Charles Albert Tindley

Charles Albert Tindley
Short Name: Charles Albert Tindley
Full Name: Tindley, Charles Albert, 1851-1933
Birth Year: 1851
Death Year: 1933

Charles Albert Tindley was born in Berlin, Maryland, July 7, 1851; son of Charles and Hester Tindley. His father was a slave, and his mother was free. Hester died when he was very young; he was taken in my his mother’s sister Caroline Miller Robbins in order to keep his freedom. It seems that he was expected to work to help the family. In his Book of Sermons (1932), he speaks of being “hired out” as a young boy, “wherever father could place me.” He married Daisy Henry when he was seventeen. Together they had eight children, some of whom would later assist him with the publication of his hymns.

Tindley was largely self-taught throughout his lifetime. He learned to read mostly on his own. After he and Daisy moved to Philadelphia in 1875, he took correspondence courses toward becoming a Methodist minister. He did this while working as a sexton (building caretaker) for the East Bainbridge Street Church. Beginning in 1885, he was appointed by the local bishop to serve two or three-year terms at a series of churches, until coming full circle to become pastor at East Bainbridge in 1902. Under his leadership, the church grew rapidly. They relocated in 1904 to the East Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, then again in 1924 to the new Tindley Temple, where the membership roll blossomed to about ten thousand.

Tindley was known for being a captivating preacher, and for also taking an active role in the betterment of the people in his community. His songs were an outgrowth of his preaching ministry, often introduced during his sermons. Tindley was able to draw people of multiple races to his church ministry; likewise, his songs have been adopted and proliferated by white and black churches alike.

The songs of Charles Tindley were published cumulatively in two editions of Soul Echoes (1905, 1909) and six editions of New Songs of Paradise (1916-1941).

His wife Daisy died in 1924, before the completion of the Tindley Temple. He remarried in 1927 to Jenny Cotton. Charles A. Tindley died July 26, 1933.


Texts by Charles Albert Tindley (56)sort descendingAsAuthority LanguagesInstances
A better day is coming, A morning promised longCharles A. Tindley, 1851-1933 (Author)English3
At times I wonder why it isCharles Albert Tindley (Author)2
Beams of heaven, as I goC. A. Tindley (Author)English21
Bye and bye, when the morning comes (Chorus)Charles Albert Tindley (Author)English1
Christ is the way, in exaltationC. Albert Tindley (Author)English3
Come, everyone that loves the LordCharles Albert Tindley (Author)English3
Come, saints and sinners, hear me tellCharles A. Tindley (Author)English1
Come, whosoever feels the needC. Albert Tindley (Author)English3
Cuántas veces en el mar de la vida al navegarC. A. T. (Author)Spanish3
Ever since I have been Living in a world of sinCharles A. Tindley (Author)English6
Go, ye humble pilgrim strangerC.A. Tindley, D.D. (Author)English4
Here I may be weak and poorC. A. Tindley, D.D. (Author)English6
I am a poor pilgrim of sorrow, Cast out in this wide world to roamCharles A. Tindley (Author)English3
I am free from condemnation, Jesus' blood has made me freeCharles A. Tindley (Author)English5
I am thinking of friends whom I used to knowC. A. T. (Author)English21
I am thinking of the danger of the life I used to liveCharles A. Tindley (Author)English2
I can see down yonder where I had my dwellingCharles A. Tindley (Author)English3
I have found at last the SaviorCharles A. Tindley (Author)English6
I have found the peace of heavenCharles A. Tindley (Author)English2
I have heard of a tree, a great Christmas treeCharles Albert Tindley (Author)English9
I hear of a city, a heavenly homeCharles A. Tindley (Author)English2
I often wonder why it isCharles A. Tindley (Author)English4
If some disease has robbed youCharles A. Tindley (Author)English2
If the Savior wants somebody just to fill a humble placeCharles A. Tindley (Author)English4
If the world from you withhold of its silver and its goldCharles A. Tindley, 1851-1933 (Author)English60
If your life in days gone byCharles A. Tindley (1851-1933) (Author)English9
I'm on my way to heaven above Where all are free from careCharles A. Tindley (Author)English3
It may be a brother with whom I did playCharles A. Tindley (Author)English4
I've wandered in the darkness long enoughC.A. Tindley (Author)English4
Lifetime is like a single dayCharles A. Tindley (Author)English2
Like the action of the ground, on its axis turns aroundCharles A. Tindley (Author)English2
Majaribu ni mengi yanayotujiliaCharles Albert Tindley (Author)Swahili1
My life, as a year, had a bright springtimeCharles A. Tindley (Author)English4
Nothing between my soul and the SaviorC. A. Tindley (Author)English108
Courage, my soul, and let us journey onCharles A. Tindley (Author)English10
One day, a wayward boyC. A. T. (Author)English4
Since I began to serve the LordC. A. T. (Author)English4
سيرنا هنا محاط بهموم وآلامCharles Albert Tindley (Author)Arabic1
The hills of life which you must climbC. A. T. (Author)English4
The world of forms and changesCharles A. Tindley (Author)English5
There is a land that is free from tearsCharles Albert Tindley (Author)English4
There was Naaman the leper, that honorable manCharles A. Tindley (1851-1933) (Author)English8
This world is one great battlefieldCharles A. Tindley (Author)English11
Thou, O Christ, my Lord and KingCharles A. Tindley, 1851-1933 (Author)English5
Todo va bien con Cristo y mi almaCharles Albert Tindley (Author)Spanish2
Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understandCharles A. Tindley (Author)English35
We are a band of strangersC.A. Tindley (Author)2
We are often tossed and driven on the restless sea of timeC. A. T. (Author)English73
We shall overcome, We shall overcome (Spiritual)Charles Albert Tindley, 1851-1993 (Author)English1
What if all the world was given unto meCharles Albert Tindley (Author)English2
When the pathway of duty seems with danger filledC. A. Tindley, D.D. (Author)English4
When the storms of life are raging, Lord, stand by meCharles A. Tindley, 1851-1933 (Author)English2
When the storms of life are raging, Stand by meCharles Albert Tindley (Author)English52
Ye pilgrims through this vale of tearsCharles A. Tindley (Author)English5
You ask me where I get the joysC. A. Tindley (Author)English5
You have waited too longCharles Albert Tindley (Author)English2

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