Kate Hankey

Arabella Katherine Hankey (b. Clapham, England, 1834; d. Westminster, London, England, 1911) was the daughter of a wealthy banker and was associated with the Clapham sect of William Wilberforce, a group of prominent evangelical Anglicans from the Clapham area. This group helped to establish the British and Foreign Bible Society, promoted the abolition of slavery, and was involved in improving the lot of England's working classes. Hankey taught Bible classes for shop girls in London, visited the sick in local hospitals, and used the proceeds of her writings to support various mission causes. Her publications include Heart to Heart (1870) and The Old, Old Story and Other Verses (1879).

Bert Polman
===============
Hankey, Katharine, has published several hymns of great beauty and simplicity which are included in her:—

(1) The Old, Old Story, 1866; (2) The Old, Old Story, and other Verses, 1879; (3) Heart to Heart, 1870, enlarged in 1873 and 1876. In 1878 it was republished with music by the author.

Miss Hankey's hymns which have come into common use are:—
1. Advent tells us, Christ is near. The Christian Seasons. Written for the Sunday School of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, London, and printed on a card with music by the author.
2. I love to tell the story Of unseen things above. The love of Jesus. This is a cento from No. 3, and is given in Bliss's Gospel Songs, Cincinnati, 1874, and other American collections.
3. I saw Him leave His Father's throne. Lovest than Me? Written in 1868. It is No. 33 of the Old, Old Story, and other Verses, 1879.
4. Tell me the old, old story. This Life of Jesus in verse was written in two parts. Pt. i., "The Story Wanted," Jan. 29; and Pt. ii., "The Story Told," Nov. 18, 1866. It has since been published in several forms, and sometimes with expressive music by the author, and has also been translated into various languages, including Welsh, German, Italian, Spanish, &c. The form in which it is usually known is that in I. P. Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos. This is Part i. slightly altered.

Miss Hankey's works contain many suitable hymns for Mission Services and Sunday Schools, and may be consulted both for words and music with advantage.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)