Daughter of a Meth­od­ist min­is­ter, Lath­bu­ry stu­died art in Wor­ces­ter, Mass­a­chu­setts, and taught art and French at the New­bu­ry Acad­e­my, Ve­rmont, and in New York. She co-au­thored Wo­man and Tem­per­ance; or, the Work and Work­ers of the Wo­man’s Christ­ian Tem­per­ance Union with Fran­ces Eliz­a­beth Wil­lard in 1883, and con­trib­ut­ed piec­es to St. Ni­cho­las, Har­per’s Young Peo­ple, and Wide Awake. She was as­so­ci­at­ed with the Chau­tau­qua Move­ment near Chau­tau­qua, New York, and was known as the “po­et laur­e­ate of Chau­tau­qua.” Regard­ing her gift for art and verse, she said that one day she heard a voice she be­lieved was God, say­ing:

Remem­ber, my child, that you have a gift of weav­ing fan­cies in­to verse and a gift with the pen­cil of pro­duc­ing vi­sions that come to your heart; con­se­crate these to Me as tho­rough­ly as you do your in­most spir­it.

Sources

Hymns

1. Arise, All Souls, Arise
2. Awake, and Sing
3. Break Thou the Bread of Life
4. Day Is Dying in the West
5. Easter Carol
6. Easter Song
7. Life in the Loom
8. Lift Up, Lift Up Thy Voice
9. O Shepherd of the Nameless Fold
10. O Wondrous World Within a World