Midlane, Albert

(1825-1909)

   Born at Newport, Isle-of-Wight, he was a tinsmith and ironmonger. Reared as a Congregationalist, he later joined with the Plymouth Brethren and wrote over 800 hymns, used in many different hymnbooks. He died in Carisbrooke on the island and was buried in Carisbrooke Cemetery. As a child, and encouraged by his Sunday school teacher, he contributed verses to magazines under the pseudonym "Little Albert." He later wrote verses on national and historical prose and on local topics for the Isle of Wight County Press and other periodicals. His first hymn -"Hark! in the presence of our God"- written at Carisbrook Castle - was published in the Youth Magazine when he was seventeen. Possibly his best-known hymn is "There's a Friend for Little Children" written in 1859. When it was included in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1868), it was to the tune "In Memoriam" by Sir John Stainer (1840-1901). "Revive Thy Work O Lord" is included in many modern hymnbooks. Some of his other publications: Poetry Addressed to Sabbath School Teachers, 1844. Vecta Garland, 1850. Leaves from Olivet, 1864. Gospel Echoes, 1865. Above the Bright Blue Sky, 1867. Early Lispings, 1880.

   Sources: Biography of Albert Midlane: Spiritual Songsters (http://www.stempublishing.com/hymns/biographies/midlane.html). Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Cyber Hymnal (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/index.htm). The Oxford Book of Children's Verse. Iona Opie and Peter Opie, eds. Oxford University Press, 1973.