
Guide to the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection, 1819-1980 ARC.212
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn 11201
cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org
Brooklyn Historical Society
Collection processed by C. Dierdre Phelps (1984). Revised by Teresa Mora and Mae Pan, Project Archivists, with edits by Dr. Marilyn H. Pettit, Project Consultant (1999)
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on June 09, 2022
eng using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Revised by Maggie Schreiner to incorporate additional materials. Revised by Lena Evers-Hillstrom to reflect additional materials found in the repository Revised by Amy Lau, Archivist, to remediate oppressive language from biographical/historical and scope and contents notes. Revised by Archivist Alice Griffin to add off-site Physical Location note and CBH language. , September 2018 , October 2018 , January 2021 , June 2022
Descriptive Summary
Creator: | Beecher, Henry Ward |
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Creator: | King, Horatio C. (Horatio Collins) |
Creator: | Ellinwood, T. J. (Truman Jeremiah) |
Creator: | Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.) |
Creator: | Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.) |
Creator: | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.) |
Title: | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection |
Dates [inclusive]: | 1819-1980 |
Dates [bulk]: | 1847-1887 |
Abstract: | The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection traces the career of the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, the well known 19th century preacher, and the history of Plymouth Congregational Church, of which Beecher was the first pastor. Plymouth Church was a major institution in 19th century Brooklyn, first gaining recognition on national and international levels as Beecher's pulpit. Beecher was well known for his oratorical ability and for his vocal opposition to slavery and support of the Northern cause during the Civil War. He also spoke out on subjects ranging from women's suffrage and evolution to organized labor and temperance. Beecher was a popular figure despite controversy that surrounded his activities, including a charge of adultery that resulted in a widely reported trial in 1875. The collection relates principally to Beecher's pastorate at Plymouth Church from 1847 until his death in 1887. Other materials, ranging through 1980, concern the church's other pastors and the history of Plymouth Church itself, which consolidated with the Church of the Pilgrims in 1934. The papers provide insight into the church congregation's various activities, illustrate the history of Beecher's influence on his congregation and on 19th century congregationalism, and shed light on both the public and private life of a major American personality of the 19th century. |
Quantity: | 48.5 Cubic Feet in 75 boxes: 32 manuscript boxes, 38 flat boxes, and 6 small boxes |
Location: | The majority of the materials in this collection are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org at least three weeks prior to research visit. |
Call Phrase: | ARC.212 |
Sponsor: | Inital arrangement and description sponsored by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Additional description developed in 2010 with grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural (URR) Program. |
Biographical / Historical
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims Chronology | |
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1844 | Church of the Pilgrims established |
1847 | Plymouth Church established; Henry Ward Beecher installed as pastor |
1849 | Fire destroys Plymouth Church (January) |
1850 | New church completed (June) |
1872 | Henry Ward Beecher's Silver Anniversary at Plymouth Church (October) |
1887 | Death of Beecher; Beecher's funeral at Plymouth Church (March) |
1888 | Lyman Abbott installed as pastor |
1898 | Lyman Abbott's resignation announced (Fall) |
1899 | Newell Dwight Hillis installed as pastor |
1902 | Henry Ward Beecher Memorial plan instituted |
1914 | Arbuckle Institute dedicated |
1918 | Arbuckle Institute renamed Plymouth Institute (December) |
1920 | Plymouth Church damaged by fire (November) |
1922 | Death of Lyman Abbott (October 22) |
1924 | Newell Dwight Hillis disabled by cerebral hemorrhage; resignation announced |
1927 | James Stanley Durkee installed at Plymouth Church (January 27) |
1927 | Rose Ward Hunt returns to Plymouth Church on occasion of 80th anniversary of Beecher's first sermon at Plymouth Church (May 15) |
1929 | Death of Newell Dwight Hillis (February 25) |
1934 | Consolidation of Plymouth Church and Church of the Pilgrims (Spring) |
1939 | Plymouth Institute renamed Plymouth Church House (May) |
1940 | J. Stanley Durkee's resignation announced (October) |
1940 | Plymouth Rock Celebration (December 21-23) |
1942 | L. Wendell Fifield installed at Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (May 22) |
1951 | Death of J. Stanley Durkee (September) |
1954 | L. Wendell Fifield's resignation announced (October) |
1955 | L. Wendell Fifield leaves Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (July) |
1961 | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims designated Historic Landmark |
1964 | Death of L. Wendell Fifield (July) |
Beecher Chronology | |
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1813 | Born, Litchfield, Connecticut; youngest child of Lyman and Roxana Beecher (June 24) |
1830 | Entered Amherst College |
1834 | Graduated Amherst College |
1834 | Began theological studies at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio (July) |
1837 | Graduated Lane Seminary. Began first pastorate at First Presbyterian Church, Lawrenceberg, Indiana |
1837 | Married Eunice White Bullard of Massachusetts |
1838 | First daughter, Harriet Eliza, born (May 16) |
1838 | Ordained at First Presbyterian Church, Lawrenceberg, Indiana (November 9) |
1839 | Installed at Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana (July 31) |
1841 | Son, Henry Barton Beecher, born |
1847 | Resigned from Indianapolis pastorate (August 15) |
1847 | Accepted call to Plymouth Church, Brooklyn (August 19) |
1847 | Installed at Plymouth Church (November 11) |
1848 | First mock enslaved persons auction at the Broadway Tabernacle, New York City (December 7) |
1849 | Plymouth Church destroyed by fire (January 13) |
1850 | Departed on first trip to Europe (July 9) |
1850 | New church completed according to Beecher's design (January) |
1856 | Sarah, an enslaved girl, sold for her freedom at Plymouth Church (June 1) |
1856 | Leave of absence taken from Plymouth to campaign for the election of John C. Fremont as President |
1858 | Great Revival at Plymouth Church |
1859 | Farm purchased in Peekskill, New York |
1860 | Enslaved girl Rose Ward Hunt auctioned for freedom (February) |
1861 | Appointed editor of the New York Independent (December 19; until 1864) |
