Bios of hymn book compilers

In addition to the information on Edward Billups, I have also written a couple of pieces on Jesse Mercer and Benjamin Lloyd.

Two Important Southern Hymn Books: Mercer’s and Lloyd’s
Two Important Southern Hymn Books; Comparing Mercer's and Lloyd's

Thought some of you might be interested.

 

Hi, Bible Thumpin n Gun Totin,

I'm certainly glad you have received some benefit from these posts -- and glad that you are interested in old hymn books. Warren Steel and Steven Sabol try to keep an update on a few of these books on their Sacred Harp and Related Shape-Note Music: Resources. The information on Primitive Hymns is in Chapter 1.

Primitive Hymns can be ordered from Primitive Hymns Corporation, and the last price they had was $12.75 plus postage. You might need to contact them for a current price, but it sounds like they will ship and bill.

Primitive Hymns Corporation
Box 92
Rocky Mount, NC 27802-0092

Both Lloyd's and Mercer's hymn books are now available through Amazon from print on demand publishers. This is the only source I am aware of for Mercer's book, but Lloyd's book is much cheaper from the Primitive Hymns Corporation (and hardback).

The Primitive Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Sacred Poems
The Cluster of Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems

I've made a few changes in the Mercer/Lloyd piece, but I haven't tried to change it on Blogger because I've been having problems when I do edits, with Blogger automatically and arbitrarily just changing font sizes and I don't have time for that grief right now. I got information from a Primitive Baptist in south Georgia that the 700 hymn version of the Lloyd book will no longer be printed. I changed the last sentence of the first paragraph to: "The Primitive Hymns remains in use for song services of churches 175 years after it was first published." Its corresponding footnote (now fn 1) reads:

1. It is mostly used in Primitive Baptist churches, but this author is aware of its use in a few unaffiliated Baptist churches in north Alabama and north Georgia. The majority version of this hymn book contains 705 hymns. This is a revision of the 1900 edition, which had left out “There was a Romish lady, brought up in popery.” “The Romish Lady” was later reinstated and five other hymns added. The minority version contains 700 hymns and is the same as the books published from 1845 to 1893. In the 1900s the family published the main edition of 705 hymns, as well as the older edition with 700 hymns in 1946 and 1963 for those who preferred it. After the formation of the Primitive Hymns Corporation, the Alabaha River Primitive Baptist Association arranged for a printing of the 700 hymn edition in 1975. (See Benjamin Lloyd’s Hymn Book, Cauthen, pp. 86-87.) The 700 hymn edition was reprinted at least as late as 2002, but is no longer available.