East, James Thomas
1860-1937; e.m. 1886

WM minister, born on 28 January 1860 at Kettering. He wrote for the Methodist Recorder, Methodist Times, Joyful Newsand other religious periodicals, but is remembered for his hymn 'Wise men seeking Jesus' (HP 128), which first appeared in the WM School Hymnal in 1911. The strong family tradition that this was written when he was unable to visit the Holy Land because he had given money to enable someone to have an operation persisted despite attempts by his daughter Marjorie to deny it.