author

Henry Francis Colby

A Baptist minister, hymn writer, and biographer, he spent decades in church leadership while also leaving behind devotional writing and memorial sketches. His work sits at the crossroads of faith, public service, and nineteenth-century American religious life.

1 Audiobook

Under Cæsars' Shadow

Under Cæsars' Shadow

by Henry Francis Colby

About the author

Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on November 25, 1842, Henry Francis Colby was the son of the philanthropist Gardner Colby. He studied at Brown University, earning an A.B. in 1862 and an A.M. in 1865, then continued at Newton Theological Institution, where he graduated in 1867.

Colby became a Baptist minister and served in church leadership for many years. According to Hymnary, he was pastor in Dayton, Ohio, from 1868 to 1903, and also held prominent roles including president of the Ohio Baptist Convention and president of the Board of Trustees of Denison University.

Alongside his ministry, he wrote hymns and prose works, including Restricted Communion and memoirs connected to Baptist and educational circles, such as a life of his father Gardner Colby. He died on May 8, 1915. No suitable confirmed portrait image was found during this search, so a profile image is omitted.