Oc­to­ber 6, 1818, Long Is­land, New York.

May 20, 1883, Brook­lyn, New York.

Vail was a hat­ter by trade, but wrote a large num­ber of songs for Phil­lip Phil­lips, who was the first to pub­lish Vail’s com­po­si­tions. His works in­clude:

• The Athen­ae­um Col­lect­ion, 1863, con­tain­ing pre­vi­ous­ly un­pub­lished songs by Ste­phen Fos­ter
• Songs of Grace and Glo­ry, with Will­iam Sher­win (New York: Hor­ace Wa­ters & Son, 1874)

• Brown, pp. 235, 318
• Nutter, p. 467
• Reynolds, p. 427

1. Close to Thee, Helen
2. Gate Ajar for Me, The
3. Guiding Hand, The
4. Lyndhurst
5. Nothing but Leaves
6. O Be Saved
7. Palace of the King, The
8. Royal Songs
9. Scatter Seeds of Kind­ness
10. Where Is Thy Re­fuge?