Women of distinction/Chapter 33

CHAPTER XXXIII.

MRS. JULIA RINGWOOD COSTON.

"Let us ever glory in something, and strive to retain our admiration for all that would ennoble, and our interest in all that would enrich and beautify our life."

It will be a source of much gratification and genuine pleasure to the many readers and admirers of Ringwood's Journal to be formally introduced to the editress of this excellent magazine.

MRS. JULIA RINGWOOD COSTON.

Beautifully situated in the town of Warrenton, Va., is the "Ringwood Farm," so called because of its resemblance to an ancient homestead of the same name in Colchester, England, in fulfillment of a promise made to his young wife by its owner that their home should be called "Ringwood" if the first-born were a girl.

Upon this farm and after it Mrs. Coston was named. She was brought to Washington, D. C., when an infant, and having been reared at the nation's capital, it is naturally reg-arded as her home. Her education was commenced in the public schools, which she attended until reaching the highest grade, when her mother's health failed and she was compelled to leave school. Accepting the position as governess in the family of a general of the United States army, she found time and received both assistance and encouragement in the prosecution of her studies. In the spring of 1886 she became the wife of Rev. W. H. Coston, B. D., then a student at Yale University, the Right Rev. J. M. Brown officiating. Two little ones have been born to them, the oldest a lovely little girl of five years, the youngest a boy of three years, named, respectively, Julia R. and W. H. Coston. So far along the journey of life this esteemed couple have proved that marriage is not a failure. They are mutually and justly proud of each other. Mr. Coston has found in his wife a helpmeet "in whom his heart doth safely trust"; that pearl of pearls, a good woman, "whose price is far above rubies"; a faithful, affectionate, earnest, Christian wife, who fills her position in his household and congregation with the dignity and grace which appertain thereto. From the fact that Mr. Coston is the author of "A Freeman and Yet a Slave" it will be seen that ambition has led him to venture forth upon the treacherous sea of literature; happily, however, without making shipwreck. By reason of the consonance of their literary tastes Mrs. Coston has received much sympathy, encouragement and help from her husband, whose practical experience has enabled him to suggest plans and methods for the realization of that cherished desire of her heart which will forever distinguish her among Afro-American women. As a girl, Mrs. Coston felt deeply the ostracism of all the Anglo-Saxon journals of our common country as displayed toward anything of interest or credit concerning the colored people; she longed to see a colored face upon the pages of a magazine, and to enjoy the privilege of reading about its owner. This intense desire culminated in the conception and ultimate execution of Ringwood’s JournaL the success and growing popularity of which amply prove her wisdom in launching bravely out upon an untried sea. That the readers of Ringwood may duly appreciate and understand Mrs. Coston's purpose and motives the following quotation from the initial editorial of Journal’s subjoined:

Ringwood's Journal of Fashion, published by Mrs. J. R. Coston, makes its advent to satisfy the common desire among us for an illustrated journal of our own ladies. The injury of the absence of the cultivating influence which attaches to a purely published, illustrated journal devoted to the loving interests of our homes, and to the weal of our daughters, was felt by me when a girl, and is recognized by me now when a woman. Knowing that this injury of absence could only be overcome by the presence of such a journal, without measuring the intellectual ability required, we have published Ringwood's Journal.

The quality of her fidelity to her age and her earnest ambition in behalf of her race are still further portrayed in the kind and commendatory words of one of her dearest friends:

There is nothing masculine or egotistic in the character of Mrs. Coston. She is a lovable woman, whose actuating desire is to serve the highest interests of the women of to-day, that their lives may be made more helpful by giving them modest publicity, and thus present them as worthy models for the emulation of our growing womanhood.

Woman, "last at the cross and first at the sepulchre," is always to be found in the van of progress. The noble enterprise to which Mrs. Coston is devoting hand, brain and heart deserves to be the pride and joy of all her sister women. Her success will depend mainly upon their sympathetic co-operation. Let them then rally loyally to her support. The Afro-American race must learn to respect and esteem the efforts of its own representatives if it would compel the regard of others.

But whether Mrs. Coston succeeds or fails, the very endeavor to elevate the race by creating and maintaining a refined ladies' journal will be an enduring stone in the "Temple of Human Culture." She may not have a monument of bronze or marble erected to perpetuate a grateful memory, but she will live, not only in the hearts of her two precious little ones, who will rise up to call their devoted mother blessed, but likewise in the pure and exalted lives of the grand women of the dawning future. "Pilot Buoy."