1863 | Death of Lyman Beecher in Brooklyn (January 10) |
1863 | Departed on second trip to Europe; delivered speeches in England in support of the Northern cause (June) |
1864 | Campaigned for Abraham Lincoln |
1865 | Delivered address at raising of flag over Fort Sumter at close ofCivil War (April 14) |
1865 | Fall lecture tour on Reconstruction issues |
1866 | Published Cleveland Letters on Reconstruction (September) |
1867 | Novel Norwood published |
1869 | Elected president of the newly formed American Woman Suffrage Association |
1870 | Became editor of the Christian Union (October, until 1881) |
1872 | Week long ''Silver Wedding'' celebration at Plymouth for Beecher's twenty-fifth anniversary as pastor (October) |
1875 | Beecher-Tilton trial in Brooklyn (January-June) |
1876 | Summer/Fall Lecture tour |
1877 | Rutherford B. Hayes elected; Beecher's former defense lawyer,William Maxwell Evarts, appointed United States' Secretary of State |
1878 | Appointed Chaplain of 13th New York Regiment |
1878 | Completed construction of summer home, "Boscobel," Peekskill, N.Y. |
1880 | Cooper Institute speech for James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur presidential ticket (October) |
1882 | Resigned membership in New York Congregational MinisterialAssociation over position in support of the theory of evolution (October) |
1883 | Summer lecture tour on topic of evolution and religion |
1883 | Plymouth Church celebration of Beecher's 70th birthday (June) |
1884 | Speech in support of Grover Cleveland at the Brooklyn Rink (October 22) |
1885 | Delivered eulogy on death of Ulysses S. Grant (October 22) |
1886 | Sailed on the "Etruria" with Mrs. Beecher and agent, J.B. Pond, on last trip to Britain (June 19) |
1886 | Returned to New York (October 24) |
1887 | Preached last sermon, "I am Resolved What to Do" (February 27) |
1887 | Death of Henry Ward Beecher (March 8) |
1887 | Funeral Service at Plymouth Church (March 11) |
1887 | Buried at Green-Wood Cemetery (March 12) |
Plymouth Church and Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims:
The Church of the Pilgrims, the first Congregational Church in Brooklyn, New York, was established in 1844 at Henry and Remsen Streets. Richard Salter Storrs was installed as its first pastor in 1846. As the population of Brooklyn grew and the number of congregants at Church of the Pilgrims increased, three of its members, John T. Howard, Seth B. Hunt, and Henry C. Bowen, with the assistance of David Hale from the Broadway Tabernacle Church, New York City, saw the occasion to establish a second Congregational Church in Brooklyn Heights. In 1847, nine additional members of the Church of the Pilgrims asked to be dismissed to help found this second church. By June of that year, a religious society with the name "Plymouth Church" had been formed. A certificate of incorporation was recorded in the clerk's office of Kings County on September 27, 1847.
Plymouth Church's first building had been that of Brooklyn's First Presbyterian Church. Plymouth Church purchased in 1846 this property, bordered by Orange, Cranberry, and Hicks Streets, when First Presbyterian relocated to Henry and Clark Streets. This property was initially purchased by John T. Howard, Seth B. Hunt, Henry C. Bowen and David Hale, and in June 1848 the property was transferred to the Trustees of Plymouth Church. The original Plymouth Church building was destroyed by fire in January 1849. The cornerstone for the structure of the new Plymouth Church was laid in May 1849, with the church opening its doors in January 1850.
The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher had been invited to speak at Plymouth Church prior to the church's incorporation. Members of the church, impressed with the young preacher, extended him a call to lead their congregation. Beecher accepted the call and was installed as the first pastor of Plymouth Church on November 11, 1847. Under Beecher's leadership, Plymouth Church expanded its role within the community; the church adopted missions, notably the Bethel Mission, at 15 Hicks Street, in 1866, and Navy Mission, located near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in 1871. Both of these institutions existed prior to their formal association with Plymouth, but prospered under Plymouth's support and expanded the influence of the church to a more diverse population. The church and several of its affiliated organizations sponsored concerts, plays, and other social events that were not limited to members of the church. The anti-slavery position of the church was exemplified by its participation in enslaved persons auctions, which purchased the freedom of several enslaved persons. The church further expressed its anti-slavery militance by sending boxes of rifles marked "Bibles" to Kansas in 1854. These rifles, referred to as "Beecher's Bibles," were sent to support free soil settlers of Kansas, who were engaged in violent altercations with pro-slavery settlers regarding the status of slavery in the Nebraska and Kansas Territories.
Under the pastorates of Beecher and his successor Lyman Abbott, the number of congregants continued to increase with little change to the church's physical plant. During the pastorate of Newell Dwight Hillis (1899-1924), Plymouth Church underwent a great stage of physical growth that was seen most notably in the 1902 Henry Ward Beecher Memorial Plan. The major goals for this project included the installation of stained glass windows in the church that demonstrated the influence of Puritanism on the people of the United States and the nation itself, an endowment fund of $100,000, and the construction of a building to house an institute which would sponsor programs and activities organized by the church.
Additionally, this plan included developing property adjoining the church into a small park and arcade which connected the new building to Plymouth Church. The building was first named the Arbuckle Institute after Plymouth Church benefactor and member John Arbuckle, and was later renamed Plymouth Institute and then Plymouth Church House. The Institute provided many services and activities for the residents of Brooklyn Heights, such as classes in foreign languages and accounting, athletic activities, and social events.
As the population of Brooklyn Heights changed in the early 20th century, the number of members of both Plymouth Church and Church of the Pilgrims declined. Many families of the middle and upper classes, which had previously been the main source of membership at both churches, left Brooklyn Heights. Their single family homes were divided into multiple units as Brooklyn Heights changed from a community of families and homeowners to a community of apartment dwellers, many of whom felt that the Congregational Church was not relevant to their lives. Both congregations were forced to reassess their positions within the community and their future economic stability.
