Anne Ross Cousin

Anne Ross Cousin (née Cundell; 27 April 1824 – 6 December 1906) was a British poet, musician and songwriter. She was a student of John Muir Wood and later became a popular writer of hymns, most especially "The Sands of Time Are Sinking", while travelling with her minister husband from 1854 to 1878. Many of her hymns were widely used throughout Great Britain during the mid-to late 19th century. One of her sons, John William Cousin, was a prominent writer and editor of A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.

Biography Anne Ross Cousin was born in Hull, England on 27 April 1824. She was the only child of Dr. David Ross Cundell, a former assistant surgeon with the 33rd regiment at the Battle of Waterloo, and moved with her family to Leith soon after her birth. She received a private education and became a skilled pianist under John Muir Wood. In 1847, she married William Cousin, a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, then serving at a local Presbyterian church in Chelsea, and with whom she had six children. Shortly after their marriage, William was called to minister to the Free Church in Irvine, North Ayrshire, and then in Melrose in 1859. During this time, Anne began writing church hymns for her husband's services and many of these became very popular in Britain during the mid-to late 19th century. but only a few of them appear in most hymnals. Many of the omitted verses are about Anwoth, where Rutherford lived.