William Jennings Demorest (aka W. Jennings Demorest) (1822–1895), from New York City, was an American magazine publisher, national prohibition leader, and, in collaboration with his second wife, Ellen Demorest, née Curtis

Ellen Louise Demorest

Ellen Louise Demorest was a US fashion arbiter. She was a successful milliner who widely credited for inventing mass-produced tissue-paper dressmaking patterns. With her husband, William Jennings Demorest, she established a company to sell the patterns, which were adaptations of the latest French...

, attained international success from his wife's development of paper patterns

Pattern (sewing)

In sewing and fashion design, a pattern is an original garment from which other garments of a similar style are copied, or the paper or cardboard templates from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric before cutting out and assembling .Patternmaking, pattern making or pattern cutting is...

 for sewing fashion apparel of the day. Together, he and his wife built a fashion manufacturing and merchandising empire from it.

He and his wife launched five magazines. He, as individual, patented a sewing machine

Sewing machine

A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...

 and a velocipede

Velocipede

Velocipede is an umbrella term for any human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle....

. He and his wife started a cosmetic business.

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.

Town Named for Demorest

In 1889, a group of people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Indiana moved to Georgia to found a community which would have high moral standards. They decided that anyone who permitted drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, or prostitution would forfeit their property. [William Jennings] Demorest formed the Demorest Home, Mining, and Improvement Company to make that dream a reality. On November 13, 1889, the town was incorporated and named "Demorest

Demorest, Georgia

Demorest is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,465 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Demorest is located at ....

" in honor of the great Prohibition leader.

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 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.

Location of Operations

• Demorest Studio Building — 4 & 6 W 14th St
  14th Street (Manhattan)
  14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
  
  

Marriages

1. In 1845, Demorest married Margaret Willamina Poole (1823–1857), daughter of Joseph and Jeannette Poole. While living on Varick Street
   Varick Street
   Varick Street runs north-south in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Varick Street originates in TriBeCa, at the intersection of Leonard Street and West Broadway. It runs through the western portions of TriBeCa, Hudson Square and the West Village, where it merges with Seventh Avenue South...
   
   , they had two children: (i) Vienna Willamina Demorest (1847-?) and Henry Clay Demorest (1850–1928).
2. On April 15, 1858, Demorest married Ellen Louise Curtis
   Ellen Louise Demorest
   Ellen Louise Demorest was a US fashion arbiter. She was a successful milliner who widely credited for inventing mass-produced tissue-paper dressmaking patterns. With her husband, William Jennings Demorest, she established a company to sell the patterns, which were adaptations of the latest French...
   
   (1825–1898) — a US fashion arbiter. She was a successful milliner who invented mass-produced tissue-paper dressmaking patterns. With her husband, she established a company to sell the patterns, which were adaptations of the latest French fashions, and a magazine to promote them (1860). She was born in Schuylerville, New York
   Schuylerville, New York
   Schuylerville is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,197 at the 2000 census. The village is named after the Schuyler family....
   
   . Her dressmaking patterns made French styles accessible to ordinary women, thus greatly influencing US fashion.