Joseph Simpson Cook
1859 - 1933
Methodist
Biography
Joseph Simpson Cook (1859–1933) was an English-born Canadian Methodist minister and hymn writer. Born in Durham County, England, he pursued theological study in Canada, receiving a certificate from Wesleyan Theological College in Montreal in 1885 and later a B.D. He also earned an M.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1892 and an S.T.D. in 1903.
Cook served a long series of Methodist pastorates in Ontario, including Bayfield, Bluevale, Hensall, Ripley, Granton, Walkerville, Wallaceburg, Clinton, Ridgetown, Toronto, Meaford, and Gravenhurst. Alongside parish ministry he contributed articles and verse to church-related magazines. His writing therefore grew from the ordinary work of preaching, teaching, and communicating the Christian faith within Canadian Methodism.
His best-known hymn began as “Gentle Mary wrapped her child,” the first-prize text in a 1919 Christmas carol contest sponsored by the Methodist weekly The Christian Guardian. A revised form, beginning “Gentle Mary laid her Child,” entered The Hymnary of the United Church of Canada in 1930 and became the standard version. Cook’s surviving hymn texts are a small part of his broader ministerial career, but this Christmas carol secured his continuing place in North American hymnody.
Cook served a long series of Methodist pastorates in Ontario, including Bayfield, Bluevale, Hensall, Ripley, Granton, Walkerville, Wallaceburg, Clinton, Ridgetown, Toronto, Meaford, and Gravenhurst. Alongside parish ministry he contributed articles and verse to church-related magazines. His writing therefore grew from the ordinary work of preaching, teaching, and communicating the Christian faith within Canadian Methodism.
His best-known hymn began as “Gentle Mary wrapped her child,” the first-prize text in a 1919 Christmas carol contest sponsored by the Methodist weekly The Christian Guardian. A revised form, beginning “Gentle Mary laid her Child,” entered The Hymnary of the United Church of Canada in 1930 and became the standard version. Cook’s surviving hymn texts are a small part of his broader ministerial career, but this Christmas carol secured his continuing place in North American hymnody.
Hymns by Joseph Simpson Cook
Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
Role: Lyricist