Daniel Otis Teasley was born October 25, 1876 in Christian County, Illinois, the eldest son of James A. and Rhoda (Hamilton) Teasley. After moves to Kansas and Texas, the family ended up in southern Missouri during Otis’ teenage years, settling in the borderline area of Oregon and Ripley Counties. On page 27 of his book, I Am the Lord’s, David L. Neidert says the Teasley’s home in Oregon County, Missouri, was located “approximately 6 miles” from Elm Store, Arkansas. (Elm Store, which is about 5 miles southeast of Myrtle, Missouri, was also the area where my paternal grandmother was born in 1902.) D. O. Teasley’s Uncle Nathan, his mother’s brother, was also living in Oregon County at Thayer, about 17 miles west of Myrtle, when the Teasleys were living in Oregon County. So, it is highly likely that D. O. Teasley passed through the little town of Myrtle, or at least knew its location. His residence was not far from Myrtle.
It was at a camp meeting near Doniphan, Missouri, about 30 miles northeast of Myrtle, that 18-year-old D. O. Teasley encountered the truth of the “evening light” and was converted on September 1, 1894. In 1896 he entered the ministry and became a useful vessel for the Lord in many capacities, including songwriting, for which he is best known. On January 31, 1901, he married Ora Howard in Rootville, Pennsylvania.
D. O. Teasley composed the music to more than 80 songs, writing the words to at least 30 of those. He co-edited four songbooks published by the Gospel Trumpet Company: Salvation Echoes (1900), Truth in Song (1907), Select Hymns (1911), and Songs of Grace and Glory (1918). He also wrote articles for The Gospel Trumpet paper as well as authored several books.
My paternal grandmother, Bessie (Reynolds) Sorrell was introduced to the truths of the Evening Light Reformation through D. O. Teasley when, as a young woman, she was picking cotton near the little town of Light, Arkansas. While there, D. O. Teasley came and held a meeting in that area. She attended, recognized the Bible truth he was preaching, and embraced it.
Although D. O. Teasley did not remain faithful and later backslid from the truth he once preached, the fruit of his labors for the Lord in his early life yet remain, and the wonderful songs he wrote are still blessing thousands of souls. He departed this life November 15, 1942, in Orange County, California, at the age of 66 years. His body was laid to rest in Fairhaven Memorial Park, Santa Ana, California. On his tombstone are inscribed a phrase from the words of one of the most solemn songs he ever wrote, #409 in the Evening Light Songs, “Eternity.” The inscription on his stone reads “WHERE TIME AND ETERNITY MEET.”
