n of the day in the early development of women's clubs. Friends
tried to persuade her to abandon her plans for organizing woman's
varied abilities, ridicule assailed her most cherished hope, and the
sarcasm of opponents barred the way. She lived to triumph in seeing
her aims successful, and after thirty-five years of club life to be
honored by one of the highest gifts in the power of the General
Federation to offer--the honorary vice-presidency.

Mrs. Croly formulated in 1890 her well-matured plan for a general
federation of women's clubs, and with the cordial assistance of the
"Mother Club, Sorosis," issued the first call for representatives of
women's clubs of all the States to meet.

Stimulated by the success of the General Federation, Mrs. Croly urged
the formation of the New York State Federation, and assisted by
Sorosis as the hostess, an invitation was issued to all the State
clubs to be the guests of Sorosis at Sherry's, November, 1894.

[Illustration: MRS. CROLY at the age of 18.]

Mrs. Croly's life-work as a writer had gone forward hand in hand with
her club interests, and, having finished the foundation work of the
two federations, she devoted her time to the preparation of her
massive volume on the "Growth of the Woman's Club Movement," which is
a monument to her patient industry, and the only permanent record of
the development of women's clubs in America.

She sleeps--but each woman who to-day shares the benefit and the
responsive pleasure of club life, should place a leaf in the garland
for "Jenny June."

From Marie Etienne Burns

"Work is a true savior, and the not knowing how is more the
cause of idleness than the love of it."--MRS. CROLY.

The idea of a State Industrial School for Girls originated with Mrs.
Croly, and at a spring meeting of the Executive Committee of the New
York State Federation of Women's Clubs, held in 1898, she suggested
that the first work of the Philanthropic Committee for the year be an
endeavor to establish a State Industrial School for wayward, not
criminal, young girls of tenement-house neighborhoods. Soon after this
Mrs. Croly met with a serious accident and was obliged to give up all
active work. She decided to go to Europe, hoping to be benefited by a
stay abroad. Just before her departure Mrs. Croly wrote asking me to
present the proposed industrial-school plan to the Convention for its
endorsement. The next day I called upon her to discuss matt