OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (BEECHER BEEKMAX.) 



461 



afterward pastor of a church in Wysox, Pa. Dur- 

 ing his later years he did not preach. He was 

 a gifted musician, and had charge of the music 

 in the compiling of the Plymouth Collection of 

 Hymns and Tunes. He also edited the Autobiog- 

 raphy and Correspondence of Lynian Beecher, and 

 was the author of Redeemer and Redeemed; Eden 

 Tableau ; The Incarnation, or Pictures of the Vir- 

 gin and her Son; David and his Throne; Spiritual 

 Manifestations; and Patmos. 



Beecher, Thomas Kinnicut, clergyman, born 

 in Litchfield, Conn., Feb. 10, 1824; died in Elmira, 

 N. Y., March 14, 1900. He was the sixth son of 

 the Rev. Lyman Beecher. He was graduated at 



Illinois College, of 

 which his brother 

 Edward was presi- 

 dent, in 1843. He 

 was first principal 

 of the Northeast 

 Grammar School in 

 Philadelphia, and 

 then of the Hart- 

 ford (Conn.) High 

 School. In 1852 he 

 removed to Wil- 

 liamsburg (now a 

 part of New York 

 city) and organ- 

 ized and assumed 

 charge of the New 

 England Congrega- 

 tional Church. In 

 1854 he settled in 

 Elmira, where he 



became pastor of the Independent Church (now 

 called Park Church), and remained there till the 

 time of his death. In 1863 he was chosen chaplain 

 of the 141st New York Volunteers, and he served 

 with the Army of the Potomac four months. In 

 1864-'65 he visited South America, and in 1873 

 revisited England. He was at different times 

 nominated by Democrats, Republicans, Green- 

 backers,- and Prohibitionists, and had been a can- 

 didate for nearly every office within the gift of 

 the American people save those of Governor and 

 I 'resident. He was fond of mechanics, and for 

 years took care of the Elmira town clock, correct- 

 ing its time and making the observations himself 

 without cost to the city. When on his way to 

 New York city he would run the locomotive. He 

 was a lover of books and art, a keen critic, and 

 for many years wrote a column of miscellany on 

 current questions, first for the Elmira Advertiser 

 and then for the Gazette. His only published 

 volume is Our Seven Churches (New York. 1870), 

 a liberal estimate of the Roman Catholic, Presby- 

 terian, Protestant Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, 

 Baptist. Congregational, and Liberal Christian 

 denominations, many parts of which have been 

 printed separately as tracts and widely circulated. 

 Thomas Beecher never became a national figure, as 

 did his brother, but, like him, was a man of inde- 

 pendent and aggressive character, advanced views, 

 and courage in the expression of his convictions. 

 Fn a city where he was not known and loved as he 

 was in Elmira he would infallibly have been re- 

 garded as a crank, and his personal appearance 

 and habits often caused his fellow-clergymen anxi- 

 ety. Although in receipt of a comfortable sal- 

 ary, he was always impoverished and shabby. All 

 his money beyond what was required for the bare 

 necessities of his household went to charity. His 

 big, sturdy figure, clad in an old and fusty coat, 

 and his handsome face and flowing white hair 

 surmounted by a velvet cap in sad disrepair, were 

 familiar sights as he drove about with his wife 



(a granddaughter of Noah Webster) in their old- 

 fashioned buggy, distributing potatoes, coal, or 

 other necessities to poor families. The working- 

 men with whom he was fond of associating called 

 him Father Tom; but he even resented the re- 

 spect and affection of the nickname, never call- 

 ing himself minister or preacher, but merely 

 teacher. Park Church occupies an edifice valued 

 at $150,000, and has a membership of 700, with 

 1,000 Sunday-school children. He made it into 

 an institutional church, the first of its kind, it is 

 said, in the country. He put in a stage for theat- 

 rical productions, bowling alleys, gymnasiums, and 

 parlors. It was a great innovation, and caused 

 considerable talk, but it gave him opportunities 

 to exemplify his ideas of practical Christianity. 

 It took years to build, because the pastor would 

 not permit a brick or a stone to go into the 

 structure until it was paid for. The Sunday 

 school he made a remarkable institution. Every 

 lesson was written by Mr. Beecher himself. The 

 school was graded as rigidly as any ward day 

 school, and the children had to learn their lessons 

 as thoroughly as in a secular school or leave. In 

 the details the pastor was assisted by Mrs. Beecher, 

 but the ideas were his own. As a result of his per- 

 sonality and his system the school has had a 

 phenomenal growth. On the first Sunday of each 

 month Mr. Beecher used to deliver a special sermon 

 to the children, and attendance at this service was 

 made a requirement for promotion. The Beecher 

 home was a refuge for the poor and for those in 

 trouble. This appreciation of his church and its 

 work was written in 1888: "However other 

 churches may differ in doctrine, methods, and 

 manner from Park Church, probably those churches 

 are few that could not profitably take lessons 

 from her in the care bestowed upon the stranger, 

 on the young man and woman away from home, 

 on the sick, on the poor and desolate. In w 7 ise aid 

 and tender helpfulness Park Church is eminent, 

 and her charity is not limited to bestowals upon 

 the usual objects of benevolence. She knows the 

 greater charity that is charitable to peers, which 

 when all is done I have thought outranks the rest. 

 It is comparatively easy to be kind to the sup- 

 pliant, but to the erect worker, who neither asks 

 nor accepts alms, but looks us in the face with 

 a reasonable assurance and feels able to do full as 

 well as we do, charity is sometimes denied. We 

 too often grow jealous of these and suspicious. 

 When this is true of churches, the cause of Christ 

 bends under useless burdens. These burdens are 

 not so heavy as once they were. That they are 

 not heavier in Elmira is largely accounted for by 

 the generous life and heart of Mr. Beecher and the 

 good fellowship of his church." 



Beekman, Henry Rutgers, lawyer, born in 

 New York city, Dec. 8, 1845; died there, Dec. 17, 

 1900. He was graduated at Columbia College in 

 1865, and at the Law School in 1867, and became 

 a member of the law firm of Beekman & Ogden. 

 He was a school trustee in 1884, and in the latter 

 part of same year he was appointed park com- 

 missioner, to fill a vacancy. In 1886 he was re- 

 appointed for five years, and was elected president 

 of the Department of Parks. The same year he 

 was elected president of the Board of Aldermen, 

 and resigned his office of park commissioner. At 

 the expiration of his term of office, one year later, 

 he was appointed counsel for the corporation, 

 which office he held until Mayor Grant appointed 

 his successor. While he was corporation counsel 

 he was active in the promotion of rapid transit, 

 and when, in 1894, the subject was taken up by 

 the Chamber of Commerce, he drew the bill that 

 became law. Under the commission created by 



