Beecher
Beecher family, c. 1858–1862
Current region	Massachusetts and Connecticut
Place of origin	County Kent, England
Members	Lyman Beecher Harriet Elizabeth 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.

History

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.

Immediate family

Lyman Beecher (1775–1863)

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.

Catharine Esther Beecher (1800–1878)

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.

William Henry Beecher (1802–1889)

American minister who was called "The Unlucky" because misfortune attended all his ventures.^[3]

Mary Foote Beecher (1805–1900)

George Beecher (1809–1843)

Harriet Elizabeth Beecher (1811–1896)

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.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887)

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.

Charles Beecher (1815–1900)

American minister, composer of religious hymns and a prolific author.

Isabella Beecher (1822–1907)

Leader, lecturer and activist in the American suffragist movement.

Thomas Kinnicut Beecher (1824–1900)

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.

James Chaplin Beecher (1828–1886)

American Congregationalist minister and colonel for the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Notable members

Thomas Clap Perkins (1798–1870)

American lawyer and politician.

Frederic Beecher Perkins (1828–1899)

American editor, writer, and librarian.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935)

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.

Family tree

The following is a brief family tree of the Beecher family, and its many notable members:^[4][5][6]

Descendants of Lyman Beecher

Gallery

• 
  Lyman Beecher (1775–1863)
• 
  Catharine Beecher (1800–1878)
• 
  Edward Beecher (1803–1895)
• 
  Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896)
• 
  Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887)
• 
  Charles Beecher (1815–1900)
• 
  Isabella Beecher Hooker (1822–1907)
• 
  Thomas K. Beecher (1824-1900)
• 
  James Chaplin Beecher (1828-1886)
• 
  Frederic Beecher Perkins (1828-1899)
• 
  Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935)
• 
  Clare Beecher Kummer (1873–1958), granddaughter of Edward Beecher