Lelia Naylor Morris (April 15, 1862July 23, 1929) was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

hymnwriter A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

. Some sources give her first name as Leila, but her obituary, grave marker, and other sources give her name as Lelia. She is sometimes known as Mrs. Charles H. Morris, as (Mrs.) C. H. Morris, or as (Mrs.) C. H. M., having adopted her husband's forenames upon marriage after the custom of the time.

Biography

Morris was born in

Pennsville, Ohio Pennsville is an unincorporated community in Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History Pennsville was platted in 1828. The community took its name from Penn Township. Pennsville was originally chiefly settled by Quakers Quakers ...

. While still a child, she moved with her family to Malta, OH. Later, she and her sister and her mother ran a

millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

shop in McConnelsville, OH. In 1881, she married Charles H. Morris. The couple were active in the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

, and attended

camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...

s at places such as Old Camp Sychar, Mount Vernon, OH and Sebring Camp, Sebring, OH. In the 1890s, she began to write hymns and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

songs; it has been said that she wrote more than 1,000 songs and tunes, and that she did so while doing her housework. In 1913, her eyesight began to fail; her son thereupon constructed for her a blackboard long with oversized staff lines, so that she could continue to compose. Around 1928, she and her husband moved to live with their daughter in Auburn, NY, where she died. She is buried in McConnelsville Cemetery, McConnelsville, OH.

Songs

* "Are You Looking For The Fullness"Redemption Hymnal * "Bring Your Vessels, Not a Few", 1912Sing to the Lord (1993), Lillenas Publishing Co., Kansas City, Missouri * “Can the World See Jesus in You” * "Called unto Holiness" * "For A Worldwide Revival" * "For God So Loved This Sinful World" * "Fully Surrendered To Jesus The Lord" * "Hallelujah for the Blood" * "Holiness Unto the Lord", 1900 * "Hymn, to Fight!" * "I Know God's Promise is True", 1899 * "Let All the People Praise Thee", 1906 * "My Stubborn Will at Last Hath Yielded" * "Nearer, Still Nearer", 1898 * "Sanctifying Power", 1908 * "Sweet Will of God", 1900 * "

Sweeter as the Years Go By "Sweeter as the Years Go By" is a Christian hymn written by Lelia N. Morris in 1912. It has been included in 87 hymnals. Its subject-matter is expressed in the refrain: It has been recorded in various, mostly gospel, styles. In 1929, it was re ...

", 1912 * "The Fight is on" circa 1905 * "The Stranger of Galilee" * "'Tis Marvelous and Wonderful" * "Victory all the Time", 1901 * "Let Jesus Come into Your Heart"

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Lelia N. 1862 births 1929 deaths People from Morgan County, Ohio American Christian hymnwriters American Methodist hymnwriters Songwriters from Ohio American women hymnwriters People from McConnelsville, Ohio People from Malta, Ohio