In the spring of 1934, the congregations of Plymouth Church and Church of the Pilgrims consolidated, creating Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims. The Reverend J. Stanley Durkee of Plymouth Church and the Reverend John Curry Walker of Church of the Pilgrims led the new congregation as co-pastors. Services alternated between the two churches at first, but following the resignation of Reverend Walker in 1935, an increasing number of church activities were held at Plymouth Church. It became further evident that Plymouth Church was to be the congregation's primary place of worship with the Plymouth Rock Celebration in 1940. During this event a piece of Plymouth Rock was transferred from the Church of the Pilgrims to the Plymouth Church House. By 1944, the Church of the Pilgrims building at Henry and Remsen Streets was purchased by a Maronite Roman Catholic congregation, becoming Our Lady of Lebanon Church. At that time, all activities officially moved to the Plymouth Church site at Orange and Hicks Streets.
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims was designated a National Historic Landmark in July 1961 by the United States Department of the Interior. Although the number of congregrants in the church does not compare to Beecher's time, the church continues to be an active member of the Brooklyn Heights community.
Henry Ward Beecher:
Henry Ward Beecher exercised his influence on many of the major social issues of the mid to late 19th century from his pulpit at Plymouth Church. Later eulogized as "the greatest preacher of his time," Beecher preached against slavery, for political candidates, women's rights, evolution, and his own idea of romantic Christianity that recognized "God's love for man and the availability of salvation for all." (Chadwick, 246; Clark, 4)
Beecher was born on June 24, 1813 in Litchfield, Connecticut, the youngest son of Lyman and Roxana Beecher. His father, a minister in the Presbyterian Church, was well known within the theological community for his advocacy of the "new religion," which endorsed personal salvation through conversion, an important emendation to traditional Calvinist theology. The younger Beecher studied at Amherst College, graduating in 1834, at which point he began his training at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, where his father had become president. Beecher married Eunice White Bullard, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Artemas Bullard of Sutton, Massachusetts, upon his graduation from Lane in 1837. The young couple moved to Lawrenceberg, Indiana, soon after, where Beecher began his first pastorate at First Presbyterian Church. Beecher was called in 1839 to the larger Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, where he began to make a name for himself as a gifted orator and preacher. The Beecher family left Indiana in 1847 when the newly formed Plymouth Church in Brooklyn called on Beecher to become its first pastor.
Beecher quickly imposed his energetic preaching style upon Plymouth Church and the congregation grew in number as the young minister became known for his dynamic and affective style, which appealed not just to local Brooklynites, but to ferry-loads of Manhattan residents and tourists from throughout the country. Beecher's articles and sermons were soon being published both nationally and internationally. He initiated the tactic of "auctioning" enslaved persons to purchase their freedom in 1848, a technique that won him both criticism and praise from the nation. His position as a member of a famous family of thinkers, including his father and sisters, writer Harriet Beecher Stowe and educator Catharine Beecher, increased his notoriety and popularity. Beecher's influence and wide interests led to his association and identification with major New York figures of the day, a group that included abolitionists, writers, and social theorists, as well as national and international personalities. Following a trip to England during the Civil War, where he spoke on behalf of the Northern cause, some contemporaries even began to credit Beecher with winning British support for the Union through his arguments and oratorical style.
For most of his life, Beecher involved himself in all levels of political campaigns as well as social issues. Using his pulpit as a platform, he supported candidates whom he felt could and would best promote social reform. He was a staunch supporter of Republican candidates John C. Fremont, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and Rutherford B. Hayes, and was closely associated with that party. Still, Beecher felt confident enough to critique these major political figures and the party, supporting candidates whose policies best represented his own politics, as seen in his support of Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland and his brief disassociation with, and criticism of, the Republican party in 1884.
Beecher devoted much of his time to literary pursuits as a regular contributor to a number of newspapers. He edited the New York Independent, a well known Congregational publication of the day, and later founded and edited the Christian Union (1870). His many lectures on life, art, literature, moral philosophy, and politics were gathered into volumes. He also authored a novel, Norwood (1867), a romantic depiction of New England life in the nineteenth century.
Beecher's wide scope of interests included history, art, the sciences, phrenology, and literature. He studied horticulture and agriculture. He had an affinity for architecture; he designed both the second Plymouth Church in 1849 and a summer home in Peekskill, N.Y. He was an extensive book collector and amassed a large private library over the years, the bulk of which was auctioned off at his death. These informal and formal pursuits informed his view of the world and the arguments that he espoused in his sermons and lectures.
Beecher's enthusiasms and his natural tendency to speak and act freely gained him many conservative critics, some of whom felt that he discredited his calling. His multiple enterprises, lecture schedule, and product endorsements afforded him a substantial income, which he used to purchase the material comforts he so enjoyed. Although this shared love of "the good life" endeared him to his middle-class congregants, his religious peers often took issue with this lifestyle, which was far from that of the traditional "modest preacher." He also earned criticism for what Clifford Clark reported in 1978 as his "romantic Christianity . . . a religion of the heart, an appeal to the feelings and emotions that replace[d] the cold, formalistic evangelical theology of the previous generation and [which] accepted the new theories of evolution and biblical criticism." (Clark, 3)
After the Civil War, Beecher's name became even more famous and controversial because of accusations of adultery. In October of 1872, sex reform advocate Victoria Woodhull accused Beecher of committing adultery with Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of Beecher's onetime protege, Theodore Tilton. The charge took root, and Tilton, then editor of the Independent, took his former friend to court. The six-month long trial was a worldwide news event, but culminated in the acquittal of Beecher in June of 1875.
Beecher overcame the scandal and his popularity appeared to grow in its aftermath. In 1876, he embarked on a lecture tour, traveling throughout the United States. In 1880, he endorsed the Republican presidential ticket of James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur in a speech at the Cooper Institute in New York City. He resigned his membership in the New York Congregational Ministerial Association in 1882 due to his belief in evolution, around which he centered an 1883 lecture tour. Still, his congregation continued to follow their beloved pastor and in 1883 the church celebrated his seventieth birthday.
Throughout the rest of his life, Beecher continued his travels and his lecture tours, continuing to support causes and political candidates. He delivered a famous eulogy for Ulysses S. Grant in 1885 and, only a year prior to his death, made a last trip to Britain. Henry Ward Beecher died on March 8, 1887, at the age of seventy-three. His funeral became an outpouring of loyalty and affection. Memorials and testimonies were published throughout the world and the anniversary of his death was remembered for years to come. Organizations were formed in his name, and no less than twenty biographies have since been written about his life, including one by Social Gospel advocate Lyman Abbott, Beecher's immediate successor at Plymouth Church.
