Jemima Luke (1813–1906) was an English writer of

hymns 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'' ...

, religious studies and biographies during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. She is best known for her children's hymn ''"I think when I read that sweet story of old"''.

Early life and education

Jemima Luke was born Jemima Thompson on 19 August 1813 in Colebrook Terrace,

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London to the philanthropist Thomas Thompson (1785–1865), and his wife Elizabeth Pinckney (d. 1837). Her father, who had the same birthday as Jemima, made a fortune on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

, and retired while still a young man. He was an early prominent member of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

, the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

, and one of the founders in 1818 of the

British and Foreign Sailors Society Sailors’ Society is an international Christian charity working in ports across the world. The organisation has chaplains and ship visitors in 91 global ports, who help seafarers and their families, from all faiths and none, with welfare and pract ...

(originally the Port of London Society), and in 1819 of the Home Missionary Society.Hadden (2004) – see the biography entry in the online version of th
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
accessed 28 April 2013. Jemima was educated at home and began her literary career at the age of thirteen when she wrote some verses that were published anonymously in the ''Juvenile Friend'' magazine. She then studied under the well-known Christian writer

Caroline Fry Caroline Fry (31 December 1787 – 17 September 1846), a British Christian writer, later Mrs Caroline Wilson, was born and died at Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Life She was one of ten children born to John and Jane Fry. She married William Wils ...

, who was editor of ''The Assistant of Education'' (periodical).

Career

Inspired by her father's work with various missionary societies, Jemima decided after the 1837 death of her mother to do missionary work in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and managed to convince her reluctant father to sponsor her, but when she became ill just before embarking on the adventure, her father withdrew his support.Parr (1995) – see the online transcription available a
www.ensignmessage.com
. accessed 28 April 2013. Remaining at her father's home in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, Somerset, Jemima was teaching hymns to school children in nearby

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the 2011 ...

, when one summer morning in 1841 while riding the stage from

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, she composed some verses on the back of an envelope for a hymn that she named ''"The Child's Desire."'' When her hymn proved to be very popular with the children she was working with, her father published it in the ''Sunday School Teacher's Magazine'' (1841), which led to her becoming editor from 1841 to 1845 of ''The Missionary Repository,'' a new missionary magazine for children. Her hymn next appeared untitled and anonymously in 1853 as hymn no. 874 (in 3 stanzas of 8 lines) in the widely read ''The Leeds Hymn-book'', which led to subsequent publication in a number of Victorian hymnals. Because it appeared without a title in the Leeds book, it came to be known by the opening verse of ''"I think when I read that sweet story of old,"'', or simply either ''"The Old Sweet Story"'' or ''"The Story of Old"''. Although her fame generally rests on this one hymn, she went one to write several books, including, ''The Female Jesuit'' (1851), ''The Broad Road and the Narrow Way, a Memoir of Eliza Ann Harris of Clifton'' (1859), ''Winter Work'' (1864), ''Sketches of the life and character of Thomas Thompson'' (1868), which is a biography of her father, and her autobiography, ''The Early Years of my Life'' (1900).

Later years and death

Jemima married on 10 May 1843 in London the Reverend Samuel Luke (1809–1868), a Congregationalist minister who became pastor in 1847 of the Orange Street Church near

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

in London. They had two children – Jemima Elizabeth Luke (1844–1876) and Samuel Arnold Luke (1850–1903) – before moving in 1853 to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

City, when Jemima's husband became minister of the Hope Chapel at the

Clifton Down Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and t ...

Congregational Church. She remained in Bristol until her husband's 1868 death, after which she moved to Newport in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, where she became known as a passionate

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

. She acquired a reputation in her later years as being one of the oldest passive resisters in England, generally protesting various issues regarding children's education.e.g., "Aged Hymn-writer Sold Out for Taxes" in ''Deseret Evening News,'' Salt Lake City, Utah, Saturday, 6 February 1904, p. 11. She died at the age of 92 on 2 February 1906 at Newport.

References

Bibliography

* Free, Richard William (1888), ''Lux benigna, being the history of Orange Street Chapel: otherwise called Leicester Fields Chapel, etc.,'' W. B. Whittingham, London, 196 p. * Hadden, J.C. (2004),
Luke , Jemima (1813–1906)
, in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

,'' Oxford University Press, online edition. accessed 28 April 2013 * Julian, John (1907), "Jemima Luke" in ''A Dictionary of Hymnology (revised edition),'' J. Murray, London. Online transcription available a
www.hymnary.org
accessed 28 April 2013. * Luke, Jemima (1868), ''Sketches of the life and character of Thomas Thompson,'' Jane Nisbet & Co., London, 259 p. * Luke, Jemima (1900), ''The Early Years of My Life,'' Hodder & Stoughton, London, 162 p. * Parr, Lynn (1995), "English Hymn Writers: Jemima Luke" in ''This England (magazine),'' Autumn, 1995. Online transcriptions available a

an
www.bluegrassmessengers.com
accessed 28 April 2013

External links

Jemima Luke on Hymnary.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luke, Jemima 1813 births 1906 deaths 19th-century English writers 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English musicians English women poets English women songwriters English tax resisters English biographers English women non-fiction writers British women biographers British women hymnwriters