Author of “Old Rugged Cross” died

ON THIS DATE

George Bennard died 10/9/1958, Reed City, MI.  He was converted at a Salvation Army meeting and he & his first wife were Army officers.  Later he became a Methodist revivalist.

In 1913 he penned “The Old Rugged Cross,” once reported to be the song most recorded.  He also wrote the good song, “Oh Make Me Clean,” and scores of other Gospel songs.

 

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George Bennard – birth, Feb. 4, 1873

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

George Bennard was born this date, 2/4/1873, in Youngstown, Ohio. While he was still a lad his family moved to Io­wa (first Al­bia, then Lu­cas).  His dad, a coal miner, passed away when George was 16 and he supported his mother and four sisters for some time.

He started attending meetings of the Salvation Army and was converted to Jesus Christ. He met and married Araminta Statler Beeler (she was born in 1871 and died in 1941) and together they worked for the Salvation Army in Illinois. 

Later George became a Methodist evangelist traveling in both Ca­na­da and the States.  During this time he not only preached but wrote hymns (some 300 total).  None is so well known or so well loved as “The Old Rugged Cross” (1913). Another one worth singing and knowing is Speak, My Lord.

Eventually Reed City, Michigan became his home.  He died there 10/10/1958.  The Reed Cham­ber of Com­merce erected a cross near his place and Reed is home to The Old Rug­ged Cross His­tor­ic­al Mu­se­um.

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