Root’s music­al tal­ents were ev­i­dent at an ear­ly age. By the time he was 13, he was proud that he could play a tune on as ma­ny in­stru­ments as his age. In 1838, Root moved to Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts, where he stu­died under George Webb. In 1845, he moved to New York City, play­ing the or­gan at the Church of the Strang­ers, and teach­ing mu­sic at the Ab­bott In­sti­tute for Young Ladies. In 1850, he toured Eur­ope for a year. Af­ter­ward, he start­ed work­ing with Lowell Mason, at Bos­ton’s Acad­e­my of Mu­sic. In 1851, Root be­gan com­pos­ing. In 1859, Root be­gan work at his bro­ther’s com­pany, Root and Cady, in Chi­ca­go, Ill­i­nois. In 1872, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Chi­ca­go award­ed him an hon­o­rary Doc­tor of Mu­sic de­gree. He had two sons, Frederick and Charles T. Some of his best known se­cu­lar songs are The Bat­tle Cry of Free­dom; The Old Folks Are Gone; A Hun­dred Years Ago; Old Po­to­mac Shore; Ro­sa­lie, the Prair­ie Flow­er; The Va­cant Chair; Ha­zel Dell and There’s Mu­sic in the Air. His other works in­clude:

• The Young La­dies Choir, 1846
• Academy Vocalist, 1848
• Flower Queen, cantata (words by Fanny Crosby), 1848
• Daniel, cantata, 1852
• The Pil­grim Fa­thers, cantata, 1854
• Belshazzar’s Feast, cantata, 1855
• Festival Glee Book, 1856
• Haymakers, cantata, 1856
• Sabbath Bell, 1856
• The Hay­mak­ers, 1857
• Diapason, 1860
• Cabinet Organ School, 1863
• Musical Curriculum, 1864
• Silver Lute, 1865
• Coronet, 1867
• Triumph, 1868
• The Prize (Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio: John Church & Co., 1870)
• Forest Choir, 1871
• Model Organ Method, 1872
• Glory, 1872
• Choir and Congregation, 1875
• First Years in Song Land, 1879
• Palace of Song, 1879
• Song Tournament, 1879
• Chorus Castle, 1880
• Under the Palms, Sunday School cantata, 1880
• David, the Shepherd Boy, Sunday School cantata, 1881
• The Realm of Song, 1882
• The Choicest Gift, Sunday School cantata, 1883
• Pure Delight, 1883
• The Sto­ry of a Mu­sic­al Life, 1891, an au­to­bi­o­gra­phy

Sources

Lyrics

1. Behold the Bridegroom Cometh
2. Clear as Crystal
3. Come to the Savior
4. Inasmuch
5. O the Way Is Long and Weary
6. She Only Touched the Hem of His Garment
7. Thou Art My Rock
8. Why Do You Wait?

Music

1. Coventry
2. Ellon
3. Jerusalem, Thou City Bright
4. Jewels
5. Knocking, Knocking, Who Is There?
6. Lowry
7. My Father Knows
8. O Where Are the Reapers?
9. Rialto
10. Ring the Bells
11. Rosedale
12. Sinclair
13. Suffer Little Children
14. Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
15. Varina
16. We Are Watching
17. We Come in Childhood’s Joyfulness