Her father died in November 1820 when Fanny was only six months old, so she was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother Eunice Paddock Crosby (born about 1778 died about 1831). According to Crosby, this procedure damaged her optic nerves and blinded her, but modern physicians think that her blindness was more likely congenital and, given her age, may simply not have been noticed by her parents. Mustard poultices were applied to treat the discharges. Īt six weeks old, Crosby caught a cold and developed inflammation of the eyes. Through Simon Crosby, Fanny was also a relative of Presbyterian minister Howard Crosby and his neoabolitionist son Ernest Howard Crosby, as well as singers Bing and Bob Crosby. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Bridgeport, Connecticut, writing the verses of the state song of the Connecticut branch. She traced her ancestry from Anna Brigham and Simon Crosby who arrived in Boston in 1635 (and were among the founders of Harvard College) their descendants married into Mayflower families, making Crosby a descendant of Elder William Brewster, Edward Winslow, and Thomas Prence, and a member of the exclusive Daughters of the Mayflower. (l to r) Mercy, Julia, and Caroline Morris and Fanny CrosbyĬrosby was proud of her Puritan heritage. She was committed to Christian rescue missions and was known for her public speaking. Additionally, she co-wrote popular secular songs, as well as political and patriotic songs and at least five cantatas on biblical and patriotic themes, including The Flower Queen, the first secular cantata by an American composer. Ĭrosby also wrote more than 1,000 secular poems and had four books of poetry published, as well as two best-selling autobiographies. Some publishers were hesitant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals, so Crosby used nearly 200 different pseudonyms during her career. Some of Crosby's best-known songs include " Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour", " Blessed Assurance", "Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home", "Praise Him, Praise Him", "Rescue the Perishing", and " To God Be the Glory".
![jesus keep me near the cross lyrics fanny crosby jesus keep me near the cross lyrics fanny crosby](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Fanny_Crosby.jpg)
Her gospel songs were "paradigmatic of all revival music", and Ira Sankey attributed the success of the Moody and Sankey evangelical campaigns largely to Crosby's hymns. Ĭrosby was known as the "Queen of Gospel Song Writers" and as the "Mother of modern congregational singing in America", with most American hymnals containing her work. By the end of the 19th century, she was a household name. She is also known for her teaching and her rescue mission work. She was a prolific hymnist, writing more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs, with more than 100 million copies printed. Frances Jane van Alstyne (née Crosby March 24, 1820 – February 12, 1915), more commonly known as Fanny Crosby, was an American mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer.