Lyricist: Edmund Hamilton Sears
From HymnsWithoutWords
Biography
Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810 – 1876) was a Unitarian parish minister and author who wrote a number of theological works influencing 19th century liberal Protestants. Sears is known today primarily as the man who penned the words to It came upon a midnight clear in 1849.
Born on April 6, 1810, the youngest of three sons of Joseph and Lucy (Smith) Sears, Edmund grew up on a farm within sight of the Berkshire Hills, in Sandisfield, Massachusetts. He attended Union College, in Schenectady, New York, and became a member of the ΔΦ Fraternity. After graduating in 1834, Sears studied at Harvard Divinity School and graduated from there in 1837. He preached as a missionary in Toledo, Ohio, remaining nearly a year. He then served Greater Boston Unitarian congregations in Wayland, Lancaster, and Weston and edited "The Monthly Religious Magazine" for twelve years with Rev R Ellis. He died January 14, 1876, in Weston, Massachusetts.
Other Published Works
- Regeneration, 1853;
- Athanasia;
- Calm on the Listening Ear of Night;
- Pictures of the Olden Time, 1857;
- The Fourth Gospel, the Heart of Christ, 1872;
- Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life, 1875.
