   thumb|right|200px|rev. henry francis lyte henry francis lyte (1 june 1793 â 20 november 1847) was an anglican divine, hymn-writer and poet. ==biography== ===youth and education=== henry francis lyte was the second son of thomas and anna maria (nÃ©e oliver) lyte.henry james garland, henry francis lyte and the story of abide with me (manchester, england: torch publishing company, 1957). he was born at ednam, near kelso, scotland.faith cook, our hymn-writers and their hymns (darlington, england: evangelical press, 2005). the lyte family originated from somerset in south west england and was one of considerable prominence as early as the reign of edward i. its seat was at lytes cary manor, but the house passed out of the family in 1748. thomas lyte, an army captain, does not seem to have formally married anna maria oliver, although it has been argued that since they were accepted as man and wife in scotland where they lived, they were legally married according to scottish law. b. g. skinner, henry francis lyte: brixham's poet and priest (university of exeter, 1974), 1-2, 32-34. lyte's father was described as a "ne-er do-well ... more interested in fishing and shooting than in facing up to his family responsibilities"."henry francis lyte and the story of abide with me" (manchester, england: torch publishing company, 1957). he deserted the family shortly after making arrangements for his two oldest sons to attend portora royal school in enniskillen, county fermanagh; and anna moved to london, where both she and her youngest son died. the headmaster at portora, dr. robert burrowes, recognized henry lyte's ability, paid the boyâs fees, and "welcomed him into his own family during the holidays." lyte was effectively an adopted son.david robertson, "henry francis lyte" ===religious conversion=== after studying at trinity college, dublin and with very limited training for the ministry, lyte took anglican holy orders in 1815, and for some time he held a curacy in taghmon near wexford. lyte's "sense of vocation was vague at this early stage. perhaps he felt an indefinable desire to do something good in life."skinner, 17. however, in about 1816, lyte experienced an evangelical conversion. in attendance on a dying priest, the latter convinced lyte that both had earlier been mistaken in not having taken the epistles of st. paul "in their plain and literal sense." lyte began to study the bible "and preach in another manner,"
1793_births 1847_deaths Anglican_priests Christian_hymnwriters Deaths_from_tuberculosis Infectious_disease_deaths_in_France People_educated_at_Portora_Royal_School Scottish_Episcopalians Scottish_hymnwriters Scottish_poets