E. E. Hewitt
Musician · 1851–1920 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Best known for
Songwriter
Eliza E. Hewitt was a Philadelphia schoolteacher and Presbyterian hymn writer whose “When We All Get to Heaven,” “Sunshine in My Soul,” and “More About Jesus” — the last set to a John R. Sweney tune — entered the standard American gospel repertoire in the 1880s and 90s. A debilitating back injury at the hands of an unruly student ended her teaching career and turned her toward full-time writing.
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- Born Eliza Edmunds Hewitt on June 28, 1851, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Graduated as valedictorian of the Girls’ Normal School of Philadelphia and became a public-school teacher in the city.
- Was struck across the back with a heavy slate by an unruly student while trying to discipline him; the injury left her with a chronic spinal condition that ended her teaching career.
- Turned full-time to gospel-song writing during her long convalescence.
- Wrote “More About Jesus Would I Know,” first published in 1887 in Glad Hallelujahs with a tune by John R. Sweney.
- Wrote “Sunshine in My Soul,” “When We All Get to Heaven,” “Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown?,” and “Give Me Thy Heart, Says the Father Above.”
- Taught the primary Sunday-school class at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia until her death.
- Died April 24, 1920, at age 68.
