Hymn Writers of the Church

Crewdson, Jane, the daughter of George Fox, was born at Perraw, Cornwall, England, in October, 1809, and was married to Thomas Crewdson, of Manchester, in 1836. Always delicate in health, toward the close of her life she became a confirmed invalid and a great sufferer; and most of her hymns were written during this period of suffering. She died at Summerlands, near Manchester, September 14, 1863, "leaving behind her the memory of a beautiful Christian life and many admirable verses." She truly learned in suffering what she taught in song. Her husband wrote beautifully of her: "As a constant sufferer, the spiritual life deepening and the intellectual life retaining all its power, she became well prepared to testify as to the all-sufficiency of her Saviour's love. Many felt that her sick room was the highest place to which they could resort for refreshment of spirit and even for mental recreation. From that apartment came many a letter of earnest sympathy or of charming playfulness." She published anonymously several small volumes of poetry, and the year after her death a book of her poems was published under the title: A Little While and Other Poems, 1864. A verse, written just before she died, titled "During Sickness," is a gem worthy of immortality: