Birthdays on August 31

Jessie Brown Pounds (1861 to 1921)

Christian Church

Jesse Pounded out Hymns.

Birth of Jesse Brown Pounds. From age fifteen, she wrote regularly for religious periodicals. She wrote many fine hymns, including, "Anywhere with Jesus," "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth," "I Must Needs Go Home by the Way of the Cross," "The Touch of His Hand on Mine," and "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere."

Jean Frederick Oberlin (1740 to 1826)

Lutheran

Children's Educator Gives His Name to a College.

Jean Frederick Oberlin was born in Alsace or Strasbourg, France (sources disagree). He became a German Lutheran minister, much respected for his educational work with small children and for his philanthropy. He commanded respect even in the changing French regimes during the Revolution. He helped endow the town of Oberlin, Ohio.

Anna Bartlet Warner (1820 to 1915)

Protestant

Most Popular Children's Hymn Written for a Novel.

Anna Bartlet Warner was born on Long Island, New York. She wrote verse and one of her poems became the popular children's hymn "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know." Originally this was written for her sister's novel. Each Sunday afternoon a boatload of cadets would row over to the Warner home where the sisters would teach them a Sunday school lesson.

Lewis Hartsough (1828 to 1919)

Methodist

One Man Did All That?

Lewis Hartsough was born at Ithaca, New York. Graduating from Cazenovia Seminary in 1852, he served churches in the Oneida Conference (Methodist) in New York. For the sake of his health, he requested transfer to the West, and was appointed to the Utah Mission. He served many other churches and several regions, traveled 400,000 miles, made 9,000 pastoral visits, led 7,000 prayer meetings, quarterly conferences and love feasts, and preached 1,500 sermons. He wrote many hymns, including "I Am Coming, Lord."