Mary Jane "Jennie" Bain Wilson (November 13, 1856 – September 3, 1913) was an American hymn writer.
Jennie Bain Wilson | |
|---|---|
 A 1907 Christmas card featuring hymn writer Jennie Bain Wilson. | |
| Born | Mary Jane Bain Wilson November 13, 1856 Cleveland, Indiana |
| Died | September 3, 1913 South Whitley, Indiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Jennie Wilson |
| Occupation(s) | hymn writer, poet, church worker |
| Years active | 1880s-1913 |
Early life edit
Mary Jane "Jennie" Bain Wilson was born on a farm in Cleveland, Indiana in 1856,[1] the younger daughter of Robert Wilson and Mary Frances Russell Wilson.[2] She survived typhoid fever as a little girl, but her spine was damaged by the bacterial infection ("typhoid spine" was first described in the medical literature many years later).[3] She used a wheelchair from childhood[4] and she was educated at home.[5]
Career edit
Wilson wrote thousands and published hundreds of Christian hymns;[6] she was known as the "Fanny Crosby of the West".[2] She also wrote poetry and spoke at Bible conferences in Indiana.[5] Her hymn "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand" (1905)[7] was especially popular in the 1910s and 1920s.[8]
Wilson was also the author of the slogan of Fort Wayne, Indiana, "Fort Wayne with Might and Main", taking the $50 prize in the city's slogan contest, out of 25,000 submissions.[9][10][11]
Personal life edit
After 1902 Wilson lived with her married older sister. She sought some surgical treatment of her paralysis in Indianapolis, and "improved somewhat".[10] Wilson died in 1913, aged 57 years, from kidney disease, in South Whitley, Indiana.[1][4]
References edit
- ^ a b "South Whitley Poetess Dead". Fort Wayne Daily News. September 4, 1913. p. 2. Retrieved October 13, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Adams, Richard W. "Jennie Bain Wilson". Hymntime. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ Benedek, T. G. (2011-04-19). "The conflict of Osler's concept of "typhoid spine"". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 183 (7): 773–775. doi:10.1503/cmaj.101891. ISSN 0820-3946. PMC 3080522. PMID 21502363.
- ^ a b "Indiana Poetess Dead at South Whitley Home". The Huntington Herald. September 4, 1913. p. 8. Retrieved October 13, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand" Hymnstudiesblog (May 21, 2014).
- ^ Cottrill, Robert (2018-05-21). "Happy in the Love of Jesus". Wordwise Hymns. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ Erbsen, Wayne (2017-10-05). Old Time Gospel Songbook. Mel Bay Publications. p. 31. ISBN 9781610650328.
- ^ Clay, Leslie (2013-12-16). Sisters In Song; Women Hymn Writers. Compass Flower Press. ISBN 9781936688760.
- ^ "Fort Wayne with Might and Main". The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. June 2, 1909. p. 1. Retrieved October 13, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Woman Who Suggested Slogan". Fort Wayne Weekly Journal-Gazette. June 3, 1909. p. 1. Retrieved October 13, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fort Wayne with Might and Main". Medical Art and Indianapolis Medical Journal. 12: 402. September 15, 1909.
