Hymn Story: Haven of Rest

The Haven of Rest was written by H. L. Gilmour.

Gilmour was born in Londonderry, Ireland in 1836 and emigrated to America as a teenager. He married Letitia Pauline Howard in 1858. After serving in the American Civil War and spending several months at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia he went on to become a dentist.

He helped found the Methodist Church in Wenonah, NJ in 1885. For four decades, he directed the choir at Pittman Grove Camp Meeting. He was an editor, author, and composer and composed 25 songs. He died in 1920 in Delair, NJ, after a buggy accident.