Fanny Crosby
Frances Jane Crosby (
March 24 1820 â€"
February 12 1915) usually known as
Fanny Crosby, was an
American lyricist best known for her
Protestant Christian hymns. She was one of the most prolific
hymnists in history, writing over 8,000 despite being
blind from shortly after birth. During her lifetime, Fanny Crosby was one of the best known women in the
United States.
To this day, the vast majority of American
hymnals contain her work. Some of her best known songs include "
Blessed Assurance" [
1], "
Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home" [
2], "
Praise Him, Praise Him" [
3], and "
To God be the Glory"[
4]. Since some publishers were hesitant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals, Crosby used nearly 100 different
pseudonyms during her career.
Fanny Crosby was born in
Southeast,
Putnam County,
New York to poor parents, John and Mercy Crosby. At six weeks old, she caught cold and developed inflammation of the eyes. The family physician was not available, and the man who came in his place recommended hot poultices as treatment. The botched procedure
blinded her.
Her father died when she was one year old, so she was raised by her mother and grandmother. These women grounded Crosby in Protestant Christian principles, helping her, for example, memorize long passages from the
Bible. Crosby became an active member of St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church in
New York City.
At age 15, Crosby enrolled at the New York School for the Blind (now the
New York Institute for Special Education). She remained there for seven years. During that time she learned to play the piano and guitar and to sing. In 1843, she joined a group of lobbyists in Washington, D.C. arguing for support of education for the blind. From 1847 to 1858, Crosby joined the faculty at the New York school, teaching
English and
history. She married
Alexander Van Alstyne, a blind musician and fellow teacher, in 1858. At his insistence, she kept her maiden name. They had one daughter, Frances, who died in infancy. Alexander died on July 19, 1902.
Crosby was noted for writing poetry from the time she was eight years old. Her first published work was
A Blind Girl and Other Poems (1844), followed by
Monterey and Other Poems (1853) and
A Wreath of Columbia's Flowers (1858).
She also wrote some popular songs, which were set to music by George F. Root. Some of them were "
Rosalie, the Prairie Flower", "Hazel Dell", "There's Music in the Air". Crosby saw success with her secular verse writing, earning nearly $3,000 in
royalties for her song "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower".
Crosby was never bitter about her disability. At the age of nine she wrote these verses about her condition:
Oh what a happy soul I am,: Although I cannot see;:I am resolved that in this world: Contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy,: That other people don't;:To weep and sigh because I'm blind,: I cannot, and I won't."
She later remarked:
It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.
She also once said, "when I get to
heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of
my Savior!"
She composed her poems and hymns entirely in her mind and then dictated them to someone else. She was said to work mentally on as many as twelve hymns at once before dictating them all out.
Crosby wrote her first hymn in 1863 for the composer William B. Bradbury, a respected musician and publisher. It was called "
There's a Cry from Macedonia". Over the years she wrote for Bradbury and for other composers, including Philip Phillips, Hubert P. Main, Dr. Lowry, Dr. W. H. Doane,
Ira D. Sankey, Philip P. Bliss, Mr. W. F. Sherwin, and
Phoebe Knapp. Before her death, she had written at least 8,000 hymns.
Crosby was very well known during her time and often met with
presidents, generals and other dignitaries. She played the hymn "Safe in the Arms of Jesus" at
President Grant's Funeral in 1885. In her later years, she also became a popular
public speaker.
When she died, her
tombstone carried the words, "Aunt Fanny" and "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine."
Eliza Hewitt memorialized Fanny's passing in a poem:
Away to the country of sunshine and song,Our songbird has taken her flight,And she who has sung in the darkness so longNow sings in the beautiful light.Crosby is buried in
Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was inducted into the
Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1975.
*"
All the Way My Savior Leads Me"--bef. 1875, music by Robert Lowry
*"
Blessed Assurance"--1873, music by
Phoebe Knapp*"
The Bright Forever"--1871, music by Hubert P. Main
*"Close to Thee"--1874, music by Silas J. Vail
*"
Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home"--1883, music by George C. Stebbins
*"
I Am Thine, O Lord"--bef. 1875, music by W. Howard Doane
*"
My Savior First of All"--1891, music by John Sweney
*"
Near the Cross"--bef. 1869, music by W. Howard Doane
*"
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour"--1868, music by W. Howard Doane
*"
Praise Him, Praise Him"--bef. 1869, music by Chester G. Allen
*"
Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It"--bef. 1882, William J. Kirkpatrick
*"
Rescue the Perishing"--1869, music by W. Howard Doane
*"
Safe in the Arms of Jesus"--1878, music by W. Howard Doane
*"
Saviour, More Than Life to Me"--1875, music by W. Howard Doane
*"
Tell Me the Story of Jesus"--bef. 1880, music by John R. Sweney
*"
To God Be the Glory"--1875, music by W. Howard Doane
# Osbeck,
Amazing Grace, 206.
*Blumhofer, Edith.
Her Heart Can See: the Life and Hymns of Fanny J. Crosby. ISBN 0802842534.
*Crosby, Fanny.
This is My Story, This Is My Song. ISBN 1898787417.
*Hearn, Chester.
Safe in the Arms of Jesus: Biography of Fanny Crosby. ISBN 0875086659.
*Osbeck, Kenneth W. (1982).
101 Hymn Stories: The Inspiring True Stories behind 101 Favorite Hymns. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications.
*Osbeck, Kenneth W. (1985).
101 More Hymn Stories: The Inspiring True Stories behind 101 Favorite Hymns. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications.
*Osbeck, Kenneth W. (2002).
Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications.
*Ruffin, Bernard.
Fanny Crosby: the Hymn Writer. ISBN 1557487316.
*Smith, Jane Stuart, and Carlson, Betty (1997).
Great Christian Hymn Writers. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books.
*
1884 in music*
The New York Institute for Special Education page on Fanny Crosby*
Fanny Crosby page at Cyberhymnal*
Biography at Believers' Web*{http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bcrosby.html
'National Cyclopedia of Biography article at Wholsome Words]
This page originally based on public domain information from www.cyberhymnal.org
