Editing Stephen Crane (section)

===Early years===
Stephen Crane was born on November 1, 1871, in [[Newark, New Jersey]], to [[Jonathan Townley Crane]], a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, and [[Mary Helen Peck Crane]], daughter of a clergyman, [[George Peck (clergyman)|George Peck]].<ref>Davis, p. 4</ref> He was the fourteenth and last child born to the couple. At 45, Helen Crane had suffered the deaths of her previous four children in infancy.<ref>Stallman, p. 1</ref> Nicknamed "Stevie" by the family, he joined eight surviving brothers and sisters—Mary Helen, George Peck, Jonathan Townley, [[William Howe Crane|William Howe]], Agnes Elizabeth, Edmund Byran, Wilbur Fiske, and Luther.<ref name="Dav10">Davis, p. 10</ref>

The Cranes were descended from Jaspar Crane, a founder of [[New Haven Colony]], who had migrated there from England in 1639.<ref>Littell, John. 1851. ''[https://archive.org/details/familyrecordsor00littgoog Family Records or Genealogies of the First Settlers of Passaic Valley and Vicinity above Chatham...]''. Feltville, New Jersey: Stationer's Hall Press.</ref> Stephen was named for a putative founder of [[Elizabethtown, New Jersey]], who had, according to family tradition, come from England or Wales in 1665,<ref>Davis, p. 5</ref> as well as his great-great-grandfather [[Stephen Crane (delegate)|Stephen Crane]], a [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] patriot who served as New Jersey delegate to the [[First Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]].<ref name="Wer1"/> Crane later wrote that his father "was a great, fine, simple mind", who had written numerous tracts on theology.<ref>Stallman, p. 6</ref> Although his mother was a popular spokeswoman for the [[Woman's Christian Temperance Union]] and a highly religious woman, Crane wrote that he did not believe "she was as narrow as most of her friends or family."<ref>Beer, p. 49</ref> The young Stephen was raised primarily by his sister Agnes, 15&nbsp;years his senior.<ref name="Wer1">Wertheim (1994), p. 1</ref> The family moved to [[Port Jervis, New York]], in 1876, where Dr. Crane became the pastor of Drew Methodist Church, a position that he retained until his death.<ref name="Wer1"/>

As a child, Crane was often sickly and afflicted by constant [[common cold|cold]]s.<ref>Stallman, p. 3</ref> When the boy was almost two, his father wrote in his diary that his youngest son became "so sick that we are anxious about him." Despite his fragile nature, Crane was an intelligent child who taught himself to read before the age of four.<ref name="Dav10"/> At the age of three, while imitating his brother Townley's writing, he asked his mother, "how do you spell ''O''?"<ref>Berryman, p. 10</ref> In December 1879, Crane wrote a poem about wanting a dog for Christmas. Entitled "I'd Rather Have –", it is his first surviving poem.<ref>Wertheim (1994), p. 21</ref> Stephen was not regularly enrolled in school until January 1880,<ref>Wertheim (1994), p. 17</ref> but he had no difficulty in completing two grades in six weeks. Recalling this feat, he wrote that it "sounds like the lie of a fond mother at a teaparty, but I do remember that I got ahead very fast and that father was very pleased with me."<ref>Stallman, p. 7</ref>

Dr. Crane died on February 16, 1880, at the age of 60; Stephen was eight years old. Some 1,400&nbsp;people attended his funeral, more than double the size of his congregation.<ref>Davis, pp. 15–16</ref> After her husband's death, Mrs. Crane moved to [[Roseville, Newark, New Jersey|Roseville]], near Newark, leaving Stephen in the care of his older brother Edmund, with whom the young boy lived with cousins in [[Sussex County, New Jersey|Sussex County]]. He next lived with his brother William, a lawyer, in Port Jervis for several years.

His older sister Helen took him to [[Asbury Park, New Jersey|Asbury Park]] to be with their brother Townley and his wife, Fannie. Townley was a professional journalist; he headed the [[Long Branch, New Jersey|Long Branch]] department of both the ''[[New-York Tribune]]'' and the [[Associated Press]], and also served as editor of the ''Asbury Park Shore Press''. Agnes, another Crane sister, joined the siblings in [[New Jersey]]. She took a position at Asbury Park's intermediate school and moved in with Helen to care for the young Stephen.<ref>Davis, p. 17</ref>

Within a couple of years, the Crane family suffered more losses. First, Townley and his wife lost their two young children. His wife Fannie died of [[Bright's disease]] in November 1883. Agnes Crane became ill and died on June 10, 1884, of [[meningitis]] at the age of 28.<ref>Davis, p. 19</ref>