Beecher | |
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![]() Beecher family, c. 1858–1862 | |
Current region | Massachusetts and Connecticut |
Place of origin | County Kent, England |
Members | Lyman Beecher Henry Ward Beecher |
Connected families | Foote family Perkins family |
Originating in New England, one particular Beecher family in the 19th century was a political family notable for issues of religion, civil rights, and social reform. Notable members of the family include clergy (Presbyterians and Congregationalists), educators, authors and artists. Many of the family were Yale-educated and advocated for abolitionism, temperance, and women's rights. Some of the family provided material or ideological support to the Union in the American Civil War. The family is of English descent.
Locations named after persons of this family include: Beecher, Illinois, named after Henry Ward Beecher and Beecher Island, named after Lt. Fredrick H. Beecher.
The American Beecher family began with John Beecher from Kent, England. Along with his wife and son Isaac, the Beechers embarked with a company of emigrants and arrived in Boston on June 26, 1637. During its early days, Boston welcomed all Puritan emigrants, though many of these emigrants were not content to settle in the vicinity of Boston, owing, in part, to the difference in religious opinions. In September of that year, John was a member of an expedition party to explore the surrounding lands for plantation settlement. He was one of seven men left to winter in what would become New Haven, Connecticut. John died during that winter. His bones were discovered in 1750 in digging for a cellar of a stone house. The main body of settlers arrived in New Haven harbor in April, 1638. [1] Isaac Beecher was then fifteen years old. From him all the New Haven families of the name are said to have descended, and from whence the name has spread throughout the surrounding country, numbering, among the direct descendants, the West Haven branch of the Beecher family and the Lyman Beecher family, which would become an American religious force throughout the 19th century.
Presbyterian minister, American Temperance Society co-founder [2] and leader. Beecher was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to David Beecher, a blacksmith, and Esther Hawley Lyman. His mother died shortly after his birth, and he was committed to the care of his uncle Lot Benton, as W. Bray, and at the age of eighteen entered Yale, graduating in 1797. He spent 1798 in Yale Divinity School under the tutelage of his mentor Timothy Dwight. He was president of Lane Theological Seminary, in Cincinnati.
American educator known for her forthright opinions on female education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's education.
American minister who was called "The Unlucky" because misfortune attended all his ventures. [3]
American abolitionist and author, best known for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which depicts the harsh conditions for enslaved African Americans. The book reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and Great Britain, energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South. Stowe wrote 30 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. She was influential for both her writings and her public stances on social issues of the day.
American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. Henry attended Amherst College in 1834 and Lane Theological Seminary in 1837 before serving as a minister in Indianapolis and Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
American minister, composer of religious hymns and a prolific author.
Leader, lecturer and activist in the American suffragist movement.
American preacher and the principal of several schools. He lived in Litchfield, Connecticut, Boston, Massachusetts, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Elmira, New York. There is a memorial statue built in Elmira, where he spent much of his life. He was a close friend of Mark Twain and married him to Olivia Langdon.
American Congregationalist minister and colonel for the Union Army during the American Civil War.
American lawyer and politician.
American editor, writer, and librarian.
American feminist, sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" which she wrote after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis.
The following is a brief family tree of the Beecher family, and its many notable members: [4] [5] [6]
John Beecher emigrated to America 1637 birth. unknown (died 1638) | Nathaniel Foote emigrated to America 1633 birth. abt. 1593 (died 1644) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Isaac Beecher emigrated to America 1637 birth. 1623 (died 1690) | Nathaniel Foote emigrated to America 1633 birth. abt. 1620 (died 1655) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph Beecher birth. 1647 (unknown) | Nathaniel Foote birth. 1647 (died 1703) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph Beecher birth. 1670 (died unknown) | Nathaniel Foote birth. 1682 (died 1774) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nathaniel Beecher birth. 1706 (died 1786) | Daniel Foote birth. 1716 (died 1801) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
David Beecher birth. 1738 (died 1805) | Eli Foote birth. 1747 (died unknown) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lyman Beecher birth. 1775 (died 1863) | Roxana Ward Foote birth. 1682 (died 1774) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes: |
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which depicts the harsh conditions experienced by enslaved African Americans. The book reached an audience of millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and in Great Britain, energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South. Stowe wrote 30 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. She was influential both for her writings as well as for her public stances and debates on social issues of the day.
