William Constantine Beecher (1849 - 1928)

Born 26 Jan 1849 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York

Ancestors

Husband of Jessie Howe (Bigelow) Beecher — married 23 Nov 1881 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York

Descendants

Died 18 Sep 1928 at age 79 in Whitefield, Coos, New Hampshire

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Biography

Col. William C. Beecher, Last Surviving Son of Henry Ward Beecher, Succumbs to Pneumonia

by Gomer

New York City, N.Y., September 26, Col. William C. Beecher, the last surviving son of Henry Ward Beecher, noted Brooklyn minister, died of pneumonia in the Mountain View House, Whitefield, N.H. after a brief illness. Colonel Beecher contracted a cold and shortly afterward pneumonia developed Funeral services were conducted in the church yesterday afternoon by the Rev. Dr. J. Stanley Durkee, the pastor. Burial was in Greenwood cemetery, in the plot of the family of Colonel Beecher's widow, Mrs. Jessie Bigelow Beecher. Among the mourners, besides Mr.s Beecher, was Colonel Beecher's three daughters, Mrs. Charles F. Park, Jr., and Mrs. George S. White, of Englewood, N.J., and Mrs. Paul S. May of Washington, Conn.

The sad gathering in Plymouth Church, especially the old veterans, felt the presence and spirit of Henry Ward Beecher permeating the scene during the simple funeral services and fitting words of the present pastor, the Rev. Stanley Durkee, D.D. The following from the Brooklyn Eagle is a true synopsis of our good friends' lbaor during his long life in the city, and especially his work in keeping the home first burning in the work of Plymouth Church, which still stands as a beacon light for all that is best in the life of our country: "In the group of men most devoted to the maintaining of the prestige of Plymouth Church Colonel William C. Beecher, son of the great preacher, who had given Plymouth world-wide fame, and, of course, a unique place.

Dying at the age of 79, after three years of retirement from his law practice, he leaves a record of a career essentially undramatic, but full of conscientious service. Colonel Beecher was not an office seeker, and only once was an office holder, as assistant district attorney of New York county. He energetically served as counsel for the New York Society for the Prevention of Crime and for the Society for the Suppression of Vice for a long term of years. He was once president of the Brooklyn Excise League. His work on the league staff of the Long Island Railroad gave him high standing as a specialist on the law of negligence. As judge advocate on the staff of the Third Brigade, National guard, appointed by General C. T. Christensen, his fairness and efficiency were notable. He belonged to the older Brooklyn. He will be missed and mourned by a large number of friends and fellow-workers in one or another of the excellent movements of uplift with which he as identified."

Sources

• Find a Grave Memorial for William C. Beecher.
• Obituary from Druid, Monday October 1, 1928, Pittsburgh, PA, page 8.