Once My Way Was Dark And Dreary

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (1851 – 1920)

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt was born in Philadelphia on 28 June 1851, and she became one of America’s most beloved hymn writers of her generation. She was educated in the Philadelphia public schools and, after completing high school, began a career as a teacher. Early in her life she developed a serious spinal illness that forced her to leave the classroom and remain at home for many years. During this period of convalescence she devoted herself to the study of English literature and felt a growing desire to serve her church through writing.

Hewitt began composing poems and simple instructional verses for the primary department of her Sunday school. Her gifts were soon recognized, and she became active in the Philadelphia Elementary Union and was appointed Superintendent of the primary department at Calvin Presbyterian Church. Her work among children and her deep spiritual life shaped her hymn writing and gave her a heartfelt concern for expressing biblical truth in language that was accessible to all ages.

She wrote under her own name and occasionally under the pseudonym Lidie H. Edmunds. Many of her hymns emphasize the joy of salvation, the beauty of Christ’s love, and the believer’s daily walk with God. Her best known hymns include “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing,” “More About Jesus Would I Know,” and “Sun of My Soul.” Her hymns have been sung in churches across the English-speaking world and continue to be treasured in many hymnals.

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt died in 1920. Her legacy remains in the rich catalog of hymns that have comforted and inspired Christians for more than a century.