502. Savior, lead me lest I stray
Frank M. Davis, 1839-96
The words and music were written on the deck of a steamer that plied between Baltimore and Savannah.
Frank M. Davis was born on a farm near Marcellus, New York, the youngest of a family of ten children. He began composing tunes at an early age and became a teacher of vocal and instrumental music. He travelled extensively through the eastern and southern states, directing chorus choirs and teaching vocal classes. He compiled several Sunday school collections, among them New Pearls of Song, 1877, and Notes of Praise, of which more than 100,000 copies were sold. Davis is the author of over 100 vocal and instrumental compositions. He died suddenly of heart failure at Chesterfield, Indiana, where he was attending a camp meeting.