Annie Sherwood Hawks

Annie Hawks (May 28, 1836 – January 3, 1918) was an American poet and gospel hymnist whose compositions number over 400. She contributed to several popular Sunday school hymnbooks, with her best-known song being "I Need Thee Every Hour". Other well-known hymns include "Thine, Most Gracious Lord", "Why Weepest Thou? Who Seekest Thou?", "Full and Free Salvation", and "My Soul Is Anchored".

Early life and education Annie Sherwood was born on May 28, 1836, in Hoosick, New York. Her ancestry on her father's side was English, and on her mother's side, remotely, Holland Dutch. She was educated in the public schools and in the Troy Seminary.

She never graduated from a school, but she always had a passion for books and read widely. By age 14, she was submitting poems to a local newspaper.

Career The first poem which she published appeared in a Troy, New York, newspaper. That poem at once attracted attention and was followed by others which were printed in various local papers.

She married Charles Hial Hawks in 1857 or 1859, a member of a New York banking firm, and a resident of Hoosick. In January 1865, the Hawks removed to Brooklyn. They attended the Hanson Place Baptist Church where Lowry was pastor. Lowry, himself a hymn-writer, encouraged Hawks to compose her own hymns.