Henry Barraclough, was born on December 14, 1891, in Hind Hill, York, England. He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in August 1983. He was educated in England.
He studied organ and piano when he was five years old.
He worked as a claims adjuster for the Car and General Insurance Company.
In 1911-1913, he was secretary to George Scott Robertson, a Member of Parliament.
The Lusitania
He then joined, at the age of 23, the famous Chapman Alexander evangelistic team as a pianist. He was five feet, two and a half inches tall, with dark hair and brown eyes. He followed them to America, sailing from Liverpool, on December 14, 1914, with just $55, and arriving at New York on December 23. He was to meet up with C.A. Alexander at a hotel in New York. The ship was the Lusitania, a ship that was 762 feet long and 87 feet wide. It had four stacks and four screws, with 68,000 horsepower. It set the trans-Atlantic speed record for the British. Just five months after the evangelistic team sailed on it, the ship that was torpedoed by the Germans, on May 7, 1915. The ship sunk in just 18 minutes, killing 1,198 people, who were making their way from New York to England.
Henry registered for the draft for World War I, in Johnson City, New York, on June 5, 1917. He was 25 years old, single, short, stout, with brown eyes and dark hair, and no balding. He was living in Bible School Park, New York. He did not have an address, because he was travelling as a Gospel Pianist for C.M. Alexander, Evangelist. As far as citizenship, he had declared his intention.
Henry served in the war and attained the rank of sergeant major.
In the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, he was secretary and then administrator from 1919-1961. He wrote 20 new hymns and texts, and 120 new tunes.
Some of his hymns include:
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Sources:
The photo of Henry Barraclough can be found at: http://www.cyberhymnal.org
William J. Reynolds, Baptist Hymnal. Broadman Press, 1976. page 344
Forrest M. McCann, Hymns & History. A.C.U Press, 1997. page 206
The Ambassador Book of Great Hymn Stories. Ambassador Publications, 2001. page 73-74
Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.
Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. Registration Location: Broome County, New York; Roll: 1712045
Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Original data: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
