Born: Oc­to­ber 6, 1818, Long Is­land, New York.

Died: May 20, 1883, Brook­lyn, New York.

Vail was a hat­ter by trade, but wrote a large num­ber of songs for Phil­lip Phil­lips, who was the first to pub­lish Vail’s com­po­si­tions. His works in­clude:

• The Athen­ae­um Col­lect­ion, 1863, con­tain­ing pre­vi­ous­ly un­pub­lished songs by Ste­phen Fos­ter
• Songs of Grace and Glo­ry (with Will­iam Sher­win) (New York: Hor­ace Wa­ters & Son, 1874)

Sources

Music

1. Close to Thee, Helen
2. Gate Ajar for Me, The
3. Guiding Hand, The
4. Lyndhurst
5. Nothing But Leaves
6. O Be Saved
7. Scatter Seeds of Kindness
8. Where Is Thy Refuge?