[12] According to C. Bernard Ruffin, John and Mercy were possibly first cousins; however, "by the time Fanny Crosby came to write her memoirs [in 1906], the fact that her mother and father were related... had become a source of embarrassment, and she maintained that she did not know anything about his lineage".

[26] These women grounded her in Christian principles, helping her memorize long passages from the Bible, and she became an active member of the John Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Manhattan.

"[95] It was written for and performed exclusively by Henry Wood's Minstrels[96] and published by John Andrews, who specialized in printing "neat, quick & cheap,"[97] according to Karen Linn.

"[133] In her 1906 autobiography, Crosby explained the theme of this cantata: an old man becoming tired of the world, decides to become a hermit; but, as he is about to retire to his lonely hut, he hears a chorus singing, "Who shall be queen of the flowers?"

[140][141] This cantata comprised 35 songs, with music composed with William Batchelder Bradbury and words by Crosby and Union Theological Seminary student Chauncey Marvin Cady.

Crosby recalled that "the great statesman was never quite himself after his son's death, and I purposely avoided all mention of it in the address of welcome on the day he came to visit us, lest I mighty wound the heart of the man whom I had learned not only to venerate but to love; for Mr. Clay was always an especial favorite among public men.

[159]Crosby wrote the words and William B. Bradbury composed the music, soon after they met in February 1864,[160] for the popular patriotic Civil War song "There is a Sound Among the Forest Trees".

[161][162][163][164] Her text encourages volunteers to join the Union forces and incorporates references to the history of the United States, including the Pilgrim Fathers and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

[182] After the death of their daughter, Van became increasingly reclusive;[183] Crosby never spoke publicly about being a mother, aside from mentioning it in a few interviews towards the end of her life: "Now I am going to tell you of something that only my closest friends know.

[184] In addition to Crosby's income as a poet and lyricist, Van played the organ at two churches in New York City, and gave private music lessons.

[205] Ann Douglas argues that Crosby was one of the female authors who "emasculated American religion" and helped shift it from "a rigorous Calvinism" to "an anti-intellectual and sentimental mass culture".

[36] Crosby was close friends with Sankey and his wife, Frances, and often stayed with them at their home in Northfield, Massachusetts, from 1886 for the annual summer Christian Workers' Conferences,[194] and later in their Brooklyn.

A young man was converted through her testimony, and she was inspired to write the words for "Rescue the Perishing" based on a title and a tune given to her by William Howard Doane a few days earlier.

Crosby attended the nightly 8 pm services, where gospel songs were often sung that were written by her and Doane, including "ballads recalling mother's prayers, reciting the evils of intemperance, or envisioning agonizing deathbed scenes intending to arouse long-buried memories and strengthen resolves".

[273] Some of the city missions with which Crosby worked were operated by proponents of Wesleyan/Holiness doctrine,[66] including the Door of Hope rescue home founded by socialite Emma Whittemore on October 25, 1890[277][278] in a house belonging to A.B.

[286] Her longtime publisher The Biglow and Main Company paid her a small stipend of $8 each week in recognition of her contributions to their business over the years, even after she submitted fewer lyrics to them.

[287] However, Knapp and others believed that Biglow and Main had made enormous profits because of Crosby without compensating her adequately for her contributions, and that she should be living more comfortably in her advanced years.

[298] On May 2, 1911, Crosby spoke to 5,000 people at the opening meeting of the Evangelistic Committee's seventh annual campaign held in Carnegie Hall, after the crowd sang her songs for thirty minutes.

[299] On Crosby's 94th birthday in March 1914, Alice Rector and the King's Daughters of the First Methodist Church of Bridgeport, Connecticut, organized a Violet Day to honor her,[300] which was publicized nationally by Hugh Main.

[307][page needed] Carleton added: It is sincerely hoped by the publishers that this book may have as large a sale as possible, in order that the story of its loved author may be an inspiration to many people, and that she may be enabled to have a home of her own, in which to pass the remainder of her days.

The threatened lawsuit was to obtain information regarding sales of the book, for which she had been promised a royalty of 10 cents per copy, and to seek an injunction preventing further publication.

[317] He implied in an article in The Christian that "the Carleton business had been of Satanic origin and commented, echoing the wheat and tares passage in scripture, 'An enemy hath done this'".

[318] In 1904, Phoebe Knapp contacted Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Charles Cardwell McCabe and enlisted his assistance in publicizing Crosby's poverty, raising funds to ameliorate that situation.

[319] By July 1904, newspapers reported that Crosby's publishers had issued a statement denying that she was in need of funds, indicating that she never would be, "as they have provided abundantly for her during her entire life", and stating that "Bishop McCabe ... has been grossly deceived by somebody".

This letter was published at her instigation, permitting him to solicit funds from her friends as "a testimonial of their love", but reiterating that she was not living in poverty, nor was she dying or in poor health.

[321] Crosby and her representatives contacted him a week later, and McCabe wrote to The Christian Advocate explaining his rationale for raising funds for her, but stating that he was withdrawing the appeal at her request.

[324] In December 1905 Crosby issued a card protesting the continued sale of Carleton's book, again denying she was "in distress", as she was in "comfortable circumstances and very active", giving lectures nearly once a week.

They were men of sterling worth and firm integrity, of whom the rising generation may well learn wisdom and the true principles of national honor and democracy that all of them labored so faithfully to inculcate.

[337] The non-denominational home was established in the former Hunter house at 1008 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport;[338] it opened on November 1, 1925, after a national drive by the Federation of Churches to raise $100,000 to operate it.

[340] The Enoch Crosby chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a historic roadside marker on October 8, 1934, commemorating her birthplace on the western side of Route 22 in Doansburg, New York, just north of Brewster.