Horatio G. Spafford

Horatio G. Spafford was a wealthy Chicago lawyer, husband, father, and Christian whose faith endured overwhelming loss. His young son died of pneumonia, and the great Chicago fire destroyed much of what he owned. Business kept Spafford behind when his wife and four daughters sailed for England, where their ship sank within minutes. His wife survived, but the girls did not. Traveling over the waters where they were lost, Spafford poured his grief and trust into words beginning, "It is well with my soul." His friend Phillip Bliss set them to music. The hymn did not deny sorrow; it expressed confidence in God while sorrow remained. Spafford's honest faith has comforted generations of people facing suffering they cannot explain.