Annie Sherwood Hawks Grave

“Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me – ‘I Need Thee Every Hour …’”

In the Hoosick Cemetery (Hoosick, New York) is a non-descript headstone that bears the initials “A.S.H.” If the visitor isn’t aware of the legacy of the person behind those initials, they may not be aware of the significant contribution that was made by the deceased to the hymnody of Christianity. One commentator corrected themselves after calling Annie Sherwood Hawks an “extraordinary woman” – she wasn’t extraordinary … she was an “ordinary woman living in the presence of an extraordinary God.” (www.greatchristianhymns.com)

Annie Sherwood Hawks was born on May 28, 1835, in Hoosick, New York; she was the only child of Marvin and Caroline Sherwood. Annie attended the local public school and upon graduation did some further training at Troy Female Seminary (New York).

“Troy Female Seminary, subsequently called (from 1895) Emma Willard School, American educational institution, established in 1821 by Emma Hart Willard in Troy, New York, the first in the country founded to provide young women with an education comparable to that of college-educated young men. At the time of the seminary’s founding, women were barred from colleges. Although academies for girls existed, their curricula were limited to such “female arts” as conversational French and embroidery.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)

From a very early age, Annie loved poetry and books. Her aptitude for the written word became readily apparent when at age fourteen her poetic submission to the Troy (N.Y.) newspaper was accepted and printed. Other invitations followed, and several of her creations were published in various local newspapers. Her love for writing poetry never waned, even after marrying Charles Hawks in 1859 and moving to Brooklyn, New York, to raise a family.

The move to Brooklyn was providential in many aspects. The Hawks eventually joined the Hanson Place Baptist Church (now a Seventh Day Adventist church located at the southeast corner of Hanson Place and South Portland Avenue) which was pastored by Dr. Robert Lowry, himself a noted poet and musician.

“His melodies are sung in every civilized land, and many of his hymns have been translated into foreign tongues. While preaching the Gospel, in which he found great joy, was his life-work, music and hymnology were favorite studies, but were always a side issue, a recreation.” (Jacob Henry Hall, “Robert Lowry: Baptist Preacher and Hymn Writer”)

Dr. Lowry soon became interested in Annie’s poetry and encouraged her to focus attention on themes that would further the Lord’s work. She was glad to do so, and over the course of her life she collaborated with him on almost fifty of the 400 hymns that are credited to her name.

One such hymn was “I Need Thee Every Hour.” Written in 1872, the hymn was not the product of some dramatic event or tragic circumstance. In fact, quite the contrary; here’s what Annie had to say about its creation:

“I remember well the morning when in the midst of the daily cares of my home, I was so filled with the sense of the nearness of the Master, that wondering how one could live without him either in joy or pain, these words ‘I Need Thee Every Hour’ were ushered into my mind. The hymn was wafted out to the world on the wings of love and joy, rather than under the stress of great personal sorrow. It was not until long years after when the shadow of a great loss fell over my way that I understood something of the comforting in the words I have been permitted to write.” (The Tabernacle Choir Blog, “I Need Thee Every Hour: A Hymn of Great Comfort,” 2014)

Later she would reflect on the impact of her hymn:

“I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace.” (www.TheScottSpot.com)

The hymn was first used at the National Baptist Sunday School Association Convention the same year it was composed. It then appeared in “Royal Diadem for the Sunday School,” an 1873 collection compiled by Lowry and William Doane. There are many historians who believe that “I Need Thee Every Hour” was the most published hymn by the time of Annie’s death in 1918.

Annie’s husband, Charles, died in 1888 and so the “ordinary woman living in the presence of an extraordinary God” moved to Bennington, Vermont, to live with her daughter and son-in-law. She died there on January 3, 1918, but her body was returned to her beloved hometown, Hoosick, New York. She is interred there at the Hoosick (N.Y.) Rural Cemetery along with her husband, mother, and father.