The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-12
FANNY CROSBY,
 POETESS, DIED
 JUST YEAR AGO
Informal Service To Be Held in Bridgeport Christian
 Union Building.

Crosby, the blind poetess, whose i hymns made her generally beloved
 wherever Christianity was known,
 passed away peacefully to the great
 Beyond of which she sang so beau
 tifully for three-quarters of a century. Plans had already been discussed for
 the celebration of the 95tn anniversary of her birth, March "A, when on the
 morning of February 12, the world was informed that the singer of sweet
 praises of the Lord was no longer of
 the earth. Aunt Fanny she 1 loved to be called by all who knew { her, had stolen away to her Heaven i as quietly and peacefully as she had
 lived.
 There was talk at the time of erect ing building in memorial of the poetess, committee was selected and some money raised toward it, but not enough to make it reality. The money is still in the hands of the | committee and it is hoped that when the new Bridgeport Christian Unior building which, it is now proposed to
 erect is completed, a handsome set of chimes, such as Fanny Crosby
 dreamed of, will be placed on it in me-
 morial of the woman who was
 much interested in the work of the in Stitution.
 This probably will be the only ac- tua1 monument to the hymnist. But as long as there is Christianity and
 an English language, Fanny Crosby will have a, memorial The sweet Fpirit of the blind poetess will hover in the hearts of people whenever her hymns are sung, long generations af- ter the living Fanny Crosby has been forgotten. Although they may never
 even know of the hymnist's ,affIiction nor of the circumstances of her life, they cannot but be moved and com If V T1I0 faif in Safe in the Arms of Jesus;'' or Rescue the Perishing," to mention but two of her eight thousand hymns.
 There was no formal observance to- day of the death of Mime. Crosby. A few friends who knew her best placed flowers on her grave in Mountain Grove cemetery. At o'clock this eve- ming there will be an informal service at the Bridgeport Christian Union on Bank street where a number of her hymns will be sung and Rev. Charlzs
 W. Simpson will talk on her life. The story of Fanny Crosby's life, B well known. She Was porn in Putnam
 county, New York, March "A, 1920, and six weeks later as a treatment for an eye trouble an incompetent p1aysi-
 clan poulticed her eyes and thereby thoroughly destroyed their sight. She
 was a bright and active child, how ever, despite the fact that she could not see, which herself never, regarded as an aff1iction. At 1 5 she went to a school for the blind in New York where she later became a teacher. At this school Grover Cleveland taught when a young man and he and Fanny Crosby were firm friends and contin- 4-ued so through life. Among her pupils l was Alexander Van Alystne, a young
 blind musician. In 1858 Miss Crosby and MT. Van Alystne were married and lived happily until MT. Van AL ystne died in 1902. After his death
 Mime. Crosby. as she is best known for her husband insistedi that she write under her maiden name-came
 to this city to reside with relatives and here the last years of her long
 life were spent.
 She had always been more or less identified with Bridgeport which she
 dearly loved from her gir1hood, when she used to visit with her uncle here.
 Her sister, Mrs. Julia Arlington, the last of a family of seven children,
 still resides here.
 Fanny Crosby began to write verses
 when a child. Her poems dealt with
 many subjects. They were quoted and
 sung widely throughout the country.
 A number of war poems were written
 at the time of the Civil War. More than TO years ago she contributed verses to The Bridgeport Farmer.
 Her hymn-writing dated from 1844 when at the request of William B.
 Bradbury, a composer and publisher,
 she began to write sacred verses. Her first effort was tfWe are Going, We Are Going, to a Home Beyond the Skies,' which is still widely sung.
 .tSafe in the Arms of Jesus,'' which is perhaps her best known compost tion, was written in 1888 in about 1 5 minutes while the composer was wait
 ing to catch a train. In all she com
 posed about eight thousand hymns.
 Mine Crosby's mind was clear and active until her death and her writ ing continued until the end. She com posed a hymn only a few hours be- fore passing away.