Thomas Kinnicut Beecher (1824 - 1900)

Born 10 Feb 1824 in Litchfield, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Frances Juliana (Jones) Beecher — married 22 Jan 1857 in Hartford, Connecticut

Died 14 Mar 1900 at age 76 in Elmira, Chemung, New York, United States

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Biography

Thomas was born in 1824. He was the son of Lyman Beecher and Harriet Porter. He passed away in 1900. ^[1]

Thomas Kinnicut Beecher was a successful preacher, whose church at Elmira, New York, the Congregational Church at Elmira, experienced tremendous growth and success during his tenure there of more than forty-six years. At the end of his career at the church, he was one of the most loved and respected leaders of his time.

Rev. Beecher was married twice. His first wife, Olivia Day, died two years after their marriage. Thomas married Julia Jones, a cousin of Olivia Day and the granddaughter of Noah Webster, in 1857. The two were to spend the rest of their lives together.

Rev. Thomas Beecher was close friends with the writer and humorist Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens).; in fact, Rev. Beecher was one of two ministers who officiated at the marriage of Twain and Olivia Langdon in 1870. ^[2]

At the time Rev. Beecher was experiencing a great deal of success in expanding the membership of the Congregational Church at Elmira, in 1869, other pastors denounced Rev. Beecher for his unorthodox approach. Mark Twain came to Rev. Beecher's defense by publishing an anonymous letter in one of the local papers. A link to Twain's letter is included in the footnote here.^[3]

The religious community that Rev. Beecher developed at the Congregational Church at Elmira was one of the first institutions of its kind to include a public library, a church school, and organized evening activities for church youth. Rev. Beecher remained active in his ministry up until his death.

Rev. Beecher's death was well covered in the media. Here is an example of an obituary that his fairly representative of most of the newspaper accounts of his death:

T. K. Beecher Dead. Was A Brother of the Noted Brooklyn Preacher. Was One of Seven Sons of Lyman Beecher, All of Whom Were Preachers

"Elmira, N. Y., March 14. The Rev. Thomas Kinnicut Beecher died this morning at 9:30 as the result of a stroke of paralysis sustained on Sunday evening last while returning from church."

"He was one of seven sons of the late Lyman Beecher, all of whom entered the ministry, and a brother to the late Henry Ward Beecher and the late Harriet Beecher Stowe."

"He was born in Litchfield, Conn., February 10, 1824, and was graduated at Illinois college. His education had been in the direction of marking him a teacher, but in 1852 he received a call from the New England Congregational Church, Williamsburg, L.I., which he accepted, remaining, however, only two years, and coming from there to elmira to become pastor of the Independent Congregational church, now Park church."

"Park church, when Mr. Beecher became its pastor six and forty years ago, was a poor and struggling body, weak in members and badly housed. Now it numbers 700 members, with a Sunday school of nearly 1,000 pupils, and owns and occupies one of the finest church buildings in the county which cost $130,000."

"He was chaplain of the One Hundred and Forty-first regiment, New York volunteers, during the civil war."

"There is not a household in the community in which the deceased was not loved. Never has a preacher attained the prominence and universal esteem that Mr. Beecher commanded. There is not a poor man or woman in the city but who had a kindly spark in the heart for him. His whole life was spent in making those about him happy".

"The body will lay in state in Park church from Thursday morning at 10 o'clock until Friday at noon."

"At 3 o-clock Friday afternoon the funeral services will be held in the church and the body taken to Buffalo for cremation, which was Mr. Beecher's wish." ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave Memorial for Thomas K. Beecher.
2. ↑ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, an article on Thomas K. Beecher, which covers his life, ministry and work as a teacher.
3. ↑ Mark Twain's letter, which appeared in the Elmira Advertiser, over the signature of "S'cat."
4. ↑ Obituary: Kansas Semi-Weekly Capital, Friday, March 16, 1900, Topeka, KS, page 1.

• Boswell, George Copeland. The Litchfield Book of Days (Alex B. Shumway, Litchfield, 1899) Page 32
• Marriage Records of Park Church [Congregational] Recorded by Rev. Thomas K. Beecher Rev. Thomas K. Beecher image 1059 of 1121