Manuscripts

Beecher family papers

Description: Correspondence between Mary Ward Beecher and Louis H.D. Crane; Mary's letters to her friends and relatives, a volume of her poetry, three sermons and poem by William Henry Beecher, miscellaneous letters, family photographs and ephemera.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1843-1891
Call number: mssBeecher
Creator: Beecher (Family)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased from Mrs. C.H. Lanier, June 30, 1965.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Correspondence: Beecher-Royce

Manuscripts

Correspondence between Mary Ward Beecher and Louis H.D. Crane; Mary's letters to her friends and relatives, a volume of her poetry, three sermons and poem by William Henry Beecher, miscellaneous letters, family photographs and ephemera.

mssBeecher

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Miscellaneous

Manuscripts

mssBeecher

Portraits of Harriet Elizabeth (Beecher) Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher

Manuscripts

Eight black and white printed portraits, one frontispiece of Harriet Beecher Stowe, and one portrait of Henry Ward Beecher.

mssHM 24162-24166

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Beecher family photograph collection

Visual Materials

A collection of five photographs of various Beecher family members in five different photographic formats: ambrotype, albumen print, carte-de-visite, cabinet photograph, and a hand-colored salted paper print. A portrait of Lyman Beecher produced by Mathew Brady in 1856 is a combination of watercolor, ink, and pencil added to the surface of a salted paper print. There are two variants of a Beecher family group portrait taken in 1859 depicting Lyman Beecher and nine of his adult children; one is a large albumen print and the other an ambrotype. Also included are an autographed cabinet photograph of an older Harriet Beecher Stowe; and a hand-colored Augustus Morand print based on a miniature of a young Eunice White (Bullard) Beecher, author and wife of Henry Ward Beecher. This carte-de-visite portrait is within a Bullard family album containing 45 additional cartes-de-visite and cabinet photographs. Only a few portraits in the album are identified, including some cousins of Eunice Bullard.

photCL 688

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Bullard family album with portrait of Eunice White (Bullard) Beecher

Visual Materials

An album featuring a hand-colored albumen print based on a miniature of a young Eunice White (Bullard) Beecher, author and wife of Henry Ward Beecher. The print by photographer Augustus Morand was made approximately 1860s and is on a carte-de-visite mount. Handwriting on the back reads: "Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher, taken from a miniature when she was 18 years old." The Bullard family album contains 45 additional cartes-de-visite and cabinet photographs dating from approximately 1860s to 1880s. Most people are unidentified, though three identified people were cousins of Eunice: Clara G. Bullard, daughter of William Reed Bullard; and two children, Florence May Wyman and Arthur Wyman, whose parents were Charles F. Wyman and Helen Knight (Bullard) Wyman. Visible imprints identify photographic studios in Boston, New York, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

photCL 688

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Beecher Family photograph album

Visual Materials

An album of 45 carte-de-visite photographs dating from the 1850s-1870s, containing portraits of the Beecher family of New England, as well as abolitionists Lucretia Mott, Robert Collyer and unidentified men, women and children. Subjects include: Charles Beecher (1815-1900), page 3, and Lyman Beecher (1775-1863), page 29, the brother and father, respectively, of noted author and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe (who does not appear). Two portraits of anti-slavery and women's rights activist Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) are on pages 19 and 20, one a familiar seated view and another more unusual view of her sitting behind a table with her hand on an open book. A portrait of a young Robert Collyer (1823-1912), the clergyman and abolitionist, appears on page 37, with his name written in ink on the mount (the only photograph that appears to have writing on it). The album itself has no writing except for some flower sketches; identifications have been made largely through research, and there may be other Beecher family or friends represented. Other views include three portraits of men in military uniforms, and two portraits of a little girl with a doll.

photCL 175

Beecher family papers

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Correspondence: Beecher-Royce

Miscellaneous

Portraits of Harriet Elizabeth (Beecher) Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher

Beecher family photograph collection

Bullard family album with portrait of Eunice White (Bullard) Beecher

Beecher Family photograph album