Beecher family
Encyclopedia
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 (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.
1. Lyman Beecher
(1775–1863), son of David Beecher and Esther Hawley Lyman
, married first to Roxana Foote (1775–1816) in 1799 and had 9 children; Yale
graduate
By his second wife Harriet Porter (1790–1835), whom he married in 1817:
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, 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 (Congregationalists
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
), educators, authors and artists. Many of the family were Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
-educated and advocated for abolitionism
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
, and women's rights. Some of the family provided material or ideological support to the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The family is of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
descent.
Locations named after persons of this family include: Beecher, Illinois
Beecher, Illinois
Beecher is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the old Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad and the Dixie Highway. Situated in the center of Washington Township, it was originally named Washington Center. The population was 4,359 at the 2010 census. Named for Henry...
, named after Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
and Beecher Island
Beecher Island
Beecher Island is a sandbar located along the lower course of the Arikaree River, a tributary of the North Fork of the Republican River near Wray in Yuma County, Colorado. The site is notable for having been the scene of an 1868 armed conflict between elements of the United States Army and several...
, named after Lt. Fredrick H. Beecher.
Family tree
The following is a brief family tree of the Lyman Beecher family, and its many notable members :1. Lyman Beecher
Lyman Beecher
Lyman Beecher was a Presbyterian minister, American Temperance Society co-founder and leader, and the father of 13 children, many of whom were noted leaders, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Catharine Beecher, and Thomas...
(1775–1863), son of David Beecher and Esther Hawley Lyman
, married first to Roxana Foote (1775–1816) in 1799 and had 9 children; Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
graduate
- i. Catharine Esther BeecherCatharine BeecherCatharine Esther Beecher was an American educator known for her forthright opinions on women's education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's education....
(1800–1878) was an educator and women's-rights activist - ii. William Henry BeecherWilliam Henry BeecherWilliam Henry Beecher was a dyspeptic minister who was called "The Unlucky" because misfortune attended all his ventures.-Beecher Family:...
(1802–1889), a Congregational minister in OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... - iii. Edward BeecherEdward BeecherEdward Beecher was a noted theologian, the son of Lyman Beecher and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher. He was born August 27, 1803 in East Hampton, New York. He graduated from Yale College in 1822. After this he studied theology at Andover. In 1826, he became the pastor...
(1803–1895) helped organize Illinois' first anti-slavery society, YaleYALERapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
graduate; married Isabella Jones - iv. Mary Foote Beecher (1805–1900), married Thomas Clapp Perkins (1798–1870) in 1827; Perkins was the brother-in-law of Roger Sherman BaldwinRoger Sherman BaldwinRoger Sherman Baldwin was an American lawyer involved in the Amistad case, who later became the 17th Governor of Connecticut and a United States Senator.-Early life:...
- 1. Frederick Beecher Perkins (b.1828), library director in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CASan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and author; married Mary Ann Fitch Westcott. They had four children including- i. Charlotte PerkinsCharlotte Perkins GilmanCharlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform...
(1860–1935), feminist; married Charles Walter StetsonCharles Walter StetsonCharles Walter Stetson was an American artist often known as a "colorist" for his rich use of color. He married Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1884, their only child was born in 1885, they were separated in 1888, and they divorced amicably in 1894....
in 1884 and had one child, divorced in 1894; married her first cousin George Houghton Gilman in 1900 (see below)
- i. Charlotte Perkins
- 2. Emily Baldwin Perkins (1829–1912), married Edward Everett HaleEdward Everett HaleEdward Everett Hale was an American author, historian and Unitarian clergyman. He was a child prodigy who exhibited extraordinary literary skills and at age thirteen was enrolled at Harvard University where he graduated second in his class...
in 1852 and had eight sons and one daughter, Ellen Day HaleEllen Day HaleEllen Day Hale was an American painter and printmaker.-Biography:...
(1855–1940), an artist - 3. Charles E. Perkins (b. 1832),
- 4. Catherine Beecher Perkins (b.1836), married William Charles Gilman. They had four children, including
- i. George Houghton Gilman
- 1. Frederick Beecher Perkins (b.1828), library director in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA
- v. Harriet Beecher (1808–1808)
- vi. George Beecher (1809–1843) YaleYALERapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
graduate, married Sarah Buckingham in 1837 - vii. Harriet Elizabeth BeecherHarriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
(1811–1896), wrote Uncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
; married Calvin Stowe (1802–1886) in 1836 - viii. Henry Ward BeecherHenry Ward BeecherHenry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
(1813–1887), married Eunice White Bullard (1812–1897) in 1837; namesake of Beecher, IllinoisBeecher, IllinoisBeecher is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the old Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad and the Dixie Highway. Situated in the center of Washington Township, it was originally named Washington Center. The population was 4,359 at the 2010 census. Named for Henry...
. - ix. Charles BeecherCharles BeecherCharles Beecher was an American minister, composer of religious hymns, and prolific author.Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the son of Lyman Beecher, an abolitionist Congregationalist preacher from Boston and Roxana Foote Beecher...
(1815–1900) married Sarah Leland Coffin (1815–1897) in 1840. Their son, Lt Frederick H Beecher, died at the Battle of Beecher IslandBattle of Beecher IslandThe Battle of Beecher Island, also known as the Battle of Arikaree Fork, was an armed conflict between elements of the United States Army and several of the Plains native American tribes in September 1868...
, Beecher IslandBeecher IslandBeecher Island is a sandbar located along the lower course of the Arikaree River, a tributary of the North Fork of the Republican River near Wray in Yuma County, Colorado. The site is notable for having been the scene of an 1868 armed conflict between elements of the United States Army and several...
being posthumously named after him.
By his second wife Harriet Porter (1790–1835), whom he married in 1817:
- x. Frederick C Beecher (1818–1820)
- xi. Isabella Holmes BeecherIsabella Beecher HookerIsabella Beecher Hooker was a leader in the women's suffrage movement and an author.-Biography:Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, she was a daughter of Reverend Lyman Beecher, a noted abolitionist. Among her half brothers and sisters were Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Catharine Beecher, and...
(1822–1907), married John Hooker (1816–1901) in 1841 - xii Thomas Kinnicut Beecher (1824–1900), married Olivia Day (1826–1853) in 1851, and married Frances Juliana Jones (1826–1905) in 1857. A Congregational minister in Elmira, New YorkElmira, New YorkElmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
- xiii. James Chaplin Beecher (1828–1886),colonel of the 35th United States Colored Troops
Additional reading
- French, Earl A. and Diana Royce. Portraits of a Nineteenth Century Family. Hartford, Connecticut: The Stowe-Day Foundation, 1976.
- Hooker, John. Some Reminiscences of a long life with a few articles on moral and social subjects of present interest. Hartford, Connecticut: Belknap and Warfield, 1899.
- Rugoff, Milton. The Beechers: An American Family in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
- Van Why, Joseph S. Nook Farm. Hartford, Connecticut: The Stowe-Day Foundation, 1975.
- Caskey, Marie. Chariot of fire: religion and the Beecher family. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1978.
- Stowe, Lyman Beecher. Saints, Sinners and Beechers. Indianapolis, Indiana: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1934.
External links
- An American Family: The Beecher Tradition—an exhibit at the William and Anita Newman Library curated by Professor Sandra Roff, Archivist/Reference Librarian
- Beecher-Stowe family Papers. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.