Near the Cross
by David and Carol Kelly
Title
Near the Cross
Artist
David and Carol Kelly
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915) was the author of over 8,500 gospel songs including "Near the Cross". Though blind at 6 weeks of age, she began composing texts at age 6. She later became a teacher at the New York School for the Blind, where she was a student. A friend of several presidents, Crosby became one of the most important advocates for the cause of the blind in the United States.
As she did with many of her 8,000 hymn texts, Fanny Crosby wrote the poem, "Near the Cross", to fit an existing tune that had been composed by William H. Doane. Although she worked with a number of other gospel musicians, William Doane was Fanny Crosby's principle collaberator. Doane was a very successful business man in Cincinnati, as well as a composer and publisher of numerous gospel songs. He was a very wealthy man when he died and he left much of his fortune to philanthropic causes including the construction of the Doane Memorial Music Building at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
Uploaded
February 24th, 2015
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