The Background Story of “It Is Well with My Soul”

I have always loved the story of the hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.” Recently, I came across a treasure archived in the Library of Congress pertaining to the background of this familiar hymn. As with any treasure, it’s of great value, especially, to those of us who love the study of our hymn heritage.

A Treasure worth viewing:

• Anna Spafford’s Transatlantic Cable Message dated December 1, 1873, “Saved alone what shall I do?”
• The original hand-written manuscript of the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul”

Further research led me to Bertha Spafford Vester, Horatio Spafford’s daughter, born in 1878 after the sinking of the Vile du Havre. In her book, “Our Jerusalem,” she gives the following account of the events leading to her father writing this famous hymn.

“In Chicago, Father searched his life for an explanation. Until now, it had flowed gently as a river. Spiritual peace and worldly security had sustained his early years, his family life and his home. All around him people were asking the unvoiced question; ‘What guilt had brought this sweeping tragedy to Anna and Horatio Spafford?’ Father became convinced that God was kind and that he would see his children again in heaven. This thought calmed his heart, but it was to bring Father into open conflict with what was then the Christian world.

On the way across the Atlantic (in 1873), the captain called Father into his private cabin. ‘A careful reckoning has been made and I believe we are now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked.’

Soul Searching

Father wrote to Aunt Rachel, ‘On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down in mid-ocean, the water three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs, and there, before very long, shall we be too. In the meantime, thanks to God, we have an opportunity to serve and praise Him for His love and mercy to us and ours. I will praise Him while I have my being. May we each one, arise, leave all, and follow Him.’

To Father, this was, a passing through the ‘valley of the shadow of death,’ but his faith came through triumphant and strong. On the high seas, near the place where his children perished, he wrote the hymn that was to give comfort to so many: 

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know;
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”

That he could write such words at such a time was made possible by the fierceness of his struggle and the completeness of the victory.”

You can purchase a copy of her book through the Spafford Center, a physical and mental health center for the disadvantaged children of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The history of how the Spafford family established the center is worth the read.

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Interested in another hymn story visit here or check out our SATB choir arrangement of “It Is Well with My Soul“.