Anne Steele (pen name, Theodosia; 171711 November 1778) was an English Baptist hymn writer and essayist. For a full century after her death, she filled a larger place in United States and British hymnals than any other woman. At an early age, Steele showed a taste for literature, and would often entertain her friends by her poetical compositions. To a fervour of devotion, which increased as she got older, she developed a fondness for sacred literature, which led her to compose a considerable number of pieces in prose and verse. These works were published using the pseudonym, "Theodosia". Portions of these spiritual lyrics soon found their way into collections, while the diffidence of the authoress because of her pen name, left her comparatively unknown beyond the circle of her personal friends. In 1760, two volumes, appeared under the title of Poems on Subjects chiefly Devotional, by Theodosia. After her death, which occurred in 1778, a new edition was published with an additional volume and a Preface by the Rev. Dr. Caleb Evans of Bristol (Bristol, 1780). In the three volumes, there are 144 hymns, 34 Psalms in verse, and about 30 short poems. They were reprinted in one volume by D. Sedgwick, 1863. Steele's hymns were first made available for congregational use in 1769, 62 of them being then introduced into the Bristol Baptist Collections of Ash & Evans, the letter T for "Theodosia" being affixed; 47 were also given in Dr. Rippon's Selections, 1787, and 26 in Dr. W. B. Collyer's Collections, 1812. The original edition of "Theodosia"'s works are kept in the Library of the Baptist College, Bristol. Early years Anne ("Nanny") Steele was born at Broughton, Hampshire, in 1717. She was descended from a family of Puritans. Her father, William Steele, was the minister of a community of Baptists, and he himself was descended from preachers. At an early age, Steele manifested a pious disposition, and at the age of fourteen, had become a member of the church of which her father was pastor. Owing to an accident in childhood, she was always an invalid, and often confined to her chamber. Career Steele discovered in early life her love of the Muses, and often entertained her friends with her poetical and pious writing. But it was not without extreme reluctance that she finally submitted any of them to be read by the public. Her father's diary mentions