Born in November 1871 in Newark, New Jersey, Stephen Crane was the youngest of fourteen children. The Crane family moved to Port Jervis, New York, where Crane first began his education. His father, a strict Methodist minister, died in 1880, leaving his devout, strong mother to raise the children. Mary H. P. Crane moved her family back to New Jersey, where they lived in Asbury Park. Mrs. Crane herself was an active writer who contributed to various Methodist papers.
Crane attended a Methodist boarding school for two years from 1885 to 1887. Later, he attended Claverack College and the Hudson River Institute. Ultimately, Crane spent less than two years in college. At Syracuse University,...