we shall meet on that beautiful shore

One of the immortal songs in the English language which has stirred humanity profoundly by its sweeping, conquering inspiration, is Dr. Sanford Fillmore Bennett's famous hymn, known everywhere and in all languages as "In the Sweet By and By." Music is the universal language of emotion, and to the millions of people who have sung this famous song, and have been carried away by it, without perhaps knowing how it was written, the subsequent narrative of its history, from a personal statement received from its author, is of especial interest. As it has been published in numerous collections of sacred music in America, and also has been translated into various foreign languages, even Chinese, as well as having been sung in every land under the sun, it has given its author an enduring place among the world's poets.

Dr. Bennett was born in the village of Eden, Erie County, New York, June 21, 1836. In 1858 he entered the University of Michigan, leaving to take charge of the schools at Richmond, Illinois. Two years later he resigned his position and went to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where for a brief time he was associate editor of The Independent. After the Civil War he opened a drug store, and it was there where he became associated with J.P. Webster, and they published numerous songs, under the name of "The Signet Ring," to which Dr. Bennett contributed over 100, among them "The Sweet By and By." It was in the village of Elkhorn where it first saw the light of day. Dr. Bennett, in a letter dictated shortly before his death, spoke of the origin of "The Sweet By and By" as follows:

"I write you the following in regard to the history of 'The Sweet By and By.' As a further matter of history, which I have often repeated, I desire to say again, that it was about time for closing the store in the evening that J.P. Webster, whose melodies have made Wisconsin famous forever, came into the store somewhat depressed. Mr. Webster like many musicians, was of an exceedingly nervous and sensitive nature, and subject to periods of depression, in which he looked upon the dark sides of life. I had learned his peculiarities so well that on meeting him I could tell at a glance if he was melancholy, and had found that I could rouse him by giving him a new song to work on. He came into my place of business, walked down to the stove, and turned his back on me without speaking. I was at my desk writing. I said to Webster, 'What is the matter now?' He replied, 'It is no matter; it will be all right by and by.'

"The idea of the hymn came to me like a flash of sunshine, and I replied: 'The Sweet By and By, why would not that make a good hymn?' "Maybe it would,' he said indifferently. I then turned to my desk, and penned the hymn as fast as I could write. I wrote it with lead pencil on both sides of a common sheet of note paper. The third verse was written on the opposite side of the paper, and as I wrote the third line in the stanza of four lines my pencil gave out, and I wrote the fourth line with pen and ink. In the meantime two friends had come in. I handed the hymn to Mr. Webster. As he read it his eyes kindled, and his whole demeanor changed. Stepping to the desk he began writing the notes instantly. In a few minutes he requested Mr. Bright to hand him his violin, and he played with little hesitation the beautiful melody from the notes. A few minutes more and he had jotted down the same for the different parts and the chorus. I do not think it was more than thirty minutes from the time I took my pencil to write the words before the hymn and the notes had been completed, and we four gentlemen were singing it exactly as it appeared in 'The Signet Ring' a few days later, and as it has been sung in the world over ever since. I remember that when we had finished singing a remark was made by R. R. Crosby of Richmond, Illinois, who happened to be in the store, and I shall never forget it, for with tears in his eyes, he uttered the prediction, 'That hymn is immortal.' It was made public very soon after, and has been sung in every part of the world.'

In 1871, Dr. Bennett went to Richmond, Illinois, where he taught school. In 1874 he took a course at the Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which he was graduated, and he remained in active practice in this city until 1883, when he accepted a place with the Keeley Institute. For three years he was the medical director of various institutions in Denver, Pueblo, and Aspen, Colorado; Detroit and Alma, Michigan; and Plainfield, Illinois. In 1893 he returned to Richmond on account of the loss of his health, and remained there until his death in 1898. During the last months of his illness his sight was affected.

Side by side with "Home, Sweet Home," the "Sweet By and By" will stand as one of the famous songs of the English language, and in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, its melody will ascent, and leap, and pierce into the depths of infinite time. - The New York Times, 29 June 1901

"Sweet By and By" holds a special place in Laura Ingalls Wilder lore. In her Pioneer Girl memoir, Wilder wrote: "Pa played by ear and a tune once heard, he could play and never forget. He loved to play the hymns we had sung in the little church in Walnut Grove, 'Sweet Hour of Prayer,' 'Nearer My God to Thee,' 'Let the Lower Lights be Burning,' but of all, 'The Sweet By and By' was his favorite, so much that it was sung at his funeral." In "First Memories of Father" (see A Little House Reader, edited by William Anderson), Wilder paid tribute to Charles Ingalls, saying: "I am sure that when I come to die, if Father might only be playing for me I should be wafted straight to heaven on the strains of 'The Sweet By and By,' for the pearly gates would surely open." In both published The Long Winter and the surviving manuscript, Pa sings this and other hymns at night while a blizzard is raging.
- posted by pioneergirl at 9:21 PM