Little drops of water, p. 679, i. The author of the earliest form of this hymn, the Rev. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, LL.D., son of J. S. Brewer, was born in London, May 2, 1810, and died March 6, 1897.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
==========================
This hymn has also been attributed to Ebenezer Cobham Brewer but it is clearly the work of Mrs. T. J. Carney. It was mis-credited to Brewer in the book Poems that Every Child Should Know published in 1904 by Doubleday, Page and Co. and edited by Mary E. Burt. Our Women Workers: biographical sketches of women eminent in the Universalist Church for literary, and philanthropic and Christian work, 3rd ed., by Mrs. E. R. Hanson published in 1881 by The Star and Covenant Office credits the hymn to Carney.
================
Little drops of water, p. 679, i. When this Dictionary came into circulation in America, in 1892, the authorship of this hymn was claimed by Mrs. Julia A. Carney (q.v.) as against Dr. Brewer. After prolonged searching and correspondence we find that a hymn by Mrs. Carney was printed in a Header published for use in the Boston Primary Schools, U.S.A., in 1845. This American text is that given on p. 679. From this it will be seen that Dr. Brewer began his version of the hymn in 1848 by adopting the opening stanza of Mrs. Carney's version of 1845, and adding thereto four inferior verses of his own. Mrs. Carney's text, with variations in most collections, is that now (1906) in common use. Dr. Brewer's version is unknown to modern hymn books.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files
