BEECHER

BEECHER. - Name of an illustrious family from Connecticut in the United States, descending from one of the founders of the New Haven colony. The most famous members of this family were, besides Lyman B., his children: Henry Ward B., Harriet B. (Mrs. Stowe), and Edward B.

1. Lyman B

Born in New Haven (Conn.) in 1775, he studied at Yale University. Soon after completing his studies, in 1798 he became a Presbyterian minister on Long Island, later switching to Congregationalism. In 1835 he was accused by his presbytery of teaching false doctrines, i.e., non-Calvinist ones, but was acquitted by the synod. He died in Brooklyn in 1863. He is remembered for his sermons, but especially for his children.

2. Henry Ward B

Born in 1813, he too was successively Presbyterian and Congregationalist. He was one of the most gifted orators in the United States. He was accused of adultery, and although acquitted by the court, his reputation suffered greatly. He worked tirelessly for unpopular but beneficial reforms, such as the abolition of slavery and temperance. A few years before his death, he denied the eternity of punishments in the afterlife. He contributed to various magazines with his writings; he was editor-in-chief of *The Independent* and founded *The Christian Union* in 1870. He died in 1887.

3. Harriet Stowe B

Due to her great literary success, she was the most famous of Lyman’s daughters. Born in 1811, she married C. Stowe, under whose name she is generally known. In 1851 she wrote the novel *Uncle Tom’s Cabin* (*La capanna dello zio Tom*), which had an enormous circulation and contributed significantly to the Civil War (1861–65), which resulted in the abolition of slavery in the United States. She died in 1896.

4. Edward B

Born in 1803, he was a Congregationalist theologian, editor of *The Congregationalist*, and for several years editor of *The Christian Union*, founded by his brother Henry Ward. He professed a doctrine of his own, namely that man in this life is in a progressive state and in transition between primitive life and a future one that must come after death. The struggle between good and evil does not end with this life but will continue in the next, with the final victory of good and the suppression of evil. He died in Brooklyn in 1895.