Hymn Writers of the Church

Johnson, Samuel, an Independent preacher, was born in Salem, Mass., October 10, 1822; was graduated at Harvard College in 1842, and at Cambridge Divinity School in 1846. In 1853 he established an Independent Church at Lynn, Mass., and continued as its pastor until 1870. Although independent in Church relations, he was associated in the public mind with the Unitarians. He was a man of strong intellect, a voluminous writer, and published many pamphlets and books. In connection with Rev. Samuel Longfellow, he compiled a Book of Hymns, 1846, and Hymns of the Spirit, 1864. He died in 1882. "His contributions to these collections," says Prof. F. M. Bird, "were less numerous but not less meritorious than those by Mr. Longfellow."