Existing comment:
Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1811-1896,
Lyman Beecher, 1775-1863,
Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887:
Lyman Beecher, a Presbyterian clergyman, was the patriarch of one of the most talented and influential families in American history. In the 1820s, he tapped America's fervor for a religion that would serve individuals and society alike. A powerful preacher who grounded his faith in a belief in the individual will, Lyman conducted a continuous, passionate revival, demanding that his congregants redouble their efforts at personal reform and good works. His son Henry did not share his father's fierceness but became a national figure for his preaching style. In addition to the novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Beecher family also included Catherine (1800-1878), an important domestic reformer, and the ministers Charles (1815-1900), Edward (1803-1895), and Thomas (1824-1900).
Mathew Brady Studio, c 1861 |