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Jan 21, 1842 Brooklyn, New York, United States Died on 28 Apr 1925 (aged 83) Aquarius
James Vila Blake - Place of Birth, Date of Birth, Age, Wiki, Facts, Net Worth, Birthday, Biography and Family
James Vila Blake, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
About James Vila Blake
- James Vila Blake (1842–1925) was an American Unitarian minister, essayist, playwright and hymn writer and poet. Blake was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 21, 1842.
- He graduated from Harvard College in 1862, and from Harvard Divinity School in 1866.
- He served as pastor in several Unitarian churches in Massachusetts and Illinois.
- He died in Chicago on April 28, 1925.Different sources give different, and inconsistent, dates for his pastorates: 1868–1871 - Twenty-Eighth Congregational Society, Boston 1877–84 - Quincy, Illinois 1877–96 - Quincy, Illinois 1883–97 - Third Unitarian Church, Chicago 1892–1916 - Evanston, Illinois It is certain, however, that he was in Chicago on October 25, 1896.
- According to a contemporary report, he exhibited cool presence of mind when a serious fire broke out during a service.
- He was the last to leave the building, which by that time was full of smoke.
- Seconds later, it burst into flames and was consumed.He published many essays on religious and other subjects, sermons, poems, and plays. Notably, he collaborated with Frederick Lucian Hosmer and William Channing Gannett in the compilation and editing of Unity Hymns and Chorals for the Congregation and the Home (1880), an influential hymnbook which was reprinted several times.
- It includes several of his own hymns.
- A revised edition was issued in 1911. While pastor at Evanston, he penned a Covenant which has been adopted by many Unitarian Congregations: Several of his poems were set to music by the English composer John Ireland (1879–1962).
