Phoebe Knapp
Phoebe Knapp (Palmer; March 9, 1839 – July 10, 1908) was an American composer of music for hymns and an organist. She composed the music for over five hundred hymns.
Also recorded as Phoebe Palmer Knapp
Phoebe Knapp

Internet Archive identifier: womanofcenturyfo00will · Public domain
- Name
- Phoebe Knapp
- Birth Name
- Phoebe Palmer
- Born
- 9 March 1839
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Died
- 10 July 1908
- Place of death
- Poland, Maine
- Occupation
- composer of music for hymns, organist
- Known for
- "Assurance" for Fanny Crosby's lyrics Blessed Assurance
- Spouse
- Joseph Fairchild Knapp
- Nationality
- United States
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7186678 · wikipedia · Phoebe Knapp
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Phoebe Knapp • Birth Name — Phoebe Palmer • Born — 9 March 1839 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 10 July 1908 • Place of death — Poland, Maine • Occupation — composer of music for hymns, organist • Known for — "Assurance" for Fanny Crosby's lyrics Blessed Assurance • Spouse — Joseph Fairchild Knapp • Children — Francis D. Knapp (June 23, 1857–July 7, 1857) Antoinette Knapp (c. 1862–1948) Joseph Palmer Knapp (1864 - 1951) • Parents — Walter C. Palmer and Phoebe Palmer
Biography
Biography
Knapp was born in New York City. Her parents were Walter C. Palmer and Phoebe (Worrall) Palmer. She married Joseph Fairchild Knapp, one of the founders and the second president of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. He had a pipe organ installed in their apartment. Notably, her husband copyrighted all of the tunes she composed as she wrote them. She and her husband were members of the John Street Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City. The hymn writer Fanny Crosby was also a member of that church and a friend of Palmer. She wrote over 500 hymn tunes. The most enduring melody she composed is that of the 1873 hymn "Blessed Assurance," for which Fanny Crosby wrote the text. Knapp and Crosby also collaborated on the Palm Sunday hymn "Open the Gates of the Temple." Another hymn by Fanny Crosby for which Knapp wrote the music is "Nearer the Cross." Other hymn tunes by Knapp include "Albertson," the tune for "Jesus Christ is Passing By" by J. Denham Smith, and for "When My Love to Christ Grows Weak" by John R. Wreford. Her tune "Consecration" has been matched to "My Spirit Soul and Body" by Mary Dagworthy James. Phoebe Palmer Knapp also wrote sacred choral and solo works. Knapp died in Poland, Maine.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Origins and background
Origins and background
The following is established of origins and background. Knapp died in 1908 at Poland Springs Historic District. Institutional cataloguing adds that phoebe Knapp was born in 1839 at New York City.
Places
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New York City.
Birth place
Poland Springs Historic District.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7186678: Phoebe Knapp
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Phoebe Knapp”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- VIAF cluster 2077384 for Phoebe Knapp, aggregating national library name authorities.
General reference · OCLC
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Phoebe Knapp, revision 1335583264 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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References
Citations
References
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Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q7186678: Phoebe KnappWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
This entry is compiled from 5 catalogued sources across 5 independent registers. The registers consulted are MetaBrainz Foundation, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, OCLC and Crossref registry. Every statement above is held against the register that stated it; where the registers are silent, the entry is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
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