Background and early years Sankey was born in
Edinburg, Pennsylvania, on August 28, 1840, one of nine children of
David Sankey and his wife Mary Leeper Sankey. The family's ancestry was English on the father's side and a mix of Scottish and Irish on the mother's. David Sankey was a banker, a former state senator and a
Methodist lay preacher. As a young boy Ira displayed a love of music that was encouraged by his parents, who typically spent evenings with him at home, singing hymns. At the age of eight, he began attending
Sunday school. When he was 19, Ira underwent an experience of religious conversion at a revivalist meeting held at a nearby church, King's Chapel. A year later the family moved to
New Castle, where the young Sankey joined the local
Methodist Episcopal Church. His enthusiasm and talents were quickly recognized and led to his appointment as Sunday school superintendent and choirmaster. In the army he continued his religious and singing activities, forming a choir and assisting the chaplain. When his period of enlistment was over he returned to New Castle, where Lincoln had appointed his father as a Collector of Internal Revenue. In 1863 Sankey joined his father in government service and, that same year, married Fanny Edwards, a member of his choir. Sankey watched the conflagration from a small boat in which he rowed out into
Lake Michigan. The fire destroyed Moody's church, and Sankey returned temporarily to New Castle. However, he soon received a message from Moody asking him to come back to Chicago and resume the partnership. and this congregation was unused to the kind of gospel songs – "human hymns" – that Sankey introduced. Gradually, however, the British public was won over, halls were filled, and Sankey's "singing the gospel" became a popular feature of the services. The tour extended over two years, with meetings in most of the main British cities. When it reached London, congregations included many of the most prominent in the land, including
Queen Victoria, the
Princess of Wales, and the statesman
William Ewart Gladstone. Moody and Sankey returned home in the summer of 1875, to considerable acclaim after their successful British tour, and quickly established themselves as the leading revivalists of their times. Meetings in the southern states were subject to racial segregation. Concerning a meeting in
Meridian, Mississippi, Sankey noted: "we have one side of the [tabernacle] for blacks. D.L. has them sing alone, sometimes just to show the white people how to sing".
Later campaigns The campaign made a second visit to Britain in 1881. The schedule was similar to that which had been followed on the first British tour, involving mass rallies in a large number of cities. This time, the pair's popularity and renown assured them of full houses wherever they went. One innovation was the construction of a portable tabernacle, capable of seating up to 5,000 people, which was transported from city to city. Towards the end of the tour Sankey's voice broke down and he was forced to return to the United States, where he and his family bought a house in
Brooklyn, New York. For the next few years, he spent his winters there and the summers with Moody, either in Northfield or on campaigns. A third British tour took place in 1891, involving meetings in 99 towns. Again, Sankey overstrained himself and had to return home early. In 1893 Moody and Sankey conducted a major campaign in Chicago, as part of the
World's Columbian Exposition. Once more, the strain on Sankey's voice was too great, causing his temporary withdrawal. But despite ill health he continued to work with Moody, at a lower degree of intensity, until the time of the latter's death in December 1899. As a tribute to his long-time partner, Sankey wrote and composed the hymn "Out of the Shadowlands" for Moody's funeral. The following year, after Moody's death, he embarked on his final visit to Britain and addressed a meeting of 20,000 in London, but as the tour progressed his health failed him and he returned to his home in Brooklyn. He continued to do editorial work, but by 1903 he had lost his eyesight to
glaucoma. Sankey died at Brooklyn on August 13, 1908, just short of his 68th birthday. His funeral took place at the LaFayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, which he had joined in his final years, ==Appraisal==