Lyman Abbott:
Lyman Abbott (1835-1922) became the second pastor of Plymouth Church following the death of Henry Ward Beecher. He initially filled the role of temporary pastor while a committee searched for a permanent successor to Beecher. Abbott performed well enough in this capacity that in 1888 he was called upon to officially lead Plymouth Church.
Abbott had not always intended to devote his life to the ministry; instead, he became a partner in a law firm owned by his brothers following his graduation from New York University in 1853. Residing in Brooklyn, Abbott and his wife, Abby Frances Hamlin, daughter of Hannibal Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln's first Vice President, were active members of Plymouth Church. In 1858, during the period of the Great Revival at Plymouth Church, Abbott left his brothers' law practice and joined the ministry. Abbott was influenced by the Social Gospel, or Christian socialism, which was a reaction against industrialization. This movement included advocacy for the poor and became associated with the Progressive movement of the late 19th century.
In 1860, Abbott was ordained as a minister and accepted the pastorate of the Congregational Church of Terre Haute, Indiana. He left that position to become the Secretary of the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865. By the time Abbott returned to New York City in 1870, he was leading a church, writing for Harper's Magazine, and editing the Illustrated Christian Weekly. He continued to be employed in the literary field, resigning from the Illustrated Christian Weekly to become the editor of the Christian Union, of which Beecher was a founder. In addition to his many literary works, Abbott also wrote a biography of his predecessor and edited two volumes of Beecher's sermons.
When Abbott was asked to temporarily assume the pastorate of Plymouth Church in 1887, it was agreed that he need not forfeit his duties at the Christian Union. He agreed to preach on Sunday mornings and evenings and attend the Friday evening prayer meetings in order not to relinquish his duties at the Christian Union. When it was decided that Abbott would permanently fill the position of pastor of Plymouth Church, he continued to pursue his literary activities (editing and writing). Although he resigned from the pastorate of Plymouth Church in 1899, Abbott continued to lecture and write until his death on October 22, 1922, in New York City.
Newell Dwight Hillis:
Newell Dwight Hillis (1858-1929) was the third pastor of Plymouth Church. Following his graduation from Lake Forest University in 1884, Hillis enrolled as a student at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. He took on a number of pastorates in the Chicago area before accepting a call to Plymouth in 1899. Unlike Reverend Abbott's limited role with the church community, Hillis and his family participated in many church activities and those of its related organizations, as well as the lives of the members of the congregation.
In addition to his weekly sermons at Plymouth, Hillis lectured extensively throughout the country. Many of his lectures were compiled and published as books while his sermons were often reprinted in newspapers. Like Beecher, Hillis felt that it was important to address social and political issues from the pulpit. Hillis was an outspoken critic of German aggression in the 1910s and spoke openly about the moral duty of the United States to declare war on Germany. After the United States entered World War I, Hillis spoke throughout the country on behalf of the Liberty Loan Drives, which raised funds for the war effort. Following the war, Hillis authored the "Better America" lectures, a series of lectures with accompanying slides which were addressed to a new immigrant population. The "Better America" lectures addressed issues that were considered important to the stability and security of the United States following the political upheaval in Europe which had led to World War I and the rise of the communism in Russia. The lectures and slides were sold as a package and were prepared so that others could deliver Hillis's lectures. In 1924, Hillis suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and soon afterward resigned from the pulpit of Plymouth Church. At the time of his death on February 25, 1929, Newell Dwight Hillis was considered one of the most prolific speakers of his generation.
James Stanley Durkee:
James Stanley Durkee (1866-1951) was the fourth pastor of Plymouth Church. Reverend Durkee was born in Nova Scotia on November 21, 1866. He graduated from Bates College and Cobb Divinity School in Maine and received his Ph.D. from Boston University. Durkee served as the President of Howard University, a university founded in 1867 through the financial support of the Freedmen's Bureau for the education of African Americans. In 1926, Durkee resigned from his position at Howard to accept the pastorate of Plymouth Church.
Installed in 1927, Durkee soon expressed a keen interest in the history of Plymouth Church and many of his sermons and church activities reflected this interest. He invited Rose Ward Hunt, a former enslaved African-American and Howard University graduate, to speak to the congregation on the anniversary of Reverend Beecher's first sermon at Plymouth. Durkee also organized a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, which included re-enactments relating to the Emancipation Proclamation and Plymouth Church during this period.
Durkee was the pastor in 1934 when Plymouth Church consolidated with the Church of the Pilgrims. The new church took the name Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Durkee served as its co-pastor with Dr. John Curry Walker, who had been the pastor of the Church of the Pilgrims. Durkee led Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims until his retirement in 1941. Durkee died in Hyattsville, Maryland, on September 28, 1951.
Lawrence Wendell Fifield:
Lawrence Wendell Fifield (1891-1964) was selected to replace James Stanley Durkee, becoming the fifth pastor at Plymouth in 1941. At the time the call was extended, Fifield was the pastor of the Plymouth Congregational Church of Seattle, Washington. Prior to Seattle, he held a pastorate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and taught Biblical Literature and Public Speaking at Yankton College in South Dakota. After leading Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims for close to fifteen years, Fifield, citing declining health, announced his resignation from the pastorate of Plymouth to take effect in the summer of 1955. Fifield died on July 26, 1964.
Note on Brooklyn History
Nineteenth century Brooklyn was a young and expanding city. When Plymouth Church was established in 1847, Brooklyn's population had more than doubled since its incorporation as a city in 1834. The city had gained prominence as a major port of trade, with docks and storage facilities lining the East River shore, and the establishment of a busy shipbuilding yard known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The city's economic prosperity, coupled with the growing population, led to the development of the city's commercial and residential center, known today as Brooklyn Heights. Also labeled as the "City of Churches," Brooklyn was home to numerous congregations and denominations. Immigrants and merchants were drawn to the city as it prospered and had formed communities often identified through religious institutions. This boom in population, coupled with the annexations of the nearby towns of Bushwick and Williamsburgh in 1854, made Brooklyn the third-largest city in the United States by 1860.
