Bilhorn’s family name was originally Pulhorn; it was changed by a judge in Ottawa, Illinois, named Abraham Lincoln. Peter and his brother formed the Eureka Wagon and Carriage Works in Chicago, Illinois. Later, Peter became involved in Gospel music, studying underGeorge Root, George Stebbins, and others. He wrote some 2,000 Gospel songs in his lifetime, and for a while, worked with evangelist Billy Sunday. He also invented a folding pump organ used at revivals in the late 19th Century, and founded the Bilhorn Folding Organ Company in Chicago, Illinois.
    One of the high points in Bilhorn’s career came in 1900, when he traveled to London. There he conducted a 4,000 strong choir in the Crystal Palace, and Queen Victoria invited him to sing in Buckingham Palace.

 

Bilhorn’s works include:

• Crowning Glory No. 1, 1888
• Crowning Glory No. 2
• Soul-Winning Songs
• Choice Songs: Hymns of Heavenly Harmony
• Sunshine Songs
• Songs of Peace and Power
• Century Gospel Hymns
• Songs for Male Choruses
• Sacred and Secular Selections for Ladies’ Voices, 1900
• Songs and Stories of Mother, Childhood and Home (Chicago, Illinois: Bilhorn Bros., 1903 )