Henry Francis Lyte (1793 - 1847)

Born 1 Jun 1793 in Ednam, Roxburghshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Anne (Maxwell) Lyte — married 21 Jan 1818 in Walcot, Somerset, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 20 Nov 1847 at age 54 in Nice, Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont

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Biography

Henry Lyte is Notable.

Henry Lyte was born in Scotland.

Henry Francis Lyte

Reverend Henry Lyte was an Anglican minister, hymn writer, and poet. He wrote the hymn "Abide With Me", which was gallantly sung by those remaining on the SS Titanic when it sank.

His Early Years

Henry was born on 1st June 1793 at Ednam, near Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland, Henry Francis Lyte was the eldest son of Thomas Lyte and his wife, Anna Oliver. He was christened in the parish church at Ednam on 13th June 1793. ^[1][2] Thomas Lyte has been described as a 'ne'er-do-well ... more interested in fishing and shooting than in facing up to his family responsibilities', who deserted his family shortly after making arrangements for his two oldest sons to attend Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Anna then moved to London. ^[3]

The headmaster at Portora, Dr. Robert Burrowes, recognized Henry's abilities, paid the boy’s fees and, effectively, adopted him. After studying at Trinity College, Dublin, and with very limited training for the ministry, Henry took Anglican holy orders in 1815. In 1816, Henry experienced an evangelical conversion; began to study the Bible and 'preached in another manner'. ^[3]

In 1817 he met Anne Maxwell, the 31-year-old daughter of a well-known Scottish-Irish family and a keen Methodist. Henry and Anne married on 21st January 1818 in St Mary Chapel Church, Walcot, Somerset. ^{[4] [5]} They had two daughters and three sons, one of whom was the chemist and photographer Farnham Maxwell-Lyte. Henry's son Henry William Maxwell Lyte was baptized on 25 December 1818 in Marazion, Cornwall, England.^[6] Henry's daughter Anna Maria Maxwell Lyte was baptized on 23 April 1822 in Dittisham, Devon, England.^[7] Henry's son John Walker Maxwell Lyte was baptized on 14 July 1825 in Brixham, Devon, England.^[8] A grandson was the well-known historian, Sir Henry Churchill Maxwell-Lyte.

His Ministry Work

Appointments followed at Sway, Hampshire; Dittisham, Devon, on the River Dart; Charleton, Devon; and Lower Brixham, a Devon fishing village. At Brixham, Henry added to his clerical income by taking resident pupils into his home. He also visited the fishermen at their homes and on board their ships in harbour, supplying every vessel with a Bible, and compiling songs and a manual of devotions for use at sea. ^[3] At the time of the 1841 England and Wales census, Henry, a clergyman, Ann (wife), Ann (daughter), John, and Farnham Lyte were listed as living at Brixham, Devon, along with a governess and seventeen other people. ^[9]

The Hymn Abide With Me

Henry spoke Latin, Greek, and French; enjoyed discussing literature; built his library to become 'one of the most extensive and valuable in the West of England'; and wrote poetry and prose. His first composition was Tales in Verse Illustrative of Several of the Petitions in the Lord's Prayer (1826). He later published Poems, Chiefly Religious (1833), and a small collection of psalms and hymns entitled The Spirit of the Psalms (1834). After his death, a volume of Remains (1850) with a memoir was issued. Henry Lyte is best-known for Abide With Me, the hymn gallantly sung by doomed passengers and crew as the SS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912: ^[3]

"Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;

When other helpers fail, and comforts flee;

Help of the helpless, Oh, abide with me."

Abide With Me became a favourite of King George V and King George VI and was sung at the former's funeral. The hymn also inspired Field Marshal Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener and General Charles 'Chinese' Gordon, and is said to have been on the lips of Edith Cavell as she faced a German firing squad. ^[3]

His Death

He suffered debilitating asthma and bronchitis for much of his life, Henry passed away, aged 54 years, in Nice, Kingdom of Sardinia on 20th November 1847, and is buried in Cimetière Communal de Ste Marguerite, Nice. ^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ OPR Baptism indexes; LYTE, HENRY FRANCIS; THOMAS LYTE & ANNA MARIA LYTE FR523; M; 13/06/1793; 788/ 10 127; Ednam
2. ↑ Howard, Joseph Jackson; Crisp, Frederick Arthur, Visitation of England and Wales, Volume 5, Privately Printed (1897), page 153
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Wikipedia profile: Henry Francis Lyte; accessed 3 Jun 2020
4. ↑ Free UK Genealogy, “ Transcript, St Mary Chapel Church, Walcot, Somerset” database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/58186507e93790eb7fb7f083) : accessed 21 Jun 2019
5. ↑ Marriage: "Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914"
   Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Somerset Parish Records, 1538-1914; Reference Number: D\P\wal.sw/2/1/69
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 60858 #2420160 (accessed 19 January 2023)
   Henry Francis Lyte marriage to Anne Maxwell on 21 Jan 1818 in Walcot St Swithin, Somerset, England.
6. ↑ Baptism of son Henry William Maxwell Lyte: "England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
   England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013
   Ancestry Record 9841 #104666682 (accessed 19 January 2023)
   Henry Francis Lyte's son Henry William Maxwell Lyte baptism was held on 25 Dec 1818 in Marazion, Cornwall, England.
7. ↑ Baptism of daughter Anna Maria Maxwell Lyte: "England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
   England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013
   Ancestry Record 9841 #35082918 (accessed 19 January 2023)
   Henry Francis Lyte's daughter Anna Maria Maxwell Lyte baptism on 23 Apr 1822 in Dittisham, Devon, England.
8. ↑ Baptism of son John Walker Maxwell Lyte: "England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
   England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013
   Ancestry Record 9841 #80999820 (accessed 19 January 2023)
   Henry Francis Lyte's son John Walker Maxwell Lyte baptism on 14 Jul 1825 in Brixham, Devon, England.
9. ↑ Free UK Genealogy "England, Scotland and Wales Census" database, FreeCEN (https://www.freecen.org.uk/search_records/5a1451fff4040b9d6e454e05 : accessed 21 Jun 2019) [data about Henry LYTE in household of Henry LYTE]; citing Piece: 10 Place: Haytor Enumeration District: 20 Civil Parish: Brixham Ecclesiastical Parish: 227 Folio: 34 Page: Schedule: Berry Head House.
10. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #116081504

See also:

• Wikipedia: Henry Francis Lyte
• Wikidata: Item Q1606761, en:Wikipedia
• Maxwell-Lyte, Henry Churchill, "The Lytes of Lytescary," Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1892, Part II", Taunton, Somerset: Barnicott and Pearce (1892) page 85.