As Brooklyn's population and the size of their congregation grew, members of the Church of the Pilgrims saw an opportunity for expansion. Several members asked to be dismissed so that they could establish a second Congregational church, Plymouth Church. The new church's location in Brooklyn Heights was in a neighborhood of wealthy families of social standing and just a short ferry ride away from Manhattan, which allowed neighborhood residents and tourists alike to experience the oratorical skills of Plymouth's young preacher, Henry Ward Beecher. Beecher was instrumental in attracting international attention to Brooklyn and his involvement in the anti-slavery movement helped to bring further notice to the city as a major site of anti-slavery activity.
During and after the Civil War, the city of Brooklyn prospered. Increased trade and population growth resulted in further expansion and a solid middle class presence. Meanwhile, Brooklyn's wealthy families molded the city into a flourishing metropolis complete with the cultural institutions enjoyed by the middle and upper classes, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music (1861), The Long Island Historical Society (1863), and the Brooklyn Club (circa 1865).
In 1880, the city of Brooklyn was the fourth largest producer of manufactured goods in the United States and was still expanding in population and commercial growth. Over the next forty years, the demographics of Brooklyn altered dramatically: a second mass wave of immigration increased the population still further, the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges opened in 1883 and 1909, the subway arrived in 1908, industrial complexes grew, Brooklyn was annexed into the city of New York in 1898, and public utilities were expanded into the borough. The middle and upper class residents of Brooklyn Heights, once the primary constituency of Plymouth Church and Church of the Pilgrims, began to move away from the commercial center of the city. By the 1920s, the once grand homes of Brooklyn's elite families had been converted into apartment houses and housed a population of clerks and secretaries who worked across the river in the Manhattan financial district. The Great Depression and development projects such as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway led much of old Brooklyn Heights to fall into neglect until the early 1950s, when urban pioneers began to redevelop the neighborhood and promote its preservation.
The Borough of Brooklyn in 1999 was the most populous of New York City. The neighborhood along the bluffs overlooking the East River, Brooklyn Heights, was designated the first Historic District in New York City in 1966. Despite changes in population, politics, and economics, many of the 19th century brownstones, churches, and other structures still stand as testimony to the rich history of old Brooklyn.
Scope and Contents
The Plymouth-Beecher collection was donated to the Center for Brooklyn History (formerly the Brooklyn Historical Society and Long Island Historical Society) by the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, where it had been amassed over the years. The collection includes Beecher's own manuscripts as well as materials gathered by the church as reference tools. These materials consist mainly of works written about Beecher, and materials dealing with the church during and after Beecher's tenure. A number of the documents deal primarily with Plymouth Church and secondarily with Beecher and his time. Consequently, the collection proves useful for researchers of Beecher's life and for research of the Plymouth Church community and 19th century Congregationalism. Due to the broad scope of these papers, the collection is identified as the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection.
The bulk of the collection relates to Henry Ward Beecher and his time at Plymouth Church, and contains materials relating both to Beecher's life apart from the Church, and Plymouth Church's history apart from Beecher, including documents regarding Beecher's successors. The collection as a whole represents the history of Plymouth Church prior to and following its consolidation with Church of the Pilgrims in 1934 and Beecher's relationship with the church, both in actuality, during his life, and in perception, after his death.
Henry Ward Beecher
The materials found in the first series of the collection are focused on Henry Ward Beecher, and are quite diverse. Beecher's interests and activities were varied, a fact that is reflected within those papers directly concerning him. In addition to the materials regarding his time at Plymouth, other aspects of his life, including his work as an abolitionist, his career as a lecturer, and his personal relationships, are represented. Those sections of the series concentrating on his private life and his work prior to Plymouth are less comprehensive than those relating to Plymouth Church and his public persona.
The Beecher series contains materials illustrative of nearly every aspect of Henry Ward Beecher's life as a member of the clergy, beginning with limited materials relating to his years as a young preacher in Indiana. With his letter of acceptance to Plymouth Church, the collection begins to focus on his time in Brooklyn and his association with Plymouth, the church where he earned his fame.
A substantial portion of the manuscript material is made up of correspondence illustrating his work in Brooklyn, his political concerns, his personal interests, and his relationships with family and friends. Much of Beecher's correspondence deals with the management of his summer home, and illustrates his knowledge of, and concern for, his land. The majority of family correspondence can be found in William Beecher's book of letters received. Included are letters from friends and family members, including William's father, Henry Ward Beecher. Additionally, letters and papers relating to individual family members provide insight into Beecher's personal life as well as his public activities. Substantial correspondence to Beecher criticizing his abolitionism can be found in a scrapbook in the Beecher series.
Beecher's literary works, particularly his sermons, are well represented within the series by a group of hand-written manuscripts, as well as the typescript transcripts made by T.J. Ellinwood, who served as Beecher's stenographer for many years. About twenty-five bound copies of such typescripts with introductory notes by Ellinwood are included in addition to unbound packets. Ellinwood also bound the reviews and correspondence concerning those collections of Beecher's writings published posthumously. In addition to these volumes, the collection contains a substantial representation of pamphlet printings, some quite rare, of Beecher's works, as well as Beecher's sermon notebook.
Records of Beecher's ministry at Plymouth Church are certainly of special note and can be specifically seen in the reminiscences of church members, as well as the large collection of ephemera, record books, and miscellaneous notices documenting the major events in the history and business of the church during Beecher's tenure. Several of these events, such as the "Silver Wedding Celebration" and Beecher's seventieth birthday, focus on Beecher. However, found within the second series of the collection, which focuses on Plymouth Church, are more general church records from Beecher's tenure, such as those of the Sabbath School, along with membership applications and church publications.
Also documented in the Beecher series is his and, in turn, Plymouth's stand on the major issues of the day, namely slavery and the Civil War. Beecher was a prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement and a key supporter of the Union during the War and many in his congregation followed suit. The "auctioning" of enslaved persons in Plymouth Church is related in the materials concerning Rose Ward Hunt, an enslaved girl, known at the time by the racist nickname"Pinky." Hunt's return to Plymouth Church in 1927 is documented in the collection, which includes an audio cylinder with brief remarks from Hunt; a digital version of the cylinder recording can be heard in the BHS library. Reactions to Beecher's politics can be seen in a scrapbook of letters he received from his readers throughout the nation and of newspaper clippings about his activities.
