H. L. Turner

H. L. Turner (fl. late 1800s) was a nineteenth-century American hymn lyricist best known for the gospel song “Christ Returneth (It May Be at Morn)”, set to music in 1878 by composer James McGranahan and published in Gospel Hymns and similar revival song collections of that era. The song expresses Christian hope in the return of Christ and reflects the eschatological emphasis that was common in post-Civil War American evangelical hymnody. 

Biographical details about Turner are scarce and not well documented in standard hymnological sources, and there is no definitive authoritative biography of him in major hymn reference works. Some hymn scholars and bloggers who study historical gospel song texts have suggested that the initials H. L. may stand for Henry Lathrop Turner (1845–1915) of Oberlin, Ohio, a Civil War veteran, poet, and prominent citizen of Chicago in the late nineteenth century who also wrote secular poetry and was described in contemporary sources as having literary interests and occasional verse publications. This identification remains a strong possibility suggested by secondary researchers but cannot be confirmed with certainty, and no direct primary evidence linking him to the hymn exists in major databases.

The hymn “Christ Returneth” itself became widely known in evangelical circles during revival campaigns and was used in congregational settings to encourage believers in Christian hope and watchfulness. Because of the lack of detailed historical records, H. L. Turner is principally known through the enduring presence of this hymn text in gospel songbooks rather than through a fuller documented life story, and his identity beyond authorship remains a subject of historical interest rather than settled fact.