Nathan, the gospel songs of Sankey, Bliss and others are certainly great, and so are the stories of their lives. It is also great that the internet now lets me read these stories - Sankey in a boat in Lake Michigan riding out the Chicago Fire, Bliss dying in the train accident trying to save his wife, and on and on. It is also great that the ripples these folks started are still going today.
Also, interestingly, Sankey permitted Watcyn Wyn to do the only translation of songs from his book (into Welsh), because his wife had Welsh roots. If not for that, some of those famous "Welsh" gymanfa hymns would never had made it to Wales!
Chris