The collection includes political material from the war period, which came to the Church through Beecher's political involvement. The controversy over Beecher's support of the military and his relationship with Lincoln are alluded to, and there are letters written by several important political and military figures. Copies of Beecher's famous "Eulogy on Grant" can also be found in the collection, in manuscript as well as published form, along with his "Narrative of Trip to Fort Sumter."
For those specifically interested in Beecher or the moral culture of the day, the collection holds accounts of the Beecher-Tilton adultery trial. Ephemera, two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, and the five volumes of the official and verbatim trial reports, allow for a thorough study of the trial and the public reaction to these events.
Upon Beecher's death in 1887, numerous memorials and testimonials of his life were published in various newspapers and magazines. The collection holds twelve scrapbooks containing such articles, memorial pamphlets, sermons, speeches, and poems, including an elaborate hand calligraphed memorial album and various memorabilia from Beecher's funeral. Anniversaries of his death were similarly publicized and a number of memorial organizations were founded in his name. The collection holds records of the Beecher Literary and Debating Society and the Beecher Missionary Circle, as well as an article concerning the Beecher Memorial Church, founded in Brooklyn in 1932.
Plymouth Church
The material in the second series of the collection pertain principally to the history of Plymouth Church. Although the bulk of material in this series dates from the death of Henry Ward Beecher in 1887, items from Beecher's tenure at Plymouth Church can be found in much of the series.
The series includes Church Manuals (which include Articles of Faith, Church procedures, and member rosters), Church Bulletins, programs from holiday services, the church's monthly publication, The Plymouth Chimes, and Plymouth Chimes' Calendars. Although the publication runs in the collection are incomplete, the publications do reveal the ideology of the church. The Chimes was not published in July and August, and are in three formats in this collection: bound, oversized and loose. The Plymouth Hymnal: For the Church the Social Meeting and the Home indicates how services should be conducted at Plymouth Church.
There are also a number of church records, including annual reports, a shareholder book (1859), a list of applicants to the church, and charts of pew rental records (1900-1924). Although there are gaps, the annual reports show the financial standing of the Church throughout its history. Other items, such as the subscription book, include names and addresses of those who contributed to the church. In addition, there is a volume of applicants to Plymouth Church (1868-1870). This volume indicates the religious history of the applicant and includes hometown, if the applicant recently moved to the Brooklyn area. The series also contains additional lists indicating members and contributors to the church.
Sunday and Sabbath School materials include rosters and roll books, some of which include the addresses of the students. In addition to these rosters, the activities and operation of the schools are documented through Hymn Books and sheet music from holiday events, scrapbooks, and other ephemera.
The extent to which Plymouth Church involved itself in the Brooklyn Heights community is revealed in materials related to various Church activities, including programs and pamphlets pertaining to the Arbuckle Institute, Plymouth Institute, and Plymouth Church House. These pamphlets and programs indicate the types of activities the Institutes and Church House sponsored. Activities included classes ranging from accounting to physical education and social events, such as concerts and plays. Also found are pamphlets and programs pertaining to other Plymouth organizations such as the Plymouth League and the Plymouth Men's Club. There are also bills, receipts, and account books from several benevolence organizations that were affiliated with the church. Of special interest in this section are the materials relating to the Plymouth Rock Celebration. These items document the organization of the event, from sending out invitations and seeking potential speakers, to thanking participants for their assistance. The low attendance for the event compared to the high expectations for participation in the event, reveals the decline in membership facing the church, even after the consolidation of Plymouth Church and Church of the Pilgrims.
The documentation of Plymouth Church's history also includes material concerning its pastors other than Beecher. Those materials relating to Dr. Lyman Abbott, Beecher's immediate successor, are most closely related to Beecher, documenting life in Brooklyn during the time and noting the continued importance of Beecher's reputation. Each of the succeeding pastors was constantly aware of Plymouth Church being representative of Beecher's legacy, and papers from each show their attention to this fact. In addition, biographical information, clippings, and ephemera pertaining to the pastors are found in this series. The writings of Newell Dwight Hillis are of special note here. Hillis's outspoken view urging the United States to enter World War I and his Better America lecture series, following the War, illustrate his pro-American position during this time of political unrest in the United States.
The Plymouth materials also include correspondence and clippings of noted members of Plymouth Church. The church's continued concern for the reputation of its most famous son can be seen in its stance against Paxton Hibben's 1927 biography of Beecher in this series. The book did not show the minister in the most favorable light and the members of Plymouth gathered clippings and reviews of the spirited responses to it, and engaged in an active letter writing campaign in an attempt to discredit its account. Scrapbooks created by members of the church documenting the activities of the congregation, Henry Ward Beecher, and the Beecher family through newsclippings, programs, bulletins, and other ephemera are in the collection. Items from Church of the Pilgrims prior to its consolidation with Plymouth Church and other miscellaneous items can also be found.
The collection also includes a large number of photographs of Beecher throughout his life, and Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims throughout its history, as well as related scenes and people.
Arrangement
The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection is organized in three series:
Series 1: Henry Ward Beecher, 1819-1958
Series 2: Plymouth Church, 1824-1980
Series 3: Images, circa 1840s-circa 1966
The first two series are further arranged into several sections that are described below at the series level. The series contain overlapping dates and materials. For example, those materials recording the daily workings of Plymouth Church during Henry Ward Beecher's tenure, such as Sunday School records, are found within Series 2: Plymouth Church, as their primary function illustrates the activities of the church, not Beecher. Similarly, the records of Beecher's Silver Wedding Anniversary, which, although organized by the church, relate directly to Beecher, are found in Series 1: Henry Ward Beecher.
Date ranges used on folders and for the collection as a whole were determined on a best effort basis within the time constraints of processing. Consequently there may be documents in folders with dates that fall outside the noted date range. This is particularly true for the many scrapbooks, newsclippings, and undated documents in the collection. An effort was made within processing constraints to place a circa date on these.
Access Points
Subject Names
- Beecher, Henry Ward, Mrs.
