author
J. T. (Jonathan Townley) Crane
1819–1880
A 19th-century Methodist minister and reform-minded writer, he brought religious conviction and everyday social concerns together in books on family life, church practice, and popular culture. He is also remembered as the father of novelist Stephen Crane.
1 Audiobook
Popular Amusements
by J. T. (Jonathan Townley) Crane
About the author
Born in New Jersey in 1819, Jonathan Townley Crane was an American clergyman, author, and abolitionist. He graduated from Princeton in 1843 and went on to serve in the Methodist Episcopal Church, building a reputation as both a preacher and a thoughtful commentator on moral and social life.
Crane wrote on a wide range of subjects, including religion, domestic life, and recreation. His books include Popular Amusements and Methodism and Its Methods, works that reflect his interest in how ordinary habits and public culture shaped character.
He died in 1880. Today, he is often noted not only for his own writing and ministry, but also as the father of Stephen Crane; still, his work stands on its own as part of 19th-century American religious and social writing.