Julie von Hausmann

Julie Katharina von Hausmann (born 7 March [O.S. 19 March] 1826 in Riga; died 2 August [O.S. 15 August] 1901 in Võsu, Estonia) was a Baltic German poet, known for the hymn Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me (German: So nimm denn meine Hände) with a melody by Friedrich Silcher. Earlier translations had been made by Herman Brueckner as "O take my hand, dear Father" and Elmer Leon Jorgenson as "Take Thou My Hand, and Lead Me." The hymn has also been translated by Martha D. Lange, whose version appears in the Great Songs of the Church Revised (1986).

Julie Hausmann was the daughter of a teach­er. She worked for a while as a gov­ern­ess, but due to her ill health she lived with and cared for her fa­ther, who had gone blind. Af­ter his death in 1864, she lived with her sis­ters in Ger­ma­ny, Southern France and St. Petersburg, Russia. She died during a summer vacation in Es­ton­ia.

A legend circulates that Hausmann wrote her most famous poem "So nimm denn meine Hände" after journeying to see her fiancé at a mission and, on arriving, finding that he had just died. Various explorations of her biography have yet to confirm or deny the rumor. She never married.

Her poetry was published by others, including Gustav Knak without mentioning her name, at her request.

Maiblumen. Lieder einer Stillen im Lande.(May flowers) 2 volumes, 1862 (6th edition around 1880: Front cover Vol. 1)
Bilder aus dem Leben der Nacht im Lichte des Evangeliums. 1868
Hausbrot. Schlichte Morgen- und Abend-Andachten. 1899
Blumen aus Gottes Garten. Lieder und Gedichte. 1902 (posthumous collection)

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