Orson P. Huish

Orson Pratt Huish was a hymnwriter and penned both the words and music to “Come Unto Jesus,” hymn #117 in the 1985 Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also wrote “Come, All Ye Sons of God” for men’s voice (#322) and “Guide Me to Thee (#101).

Huish was born on September 5, 1851, in Blaenavon, Monmouthshire, Wales. His parents named him after Orson Pratt who was president of the British Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time of his birth.

When Huish was nine years old, his mother and siblings traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, to reunite with his father. In 1861 they moved to Utah Territory and settled in Payson.

Huish was musically talented and started the Huish Band with his five brothers and a sister. They traveled throughout the territory performing for dances. He played the cornet but taught himself to play the french horn, guitar, bass viola, and piano. Many of his more than 300 compositions and poems remain unpublished. He wrote ballets, anthems, and the accompaniment for others’ poems.

Aside from music, Huish was a photographer and trained in commercial photography. He operated the firm Huish and Hinshaw and most of their work was done in Utah and Arizona. He photographed the Payson community and surrounding areas. Huish also painted and was included in a 1999 list of Artists of Utah. He also operated a general store periodically in Moab, Utah, Eugene, Oregon, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also opened Huish Drug.

Huish married Ann Pickering in 1872. They were the parents of eight children. She died in 1910 and he died on December 4, 1932, in Payson, Utah.