Frances Jane Crosby is better known as Fanny Crosby, affectionately known as Aunt Fanny, and after being married, was known as Mrs. Van Alystyne. At only six weeks old, an incapable doctor in New York blinded her. Even from a young age, Fanny believed her blindness was a gift from God. She was acquainted with the God of the Bible from a young age—she would memorize whole books of the Bible!