Born: March 9, 1839, New York, New York. Died: July 10, 1908, Poland Springs, Maine. Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. Thomas Hastings and Henry Beecher lie nearby. |
Phoebe’s parents were Methodist evangelists Dr. Walter C. Palmer and Phoebe Worrall Palmer. At 16 years of age, she married Joseph Fairfield Knapp, second president of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. They belonged to the John Street Methodist Church in New York City, as did Phoebe’s close friend Fanny Crosby. After her husband’s death, Phoebe was left with a large income, much of which she gave to charity. Phoebe had a large pipe organ in her apartment in the Savoy Hotel in New York City, and wrote over 500 hymn tunes.
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Music