Eden Reeder Latta was born in Haw Patch, Indiana [USA], the son of a Methodist minister and became a school teacher. During the American Civil War, he preached for the Manchester Methodist Church and other congregations. In 1863, he married Mary Elizabeth Wright and they had five children. He taught in the public schools of Manchester and later in Colesburg, Iowa. He moved to Guttenberg, Iowa in the 1890s and continued to write song lyrics for several prominent gospel composers, including William Ogden, James McGranahan, James Fillmore, and Edmund Lorenz. He wrote over 1600 songs and hymns, many of which were very popular in his day. He died in Guttenberg, Iowa.
