Ida Lilliard Reed was an American religious writer and music composer from Barbour County, West Virginia

Barbour County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there are 15,557 people, 6,123 households, and 4,365 families residing in the county. The population density is 46 people per square mile . There are 7,348 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

. She composed cantata

Cantata

A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

s, poems

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, and hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

s, totaling over 2,000 works.

Reed's works were taken up by several different Protestant denominations and translated into several languages. Her most popular hymn was "I Belong to the King" which was estimated by publishers Hall, Mack & Co. to have a circulation of four million copies. In 1940, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers recognized Reed’s "substantial contribution to American music" by awarding her a weekly "bonus.”
Reed’s family homestead near Arden

Arden, Barbour County, West Virginia

Arden is a small unincorporated community located along the Tygart Valley River in Barbour County in the north central portion of the U.S. state of West Virginia....

, West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

until 1991, when it was destroyed by fire. She is buried at Ebenezer Methodist Church at Arden.

Notable hymns

• "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)

Additional sources

• Songs of the Hills (1940), Boston: Meador Publishing Company (an anthology of Reed's works)