William Batchelder Bradbury (October 6, 1816 – January 7, 1868) was a musician who composed the tune to " Jesus Loves Me" and many other popular hymns.

Biography

He was born on October 6, 1816, in

York, Maine York is a town in York County, Maine, United States, near the southern tip of the state. The population in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 13,723. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summe ...

, where his father was the leader of a

church choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. He had a brother, Edward G. Bradbury. He moved with his parents to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and met Lowell Mason, and by 1834 was known as an organist. In 1840, he began teaching in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In 1847 he went to Germany, where he studied harmony, composition, and vocal and instrumental music with the best masters. In 1854, he started the Bradbury Piano Company, with his brother, Edward G. Bradbury in New York City. William Bradbury is best known as a composer and publisher of a series of musical collections for choirs and schools. He was the author and compiler of fifty-nine books starting in 1841. In 1862, Bradbury found the poem " Jesus Loves Me". Bradbury wrote the music and added the chorus: "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus Loves me ..." He died on January 7, 1868, in

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and an inner-ring suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 53,105, an increase of 5,790 (+12.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

(now

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

) at age 51. He was buried in Bloomfield Cemetery in

Works

He composed many tunes, including those for "He Leadeth Me"; " Just As I Am"; "Sweet Hour of Prayer" (attributed to William W. Walford, 1772–1850); " Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" and "

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" is a Christian hymn written by Edward Mote, a pastor at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Horsham, West Sussex. Mote wrote around 100 hymns, this one, which he wrote in 1834, being the best known of his. The hymn "My ...

", all of which can still be found in hymnbooks and songbooks today. File:"Fresh Laurels" by William Batchelder Bradbury (title page, 1867).jpg, William Batchelder Bradbury's ''Fresh Laurels'' of 1867 File:Elliott Bradbury Just as I am.jpg, Elliott Bradbury ''Just as I am'' File:1864 A Sound Among the Forest Trees songsheet.jpg, 1864 ''A Sound Among the Forest Trees'' songsheet

Publications

*''The Shawm'' (1853) *''Esther, the Beautiful Queen'' (1856) *''The Jubilee'' (1858) *''Cottage Melodies'' (1859) *''The Golden Chain'' (1861) *" Hold On Abraham!" (1862) *''The Key-Note'' and ''Pilgrims' Songs'' (1863) *''The Golden Censer'' (1864) *''Golden Trio'' (1864) *''Temple Choir'' and ''Fresh Laurels'' (1867) *''Clairiona'' (1867) compilation of previous works

References

External links

*
Free scores

Mutopia Project The Mutopia Project is a volunteer-run effort to create a library of free content sheet music, in a way similar to Project Gutenberg's library of public domain books. It started in 2000. The music is reproduced from old scores that are in th ...

More scores and biographical information
at

Hymnary.org Hymnary.org is an online database of hymns, hymnodists and hymnals hosted by Calvin University's Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The searchable database contains over one million hymn tunes and texts ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbury, William Batchelder 1816 births 1868 deaths American male composers Musicians from Montclair, New Jersey 19th-century American composers People from York, Maine Musicians from Maine American hymnwriters 19th-century American male musicians