- Abbott, Lyman
- Durkee, J. Stanley (James Stanley)
- Beecher, William Constantine -- Correspondence
- Beecher, Henry Ward
- Hunt, Rose Ward
- Hillis, Newell Dwight
- Hibben, Paxton
- Fifield, Lawrence Wendell
- Tilton, Theodore
- Tilton, Elizabeth M. Richards
Document Type
- Scrapbooks
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Photographs
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Sermons
- Picture postcards
- Typescripts
- Correspondence
- Cylinder phonographs (phonographs)
- Church newsletters
Subject Organizations
- Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Sunday School
- Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Sunday School
- Henry Ward Beecher Literary and Debating Society (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Henry Ward Beecher Missionary Circle (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Bethel of Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Institute (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Subject Topics
- Antislavery movements -- United States
- Sunday schools -- New York (State) -- Kings County
- Pews and pew rights
- Reformers -- United States
- Religious education of children -- New York (State) -- Kings County
- Congregational churches -- New York (State) -- Kings County -x Clergy
- Authors, American
- Congregationalists -- New York (State) -- Kings County
- Religious institutions -- New York (State) -- Kings County
- City clergy -- New York (State) -- New York
- Lectures and lecturing -- New York (State) -- Kings County
- Clergy as authors
- Adultery -- New York (State) -- Kings County
- Trials (Adultery) -- New York (State) -- Kings County
- Abolitionists -- New York (State)
Subject Places
- United States |x Religion
- Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |x Church history
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |x Religious life and customs
Subject Uniform Title(s)
- Plymouth chimes (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Photocopies may be made for research purposes only. Permission to publish material in the collection must be requested of Library staff: cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection; ARC.212; Box and folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The majority of the materials in this collection are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org at least three weeks prior to research visit.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The bulk of the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection was donated to the Center for Brooklyn History (formerly the Brooklyn Historical Society and Long Island Historical Society) by the church on October 29, 1983. The collection was created by Plymouth Church/Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims to document the history of the two churches as well as Plymouth Church's first pastor, Henry Ward Beecher.
The collection is artificial in that many items, especially those related to Beecher, appear to have been collected and donated over an extended period of time, often by congregants who happened upon materials loosely associated to the famous preacher and his time. The collection includes, for example, souvenirs from the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and memorials of the assassinated President Lincoln. Explicit documentation of the provenance of such items is lacking.
Correspondence regarding the collection during the time it was held at Plymouth Church, written sometime after 1920, outlined a prospective plan for the collection. William Davenport, attorney and member of Plymouth Church, stated in the plan that "countless invaluable records especially of the Bethel S[abbath] S[chool] and Main S[abbath] S[chool] were lost [in the 1920 fire] besides scores of fine photographs, documents and other articles relating to the church's history." Davenport urged the active collection of papers and letters relating to prominent church figures, most notably Henry Ward Beecher, to be "secured, . . . preserved, and [transcribed]." His successful solicitation is evidenced in the numerous typed transcripts of original documents now found within the collection. In addition he called for the creation of "a card catalog of the books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and so forth." This suggestion was also heeded, and the resulting catalog is now housed by Brooklyn Historical Society.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by C. Dierdre Phelps in 1984. Phelps's 1984 finding aid was revised in 1999 by project archivists Teresa Mora and Mae Pan and project consultant Dr. Marilyn H. Pettit. Additional editing of the finding aid was done in 2006-2007 by archivist Leilani Dawson. Edits were also made in 2010 by project archivist Larry Weimer and volunteer Jesse Brauner, principally to accommodate the requirements of input to Archivists' Toolkit. The related collections note was updated by John Zarrillo in December 2016.
This collection combines four accessions. The bulk of the material is from accession 1985.002. A few documents are from accessions 1978.098 and 1978.172. Accession v1997.069, containing a portrait and political cartoon of Beecher, and an Arbuckle Institute booklet (Gift of Cornell University), were added by John Zarrillo in 2014.
Oppressive descriptive language was remediated from the biographical/historical and scope and contents notes in this finding aid as part of an anti-racist descriptive language audit performed in January 2021. Folder titles and language used in general notes at the folder level have been retained to document descriptive historical language.
Index to Henry Ward Beecher Sermons and Speeches
Following is an index of the Beecher sermons and other remarks in the collection, ordered alphabetically by title. Following the title is the date delivered (if known) and the box number-folder number (B-F) in which the piece can be found.
