The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1908-08-20
IRA D. SANKEY'S
VOICE HUSHED FOREVER
The Greatest Singer Of Revival
Hymns Dead.
WAS MoODYs CHIEF CowORKER.
After Five Years of Blindness He Passes
Away at His Home, in BrookIyn-An
Interesting Story of His Useful Life
His Love for the Organ Which he
Always Took With Him.

His Love for the Organ Which he
Always Took With Him.
New York Especially Ira D..
Sankey. the singing evangelist who
was for many years coworker with
the late Dwight l.. Moody. died
Thursday night at his home In
Brooklyn, aged So years. Five
years ago he was stricken with
blindness, and since that ume he
had lived in retirement in Brooklyn.
He received a large income from his
publications and had acquired 4 con-
siderable estate.
Mr.. Sankey was born in the little
town of Marlborough, Pa, on Au-
gust 2S, 1870. His father David
Sankey, served his State at cae time
as member OF the Senate. Aen
young Sankey was II years age
his parents moved to the ..earby
city of Newcastle, where t. young
man became interested in religious
work He. got to be class leader
in the Methodist Episcopal Church
there and later leader of the choir.
The work of the Young Mems Chris
tian Association of Newcastle also
attracted him and he was for num-
ber of years president of the asso-
citation branch in that place. When
the sounds of civil strife were first
heard in the clamorous days of 1861
young Sankey forgot all else but his
country and enlisted in the Twelfth
Pennsylvania Infantry. His subse-
quent career proved that he could
fight for his country as well as sing
to the glory of his God.
Joined With Moody.
1t was not until 1870 that Mr..
Sankey met Dwight l.. Moody. In
that year Mr.. Sankey went as dele
gate of the Young Mems Christian
Association to the International con-
vention of the association, held in
Indianapolis. There they met for
the first time the two young men
whose names were destined to be so
famously linked. They were fast
friends from the very first, and
about six months afterward the two
men became associated in the evan
gelistic work that became SO sue
cessful. Their first preaching was
done in Chicago. The Moody and
| Sankey services began with a half
hour of song by those assembled,
after which Mr.. Moody would preach
short sermon He would then call
upon Mr.. Sankey to sing some hymns
apropos of the theme upon which
he had preached. The magnetic per-
sonality of the singer, his full, round
voice and the heartrending simplicity
of the hymns usually sung by Mr.
| Sankey rarely failed to make a deep
| impression on his hearers.
In 1871 the two friends went to
| Great Britain and started the first
series of memorable Moody and San
key evangelistic campaigns there
| The songs of Philip Phillips, the first
singing evangelist" of p. P. Bliss
and Sankey's own compositions
made up the greater part of the
| hymnal that he drew upon during
| those first years of evangelistic worE
| in Chicago and Great Britain. On
little organ that Mr.. Sankey car
ried with him wherever he went In
those early days he composed his
hymns and played his own accom-
paniments at all the meetings.
Loved That Little Organ.
Mr.. Sankey kept that little orgar
till the day of his death. 1t wa:
his greatest pleasure and recreation
after he was stricken with blindnes!
TO be led into his library and to tn,
little bench before the keyboard
where he would spend happy hours
playing the beloved old tunes ant
singing the dear, well-known ole
hymns.
For nearly 40 years this little or
gan was his constant companion. HI
carried 1t all over the earth. NJ
other musical instrument played 81
important part in the religious
history of the world. Under the in
spired touch of Mr.. Sankey 1t lei
the singing in little Western towns
where only a few were gathered
and 1t led 10000 voices in Agri
cultural Hall in London. Next Il
the members of his family he lovet
the little organ more than Anything
else ne POSSESSED. bdll lleIeu IL
by many miles of travelling; the vel
low ivory keys are worn thin as
wafer, yet only Mr. Sankey's finger
touched them. On this he compose,
all the songs that added to his fame
And not only did Mr.. Sankey com
pose his own songs on this organ
not only did he use it in nearly al
the meetings in which he took s
prominent part, but on 1t he triel
the songs of others, which were in
cluded with his own in the book
that he edited-song books that hav
had a circulation exceeding that o
any publication with the exception
OF the Bible.
Mr. Sankey played on this orga
long before he dreamed of becomin
an evangelist. He always loved mu
sic, and I've could not remember whe
he did not sing He bought the OF
gan not long after he returned fror
the Civil War, and he composed so
Gospel hymns upon it.
Fourteen Hurt In Runaway.
CORY Pa. (SDecial1 .-Fourtee