Crane was born on November 1, 1871, in Newark, New Jersey. He was the last of fourteen children (nine of whom survived) of Reverend Doctor Jonathan Townley Crane and Mary Helen Peck Crane. Reverend Crane was a well-known Methodist minister and Mrs. Crane, a descendant of a long line of Methodist preachers, was active in church and reform work and wrote articles on religious topics. As a child, Crane was looked after primarily by his sister Agnes, who was fifteen years older than he.
The family moved every year or so as his father struggled to support his ever-increasing family. He served as pastor at churches in several small villages in New York and New Jersey until his final move to rural Port Jervis, New York, a small town on the Delaware River. It was there that Crane, who was eight, attended school for the first time. However, he was a bright student and had no trouble making up two grades in six weeks. "[That] sounds like the lie of a fond mother at a teaparty," Crane added, "but I do remember that I got ahead very fast and that my father was pleased with me." The setting of fifteen of his short stories, including "The Monster" and "His New Mittens," is Whilomville, a fictional town that is said to be modeled on Port Jervis.
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