Elizabeth Payson Prentiss was born October 26, 1818, into the
Congregationalist family of prominent pastor Rev. Edward Payson.
While her wonderful contributions to children’s literature
delighted generations of young Americans, she is best remembered
in Christian circles as the author of the hymn “More Love to
Thee, O Christ.” What is remarkable is that so poignant and
heartfelt a hymn was born of tragedy. As a young lady, she had
moved from her New England home to Richmond, Virginia, and
published her first children’s stories. She married George
Prentiss, a Presbyterian minister, and they moved to his new
pastorate in Massachusetts. During the next seven years they
were blessed with three children, but then in 1852, within the
span of a few months, they lost their two youngest children.
When their youngest died, she penned these words, at once
betraying a heart broken by loss, yet comforted by faith in the
goodness of God. While sharing the Calvinism of both her father
and husband, her writings display a dee