Ida Lilliard Reed (30 Nov 1865 - 8 Jul 1951), a West Virginia country girl, became renowned for her religious writings. She wrote over 2,000 cantatas, hymns, and poems. Her hymns continue to be sung in Protestant congregations throughout the world.
Even though her songs were many, she sold them for only a dollar or two, which was a small price even for the time period. On such a meager income and due to physical infirmities, she was destitute most of her adult life. As early as 1928, churches had fund raisers to collect money for Ida. In 1940, Richard J. Marks, president of the Independent Theater Owners of West Virginia informed the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), an organization based on the rule that "anyone who creates worthwhile music shall not want for necessities of life, of Ida's destitute conditions. After William J. O'Brien, then district manager of Pittsburgh chapter of ASCAP, learned of the 79 year old's plight, he saw that she received a weekly stipend for life.
Family and Early Years
Ida was th fourth of six children, born to James Harrison Reed and Nancy Jane Lillard, both from the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. Ida was born a little over seven months after the end of the Civil War in the Pleasant District (present day Arden) of Barbour County, WV.
Even though her songs were many, she sold them for only a dollar or two, which was a small price even for the time period. On such a meager income and due to physical infirmities, she was destitute most of her adult life. As early as 1928, churches had fund raisers to collect money for Ida. In 1940, Richard J. Marks, president of the Independent Theater Owners of West Virginia informed the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), an organization based on the rule that "anyone who creates worthwhile music shall not want for necessities of life, of Ida's destitute conditions. After William J. O'Brien, then district manager of Pittsburgh chapter of ASCAP, learned of the 79 year old's plight, he saw that she received a weekly stipend for life.
Family and Early Years
Ida was th fourth of six children, born to James Harrison Reed and Nancy Jane Lillard, both from the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. Ida was born a little over seven months after the end of the Civil War in the Pleasant District (present day Arden) of Barbour County, WV.
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