Ira D. Sankey?

Shadowy 19th century evangelists aren't interesting to most people.  In fact, since its long slide into politics and judgment, I find modern American evangelicalism pretty despicable. But I'm always interested in the history of social movements and philosophies.  Plus, I had a fiery fundamentalist Methodist grandmother who used to drag us off to Cherry Run Camp Meeting every summer.  So the phenomenon of religious revivalism in rural America intrigues me.   

Apparently a man named "Ira D. Sankey" wrote many of the rollicking old gospel songs that lilted up and down the valleys of the American frontier in that great shiver of evangelical fervor that followed the Civil War.  As I said, I'm not a fan of that kind of faith.  The modern variation of it has been the Billy Graham movement--which is fast fading away--and all the televangelists and megachurches of the religious right.  And yet, I have very fond memories of my grandmother going about her housework while singing these cloyingly sweet 19th century tunes with their pious words.  A little Internet research reveals that I have only the vaguest recollection of one of Sankey's songs, "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story." 

While traveling backroads in Lawrence County, I came across this historical marker in the village of Edinburg, which is apparently the birthplace of Ira Sankey.  Edinburg is in the darkling borderlands between Youngstown and New Castle, a farming area with a penchant for decaying industry; it's a zone that I've always considered a little spooky.  Click on the picture to enlarge it.  "Ira" is a great name.  If the Universe had granted me a son, I really would have liked to name him Ira, or maybe Malcolm, but I'm sure my wife would have objected to both.  Alas, no matter now.