Thomas Obadiah Chisholm[a] (July 29, 1866 – February 29, 1960) was an American hymnwriter, poet, and Methodist minister.
Thomas Chisholm | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Obadiah Chisholm July 29, 1866 |
| Died | February 29, 1960 (aged 93) Ocean Grove, New Jersey, US |
| Other names | T. O. Chisholm[1] |
| Occupations | |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Religion | Christianity (Methodist) |
| Church | Methodist Episcopal Church, South |
| Ordained | 1903 |
| Writing career | |
| Genres | |
| Notable works |
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Chisholm was born on July 29, 1866, in a log cabin near Franklin, Kentucky.[4] He became a teacher at the age of 16.[5] Circa 1893, aged 27, Chisholm had a Christian conversion experience during a revival in Franklin led by Henry Clay Morrison.[6] Following his ordination in 1903,[7] served as a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for one year before resigning due to poor health.[8] After 1909 Chisholm began working as a life insurance agent in Winona Lake and later in Vineland, New Jersey.[5]
Chisholm wrote over 1,200 sacred poems over his lifetime, many of which appeared in various Christian periodicals, and he served as an editor of The Pentecostal Herald in Louisville for a period.[9] In 1923, Chisholm wrote the poem "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" which he submitted to William M. Runyan who was affiliated with the Moody Bible Institute and Runyan set the song to music.[10] He also wrote the lyrics "Living for Jesus", composed by C. Harold Lowden.[7] Towards the end of his life, Chisholm retired to the Methodist Home for the Aged in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.[5] He died on February 29, 1960, in Ocean Grove.[4]
