This broadside was a popular hymn in the 1800's and was sung in Methodist conference and prayer-meetings of the time. It was first written by William Apess or Apes (1798- 1839) who was an important early Native American author. Apess, a member of the Pequot tribe, whose mother may have been a slave of Native American and African American descent, was an itinerant Methodist preacher and was an important early voice for the civil rights of Native Americans. He may have written this hymn to use in his revivals and while preaching to Native Americans because the words of the hymn were written in what is called 'dialect speech'. It may be that this hymn was collected by the evangelicals as early as 1829 as it was found in Reuben Peaslee’s Choice Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs. It continued to be published in various collections throughout the 19th century with greatest frequency of publication and use in the 1830s and 1840s. After 1836 William Apess's name was no longer included as the author possibly due to his role in the Mashpee Revolt and his problems with his creditors starting in 1836.
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