It Is Well with My Soul

His misfortunes began when he lost his 2-year-old son from scarlet fever; shortly thereafter, in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 he was ruined financially. In 1873 he had planned to take his family to Europe for a change, but was delayed on business and sent his wife Anna and four daughters ahead. During the Atlantic crossing, the steamship Ville du Havre sank after a collision with another vessel, and the four Spafford girls died; his wife survived.

While travelling on a ship to be reunited with his wife, Horatio Spafford was passing by the site where his four daughters had drowned, and the rolling waves made him think of another time, another world to come, and he wrote these superb lyrics.

But the story of this family was not over. The Spaffords had 3 more children,then in August 1881 they set out for Jerusalem with a small group of people and set up the American Colony, devoted to philanthropic work among the people of Jerusalem, gaining the trust of the local Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. Spafford died in 1888 of malaria, and was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery, Jerusalem.

The performance in the video is by the Gaither Vocal Band, a very popular American gospel group, named after its founder Bill Gaither. The lineup of the band often changes, with artists leaving for solo careers, and others coming to replace them.