Was it Really Well with the Spaffords’s Souls?
(Spoiler alert. If you love the song, don’t read this blog post).
English: Picture of Horatio Spafford (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A lawyer and church elder in Chicago following the Civil War, Horatio Spafford lost almost everything in the famed Chicago fire of October, 1871–the one allegedly caused by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow.
Pretty much ruined, Horatio decided to take his family to Europe in December 1873 to regroup. At the last minute, Horatio had to deal with yet another financial difficulty and sent his wife Anna and four daughters, Annie, Bessie, Maggie and Tanetta, ahead to France on the Ville du Havre.
Halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, the Ville du Havre was struck by another ship.
Anna Spafford grabbed the baby and led the girls to the top deck where they tried to get into a life boat. Twelve minutes after the accident, the bow broke and eleven-year-old Annie Spafford said, “Don’t be afraid. The seas is His and He made it.”
The girls were swept into the frigid water and the baby was sucked from Anna’s arms as the ship sank. A lifeboat captain later found Anna floating unconscious on a piece of wood.
Once arrived in Wales on a rescue ship, Anna wired to her unsuspecting husband: “Saved Alone.”
Horatio sailed immediately to join her. When they reached the coordinates where the Ville du Havre sank, the captain brought Horatio to see the empty ocean. That night he penned the poem “It is Well With My Soul,” which became the song.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain: It is well, with my soul, It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.
Up until this week, the above was all I knew about the Spaffords. The song itself has always been special to me.
I recently, however, read a biography of Lowell Thomas and he referenced The American Colony in Jerusalem, noting the Spaffords relocated to the Holy Land a few years after the ship sank and spent the rest of their lives there ministering to the local population. Thomas first met Anna Spafford and her two daughters (born after the tragic loss of her other children) during World War I.
Further research took me to a terrific book which details the story: Jane Fletcher Geniesse’s American Priestess: The Extraordinary Story of Anna Spafford and the American Colony in Jerusalem.
In a nutshell, perhaps emotionally damaged because of the fire, the loss of the children, the humility of financial ruin, Spafford gathered a band of believers and took them [image error]to Jerusalem (on someone else’s money) where they performed charitable acts and waited for the Messiah’s return. Horatio died seven years after their arrival and Anna became the head of a cult-like organization that took Jesus’ words seriously about helping those in need.
They fed and helped educate Muslims, Jews, Christians and Turks in late-nineteenth century Jerusalem. During World War I, as Americans and thus neutral, they ran hospitals in the ancient city.
Anna was a seer who ruled her followers with an iron fist and routine prophecies. A group of industrious Swedish immigrants joined her fellowship in 1896 to await the Messiah’s return. For many years, members of her flock lived in celibacy and poverty; turned over all income and resources to Anna’s religious order; and were separated from the children they brought with them–who received only a meager education. Since Anna preached the Messiah was coming soon, there was no need for education or even book reading.
But they fed the poor and provided a place where Muslims, Turks, Jews, Christians and foreign visitors could mingle and talk. The American Colony Photography studio took most of the significant photos of Jerusalem during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, including documenting the great locust famine of 1915. The fellowship, as a religious organization, ended within a decade of Anna’s 1922 death.
Geniesse summed up Anna Spafford’s life like this:
“Anna Spafford dreamed there would be peace between peoples, frequently declaring to her fellowship that ‘love could conquer disunity,’ and in many ways this is the American dream, rich with the conviction that there should be no distinctions between races, genders, ethnicities, or classes, with freedom and democracy available to all.
“. . . Perplexed, fearful of the future, swept by events out of their control, they did their best under the circumstances. The Spaffords in particular had to find a way to overcome crippling emotional wounds, while the Swedes and other members were overly susceptible to strong religious influences, paying the price in their captivity to Anna, who was hardly the first and certainly will not be the last, to use religion as a tool in the service of goals having more to do with Caesar than with God.”
I wanted the Spafford’s story to be a tale of deep religious faith that overcame the tragedies and pointed people to Jesus, just as that song does. I’m not so sure that’s what happened.
(You can read about Elisabeth Elliott’s tea with Anna’s daughter here.)
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That is fascinating. It makes me sad--I still love the song, still see the truth in what he wrote, even if he couldn't fully live it out, afterward. It serves as a warning that producing great works for God doesn't insulate us from our own human weakness and sinfulness ... you know? We tend to want to believe that it does.
Absolutely, Shannon. I'm sorry Horatio didn't find the peace the song suggests. I still love the song, however, and find great strength in its words. Thanks for sharing.
