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Rev. Josiah Kelley Alwood D.D. was born in Harrison County,
Ohio July 15, 1828. At the age of eight Josiah moved with his father and
mother to Fulton County, Ohio. Here Josiah spent most of his youth, working.
His education suffered because of there was not enough money to send Josiah
to school. The little education he did receive as a child consisted of
reading by firelight the few books that were accessible. According to his
own testimony Josiah's conversion came at the age of thirteen. As Josiah
grew he began to teach school in the winters and work as a carpenter in the
summer. At an early age Josiah felt the calling to pursue a better education
so he enrolled at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio; but with the
scarcity of money Alwood had to resign from the university. In 1854, Alwood married Elizabeth Dinius; together they had seven children. Three years later in 1857, under the leadership of Rev. J. Curtz, Alwood received a license to exhort. And in 1859, he was received into the North Ohio conference as a licensed preacher. Thus began the Evangelistic carrier of Josiah Kelley Alwood. As with many of the circuit preachers in the middle of the nineteenth century, his first appointments were separated and were only reached on horseback. He was a very committed preacher and went through dense forest, and creeks to reach his congregations. In the early days of Rev. Alwood's ministry a tragic event took place; his wife of 14 years died. A year later in 1869, he married Sarah S. Hodges of Lenawee County, Michigan. They had one son Olin G. Alwood, who grew to become a preacher like his father and a Bishop of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Alwood's preaching assignments took him to many parts of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. In his 50 years as a minister he was an able preacher who had a great sense of logic in his preaching. Alwood was blunt, and straightforward He focused many of his sermons on holiness and faith; he also spoke out against secret societies. Alwood was a prolific writer who wrote several pamphlets and contributed many articles to the Christian Conservator. The most well known accomplishment credited to Josiah was the hymn, “Unclouded Day”. According to Josiah the idea for the song came about in 1879 while returning from a debate over Christian doctrine. Early in the morning around 1 a.m. traveling home from the debate Alwood saw “a beautiful rainbow” against a dense black sea of nimbus clouds. After reaching his home Alwood went to bed but the remembrance of the rainbow stayed with him until morning. When Josiah woke he went to the organ in his home and composed “Unclouded Day”. The story has taken many forms depending on which generation of the Alwood family is telling it. Josiah’s son O. G. Alwood said in 1924, “the event happened between 1881 or 1882.” On the return home from a debate Josiah saw a rainbow by moonlight, the rest follows Josiah’s account. O. G. Alwood’s daughter related the final account of this story. She said the event happened while Josiah was coming home from a church service. J. K. Alwood was “impressed with the beauty of the heavens”. There were no clouds in the sky, and a bright moon shone, and an unusual rainbow was in the heavens. He was inspired to write down some words before he went to bed and wrote the tune in the morning after the event. “Unclouded Day” is a beautiful song from a man that earnestly sought after God’s heart. Josiah died January 13, 1909 at the age of 80 after serving over 50 years in Christian ministry. article by Josh Mackey, HM 2001 Sources: Alwood, O. G. "The Unclouded Day." Christian Conservator 12 Mar. 1924:4. Writings: Alwood, Josiah K. "A Rainbow at Midnight and a Song in the Morning." Christian Conservator 23 Feb. 1896:10. |
