Without
doubt
the
hymn
that
has
influenced
children
for
Christ
more
than
any
other
is
this
simply
stated
one,
written
in
1860
by
Anna
Bartlett
Warner.
Miss
Warner
wrote
this
text
in
collaboration
with
her
sister
Susan
as a
part
of one
of the
best-selling
novels
of
that
day, a
novel
written
by
Susan
entitled
Say
and
Seal.
Today
few
remember
the
plot
of
that
novel,
which
stirred
the
hearts
of
many
readers.
But
the
simple
poem
spoken
by one
of the
characters,
Mr.
Linden,
as he
comforts
Johnny
Fax, a
dying
child,
still
remains
the
favorite
hymn
of
children
around
the
world
to
this
day.
Anna
and
Susan
Warner
were
highly
educated
and
deeply
devoted
Christian
young
women
who
lived
all of
their
lives
along
the
Hudson
River
in New
York,
in a
lovely
but
secluded
area
apart
from
the
busy
world.
Their
home
was
near
the
U.S.
Military
Academy
at
West
Point,
and
for a
number
of
years
these
two
sisters
conducted
Sunday
School
classes
for
the
young
cadets.
Their
home,
Good
Crag,
was
willed
to the
Academy
and
made
into a
national
shrine.
Both
sisters
were
buried
with
military
honors
in
recognition
of
their
spiritual
contributions
to the
lives
of the
young
military
officers.
After
the
death
of
their
widower
father,
a
well-known
New
York
lawyer,
the
Warner
sisters
were
left
with a
meager
income
and of
necessity
turned
to
serious
literary
writing.
Susan
became
especially
noted
for
several
of her
works,
including
a
popular
book,
The
Wide,
Wide
World,
considered
at
that
time
to be
the
best
seller
after
Uncle
Tom's
Cabin.
Although
not as
well-known
as
Susan
for
her
literary
fame,
Anna
wrote
a
number
of
novels
under
the
pseudonym
"Amy
Lothrop"
and
published
two
collections
of
verse,
Hymns
of the
Church
Militant,
1858,
and
Wayfaring
Hymns,
Original
and
Translated,
1869.
The
popularity
of
"Jesus
Loves
Me"
soon
spread
quickly
beyond
the
boundaries
of our
own
land.
Numerous
stories
are
told
by
missionaries
of the
universal
appeal
this
hymn
text
has
had
with
children
in
every
culture.
It is
often
one of
the
first
hymns
taught
new
converts
in
foreign
lands.
The
hymn
has
even
been
appropriated
by
other
religious
sects;
missionaries
have
reported
that
they
have
heard
groups
in
Buddhist
Temples
singing,
"Yes,
Buddha
loves
me,
Yes,
Buddha
loves
me..."
Dr.
William
B.
Bradbury,
the
composer
of the
music
for
the
text,
was
one of
the
important
contributors
to the
development
of
early
gospel
hymnody
in
this
country.
He was
born
in
York,
Maine,
on
October
6,
1816.
As a
young
man he
moved
to
Boston,
Massachusetts,
where
he
became
associated
with
Lowell
Mason,
often
called
the
father
of
American
public
school
and
church
music.
Bradbury
served
as
choir
director
and
organist
in
several
large
Baptist
churches
in the
East,
where
he
became
especially
noted
for
his
work
with
children.
Among
the
highlights
of his
career
were
his
annual
Musical
Festivals,
where
more
than
one
thousand
children
would
gather,
all
dressed
alike,
and
sing
many
of his
own
compositions.
Soon
Bradbury
gave
himself
exclusively
to the
teaching,
writing
and
publishing
of a
great
volume
of
music.
From
1841
until
his
death
in
1868,
he was
involved
with
the
publishing
of
fifty-nine
collections
of
sacred
and
secular
music.
Bradbury
composed
the
music
for
"Jesus
Loves
Me" in
1861
especially
for
Anna
Warner's
text
and
personally
added
the
chorus
to the
four
stanzas.
It
appeared
in its
present
form
in
1862
in his
hymnal
publication,
The
Golden
Shower.
Other
hymns
by
William
B.
Bradbury
include
"He
leadeth
Me",
"Just
As I
Am",
"Depth
of
Mercy",
"Even
Me",
"Sweet
Hour
of
Prayer",
and
"The
Solid
Rock".
Words
by
Anna
B.
Warner,
1820-1915
Music
by
William
B.
Bradbury,
1816-1868
