A man with a passionate belief in the value of family life, William Jennings Demorest championed, within and outside his magazines, a number of causes, most notably prohibition of liquor. His second wife, Ellen Curtis Demorest, shared his values and energy, focusing her attention on the working woman. Their most famous joint effort, Demorest's Monthly Magazine, was an expression of their shared conviction that women should be financially free to pursue their interests in fashions, literature, art, music, health, and especially lofty moral causes. In addition to his publishing business, Demorest found time to patent several inventions, make a fortune in New York City real estate, run for political office, and participate in the founding of several philanthropic and reform organizations.

Born on 10 June 1822 in Brighton, New York, a suburb of Rochester, Demorest moved to New York City in his late teens. There he worked in a dry-goods...