Fanny Crosby
Is it true that Ridgefield has a strong history of sacred music?
Ridgefield could have a concert’s worth of writers, composers, and even publishers of sacred music.
Among the most famous hymn-writers of all time was Fanny Crosby, a blind woman who spent her formative years in Ridgefield. She penned more than 9,000 hymns, including Blessed Assurance, Safe in the Arms of Jesus, Praise Him! Praise Him!, and Close to Thee.
Born in 1820 in Brewster, N.Y., and blinded at six weeks by a disease, Jane “Fanny” Crosby came to Ridgefield when she was nine, living with a Mrs. Hawley on Main Street at Branchville Road. Mrs. Hawley is said to have been a major influence in Crosby’s life, providing a strong foundation in the Christian faith. When Crosby was 15, she left Ridgefield to attend the New York Institute for the Blind. She went on to write the lyrics for thousands of hymns, as well as four books of secular poetry, and two best-selling autobiographies.
Many of Crosby’s hymns were distributed by Biglow and Main of New York City, one of the first publishers of sacred music. The Biglow was Lucius Horatio Biglow who, in 1889, bought an 18th Century house on Main Street to create a fine estate. His daughter, Elizabeth Biglow Ballard, died just 50 years ago this summer, and bequeathed that estate to the town. Today, it is Ballard Park.
Hubert Platt Main
The Main of Biglow and Main was Sylvester Main, born in Ridgefield in 1817 and a childhood friend of Fanny Crosby. He became a singing-school teacher and wound up in New York City, compiling books of hymn music. He went to work for William Bradbury, music publisher and hymnist, and when Bradbury died around 1868, Biglow and Main partnered to take over the firm.
Sylvester’s son, Hubert Platt Main, was also born here. As a young man he compiled books of music, was a choir leader and organist in churches, and eventually joined Biglow and Main. He also composed more than 1,000 works, including the music for hundreds of popular hymns of the mid-19th Century, among them We Shall Meet Beyond the River, Blessed Homeland, and The Bright Forever — the words of the last two were written by his father’s friend, Fanny Crosby.
Sacred music includes Christmas carols, and one of the 20th Century’s most popular carols — Do You Hear What I Hear? — was written by Noel Regney and his wife Gloria Shane. The 1962 song has sold many millions of copies, sung by countless artists, including Bing Crosby.
The pair also produced two other popular carols, I Sing Noel and Three Wise Men, Three. They lived on High Ridge in the 1970s. After their divorce, Regney remained in Ridgefield many years while Shayne moved to Stamford. —J.S.