Memories of Jane Cunningham Croly, Jenny June | Page 3

a born preacher if by preaching is meant the
annunciation of a gospel to those who need it. Jennie was always an
ardent devotee of her sex, and whatever else she believed in, she
certainly believed in women, their instincts and capacities.
In the year 1856, on February 14th, St. Valentine's Day, my sister
Jennie was married to David G. Croly, a reporter for the New York
_Herald,_ and they began life in the city on his meagre salary of
fourteen dollars a week. The gifted young wife, however, soon found
work for herself on the _World_, the _Tribune_, the _Times_, _Noah's
Sunday Times_ and the Messenger. The first money she received for
writing was in return for an article published in the New York Tribune.
Their joint career in metropolitan journalism was interrupted however
by a short term of residence in Rockford, Illinois, where Mr. Croly was
invited to become editor of the Rockford _Register_, then owned by
William Gore King, the husband of our sister Mary A. Cunningham.
Mr. Croly was aided in the editorial management by his wife, and while
the work was agreeable and successful, it was due to Mrs. Croly's
ardent desire for a larger field, that at the end of a year they decided to
return to New York. The results for both abundantly justified the
change. As managing editor of the daily World for a number of years,
afterwards of the New York _Graphic_, and later of the _Real Estate
Record and Guide_, Mr. Croly won an honorable position in New York
journalism. He was a conservative democrat of the strictest sort, a
radical in religion, and had but little appreciation of the deeper forces at
work in society and in national life. But he was able and honest, and
enjoyed the respect of his fellow-craftsmen.
"Jenny June" was a person of very different mental and moral mould.

Her work soon revealed a new, fresh, vigorous force in journalism. An
examination of her editorial contributions to the Sunday Times from
March to December, 1861, suggests her mental vivacity, vigor, breadth
of view, and uniform clearness and power of expression. The title of
the whole series is unpretentious enough: "Parlor and Sidewalk
Gossip." All through her journalistic career similar qualities of
originality characterized her pen. She was editor of _Demorest's_
magazine for twenty-seven years, and was both editor and owner of
_Godey's_ magazine and _The Home-Maker_. The Cycle was her own
creation and property. In each of these publications the dominating
thoughts are those which make for social elevation, the honor of
womanhood and home comfort and happiness. In addition to this
editorial work she was a regular contributor to several leading
newspapers in Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Baltimore and other
cities. She inaugurated the system of syndicate correspondence, and
was the author of several books--"For Better, For Worse"; "Talks on
Women's Topics"; "Thrown on Her Own Resources"; three manuals;
and "The History of the Woman's Club Movement," a large volume of
nearly twelve hundred pages.
During the most active years of my sister's literary life, she had also the
care of a large household, and her home was always bright and
hospitable. The Croly Sunday evening receptions were one of the social
features of New York City.
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Croly. Minnie, the eldest, was
happily married to Lieutenant Roper of the U. S. Navy; her early death
was a grief hard to bear. The second child, a boy, died in infancy. The
surviving children are: Herbert G. Croly, a man of letters in New York
City; Vida Croly Sidney, the wife of the English playwright, Frederick
Sidney, lives in London; and Alice Gary Mathot, the wife of a New
York lawyer, William F. Mathot, resides in Brooklyn Hills, Long
Island.
Mrs. Croly, one of the founders of Sorosis, perhaps the most noted
woman's club in existence, was its President for many years, and its
Honorary President at the time of her death. The cause which led to the
founding of Sorosis is an open secret. Women were ignored at the
Charles Dickens reception; this was not to be tolerated, and in
consequence of this affront Sorosis came into being, an effectual

protest against any similar indifference in all time to come. Of the
growth of the club movement in the United States, in Great Britain,
France, Russia, and in far-off India, I do not propose to enter into detail.
Suffice it to say that it is one of the marvels of the modern social and
intellectual life of women.
What was the secret of Jenny June's charm and power? Not
scholarship--let this be said in all sincerity. How greatly she
appreciated the scholar's advantages was well known to her intimate
friends. But these advantages did not belong to her.