William Jennings Demorest (1822–1895) was an American magazine publisher,
prohibition leader, and businessman from
New York City. In collaboration with his second wife,
Ellen Demorest, née Curtis, he attained international success from his wife's development of
paper patterns for sewing fashion apparel of the day. Together, they built a fashion manufacturing and merchandising empire from it.
He and his wife launched five magazines and started a cosmetics company. He individually patented a
sewing machine and a
velocipede.
Demorest harbored lifelong political and religious aspirations. He is widely known for being a Prohibition activist and ran for Mayor of New York City on the Prohibition ticket. He also organized the Anti-Nuisance League.[1][2][3]
The
Demorest Medal Contests were a system of public oratorical competitions, founded as a means of Prohibition propaganda by Demorest in April, 1886. At the time of his death (1895)m it was estimated that he had expended on medals (silver, gold, and diamond) and in maintaining the Medal Bureau more than US$100,000. After his death, the Demorest medal system was merged with that of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and Mrs. Demorest was placed in charge of the Medal Department.[4]
Town named for Demorest
Magazines
1860: Mme Demorest's Mirror of Fashions was first published as a quarterly
Summer 1863 — Mirror of Fashions became a monthly
January 1864 — Demorest purchased New York Illustrated News
September 1864 — Demorest combined New York Illustrated News with the Mirror of Fashions
January 1879 — Changed the name to Demorest Family Magazine
October 1899 — Final publication of Demorest Family Magazine
Demorest Monthly Magazine, The
Demorest's Illustrated News
Demorest's Illustrated Monthly Magazine
In 1873, Demorest joined the printing firm of Little, Rennie & Co. (founded in 1867 by
Joseph James Little). In 1876, the firm became known as J.J. Little & Company.
In 1845, Demorest married Margaret Willamina Poole (1823–1857), daughter of Joseph and Jeannette Poole. While living on
Varick Street, they had two children: (i) Vienna Willamina Demorest (1847-?) and Henry Clay Demorest (1850–1928).
On April 15, 1858, Demorest married Ellen Louise Curtis (1825–1898) — a fashion arbiter.
^Ishbel Ross (1895-1975), Crusades and Crinolines: The Life and Times of Ellen Curtis Demorest and William Jennings Demorest,Harper & Row, New York (1963).
^The National Statesman (Prohibition Party newsletter, discontinued 2003), p.4., December 2003.
^Lane, Mary C. (1997). A Centennial History of Piedmont College: 1897-1997. Demorest,Ga: Piedmont College. pp. 4–5.
^Cherrington, Ernest Hurst (1924).
Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem. Westerville, Ohio: American Issue Publishing Company. p. 790. Retrieved 3 April 2024 – via Internet Archive. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain.