John Blain

Blain, John. (Fishkill, New York, February 14, 1795--December 26, 1879, Mansfield, Massachusetts). Baptist. Studied at Fairfield (New York) and Middlebury (New York) academies. Pastored for nearly sixty years in : Auburn, New York City, York, and Syracuse, New York; Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island; New London, Connecticut; Charlestown and Mansfield, Massachusetts. He was also an evangelist and baptized about three thousand persons. He gave large sums to missions while living, and willed his property to home and foreign missions.

The one hymn for which Blain is remembered is a parting hymn written in 1818, and published in the Original and Selected Reformation Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1829). Comprising twelve stanzas, the hymn begins:

My Christian friends in bonds of love,
Whose hearts in sweetest union prove;
Your friendship's like a drawing band,
Yet we must take the parting hand.

A part of this hymn, altered by Rev. H.L. Hastings, later appeared in Songs of Pilgrimage (1886).

Paul R. Powell (?), DNAH Archives