Harry Webb Farrington (1879–1930) was an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

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,

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He was an orphan who lived in

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, and

Darlington, Maryland Darlington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northeastern Harford County, Maryland, United States.Darlington United Methodist Church Darlington United Methodist Church is located in Darlington, Maryland. It is a pre Civil War structure, built in 1852, with white siding, large windows, and many historically original architecture. It is a church within the Baltimore Washing ...

and witnessing the great revivals of the late 1890s. The story of his life comes from one of his books, ''Kilts to Togs: Orphan Adventures'' (1930). He is also the author of ''Cher Ami'' (1926), ''Rough and Brown'', ''Walls of America'' (1925), and ''Roosevelt the Righteous'' (1925). He also wrote ''Poems from France'' in 1920.

Life

Harry Webb Farrington was born on July 14, 1879, in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

. He moved to

, shortly thereafter. According to one of his best sellers, ''Kilts to Togs'', he moved to

, but only lived there for a short time. When he was ten years old, he moved again to a small, quaint little hamlet northeast of Bel Air, to

and was converted during the revivals of 1895 to 1897 under the direction of Elmer Lodia Dutton. He worked at a

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Berkley, Maryland Berkley is an unincorporated community in Harford County, Maryland, United States. Rigbie House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's o ...

. When the paper mill closed, he decided to move to Singerly, Maryland, which is located near

Elkton, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of na ...

. He attended Dickinson Seminary, which is now

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. The college is affiliated with the

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. He also graduated from

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in 1907, and continued his education at

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and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Farrington served as the athletic director for the French troops during World War I. He later became an ordained preacher in the Methodist Church, where he served as pastor of the Grace Methodist Church in

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from 1920 to 1923. He then became the education director in that area for the Methodist Church Welfare League. Due to being paralyzed in an accident, he died on October 27, 1930, in

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. He was buried in the Pine Lawn Cemetery in

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Hymn Writer

Harry Webb Farrington is known especially as a hymn writer. Some of the 30 hymns that he wrote include ''Dear Lord, Who Sought at Dawn of Day'' (1927), ''O God, Creator, in Whose Hand'' (1929), ''I Know Not How That Bethlehem's Babe'', and ''Strong, Righteous Man of Galilee''.

References

# Farrington, H. W. (1930). Kilts to Togs: Orphan Adventures. New York City: The MacMillan Co. # Farrington, H. W. (1925). Walls of America (House of Uncle Sam). New York City: Rough and Brown Press. # Farrington, H. W. (1925). Roosevelt the Righteous. New York City: Rough and Brown Press. # Farrington, H. W. (1926). Cher Ami. New York City: Rough and Brown Press.

External links

Harry Webb Farrington at Hymntime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrington, Harry American male songwriters 1879 births 1930 deaths