The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-10-17
DEATH OF E. B. BEEGHER.
IT oCCURRED AT FAMILY HOME
 IN NASHVILLE YESTERDAY.

Was the Result of General Breaking
 Down of Nervous system-The Fu-
 neral VIII be Held on Wednesday
 Afternoon-sketch of His Life.
 Ebenezer Benton Beeeher died at his home in westvilIe shortly before ' o'clock yesterday morning, aged seV- enty-four years.
 The funeral will be held at the late home of the deceased on Wednesday af- afternoon. The interment will be in Watertown, Conn, on Thursday.
 MT. Beecher had been-ill about one year. the chief trouble being break ing down of the nervous system which had up to the time of his illness read fly responded to the almost constant i demands of a most active business life.
 During his illness he was attended l by Dr. Oliver T. Osborne. Mir. Beecher was born in Litchfield $ county in what is now the town of Morris in, July, 1880, his father being Anson Beeeher.
 Later the family moved to Plymouth, Conn.,, and while residing there the de- ceased and his father invented ma chine for making matches, and this quickly sprang into favor for the old method was to make them by hand. i Fifty years ago Anson Beecher, his son Ebenezer and the other members lof the family removed to Westville in the town of New Haven, where the making of matches and match machin- cry was carried on with constantly in- creasing success until 1860, the firm be- ling A. Beecher & Sons
 Tn 1860 the company was enlarged to take in the Swift & Courtney Co. of Wilmington, Del, ana others, and the business was continued with steadily growing success, the Beecher machine completely revolutionizing the match making industry.
 I Finally the concern became the Dia- mond Match of Connecticut and later the Diamond Match company of Illi- nois. This great corporation makes matches for the civilized world and the work is all done by the aid of the Beecher machine.
 I From the beginning MT. Beecher was actively identified with the match making industry and participated in the Il personal direction of the business, con 1 tinuing to do so as long as health per Imitted.
 MT. Beecher was man of the high lest character antd principle. He was generous to fault and public spirited always.
 He was always ready to give finan- cial and advisory aid to those whom he believed worthy, and at the time of his l death was a director in and part owner lof a number of important enterprises in this city and elsewhere. Il During the years of his life after he accumulated a fortune he was often lasked to help establish new industries in New Haven and he rarely refused.
 This city has had as few public spir- ited citizens as the Beecher brothers ,of whom the deceased was the eldest. j MT. Beecher was a man of unvarying Iregard for; common honesty and he T would never believe i'll of any mar until there was conclusive proof that such opinion was justified.
 
 ! Few men have been held in as high Iregard and very few indeed have done las much for the common good of his lfellow men.
 MT. Beecher leaves a widow, one l daughter, Mrs. l. c. Hemingway ,an6 three brothers, L. Wheeler, L. A. and William s.. all of whom are we'll knowr and greatly respected citizens of New Haven.
 He was member of Westville Con. Igregational church. postmaster oi Olive Branch lodge, No. S4. A. F. and A. M, member of the Connecticut Sons of the American Revolution, of tht New Haven Historical society, of Unio1 league and the Pequot association. He never held a political office be. Icause he would never accept one l MT. Beecher lived an unostentatiou: but very active and useful life Ht Idied without a struggle and to-day New Haven mourns the loss of one whose influence had always been con. scientiously exerted and always witt VI n