Cecil frances humphreys alexander biography sample

Cecil Frances Alexander was born in Eccles Street in Dublin in 1818 (the precise date is not recorded), the second daughter of Major John Humphreys and his wife Elizabeth Frances Reed. At the age of fifteen on her father's appointment as agent to the Marquis of Abercorn she moved to live at Milltown House, Strabane. It was at this time that she began to display her talent for writing poetry which explained in a simple but memorable way the core of the Christian faith.

In 1848 she published Hymns for Little Children, which includes three which have retained their popularity to the present day: "Once in Royal David's City", "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and "There is a Green Hill Far Away". Charles Gounod, the composer of the famous nineteenth-century Grand Opera, Faust, said that some of her lyrics "seemed to set themselves to music".

In October 1850 she married the Revd. William Alexander who had just been appointed rector of Termonamonagh, near Castlederg. Born in Derry he was six years her junior. Thereafter Cecil Frances put much of her energy in to parochial work, particularly with the deaf, helping to set up the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. She and her husband moved to the parish of Fahan in county Donegal in 1855 before returning to Strabane in 1860. In October 1867 William Alexander was made Bishop of Derry and Raphoe and thereafter Cecil Frances and their four children lived in the Bishop's palace close by St Columba's Cathedral in the city. One daughter, Eleanor, was a writer whose novels included Lady Anne's Walk; The Rambling Rector (1904) and The Lady of the Well.She died on 12 October 1895 and is buried in the City Cemetery, Londonderry.

A further selection of her works - hymns, tracts and poems - was published a year a

Born in Dublin in 1818, Cecil Frances Humphreys began writing poetry in childhood, being influenced by Dr. Walter Hook, Dean of Chichester. She was subsequently strongly influenced by her contacts with members of the Oxford Movement, particularly by the priest and poet John Keble, who edited one of her anthologies, Hymns for Little Children. By the 1840s her poems were being included in the hymnals used in the Church of Ireland. She also contributed lyric poems, narrative poems, and translations of French poetry to the Dublin University Magazine under various pseudonymns. One of these was her 1856 publication, The Burial the Moses, which Tennyson acclaimed as one of the only poems by a living writer that he wished that he had written.

In 1833, Cecil Frances went to live at Milltown House in Strabane, County Tyrone. While living there, she published a number of books, including Verses for Holy Seasons (1846), an allegory for children entitled The Lord of the Forest and His Vassals (1847), and the aforementioned Hymns for Little Children (1848). Her first book of poetry, Verses for Seasons, was a “Christian Year” for children. By the close of the nineteenth century, Hymns for Little Children reached its 69th edition. She wrote hymns in simple language for children, explaining the Apostles’ Creed, the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the Ten Commandments, and prayer. Some of her poems, including “All things bright and beautiful,” “There is a green hill far away,” her setting of St Patrick’s Breastplate, “I bind unto myself today,” and the Christmas hymn “Once in royal David’s city” are sung by Christians the world over to this day. The last is perhaps the best known of her compositions, given its close association with the Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and Carols sung every

British hymn-writer and poet

Cecil Frances Alexander (April 1818 – 12 October 1895) was an Anglo-Irishhymnwriter and poet. Amongst other works, she wrote "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a green hill far away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's City".

Biography

Alexander was born at 25 Eccles Street, Dublin, the third child and second daughter of Major John Humphreys of Norfolk (land-agent to 4th Earl of Wicklow and later to the second Marquess of Abercorn), and his wife Elizabeth (née Reed). She was known by family and friends as Fanny. She began writing verse in her childhood, being strongly influenced by Dr Walter Hook, Dean of Chichester. Her subsequent religious work was strongly influenced by her contacts with the Oxford Movement, and in particular with John Keble, who edited Hymns for Little Children, one of her anthologies. By the 1840s she was already known as a hymn writer and her compositions were soon included in Church of Ireland hymnbooks. She also contributed lyric poems, narrative poems, and translations of French poetry to Dublin University Magazine under various pseudonyms.

In 1833, Alexander went to live at Milltown House in Strabane. While living there, she published a number of Christian books: Verses for Holy Seasons (1846), The Lord of the Forest and His Vassals (1847) – a children's allegory – and Hymns for Little Children (1848). By the close of the 19th century, Hymns for Little Children reached its 69th edition. Some of her hymns, such as "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a green hill far away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's City", are known by Christians the world over, as is her rendering of "Saint Patrick's Breastplate".

In Strabane in October 1850 she married the Anglican clergyman William Alexander, afterwards Bis