The Beecher family, of Litchfield, Connecticut, worked in many ways to abolish slavery in 19th century America. Read more about these fascinating people...

"If I could use a pen as you can I would write something that would make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is." Thus did Harriet Beecher Stowe's sister-in-law ( the wife of Rev.Edward Beecher), write to Harriet in a letter . Along with the personal experiences of slavery her own brother Charles had while working in New Orleans, the die was cast...she would, indeed, write something to make the whole nation aware. How much, she could never envision.

Catharine Beecher

Born in 1800 in East Hampton, Long Island, the first of the the Rev.. Lyman Beecher's large family, she was the first to recognize the scourge of slavery and before founding many schools for the education of women wrote " An Essay on Slavery and Abolition, with Reference to the Duty of the American Female,"published at Philadelphia in 1837. How much readership this essay received is unknown, but it showed courage on Catharine's part to tackle such a topic in the climate of the times.

George Beecher

Rev. George Beecher (1809-1843) was pastor at Batavia. Ohio, and died from an accidental or purposeful gunshot wound. He, too, was against slavery and joined the Clermont County Anti-Slavery Society in the late 1830's. While serving as minister in Ohio he insisted that the leaders of the movement must persuade the synods of the west to speak in public for abolition.

James Chaplin Beecher

Rev. James Chaplin Beecher (1828-1886), ministered at Owego, New York, and the place where he settled in the Catskill region is now called Beecher Lake. During the Civil War, James became a Colonel and commanded the First North Carolina Regiment, later renamed the 35th Regiment United States Colored Troops. He had been seriously wounded in battle, and retired from the army with the rank of Brevet-General.

Edward Beecher

Rev. Edward Beecher (1803-1895), left the Park Street Church in Boston in the late 1830's to become president of Illinois College. Here he became acquainted with ordained minister and publisher of the Alton, Illinois, Observer, Elijah Lovejoy, who later asked Beecher to help him form an anti-slavery society. Lovejoy, through his articles, had a reputation as an ardent abolitionist which inflamed the populace, and was at his warehouse one evening in 1837 when a crazed mob set fire to it and Lovejoy was shot and killed. Edward Beecher had left him just a few hours before.

Charles Beecher

Rev.Charles Beecher (1815-1900), was a musician and hymn writer who spent some time in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he saw first hand how brutally the slaves were treated. in 1870 he accepted his sister Harriet's invitation to visit her at Mandarin, Florida and preach to the Negro freedmen. He later went to Wysox, Pennsylvania, where he preached until his retirement. In 1868 his son, Lieutenant Frederick Beecher was killed in a battle at Yuma, Arizona. The place where he fell is marked by a monument known as the Beecher Island Monument.

Henry Ward Beecher

Pastor of one of the biggest churches in America, The Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York, Henry was born in 1812 and died in 1887. He became known far and wide for his stand against slavery and his church was fired upon one evening during services. He sent rifles to the west during the Civil War and they were ever after known as "Beecher's Bibles." During one of the church services he bought the freedom of a lovely young slave girl, and reduced the congregation to tears as they dug deep into pockets and wallets to free her for life.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Little need be said about the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," who brought the scourge of slavery to the attention of the American people. Abraham Lincoln said upon meeting her, "So this is the little lady who started this great war." The book has been read for over a hundred years and continues to be popular.

A family whose members did such service to the slaves in the 19th century should not be forgotten today.

Source: "Love Divine," iUniverse Publishing, 2005

For further information on the Beecher family see:

Rev.Charles Beecher

Who Was Isabella Beecher Hoooker

Who Was Catharine Beecher