The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-27
THE BEECHERS RECALLED
SOME INTERESTING "REMINISCENCES
CASUALLY SUGGESTED.
Family of Intellectual Vigor That
Western Religious Life.
In the Sunday Journal find this clipping


Mrs Stowe, accompanied by Rev. Lyman
Beecher, her father, was a visitor at
Of " judge owen ' r. Fishback. During all the
hours of her visit and while writing. she
always occupied this plain poplar chair.
| After Mrs. Stowe rose to fame with her
book the chair was preserved and handed
down as a part of history from Mrs. Fish
back to Lou Buerkle,, in whose possession
| is now remains. The back of the chair has
become broken off and all the Stats are
broken out of the back. The color of the
chair was black.
will use this as sort of text for some
"reminiscences of the Beecher family, which
may be interesting:
A saying was in vogue many years ago
to the effect that there were three kinds
of people in the world-men, women, and
the Beecher family. Intellectually the
Beecher family is almost, If not quite, ex-
tinct. Here and there may be found traces
of the old blood in attenuated dilutions, but
| the fire and vigor of the sturdy New Eng
| land blacksmith, the founder of the house.
| have spent their force. 1t was a. lucky day
| for the West, the whole country in fact
| when DR.. Lyman Beecher came with his
| large family and pitched his tent at Walnut
| Hills, where he had charge of the Presby-
terrain Theological Seminary for twenty
years. Henry used to say that New Eng
| land was good place to be born, but the
| West was the place to grow. The village
of Batavia was about twenty miles east
Of Walnut Hills, and when George Beecher
began his ministry he became pastor of the
little Presbyterian flock there. The DOCTOR
it was said, looked upon George as the
| most promising of his boys. Henry was a
rollicl1ing, bright, fun-loving youngster
but George was more sedate, and to use
homely phrase, would stand without
hitching." The doctor drove over OCCASION
ally to visit George and if he CHANGED to
stay over Sunday he would wake up the
villagers with one of his great sermons The
little church in which George preached is
now ramshackle structure which does
duty as wagon shed and stable for the
village tavern. When Henry was in the
West during his last lecturing tour he
showed me a wood cut Of the building in
an illustrated paper and confirmed the
story. 1 had heard before that his first
sermon was preached there when he was a
student at Lane Seminary, and during a
visit to his brother George. Henry came
to the village quite often and was always
a welcome guest at our house, which was
dubbed the Presbyterian tavern, it being
understood that all missionaries, wandering
colporteurs and preachers could find tenn
Henry shocked his brother George by his
levity. He was playing chess with my
father when George appeared and re-
quested him to go to prayer meeting.
Henry declined and George put on a woe
BECOME countenance, whereupon Henry, af-
fecting similar grimace, sang in a doleful
key the following lugubrious words:
THE inconstant lower is worse nor thief;
The thief he will rob you and take what We
have,
But the inconstant lower will tole We to
your grave"
Henry was evidently not in a prayer
meeting frame of mind and George went
away and left him to his chess.
MRS. STOWE TOOK NOTES.
Professor Stowe was an occasional guest
He came once with his pair of curly-headed
girls, whom he tended with mothers
care. They were mischievous romps, and
as they grew older were called Mr.. Stoves
Arabs. The gifted mother came also. her
latent genius being at that time quite over
Swallowed by the celebrity of her learned
husband, she counting it honor enough to
be known as the wife of so great a man
The world knows how the tables were
turned a few years later. Harriet as a
young wife was if not taciturn, a quiet
body, with large, observant eyes, Some of
the young people of our household recalled
in after years that she took delight in hear
ing them sing the camp meeting melodies
they had heard the slaves sing at my
grandmothSfs, near Augusta, KY. Speci-
mems Of these songs may be found in the
pages of her immortal story. Charles
Beecher was there and took charge Of the
singing in Georges church and Sunday
school, leading with HIS violin, which he
MIA we'd vyith cir
son of the doctor and half brother of the
other boys, was there at times and made
his mark, ''T. K. b. which, with a. Jack
knife, he cut into soft brick in the wall
by the front door of the house This bit
OF carving was extant until a few wears
ago when the old homestead was remodeled
carlyle says that the great event of mod
ern times was George Fox's making him
self pair of leather breeches and declaring
war against the pomps and vanities of the
world 1t was certainly great day in
American history when Lyman Beecber
laid aside his blacksmith's apron and tack
led theology. From that time forward there
was an intellectual storm center wherever
any member of the family cast his lot.
Beecher's fight with the Unitarians of New
England, his controversy with the Presbv-
terrain defenders of slavery in the West
his quarrel with the Old School element.
leading to his trial for heresy and the
founding of the New School Presbyterian
Church-in all these contests the old fighter
was to the front and belabored his oppo-
nents with might and main. The war he
began in New England against intemper-
1ance was continued by Henry in the West,
when he castigated the Lawrenceburg dis
tiller, Comegys, who claimed to be a men,
Der in good standing of a Christian church
The Beechers were very much alive and
wide awake. with an interest in everything
that was going on in the world about them
So the coming of the Beecher family to our
village was an event of much consequence
to that little community
A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
George, the young pastor, was less COM
bative than other members of the family
but he had spiritual and mental gifts and
graces of high order. He won everybody
by his sweet reasonableness," so that men.
women boys, girls-and dogs were all fond
of him. His pet squirrel came into the
pulpit one Sunday morning and whsked
his tail at the congregation in most unman-
nerly fashion. He built tie first green
house and introduced new shrubs and flow
ers whose lineal descendants may still be
seen, after the lapse of sixty years. in the
II 10 Ia