This undated manuscript from Collection 35, Box 2, Folder 12, is one of over twenty-four hundred of Fanny Crosby's hymn manuscripts in the Archives. Blinded shortly after her birth in 1820, Crosby wrote her first hymn in 1864 and became a prolific hymnwriter whose compositions continue to appear in hymnbooks published today, among them "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior," "Rescue the Perishing," and "Blessed Assurance." Unable to write much more than her name, Crosby dictated lyrics to her husband, the blind musician and composer Alexander Van Alstyne, or others who transcribed them for her.
Her lyrics touched on themes such as God's faithfulness, Christian joy, faith in God, salvation, and suffering. In "Jesus Lord I Come," Crosby voiced a response to the invitation from Jesus to come and follow, appealing to long-time and yet-to-be believers. Notice also how central the images of light and sight are in her verse here. Fanny Crosby Van Alstyne died in 1915.