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Samuel Trevor Francis was born on November
19, 1834 in a village north of London. His father, a merchant and
artist, soon moved the family to the city of Hull, midway up the
English coast. As a child, Samuel enjoyed poetry and even compiled a
little handwritten volume of his own poetry. He also developed a
passion for music, joining the church choir at age nine.
As a teenager, however, Samuel struggled spiritually. And when he
moved to London for work, he knew things weren't right in his heart.
One night, as he thought of suicide while walking a bridge over the
Thames, he experienced a spiritual encounter that renewed his faith.
Francis later became a London merchant, but his real passion was
hymn writing and open-air preaching, which occupied his remaining
seventy-three years. His hymns were published in The Life of Faith and
other papers and periodicals. And he traveled widely, preaching for the
Plymouth Brethren. He was known throughout Great Britain and the world
as an effective devotional speaker and died on December 28, 1925, at
the age of ninety-two.
Born: Nov. 19, 1834 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England
Died: Dec. 28, 1925 in Worthing, Sussex, England