Annie Rebekah Smith An early American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Seventh-day Adventist

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

 hymnist, she was the sister of the Adventist pioneer, Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith was a Seventh-day Adventist author and editor who worked for the Review and Herald for 50 years....

. She has ten hymns in the current Seventh-day Adventist Church Hymnal

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal

The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal is the official hymnal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is widely used by English-speaking Adventist congregations...

. She died of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

.

Biography

Annie Rebekah Smith was the third child of four children and only daughter of Samuel and Rebekah (Spalding) Smith. She was born in West Wilton, New Hampshire, on Sunday March 16, 1828. At ten years of age, she accepted Jesus as her saviour and joined the Baptist church.

Millerite Adventist

In 1844, she embraced the doctrine of the soon coming of Christ. At sixteen years of age, she experienced the Great Disappointment

Great Disappointment

The Great Disappointment was a major event in the history of the Millerite movement, a 19th-century American Christian sect that formed out of the Second Great Awakening. Based on his interpretations of the prophecies in the book of Daniel The Great Disappointment was a major event in the history...

 of October 22, 1844. Afterwards, she lost interest in the Adventist teachings and pursued her favorite occupations of studying and teaching.

Education in Boston

Between 1844 and 1855 she taught in seven district schools. At the same time she furthered her own education in various schools including six terms at the Ladies' Female Seminary in Charlestown, Massachusetts near Boston. At the Charlestown Seminary she trained to be a teacher in Oil Painting and French. Smith, Rebekah. Poems: With a Sketch of the Life and Experience of Annie R Smith. Manchester, N.H.: John B. Clark, 1871 p. 96

Annie meets Joseph Bates

Sabbatarian Adventist pioneer Joseph Bates

Joseph Bates (Adventist)

Joseph Bates was an American seaman and revivalist minister. He was the founder and developer of Sabbatarian Adventism, a strain of religious thinking that evolved into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Bates is also credited with convincing James White and Ellen G...

 met with Annie's mother. He was going to Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 and encouraged her to get Annie to attend the meeting he was conducting there. She went to the meeting, met Bates. This sparked her interest in the sabbatarian Adventist movement.

Working for the Review and Herald

Subsequent to having written and submitted a poem to the Review and Herald, she was recognised by James White

James Springer White

James Springer White , also known as Elder White was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White...

 as a talented writer. Although her eyesight was not sufficient to work as a copy-editor, she accepted the position. Upon arriving in Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

, she was healed through "anointing and prayer"

During the three and a half years before her death, she contributed around 45 articles to the Review and Herald and to the Youth's Instructor.

Annie and John

John Nevins Andrews

John Nevins Andrews

John Nevins Andrews , was a Seventh-day Adventist minister, missionary, writer, editor, and scholar...

 worked at the Review office during this time. A romance developed between them. Her romance with young Andrews failed to end in marriage, with Andrews instead choosing Angeline Stevens to be his wife. The failure of Andrews to follow through with the marriage prompted Ellen White

Ellen G. White

Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...

 to write that "Annie's disappointment cost her her life."

Tuberculosis

Annie contracted tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 and returned home. She died from the disease on Thursday July 26, 1855 at her family's home in West Wilton, New Hampshire.

Hymns and Poetry

Some of the hymns she authored include:

• Awake, O, awake, now to life and duty
• Be patient, be patient, no longer despairing
• Blessed Jesus, meek and lowly
• Hail, peaceful day, divinely blest
• He sleeps in Jesus, peaceful rest
• How Far from Home?
• I ask not, Lord, for less to bear, Here in the narrow
• I Saw One Weary
• Long upon the Mountains
• She hath passed death's chilling billow
• This groaning earth is too dark and drear
• Through this dark valley of conflict
• Toil on a little longer here, For thy reward
• Twas a doleful night on Calvary's height
• Weeping endures but for a night
• When darkness gathers round thy way

External links

• Graybill, Ron. Annie Smith, Her Life and Love. Review and Herald, April 1, 1976, pp. 4-7 Accessed April 10, 2011
• Graybill, Ron. Annie Rebekah Smith, Early Adventist Hymnist. Lest We Forget. Getting to Know the People Who Helped Shape the Seventh-day Adventist Church. An Integrated Unit by Larry Robbins. North American Division Teacher Bulletin. pp. 53-66
• The Blessed Hope: The life and death of Annie Smith. An Adventist Heritage Play Accessed April 10, 2011
• Hymn Time's Annie Rebekah Smith (1828-1855) Accessed April 10, 2011
• Smith, Annie R. (1855) Home Here, and Home in Heaven with other Poems. Rochester, N.Y. Published at the Advent Review Office
• Poems by Annie Rebekah Smith Accessed April 10, 2011
• Smith, Rebekah. Poems: With a Sketch of the Life and Experience of Annie R Smith. Manchester, N.H.: John B. Clark, 1871. Accessed April 11, 2011
• Smith, Rebekah. Poems: With a Sketch of the Life and Experience of Annie R Smith. Manchester, N.H.: John B. Clark, 1871. Archive Facsimile Accessed April 11, 2011
• Nembhard, Judith P. Annie Smith’s Hymns of the Blessed Hope. Review and Herald, August 28, 1986. pp. 12-14. At the time of writing, Judith P. Nembhard was assistant professor of English at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
• Nix, James R. Annie Smith: Pioneer Poet. December 17, 1987, Review and Herald, p. 17.