Henry Ward Beecher was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His rhetorical focus on Christ's love has influenced mainstream Christianity to this day.
Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the crowded burial ground on the New Haven Green. The first private, nonprofit cemetery in the world, it was one of the earliest burial grounds to have a planned layout, with plots permanently owned by individual families, a structured arrangement of ornamental plantings, and paved and named streets and avenues. By introducing ideas like permanent memorials and the sanctity of the deceased body, the cemetery became "a real turning point... a whole redefinition of how people viewed death and dying", according to historian Peter Dobkin Hall. Many notable Yale and New Haven luminaries are buried in the Grove Street Cemetery, including 14 Yale presidents; nevertheless, it was not restricted to members of the upper class, and was open to all.
Lyman Beecher was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Catharine Beecher, and Thomas K. Beecher.
Catharine Esther Beecher was an American educator known for her forthright opinions on female education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's education. She published the advice manual The American Woman's Home with her sister Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1869. Some sources spell her first name as "Catherine".
The Minister's Wooing is a historical novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, first published in 1859. Set in 18th-century New England, the novel explores New England history, highlights the issue of slavery, and critiques the Calvinist theology in which Stowe was raised. Due to similarities in setting, comparisons are often drawn between this work and Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850). However, in contrast to Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter, The Minister's Wooing is a "sentimental romance"; its central plot revolves around courtship and marriage. Moreover, Stowe's exploration of the regional history of New England deals primarily with the domestic sphere, the New England response to slavery, and the psychological impact of the Calvinist doctrines of predestination and disinterested benevolence.
Tapping Reeve was an American lawyer, judge, and law educator. In 1784 he opened the Litchfield Law School, the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Emily Pitkin (Perkins) Baldwin,, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Enoch Perkins and Hannah Pitkin. On October 25, 1820, she married Roger Sherman Baldwin, who became the governor of Connecticut in 1844 and US Senator in 1847. Emily and Roger had nine children.
Isabella Beecher Hooker was a leader, lecturer and social activist in the American suffragist movement.
Charles Beecher was an American minister, composer of religious hymns and a prolific author.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is a historic home in Cincinnati, Ohio which was once the residence of influential antislavery author Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Edward Beecher D.D. was an American theologian, the son of Lyman Beecher and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher.
Calvin Ellis Stowe was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theological Seminary, Dartmouth College, Lane Theological Seminary, and Bowdoin College. He was the husband and literary agent of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the best-seller Uncle Tom's Cabin.
William Henry Beecher was a dyspeptic minister who was called "The Unlucky" because misfortune attended all his ventures.
Thomas Kinnicut Beecher was a Congregationalist preacher and the principal of several schools. As a Congregational minister, his father took the family from Beecher's birthplace of Litchfield, Connecticut, to Boston, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati, Ohio, by 1832.
Frederic Beecher Perkins was an American editor, writer, and librarian. He was a member of the Beecher family, a prominent 19th-century American religious family.
Thomas Clap Perkins was an American lawyer and politician.
James Chaplin Beecher, was an American Congregationalist minister and Colonel for the Union Army during the American Civil War. He came from the Beecher family, a prominent 19th century American religious family.
Katherine Elizabeth Foote Coe was an American educator, journalist, and traveler from Connecticut.
Annis Bertha Ford Eastman (1852–1910) was an American Congregational minister, and one of the first women in the United States to be ordained. She ministered at several churches in New York State, including Park Church in Elmira. She was a popular speaker, as well. In 1893, she spoke at the Congress of Women, held at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. She presented at the National Council of Women of the United States in 1895.