --- Power in the Blood and The Old Rugged Cross --- if you're interested in playing Lucas County Trivia.