“It Is Well With My Soul” William Carol [PIANO]
Improvisation
The text to “It Is Well With My Soul” was written by Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) after traumatic events in Spafford’s life. First there was the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer and had invested significantly in property in the area of Chicago that was extensively damaged by the great fire).
His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to England with his family, to help with D. L. Moody’s upcoming evangelistic campaigns. (Moody was something like the Billy Graham of his day.) Having to deal with yet another last minute financial difficulty, Spafford sent his family ahead. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with another ship, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died (Annie, age 12; Maggie, 7; Bessie, 4; and an 18-month old baby). His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone. What shall I do. …”.
As Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write the words to “It Is Well With My Soul” as his ship passed near where his daughters had drowned.
Following the sinking of the Ville du Havre, Anna gave birth to three more children: Horatio (1875), Bertha (1878), and Grace (1881). Their son Horatio died of scarlet fever at age four. After this final tragedy, and a decade of financial loss and the ordeal at sea, Anna and Horatio Spafford became religious outsiders. Thus began Spafford’s philosophical move away from material success toward a lifelong spiritual pilgrimage. Anna and Horatio soon left the Presbyterian congregation he had helped build and hosted prayer meetings in their home. The press dubbed their group “The Overcomers”. (I’ll say!)
In 1881, the Spaffords went to Jerusalem to set up the “American Colony”. Colony members, joined by Swedish Christians, engaged in philanthropic work among the people of Jerusalem regardless of their religious affiliation and without proselytizing motives, gaining the trust of the local Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. At the Eastern front during and after World War I, and during the Armenian and Assyrian genocides, the American Colony supported the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities of Jerusalem by hosting soup kitchens, hospitals, and orphanages
Spafford died age 59, and was buried in Jerusalem. After Horatio’s death, Anna (1842–1923) assumed leadership of the group until her death. The Spafford’s Children’s Center (a charitable home for children) is still a going concern in Jerusalem, with several of the Spafford’s grand-children on the board.
The Swedish writer Selma Lagerlof, drawing inspiration from the American Colony, wrote the novel _Jerusalem_ which helped her win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909 (the first woman to do so).
The tune to “It Is Well With My Soul” was composed by Philip Bliss (1838–1876), an American composer, conductor, writer of hymns and a bass-baritone Gospel singer. He also wrote many well-known hymns, including “Almost Persuaded”, “Hallelujah, What a Savior!” and “Wonderful Words of Life”. Bliss was a recognized friend of D. L. Moody. Bliss died in the Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster on his way to one of Moody’s meetings. An outspoken Abolitionist, he served as a Lieutenant during the American Civil War.