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When Crosby was 30, she dedicated her life to Christ at a revival meeting. From then on, her writing took a spiritual direction.

Another member of the institute, former pupil Alexander van Alstine, married Crosby in 1858. Considered one of New York's best organists, he wrote the music to many of Crosby's hymns. Crosby herself put music to only a few of her songs, though she played harp, piano, guitar, and other instruments. More often, musicians came to her for lyrics.

She was under contract to submit three hymns a week to her publisher but often wrote six or seven a day (for a dollar or two each). When Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey began to use "Blessed Assurance," "All the Way My Savior Leads Me," "To God Be the Glory," "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior," "Safe in the Arms of Jesus," "Rescue the Perishing," and "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross" in their crusades, her popularity grew.

Crosby could write very complex hymns, but preferred to write simple, sentimental verses that could be used for evangelism. She continued to write up to her death, a month shy of her ninety-fifth birthday. "You will reach the river brink, some sweet day, bye and bye," was her last stanza.

Adapted from a CHRISTIAN HISTORY magazine staff article. To subscribe, call 1-800-873-6986.

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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