Woman of the Century/Annie Sherwood Hawks

HAWKS, Mrs. Annie Sherwood, poet and hymn writer, born in Hoosick, N. Y., 28th May, 1835. Her maiden name was Sherwood. Her ancestry on her father's side was English, and on her mother's side, remotely, Holland Dutch. She was never graduated from any school, but she always had a passion for books and read widely. In her fourteenth year her genius began to find expression in verse. The first poem which she published appeared in a Troy, N. Y., newspaper. That poem at once attracted attention and was followed others which were printed in various local ANNIE SHERWOOD HAWKS. papers. Miss Sherwood became the wife, in 1859, of Charles Hial Hawks, a resident of Hoosick Mr. Hawks was a man of culture ami intelligence, and hr understood and appreciated his wife. In January, 1865, Mr. and Mrs. Hawks removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., in which city Mrs. Hawks still makes her home. Her husband died there in 1888. They had three children, one of whom, a daughter, is now living Mrs. Hawks has always been identified with the Baptist denomination. In 1868 her pastor and friend, Rev. Dr. Robert Lowry, requested her to turn her attention to hymn writing. She did so, and wrote, among many others, "In the Valley," "Good Night." and "Why Weepest Thou?" In 1872 the hymn by which she is most widely known, "I Need Thee Every Hour," was written. Dr. Lowry sets all her hymns to music Though Mrs. Hawks is chiefly known as a writer of hymns, she has by no means put her best work into them alone. She has written many noble poems.