Josiah K. Allwood
Musician · 1828–1909 · Harrison County, Ohio
Best known for
Songwriter
Josiah K. Alwood was an Ohio-born United Brethren circuit-riding preacher who wrote both the words and tune to “The Unclouded Day” in August 1879 after sighting a moonlit rainbow on his late-night ride home from a debate. The hymn was first published in 1885 and has since become one of the most-recorded gospel songs in the country, bluegrass, and Southern-gospel traditions.
Assisted by AI.
Spot something off? Help us fix it.
- Born Josiah Kelley Alwood on July 15, 1828, in Harrison County, Ohio.
- Ordained by the United Brethren in Christ; spent years as a circuit rider, traveling on horseback to scattered preaching points.
- Later served as presiding elder of the North Ohio Conference and as a delegate to several denominational general conferences.
- Saw a rainbow through a single dark storm cloud, lit by moonlight, on his August 1879 ride home from a debate with an Adventist minister; the image became the seed of “The Unclouded Day.”
- Plucked out the tune on the family’s pump organ with one finger the next morning and finished the lyric in a single sitting.
- The song was first published in 1885.
- The hymn has since been recorded by Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, the Staple Singers, the Carter Family, and Billy Strings, among many others.
- Died January 13, 1909, in Morenci, Michigan.