Will Lamartine Thompson

William Lamartine Thompson was a noted American composer, best known for his hymns, born on November 7, 1847 in East Liverpool, Ohio.

Well-known works

Thompson began composing in his teens and in addition to hymns, wrote the popular songs "My Home on the Old Ohio" and "Gathering Shells from the Sea."

Both a lyr­i­cist and com­pos­er, Thompson en­sured he would al­ways re­mem­ber words or melo­dies that came to him at odd times. He said, "No mat­ter where I am, at home or ho­tel, at the store or tra­vel­ing, if an idea or theme comes to me that I deem wor­thy of a song, I jot it down in verse. In this way I ne­ver lose it."

Thompson is best known as the writer and composer of the classic Christian hymn, "Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling." It is thought to have been translated into more languages than any other hymn. It has been featured in the films "The Trip to Bountiful," "Junebug" and "A Prairie Home Companion" (sung by Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), and in the Anne Tyler novel "The Accidental Tourist."

Education and business

Thompson graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio in 1870. In 1873, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music and later continued his musical studies in Germany.

Thompson was rebuffed in an ear­ly at­tempt to sell his songs to a com­mer­cial pub­lish­er, so he eventually opened the W. L. Thompson Music Company in East Liverpool. By the 1880s, it was one of the most prominent and successful such businesses in the United States. Thousands of music teachers and musicians ordered sheet music, instruments and other supplies from Thompson's store. Thompson later founded a music and publishing company in Chicago.

Marriage, family and community

Thompson married Elizabeth Johnson. They had a son, William Leland Thompson (born 1895), who was known by his middle name. The Thompsons built a large hilltop mansion on Park Boulevard in East Liverpool. The house still stands and is known locally as "the Softly and Tenderly House."

Thompson took a strong interest in local history, and paid for a large stone and tablet to mark the spot where Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan and his raiders were captured near Lisbon, Ohio.

Final illness and death

Thompson fell ill dur­ing a tour of Europe, and his fam­i­ly cut short their tra­vels to re­turn home. He died a few weeks lat­er in New York City on September 20, 1909.

External links

* [http://www.louholtzhalloffame.com/honorees/2002/index.html Will Thompson, 2002 inductee, the Lou Holtz/Upper Ohio Valley hall of Fame in East Liverpool, Ohio]

* [http://www.thompsonpark.org/willthompson.html Thompson Park in East Liverpool, donated to the city by Will Thompson]

ee also

* Christian music
* Hymn
* Music publishing