Morris, Lelia Naylor 04/15/1862 - 07/23/1929

Lelia Naylor Morris (April 15, 1862 - July 23, 1929) was an American Methodist hymn singer.

Morris was born in Pennsville, Ohio. As a child she moved with her family to Malta, OH . Subsequently, she, her sister and her mother ran a fashion store in McConnelsville, OH . She married Charles H. Morris in 1881. The couple were active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and attended camp meetings in places like Old Camp Sychar, Mount Vernon, OH and Sebring Camp, Sebring, OH. In the 1890s she began to write hymns and gospel songs. It is said that she wrote more than 1,000 songs and melodies and did so while doing housework. In 1913 her eyesight began to fail. Her son built a 8.5 meter long blackboard with oversized staff lines for her in order that she could continue to compose.

Around 1928, she and her husband moved with their daughter to Auburn, NY where she passed away. She is buried at McConnelsville Cemetery in McConnelsville, OH.