Rev. Seymour Boughton Sawyer

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Haruo (Leland)

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Jul 28, 2021, 6:01:55 PM7/28/21
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Both 1991 Denson and 2012 Cooper say the words of 338 are by S. B. Sawyer, 1859 (and Denson says the tune Sawyer's Exit is by Massengale, 1850).  But Cooper adds that "Words were composed by Rev. Seymour Boughton Sawyer on the day of his death. He was born December 8, 1808, in North Carolina and died September 23, 1844, in Alabama. Music was inspired by Sawyer's Exit (Denson Book, pg 338)". I'm hoping to have 338 sung at my late wife's memorial service or the wake following in a couple of weeks (August 14), and looking at the Cooper version (I'll be following Denson on the tune) it suddenly occurred to me that if he died in 1844 and wrote the words the same day but in 1859 something is quite discrepant. I suppose it could just be a miracle, but I think it's still more likely to be an error. Can anybody add anything about Sawyer, his exit, and his poem? The tune is widely known here in the Seattle area as "Acres of Clams", formally "The Lay of the Old Settler", it's sort of a Seattle area national anthem, or was when I was a kid. 

David Olson

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Jul 28, 2021, 9:19:48 PM7/28/21
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wikipedia has a nice article 


Several US presidential campaign songs were set to the tune of "Old Rosin the Beau",[2] including for William Henry Harrison ("The Hero of Tippecanoe"),[3] Henry Clay ("Harry, the Honest and True")[4] and Abraham Lincoln ("Lincoln and Liberty").[5]

The melody was also used in several Irish rebel songs including "The Boys of Kilmichael", "The Men of the West" and "The Soldiers of Cumann na mBan". 

It would probably take longer than an hour to sing all the lyrics historically associated with this song. 

I like doing that, but seems to tax the patience of others in the group,

David Olson
Los Angeles


On Wed, Jul 28, 2021 at 3:01 PM Haruo (Leland) <rosh...@gmail.com> wrote:
Both 1991 Denson and 2012 Cooper say the words of 338 are by S. B. Sawyer, 1859 (and Denson says the tune Sawyer's Exit is by Massengale, 1850).  But Cooper adds that "Words were composed by Rev. Seymour Boughton Sawyer on the day of his death. He was born December 8, 1808, in North Carolina and died September 23, 1844, in Alabama. Music was inspired by Sawyer's Exit (Denson Book, pg 338)". I'm hoping to have 338 sung at my late wife's memorial service or the wake following in a couple of weeks (August 14), and looking at the Cooper version (I'll be following Denson on the tune) it suddenly occurred to me that if he died in 1844 and wrote the words the same day but in 1859 something is quite discrepant. I suppose it could just be a miracle, but I think it's still more likely to be an error. Can anybody add anything about Sawyer, his exit, and his poem? The tune is widely known here in the Seattle area as "Acres of Clams", formally "The Lay of the Old Settler", it's sort of a Seattle area national anthem, or was when I was a kid. 

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Wade Kotter

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Jul 28, 2021, 9:20:19 PM7/28/21
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My copy of the 1991 edition clearly says "S. B. Sawyer, 1850"; it does not say 1859, so it is "wrong" but only by six years. However, the death year of Rev. Sawyer as given in the 1991 edition was corrected to 1844 in The Makers of the Sacred Harp by Warren Steel and Dick Hulan. Changes/corrections/updates to the tune and text attributions in the 1991 ed. were one of the main reasons they wrote The Makers. The tune is more often referred to as "Old Rosin the Beau":


If you don't have a copy of The Makers, I recommend that you acquire one. Also, Warren Steel has posted list of Addenda and Corrigenda that updates some of the information in The Makers.


I did a quick search and I couldn't find anything more than that he was Methodist and apparently died of consumption, aka tuberculosis. When I get the time I'll try to do a more comprehensive search and let you know if I find anything else about him.

Wade

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"


On Wednesday, July 28, 2021, 04:01:56 PM MDT, Haruo (Leland) <rosh...@gmail.com> wrote:


Both 1991 Denson and 2012 Cooper say the words of 338 are by S. B. Sawyer, 1859 (and Denson says the tune Sawyer's Exit is by Massengale, 1850).  But Cooper adds that "Words were composed by Rev. Seymour Boughton Sawyer on the day of his death. He was born December 8, 1808, in North Carolina and died September 23, 1844, in Alabama. Music was inspired by Sawyer's Exit (Denson Book, pg 338)". I'm hoping to have 338 sung at my late wife's memorial service or the wake following in a couple of weeks (August 14), and looking at the Cooper version (I'll be following Denson on the tune) it suddenly occurred to me that if he died in 1844 and wrote the words the same day but in 1859 something is quite discrepant. I suppose it could just be a miracle, but I think it's still more likely to be an error. Can anybody add anything about Sawyer, his exit, and his poem? The tune is widely known here in the Seattle area as "Acres of Clams", formally "The Lay of the Old Settler", it's sort of a Seattle area national anthem, or was when I was a kid. 

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Robert Vaughn

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Jul 29, 2021, 12:03:01 AM7/29/21
to rosh...@gmail.com, David Olson, Fasola Discussions
The 1859 discrepancy can be traced back to the 1911 J. S. James book, which had that typographical error in it (beside the name of John Massengale). I am not aware that date was ever in the Cooper Edition The correct date that SAWYER'S EXIT appeared in The Sacred Harp is 1850. The 1844/1850 discrepancy is merely that the song was not printed in The Sacred Harp until about 6 years after the death of S. B. Sawyer, which occurred in 1844.

Sincerely,
Robert Vaughn 
Mount Enterprise, TX
Ask for the old paths, where is the good way
For ask now of the days that are past...
Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land.


Leland Ross

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Jul 30, 2021, 1:42:57 PM7/30/21
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Thanks, Robert (and everyone else). I didn't actually have any of the books in front of me when I wrote my OP. I was just working off the data given in the online text copies accessible from the "Indexes" page at fasola.org. The manner of Paula's passing, and the strong local associations of the tune (The Lay of the Old Settler) makes 338 to "Old Rosin the Beau" particularly appropriate for singing at her memorial it seems to me. Unfortunately, I probably won't have enough shape note skilled attenders to do a Sacred Harp style job of it, since the Buckley singings will be held that day.
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Leland Bryant Ross aka Ros' Haruo (呂須•春男)
Delegito en Seattle, Universala Esperanto-Asocio
My Hymn Blog | Mia Himna Blogo — The Seattle Esperanto Society
Sankta Harmonio (formnotacia libro plurlingva) — Biblioteko Culbert

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