Arthur Tozer Russell (20 March 1806 – 18 November 1874) was an English clergyman and

hymnwriter A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who is traditional ...

Life

The elder son of Thomas Russell, he was born at

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

on 20 March 1806. He received his early education at St. Saviour's School,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, and Merchant Taylors' School, London. Having read some of the writings of

Thomas Belsham Thomas Belsham (26 April 175011 November 1829) was an English Unitarian minister. Life Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the di ...

, he wished to qualify for the Unitarian ministry. Belsham got him support at Hackney College, with a view to his entrance as a divinity student at Manchester College, York. His

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

was temporarily withdrawn; but he entered Manchester College, on the Hackney foundation, in September 1822, under the name of Cloutt (his father's alternative surname), among his fellow-entrants being Robert Brook Aspland and

James Martineau James Martineau (; 21 April 1805 – 11 January 1900) was a British Christian philosophy, religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism. He was the brother of the atheist social theory, social theorist, abolitionist Harriet M ...

. At the annual examination, 30 July 1824, he delivered a Latin oration, under the name of Russell. He then left York, without finishing his course. John Kenrick, his classics tutor at Manchester College, York, wrote (1 June 1824) that Russell had made the acquaintance of

Francis Wrangham The Venerable Francis Wrangham (11 June 1769 – 27 December 1842) was the Archdeacon of the East Riding. He was a noted author, translator, book collector and Abolitionism in the United Kingdom, abolitionist. Life Wrangham was born on 11 June ...

archdeacon of Cleveland The Archdeacon of Cleveland is a senior ecclesiastical officer of an archdeaconry, or subdivision, of the Church of England diocese and province of York. The Archdeaconry of Cleveland stretches west from Thirsk, north to Middlesbrough, east to Wh ...

, and had decided to study for orders. In 1825 Russell entered as a

sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, and took the Hulsean prize in his freshman year. After becoming a scholar of St. John's (1827), he was ordained deacon (1827) by John Kaye,

bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

, and licensed to the curacy of

Great Gransden Great Gransden is a civil parish and village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. In 2001, the parish population was 969, which rose to 1,023 at the 2011 Census. It lies 16 miles (25 km) west of Cambridge and 13 mile ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

. In 1830 he was ordained priest, became vicar of

Caxton, Cambridgeshire Caxton is a small rural village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is 9 miles west of the county town of Cambridge. In 2001, the population of Caxton parish was 480 people, increasing to 572 at ...

, and graduated LL.B. In 1852 he became vicar of Whaddon, Cambridgeshire, exchanging this benefice in 1863 for the vicarage of St. Thomas, Toxteth Park,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. In 1868 Russell became vicar of Wrockwardine Wood, Shropshire. His last preferment was to the rectory of Southwick,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, in 1874; but his health was poor. He died at Southwick on 18 November 1874.

Works

Russell's career as a hymn-writer began early, his first hymns being included in the third edition of his father's ''Collection''. Hymns by him, original and translated, are in ''The Christian Life'', 1847, and in ''Psalms and Hymns'', 1851. Twenty-one appeared in ''The Choral Hymn-book'', 1861, edited by the Rev. Peter Maurice, D.D. Of his original hymns four are included in

Lord Selborne Earl of Selborne, in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1882 for the lawyer and Liberal politician Roundell Palmer, 1st Baron Selborne, along with the subsidiary title of Viscount Wo ...

's ''Book of Praise'', 1862, and around fifty appeared in other collections. He is known for the addition in 1851 of a sixth verse, designed to improve its theology, to the well-known hymn, '' Nearer my God, to Thee'' (1841), by Sarah Fuller Adams. He published also ''Hymn Tunes, Original and Selected'', in 1843. In all he produced about one hundred and forty original and one hundred and thirty translated hymns. His theological publications, in addition to his Hulsean prize essay on ''The Law … a Schoolmaster'', Cambridge, 1826, and a sermon on the ''Real Presence'', Cambridge, 1857, are: * ''Sermons on … Festivals … of the Church'', Cambridge, 1830. * ''Remarks upon … Keble's Visitation Sermon'', Cambridge, 1837. * ''Apology … translated from the … Latin of Bishop Jewell'', &c. (with notes), 1834 (Crockford); 1839; Oxford, 1840. * ''A Manual of Daily Prayer'', 1841. * ''Advent and other Sermons'',

855 __NOTOC__ Year 855 (Roman numerals, DCCCLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * November 20 – Theoktistos, co-regent of the Empire on behalf of 15-year old Emperor Mi ...

* ''A Letter to the Bishop of Oxford upon "Essays and Reviews"'', 1862, (in reply to an article in ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

'', April, 1861, by Dean Stanley). * ''Memorials of … Thomas Fuller'', 1844. * ''Memoirs of … Lancelot Andrewes'', 1863. Among his contributions to reviews was a series of critical articles on the

Greek Testament (''The New Testament in Greek'') is a critical edition of the New Testament in its original Koine Greek published by ''Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft'' (German Bible Society), forming the basis of most modern Bible translations and biblical crit ...

in the '' British and Foreign Evangelical Review'', 1862–3. He was one of the editors of a new edition of ''Slatter's Old Oxford University Guide'' 861? Among his manuscripts was an unpublished ''History of the Bishops of England and Wales''.

References

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Arthur Tozer 1806 births 1874 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests English hymnwriters Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 19th-century English musicians Clergy from Northampton People from South Cambridgeshire District