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Ebenezer Beesley (14 December 1840 – 21 March 1906) was a
/ref> They first lived in
In 1880, Beesley became the director of the
Ebenezer Beesley (14 December 1840 – 21 March 1906) was a Latter-day Saint
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
writer and composer. The music for twelve of the hymns in the 1985 English-language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
hymnal
A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chri ...
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church) were written by him.
Beesley was born in Bicester
Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.Cornwall, J. Spencer. ''Stories of Our Mormon Hymns''. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1975) pp. 106–107.''Biography of Ebenezer Beesley 1840-'' (British Mormon Historical Society, http://www.mormonhistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112&Itemid=88 ) His parents joined the LDS Church when he was quite young and he was baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
a member of the church on 22 September 1849.
In 1859, Beesley, a cobbler, emigrated to Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...
in the George Rowley Handcart Company with his family, including first wife Sarah Hancock Beesley.''Beesley, Sarah Hancock, Reminiscences'', (Handcart Stories, 28-34, Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868)/ref> They first lived in
Tooele, Utah
Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Army ...
, but later they moved to Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
. In the 19th Ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
in Salt Lake City, Beesley served as both choir director and music director for Sunday School
A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West.
Su ...
. He studied under George Careless
George Edward Percy Careless (September 24, 1839 – March 5, 1932) was a prominent Latter-day Saint composer and conductor.
Careless was born in London, England. As a child he studied at the Royal Academy in London. He performed at Exeter Hall ...
. In 1863, Beesley joined the Salt Lake Theatre Orchestra, where he played the violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
.
In 1869 he married Anne Frewin Buckeridge in a polygamist marriage and had six children with her. He became the father of 16 children in total between the years 1860 and 1883.
Beesley was a contributor to the ''Juvenile Instructor
''The Juvenile Instructor'' was a magazine for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It began publication in 1866 as a private publication, but by the late 1860s served as the de facto publication of the LDS Churc ...
'' magazine. He also was one of the men appointed by John Taylor to oversee the publication of the 1860 (and later the 1883) ''Latter-day Saints' Psalmody'', which was the first LDS Church hymnbook to include music.
In 1880, Beesley became the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...
. In September of that year, Beesley led the choir's first excursion outside of Salt Lake City on a trip to American Fork, Utah
American Fork is a city in north-central Utah County, Utah, United States, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range, north from Utah Lake. This city is thirty-two miles southeast of Salt Lake City. It is part of the Provo–Ore ...
where they performed with the local choir for a large group of citizens.Cornwall, J. Spencer. ''A Century of Singing: The Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir'' (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1958) p. 57 Beesley served as the choir director until 1889.
After serving with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Beesley taught music in Tooele, and then for a time in Lehi, Utah
Lehi ( ) is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is named after Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon. The population was 75,907 at the 2020 census, up from 47,407 in 2010. The rapid growth in Lehi is due, in part, to the rapid develo ...
. He then moved back to Salt Lake City where he died.
In the 1985 LDS Church hymnal the music for the following hymns was composed by Beesley:
* 5 "High on the Mountain Top"
* 16 "What Glorious Scenes Mine Eyes Behold"
* 32 "The Happy Day at Last Has Come"
* 76 "God of Our Fathers, We Come unto Thee"
* 77 "Great Is the Lord"
* 156 "Sing We Now at Parting"
* 177 "Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love" (tune name Hancock)
* 185 "Reverently and Meekly Now"
* 232 "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words"
* 280 "Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning"
* 282 "We Meet Again in Sabbath School"
See also
* Ebenezer Beesley HouseReferences
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beesley, Ebenezer 1840 births 1906 deaths English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English hymnwriters British emigrants to the United States English Latter Day Saints English Latter Day Saint hymnwriters Mormon pioneers Tabernacle Choir music directors People from Bicester People from Lehi, Utah Musicians from Salt Lake City People from Tooele, Utah 19th-century English musicians 19th-century British male musicians