Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane
Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane was a Scottish hymn writer born on June 10, 1830, in Edinburgh. She was the fourth of seven children in the Clephane family, facing significant hardship early in life with the loss of both parents by her teenage years. Following these losses, she and her siblings moved to Melrose, where Clephane dedicated herself to charitable works within the community and the congregation of St. Aidan's Church. Clephane's literary contribution to religious music consists of eight hymns, the most renowned being "The Ninety and Nine," which is believed to have been inspired by her older brother's death in 1851. Although it was not published until 1868, her hymn gained prominence through the Evangelical revival meetings led by Dwight Moody and Ira D. Sankey, becoming a significant part of the religious experience for many in the Victorian era. Clephane passed away on February 19, 1869, leaving behind a legacy that highlights her devotion and impact within the realm of devotional literature.
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Subject Terms
Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane
Writer
- Born: June 10, 1830
- Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Died: February 19, 1869
- Place of death: Melrose, Scotland
Biography
Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane’s brief life was one devoted to God and good works. Born in Edinburgh on June 10, 1830, she was the fourth of Andrew Clephane and Anna Maria Douglas Clephane’s seven children. Her father, an advocate and sheriff of Fifeshire, died when she was only eight years old, and her mother died when Clephane was thirteen. Abandoned by their older brother, Clephane and her siblings moved to the town of Melrose where Clephane remained for the rest of her life, which she spent performing charitable works for the congregation of St. Aidan’s Church. Elizabeth Clephane died on February 19, 1869.
Clephane’s literary legacy consists of only eight hymns. Of those, the one for which she is famous is The Ninety and Nine. Said by some critics to have been composed in response to the death of her older brother in 1851, the hymn was not published until 1868, when it appeared in a children’s newspaper called The Children’s Hour. Other critics suggest that it was written in response to a solicitation made by the newspaper’s editor, Clephane’s cousin Hornsburgh. However it came to be written, it was noticed by both Dwight Moody and Ira D. Sankey, whose Evangelical services drew enormous crowds. The song became the signature hymn at their revivals.
That The Ninety and Nine became so well known indicates Clephane’s significance as a writer of devotional and religious literature. The hymn was a part of the literary experience and the religious life of thousands of Britians and Americans during the Victorian era.