Here's an excerpt from Thomas A. Dorsey :

"In 1931, Dorsey experienced great personal tragedy again: the death in childbirth of both his wife and newborn son devastated him. As he related in the documentary Say Amen Somebody, "People tried to tell me things that were soothing to me ... none of which have ever been soothing from that day to this." Out of that tragedy he wrote the song for which he is best known, "Precious Lord," which has been translated into 50 languages and recorded with success by gospel and secular singers alike, including Elvis Presley, much as Dorsey's "Peace in the Valley" was a hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford and others. In 1932 Dorsey was appointed musical director of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago, a post he held until his retirement in 1983. 1932 was also the year he formed the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses with blues singer Sallie Martin. Their collaboration would continue over the years as his fame spread, Martin often accompanying him on his tours around the country. She also helped him with his publishing business, which quickly became so successful that people nationwide called any piece of gospel sheet music a "Dorsey."...

[My italics added for emphasis]

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Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_A._Dorsey

"[Thomas A] Dorsey wrote "Peace in the Valley" for Mahalia Jackson in 1937, which also became a gospel standard. He was the first African American elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and also the first in the Gospel Music Association's Living Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Gennett Records Walk of Fame in 2007. His papers are preserved at Fisk University, along with those of W.C. Handy, George Gershwin, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers."