Hubert Platt Main (1839-1925)
MA D.D.
A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...
was a hymn writer and publisher.
Early and family life
The son of Sylvester Main, a singing school teacher, Hubert Platt Main was born in
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is an affluent New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains and on the New York state border, Ridgefield had a population o ...
in 1839 and attended local singing school until 1854, when he went to New York City to work as an errand boy in a wallpaper business. Main later earned a
D.D.
A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...
degree.
Career
The following April, Hubert Main took a similar entry-level job at the Bristow and Morse publishing company. He also helped his father publish the ''Sunday School Lute'' songbook by I.B. Woodbury. In 1864, Sylvester Main invested in a William Bradbury's publishing business, and Hubert was working there by 1867. Upon Bradbury's death the following year, the Mains founded the Biglow and Main music publishing house as its successor. One of the firm's major hymnwriters was
Fanny VanAlstyne Crosby.
Hubert Main worked with his father until his father's death in 1873, and ultimately published over 500 works. He also partnered with other music editors, including George A. Bell, Mrs. Wilbur F. Crafts and
Ira D. Sankey (part of
Dwight Moody's evangelism team). Main arranged music, as well as wrote over 1000 pieces, from singing school songs to Sunday school music and hymns. Biglow and Main was acquired by Hope Publishing Company in 1922.
Main also collected music books, and in 1906 sold his collection (over 3,500 volumes) to the
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...
in Chicago, Illinois, where they form the core of its Americana collection.
Death and legacy
Main died in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
on October 7, 1925, and was buried in Bloomfield Cemetery in
Essex County. Several of his hymns continue to be republished today.
Major publications
*''Book of Praise for the Sunday School'', with George A. Bell (New York: Biglow & Main, 1875)
*''Little Pilgrim Songs'', with Mrs. Wilbur F. Crafts (New York: Biglow & Main, 1884)
*''Hymns of Praise'', with George A. Bell (New York: Biglow & Main, 1884)
*''Gems of Song for the Sunday School'', with Ira Sankey (Chicago, Illinois: The Biglow & Main Co., 1901)
*''Quartettes for Mens Voices: Sacred and Social Selections'', with George B. Hodge (
Y.M.C.A., 1913)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Main, Hubert
American hymnwriters
1839 births
1925 deaths