Background
Ida L. Reed was born to James and Nancy J. (née Lelliardt) Reed on Rock Camp Run, near Philippi, West Virginia, in Barbour County.
Ida L. Reed was born to James and Nancy J. (née Lelliardt) Reed on Rock Camp Run, near Philippi, West Virginia, in Barbour County.
Early Her family was of Scotch, English, and German heritage and originally settled in Virginia. One of eight children, Reed"s childhood was fraught with illness, death, and poverty. She believed God divinely inspired her to write hymns.
Reed composed cantatas, poems, and hymns, totaling over 2,000 works.
Her most popular hymn was "I Belong to the King" which was estimated by publishers Hall, Mack & Company to have a circulation of four million copies. Hymns were regularly sold for $1 during her time, yet Reed received "top price of $2" for some of her work.
In 1940, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers recognized Reed’s "substantial contribution to American music" by awarding her a weekly "bonus.” In addition to hymns and songs, she also wrote poems, children"s stories, and books Her autobiography was published in 1912.
Reed died at the age of 85 in 1951.
She is buried at Ebenezer Methodist Church at Arden. Reed’s family homestead near Arden, West Virginia was listed on the National Register of Historic Places until 1991, when it was destroyed by fire. "I Belong to the King" (1896) "I Cannot Drift Beyond Thy Love" (1906) "Lift Thy Face to the Light!" "Somebody’s Praying for You" "Steady, Brother, Steady" (c 1913), Boston: Meador Publishing Company (an anthology of Reed"s works).