“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

After dinner Pa played hymn tunes on his fiddle, and all the afternoon they sang. They sang ‘There’s a land that is fairer than day…’ And ‘Jesus is a rock in a weary land…’ – The Long Winter, Chapter 13, “We’ll Weather the Blast”

     
A Shelter in the Time of Storm was written circa 1880, by Vernon J. Charlesworth. In 1884, it appeared in a small London newspaper called The Postman, and was soon a favorite of north-shore fisherman. The original hymn was set to a weird, minor tune, and sailors were often heard singing it as they approached safe harbor in the time of storm. Around 1885, Ira D. Sankey discovered the words written by Charlesworth and decided to compose a more practical melody to it for church use.

Although the fictional Ingalls family sings “A Shelter in the Time of Storm” in The Long Winter, the hymn post-dates the historical Hard Winter of 1880-1881. While writing the Little House series, Laura Ingalls Wilder must have been familiar with the hymn to have included it, and the tune she knew must have been Sankey’s, because she quoted the refrain which was not part of Charlesworth’s original. “A Shelter in the Time of Storm” does not appear in Wilder’s Hard Winter manuscript. Another of Sankey’s popular hymns, “The Ninety and Nine,” was included in Little Town on the Prairie.

Vernon J. Charlesworth (1839-1915) was a London pastor who served as headmaster of Charles Spurgeon’s Stockwell Orphanage.

Ira David Sankey (1840-1898) was born in Pennsylvania to devout Methodists. He was able to read music by the age of eight. He served as Private in the 12th Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War, often helping his unit chaplain lead soldiers in hymn singing. Following the war, he went to work for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). He became known as a gospel singer and, after attending a revival, left government work. Sankey composed over a thousand songs, helping popularize the use of hymns with lyrics written by contemporary composers and the playing of musical instruments in church worship services. For thirteen years he was president of Biglow and Main Publishing Company. After losing his sight, he continued his work by dictation.

     

“A Shelter in the Time of Storm” (TLW 13)
     “Jesus is a rock in a weary land”