Jesus Loves Me / Jesus Loves The Little Children

David Warren is at the piano. He asked the audience to sing along with him since it was Mother's Day. Unfortunately I ran out of space on my disc to record the whole medley that he led us in.

Anna's father was Henry Warner, a wealthy New York City lawyer. When he lost most of his fortune in the 1837 depression, the family was forced to move to their summer home on Constitution Island in the Hudson River. It was then that Anna and her sister Susan began writing to earn money. They also conducted Bible classes for cadets at the nearby Military Academy at West Point.
Anna was thirteen years old and Susan eighteen when they came to the island to live. Young Anna, as she roamed the island, picking wild flowers, exploring the sites of old Revolutionary forts and rowing on the river, barely realized the financial difficulties of her father. Shortly after their move to Constitution Island, Mr. Warner became involved in lengthy litigation with his neighbors on the east bank over his property rights; a litigation which he finally lost. The next decade saw the little family reduced to desperation and faced with eviction; their beloved island property in the hands of a receiver.
Susan and Anna Warner coauthored a hymnbook. One particular hymn was written by Anna herself where the child-like faith expressed in the words was inspired by Anna's own profound faith in God. The two Warner sisters were writers who enjoyed great popularity during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Today their books are unread and out of print, but the two women, themselves, are not forgotten.
Susan and Anna Warner are the only civilians buried in the military cemetery at West Point. Their lifelong home on Constitution Island, directly across the river from West Point is maintained as a museum. The story of how this all came about is a charming vignette in the long history of the United States Military Academy.
Had Henry Warner never lost his fortune, his daughters may never have had to go to work. If they never had to go to work, they probably would have never started teaching and writing. And had Anna never wrote any hymns, the world would be without her most famous song -- a verse of which is written on her tombstone.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Anna
• Bartlett
• Warner

[bluegibby7]

Reminds me of my very young Sunday school days !!