Lelia Naylor Morris (April 15, 1862July 23, 1929) was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

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 ...

. Some sources give her first name as Leila, but her obituary, grave marker, and other sources give her name as Lelia. She is sometimes known as Mrs. Charles H. Morris, as (Mrs.) C. H. Morris, or as (Mrs.) C. H. M., having adopted her husband's forenames upon marriage after the custom of the time.

Biography

Morris was born in

Pennsville, Ohio Pennsville is an unincorporated community in Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History Pennsville was platted in 1828. The community took its name from Penn Township. Pennsville was originally chiefly settled by Quakers Quak ...

. While still a child, she moved with her family to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Later, she and her sister and her mother ran a

millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...

shop in McConnelsville. In 1881, she married Charles H. Morris. The couple were active in the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

, and attended

camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...

s at places such as Old Camp Sychar in

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

and Sebring Camp in Sebring. In the 1890s, she began to write hymns and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

songs; it has been said that she wrote more than 1,000 songs and tunes, and that she did so while doing her housework. In 1913, her eyesight began to fail; her son thereupon constructed for her a blackboard long with oversized staff lines, so that she could continue to compose. Around 1928, she and her husband moved to live with their daughter in Auburn, New York, where she died. She is buried in McConnelsville Cemetery in McConnelsville.

Songs

* "Are You Looking For The Fullness"Redemption Hymnal * "Bring Your Vessels, Not a Few", 1912Sing to the Lord (1993), Lillenas Publishing Co., Kansas City, Missouri * "Can the World See Jesus in You" * "For A Worldwide Revival" * "For God So Loved This Sinful World" * "Fully Surrendered To Jesus The Lord" * "Hallelujah for the Blood" * "Holiness Unto the Lord", a.k.a. "Called unto Holiness", 1900 * "Hymn, to Fight!" * "I Know God's Promise is True", 1899 * "Let All the People Praise Thee", 1906 * "Let Jesus Come into Your Heart" * "Nearer, Still Nearer", 1898 * "Sanctifying Power", 1908 * "Sweet Will of God", a.k.a. "My Stubborn Will at Last Hath Yielded", 1900 * "

Sweeter as the Years Go By "Sweeter as the Years Go By" is a Christian hymn written by Lelia N. Morris in 1912. It has been included in 87 hymnals. Its subject-matter is expressed in the refrain: It has been recorded in various, mostly gospel, styles. In 1929, it was r ...

", 1912 * "The Fight is On", circa 1905 * "The Stranger of Galilee" * "'Tis Marvelous and Wonderful" * "Victory all the Time", 1901 * "What If It Were Today?" 1912 * "Where with God the Saint shall reign" * "A New Touch of Fire"

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Lelia N. 1862 births 1929 deaths People from Morgan County, Ohio American Christian hymnwriters American Methodist hymnwriters Songwriters from Ohio American women hymnwriters People from McConnelsville, Ohio People from Malta, Ohio