Hymn Songs: Never Forget the Dear Ones     

Renowned hymnists Fanny Crosby taught at the New York Institution for the Blind for eleven years.

While on summer break, she would spend time in North Reading, Mass.  She wrote many songs for Dr. George F. Root, the music teacher at the blind instutition.  “Never Forget the Dear Ones” was such song.

Root would then provide the music to marry her words.

George Frederick Root (1820-1895) is considered the first American to compose a secular cantata. From 1853-1855, he helped Lowell Mason and William Bradbury establish the New York Normal Musical Institute. He also composed under the pen name Wurzel. In 1872, the University of Chicago awarded him the degree of musical doctor.

Root was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.