After the war, Joseph Webster returned his focus on writing ballads and hymns. He opened a saloon and one of of its patrons was Sanford Fillmore Bennett, the local pharmacist. who would later write the lyrics for "In the Sweet By and By."
According to local legend, Webster walked into Bennett's pharmacy in a despondent mood, but had his violin with him. When Bennett asked what was wrong, Webster responded that he would be alright "by and by."
Picking up on the phrase, Bennett began writing verses and a chorus, and Webster began to work out a melody on his violin. In a short time, they had written "In the Sweet By and By." The original words are on display at the Webster House Museum in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
The song was published in "The Signet Ring" and later in numerable hymn and songbooks.
The Chicago Fire in 1871 destroyed many of Webster's manuscripts, instruments and possessions where he had stored them in the offices of his Chicago publisher, Lyon and Healey. As a result, Webster and his family suffered substantial royalty losses and his heirs filed suit in 1906, but didn't receive settlement money until 1921.
--Old Secesh
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