Horatio Stafford, born in New York in 1828, was a lawyer and an elder in the Presbyterian church. He had grown up in a Christian family who were friends and supporters of the great evangelist Dwight L Moody.

Horatio was very successful in his work. He married a lady called Anna and they had children. But the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871 destroyed many buildings that he owned and he lost most of his money.

Two years after that he sent his family on ahead of him to their vacation in England where Moody would be preaching. He had work to finish and planned to follow them later. Their ship, the SS Ville de Havre, collided with another ship and although his wife survived his daughters tragically did not. Horatio received a telegram (similar to a text message but typed in a letter) ‘saved alone...’ and he was devastated. He wrote the lyrics to this song as he sailed over the very spot their ship had gone down.

The melody was written by Philip Bliss and he called the tune ‘Ville de Havre’ after the ship. He was born in 1838 in Pennsylvania. He did not have very much formal schooling but was mostly taught by his mother who taught him the Bible and how to pray. At 11 he left home to work. But he continued studying when he could and eventually became a school teacher.