Knapp, Phebe (Phoebe) Palmer

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Knapp, Phebe (Phoebe) Palmer

Knapp, Phebe (Phoebe) Palmer, American philanthropist and composer of gospel songs; b. N.Y., March 8, 1839; d. Poland Springs, Maine, July 10, 1908. She and her husband, Joseph F. Knapp, the founder of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. of N.Y., were actively engaged in philanthropic endeavors as members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She wrote over 500 gospel songs and publ. the collections Notes of Joy (1869) and Bible School Songs (1873). A friend and benefactor of the poet Fanny Crosby, she wrote the music to her Assurance (“Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine”). It was publ. in 1873 and became one of the most popular works of its kind.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire