J. E. McConaughy

Julia Eliza McConaughy ( Loomis; January 1, 1834 – August 29, 1885) was an American writer. She was one of the largest contributors to religious literature of her day, writing a number of brief articles, and made contributions to Sunday school literature. She was also the author of 14 books and of 8,000 articles for 75 periodicals. Her writings were copied by other papers, and ran the rounds of the press, both in the United States and at times in England. The editor of one journal to which she was a constant contributor, informed her that she was the only contributor from whom he had never refused an article. She invariably refused to write for secular papers for the sake of higher remuneration, where her religious aim would have to be sacrificed or abriged.

Early life and education Julia Eliza Loomis was born in Twinsburg, Ohio, on January 1, 1834, Her father removed from New Haven, Connecticut, to Ohio, in 1817, and was one of the early settlers of the Western Reserve.

From the age of seven, she was an insatiable reader. A fall from a carriage broke her ankle when she was ten years old and forced her to stay at home for some months, during which time she further developed her taste for reading. The library to which she had access was the garret of a neighbor, well stocked with files of old newspapers, a few magazines, and some volumes of Waverly. The first twelve years of her life were spent on a farm. Her father then removed to Hudson, Ohio, where she attended the Hudson Female Seminary, taught by Mary Strong, the daughter of Ephraim Strong. It was through her influence that McConaughy's interest in the subject of religion was first awakened. She united with the Congregational church at Hudson, at the age of fourteen.

Career During the course of her education, she became an assistant teacher in the seminary for ladies taught by Mary Strong, and for some years, taught there and in the village school. She then taught in the new seminary which succeeded Strong's, then in the high school at Akron, Ohio, and afterwards in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where she held the position of lady principal, having the responsible conduct of the school. and soon after removed to Millville, New Jersey, which was her home for eight years. She took on the duties of a minister's wife, actively taking the lead in ladies' prayer meetings, Sunday school, and Bible-class work, and all forms of Christian and charitable effort, visiting the sick, providing for the poor, and promoting schemes of benevolence.