Henry Alford
Born: October 7, 1810, Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England.
Died: January 12, 1871, Canterbury, Kent, England. For his own epitaph, he wrote: Deversorium viatoris proficientis Hierosolymam (The inn of a pilgrim traveling to Jerusalem).
Buried: St. Martin’s, Canterbury, Kent, England.
Alford wrote the following in his Bible at age 16:
I do this day in the presence of God and my own soul renew my covenant with God and solemnly determine henceforth to become his and to do his work as far as in me lies.
Alford attended Ilminster Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1833. He was Curate at Winkfield, Wiltshire, and Ampton, and Vicar at Wymeswold, Leicestershire (where he served 18 years). In 1853, he went to Quebec Chapel, London; in 1857, he became dean of Canterbury Cathedral. He was also a scholar, producing volumes on Homer, English poetry, and the Greek New Testament. His works include:
Poems and Poetical Fragments (Cambridge, England: J. J. Deighton, 1833)
Psalms and Hymns, 1844
Poetical Works, 1845
The Year of Praise, 1867
Source: The Cyber Hymnal