Henry Clay Work was a popular songwriter in the mid-19th century and wrote several patriotic songs for the Union during the Civil War. I believe Grandfather's Clock was written not very long after the war, although it may have been much later than I think. I have a date on it somewhere, if I remember to look it up!

One of Work's more infamous compositions is "Kingdom Coming," which he wrote as a jab to white Southern slave owners. It backfired, though, because the song became popular in the South. Personally it's one of my favorite tunes - we usually play it as an instrumental because this is one of those things where the words could cause chaos when sung to the wrong audience.