Elizabeth Cecilia Douglas Clephane (18 June 1830 – 19 February 1869) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

songwriter, who wrote the hymns "The Ninety and Nine" and "Beneath the Cross of Jesus".

Early life

Clephane was born at 5 West Circus Place in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

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, the third daughter of Andrew Douglas Clephane

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1780-1838), advocate and Sheriff of

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, and his wife, Anna Maria Douglas (daughter of Lt Col Robert Douglas and Anna Maria Ashenhurst).

Hymns

Eight hymns by Clephane were published posthumously in ''The Family Treasury'', a Presbyterian magazine, between 1872 and 1874. Clephane's hymns were promoted in America by

Ira D. Sankey Ira David Sankey (August 28, 1840 – August 13, 1908) was an American gospel singer and composer, known for his long association with Dwight L. Moody in a series of religious revival campaigns in America and Britain during the closing decades o ...

who wrote a tune entitled "Clephane" to accompany "The Ninety and Nine". Another Clephane hymn, "Beneath the Cross of Jesus", is often heard at Easter, and is usually sung to the tune "St Christopher" by English organist Frederick Charles Maker. Clephane's "The Ninety and Nine" is a reference to the Parable of the Lost Sheep, ending with the celebratory lines, "And the angels echoed around the throne, 'Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!'" It was sometimes performed on special occasions by a choir of 99 singers. The hymn was said to be written after the death of her brother, George Clephane (1819-1851), who had a troubled life in Canada. As the story goes, he fell from his horse while intoxicated, struck his head upon a rock and died. His grave site at Fergus,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada has become a site of interest for admirers of Clephane's hymns. A memorial service was held there in 1933, as part of the town's centennial observances.

Personal life

Clephane was considered frail. She gave much to poor relief; it is said that she sold her horses to raise money for philanthropic causes. She died in 1869, aged 38 years, at Bridgend House, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland where she had spent most of her later life. Her grave is with her parents' graves in St Cuthbert's churchyard in central

. There is also a memorial brass plaque to Clephane at Melrose Abbey.

Reference

External links

*
Elizabeth Clephane
- Page contains a photo of Elizabeth Clephane and a MIDI file
A 1909 recording of "The Ninety and the Nine" by Elizabeth Clephane
in the National Jukebox,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clephane, Elizabeth C. 1830 births 1869 deaths Musicians from Edinburgh Scottish songwriters Scottish Christians Scottish evangelicals Hymnwriters British women hymnwriters