Phoebe Hinsdale Brown  Phoebe Hinsdale Brown (pen name, B.; May 1, 1783 – October 10, 1861) was the first notable American woman hymnwriter, and the first American woman to write a hymn of wide popularity, "I love to steal awhile away". Phoebe (or Phebe) Hinsdale was born at Canaan, New York, May 1, 1783. Brown had no schooling during her first eighteen years, and was not even able to write her name. At the age of eighteen, she left her sister's home, and attended the district school at Claverack for three months, where she learned to write. In 1801, she went to live with the Whiting family in her native town, where she was treated as a daughter, and where, in the same year, she became a member of the Congregational church. In 1805, she married Timothy H. Brown, a house-painter of East Windsor, Connecticut. Two of her children were born in that town. After the Browns removed to Ellington, Connecticut, two more children were born to them. In Ellington, Brown became familiar with one of the Native Americans of the forest, still lingering in the East, of whom she gave an account in a Tract, called, "Poor Sarah, or the Indian Woman," published as Number 128, by the American Tract Society, New York. Brown became a frequent contributor to the periodical press. Several of her contributions appeared in the "Religious Intelligencer", published by Deacon Nathan Whiting, at New Haven, Connecticut. In "The Pearl", published at Hartford, Connecticut, appeared her "Tales of Real Life," and several of her pieces of poetry. She published two Sunday school books, called "The Village School", and "The Tree and its Fruits". The former of these two volumes described her own experience as a school teacher; the latter illustrated, by a series of tales from real life, the troubles associated with gambling. In 1818, Brown was living at Ellington in a small, unfinished house, caring for four little children and a sick sister. In order to gain a little quiet for her own private devotions, she would go out at sunset to the boundaries of a beautiful garden in the neighborhood in which stood one of the finest residences of the town. There, she rested a while and spoke to God. The lady of the mansion, observing Brown's actions, misinterpreted them, and rudely rebuked her as an intruder.