Jean Sophia Pigott (1845–1882) was a Christian poet and hymn lyricist in Ireland.
Biography
Born in
Leixlip, Ireland, Jean Sophia Pigott was the sister to China missionary William Frederick Pigott, who joined the ministry of
Hudson Taylor who headed the
China Inland Mission
OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It was founded i ...
. It is believed that William introduced Jean's hymns to the leader of the Mission.
Her brother Thomas Wellesley Pigott also served as a CIM missionary and was executed with his family in the
Taiyuan massacre.
According to Hendry, Taylor particularly enjoyed Jean Pigott's hymn, Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting, and he adopted it as his personal "life song." He was even said to have whistled that tune during the stressful time of the kidnapping and murder of Jean's brother William Pigott and 76 of his fellow missionaries, during the 1900
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
in China.
Jean was a published poet from a young age and by the age of 35, she had authored a book of her verses called “A Royal Service.” The lyrics to her most famous poem and hymn, Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting, were first traced to that work.
Jean Sophia Pigott died at 37 on 12 October 1882 in Leixlip,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, where she is buried.
Selected works
* Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting
* Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting (lyrics with music)
* Divine Childhood
* One Touch
* Take Thine Own Way, in ''
Woman in Sacred Song''
* A Royal Service, in ''Woman in Sacred Song''
See also
Jessie Pigott
(Emily) Jessie Kemp became Emily Pigott (8 August 1851 – 9 July 1900) was a British missionary to India and China. She was executed with her son and husband and over 40 others in the Taiyuan massacre.
Life
Pigott was born in Tavistock Squar ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pigott, Jean Sophia
1845 births
1882 deaths
Irish hymnwriters
Hymnologists
19th-century poets
19th-century women writers
19th-century Irish poets
Writers from County Kildare
19th-century Irish women writers
Irish religious writers
Women religious writers