"I Surrender All" was put to music by Weeden, and first published in 1896 in "Gospel Songs of Grace and Glory", a collection of old and new hymns by various hymnists, compiled by Weeden, Van DeVenter, and Leonard Weaver, and published by Sebring Publishing Co. The following year, Van DeVenter and Weeden also published their jointly written gospel hymn "Sunlight". Weeden, born in Ohio in 1847, taught in singing schools prior to becoming an evangelist, and was a noted song leader and vocalist. Weeden published many hymns in several volumes, including "The Peacemaker" (1894), "Songs of the Peacemaker" (1895), and "Songs of Sovereign Grace" (1897). His tombstone is inscribed with the title of this hymn, "I Surrender All".