Title(s)
- A Circuit of the Continent (November 29, 1883) : B3-F17
- A Knowledge of Doctrines Useful but Not Indispensable (undated) : B6-F7
- A Voice (undated) : B6-F9
- Activity (undated) : B6-F8
- Activity Indispensable to Normal Development (undated) : B6-F9
- American Missionary Association (undated) : B6-F9
- American Missionary Association (undated) : B6-F9
- Be Conspicuous for Good Qualities (undated) : B6-F6
- Caution Against Procrastination (undated) : B6-F6
- Children of God Not to Crawl in His Presence (undated) : B6-F6
- Christ's Personal Ministry (undated) : B6-F6
- Church Worship (April 8, 1877) : B3-F9
- Cleveland Letters (August 30 and September 8, 1866) : B2-F9
- Comfort in Knowing the Worst (undated) : B6-F9
- Commercial Wisdom of Religion (undated) : B6-F6
- Consolation in Trouble (March 3, 1876) : B3-F10
- Deterioration of Man (undated) : B6-F7
- Disenchantment of Scripture Passages (undated) : B6-F6
- Disinterested Benevolence (undated) : B6-F8
- Education of the Citizen (1860-1863) : B2-F4
- England and the Civil War of America (June 7, 1861) : B2-F13
- Eulogy on General Grant (October 22, 1885) : Box 5 (no folder)
- Eve of Emancipation (December 31, 1863) : B2-F13
- Extract from Lecture Room Talk (March 27, 1863) : B2-F13
- Fruitfulness of the Human Mind (undated) : B6-F8
- Generosity and Benevolence (undated) : B6-F8
- Getting up in the Morning (undated) : B6-F2
- God's Love and Presence (February 23, 1868) : B2-F13
- God's Seal and Testimony (1858) : B1-F36
- Happiness (1870-1871) : B2-F14
- Heirship with Christ (February 14, 1886) : B5-F6
- Henry Ward Beecher in the West (1877) : B3-F8
- How to Labor for a Revival (undated) : B6-F6
- Humanity (February 28, 1866) : B5-F6
- Inspiration of Scripture No. 1 (October 27, 1878) : B3-F10
- Interpolation of the Scriptures (undated) : B6-F6
- Is There a Devil? (February 25, 1883) : B3-F17
- Laws and their Penalties (undated) : B6-F7
- Lecture (December 1, 1859) : B2-F1
- Lecture Room Talk (January 1, 1863?) : B2-F13
- Lecture Room Talk (July 27, 1876) : B3-F10
- Lecture Room Talk (March 1, 1878) : B3-F10
- Lecture Room Talk (May 21, 1875) : B3-F10
- Lecture Room Talk: excerpt (December 29, 1876) : B3-F10
- Love for Southerners as well as Northerners (January 9, 1863) : B2-F13
- Lying Never Justifiable (undated) : B6-F6
- Men's Plans in Life (undated) : B6-F9
- Misconception of One's Duty as a Christian (June 15, 1877) : B3-F10
- Mission of Christ (undated) : B6-F9
- Money and Manhood: incomplete copy (1872-1873) : B3-F2
- Motives for Action (undated) : B6-F7
- Narrative on Trip to Ft. Sumter (April 12, 1865) : Box 3 (no folder)
- Natural Laws Moral, and Moral Laws Natural (undated) : B6-F9
- Old and New Ideas of Inspiration (undated) : B6-F6
- Origin of the Bible (undated) : B6-F6
- Patience (undated) : B6-F9
- Patient Waiting (April 16, 1865): Box 3 (no folder)
- Patient Waiting (undated): B6-F9
- Paul and Silas in the Prison of Thyatira (September 20, 1873) : B2-F3
- Personal Influence (undated) : B6-F7
- Plymouth Church as a Pioneer in the Anti-Slavery Cause (May 25, 1870) : B3-F10
- Premonitions of God's Coming (1865) : B2-F13
- Professions of Faith (July 11, 1880) : B3-F12
- Ready to Depart (December 31, 1863) : B2-F13
- Regular Progress in the Gospel Representation of Christ's Life (undated) : B6-F6
- Reign of the Common People (May 13, 1879) : B3-F9
- Remarks at 1st Anniversary of Equal Rights Association (May 10, 1867) : B2-F10
- Remote and Permanent Results (undated) : B6-F8
- Retrospection (undated) : B6-F6
- Riches (February 18, 1883) : B3-F17
- Self- Government (undated) : B6-F9
- Sepulcher in the Garden (March 26, 1880) : B3-F11
- Sermon extract (April 14, 1878) : B3-F10
- Sermon extract (April 15, 1877) : B3-F10
- Sermon extract (February 28, 1875) : B3-F10
- Sermon extract (March 19, 1876) : B3-F10
- Sermon extract (May 31, 1874) : B3-F10
- Sermon notes: Ephesians 4: 31-32 (December 28, 1873) : B3-F4
- Sermon notes: Hebrews 12:18 and Galatians 5:22 (undated) : B6-F14
- Sermon notes: Luke 14:10 (June 22, 1877) : B3-F9
- Sermon notes: Luke 16:4 (undated) : B6-F2
- Sermon notes: Phil 1:15-18 (February 21, 1886): B5-F5
- Sermon notes: Romans 14:12 (undated) : B6-F2
- Sermon: 1st Corinthians 1:28 (November 19, 1872) : B3-F1
- Sermon: 1st Corinthians 2:15 (October 1868) : B2-F11
- Sermon: Acts of the Apostles 16 (undated) : B6-F9
- Sermon: Deut 6:1, 6-12 (July 2, 1884) : B4-F1
- Sermon: Genesis 9:11-16 (December 7, 1865) : B2-F8
- Sermon: Hebrews 4:9 (October 11, 1874) : B3-F6
- Sermon: Isa 16:3 (November 28, 1869) : B2-F13
- Sermon: James (?) 46:5 (June 28, 1885) : B5-F2
- Sermon: John 11:44 (July 5, 1885) : B5-F3
- Sermon: Mathew 25:26 (December 19, 1875) : B3-F7
- Sermon: Matthew 11: 1-12 (November 9, 1884) : B4-F2
- Sermon: Peter 2:17 (January 17, 1864) : B2-F5
- Sermon: Romans 2:4,5 (undated) : B6-F3
- Sermon: Romans 8:14,16 (undated) : B6-F8
- Sermon: Romans 8:19-23 (June 14, 1885) : B5-F1
- Sermons (1885-1886) : Box 5 (no folder)
- Sermons (1886-1887) : Box 5 (no folder)
- Sermons (April-October 1883) : Box 4 (no folder)
- Sermons (April-October 1884) : Box 5 (no folder)
- Sermons (October 1883-April 1884) : Box 4 (no folder)
- Sermons (October 5-November 2, 1884) : Box 5 (no folder)
- Sermons (Sepember 1882-March 1883) : B3-F16
- Sermons: printed (circa 1887) : B6-F1
- Shame (undated) : B6-F6
- Significance of the Term Hatred as Used by Christ (January 10, 1886) : B5-F4
- Signification of the Word 'Forty' in the Scriptures (undated) : B6-F6
- Sorrow and Its Dangers (undated) : B6-F9
- Thanksgiving Sermon (November 27, 1879) : B3-F10
- The Administration of Wealth (undated): B6-F8
- The Bible (March 26, 1980) : B3-F11
- The Camp and Country (October 1861) : B2-F3
- The Divine Government (undated) : B6-F6
- The Faults of Character (undated) : B6-F9
- The Hidden Manna and the White Stone (July 1, 1866) : B2-F9
- The Higher Christian Life (February 16, 1872) : B3-F10
- The Household (1869-1871) : B2-F12
- The Human Body a Temple of the Holy Ghost (undated) : B6-F8
- The Kingdom of Heaven (January 3, 1886) : B5-F6
- The Law of Human Development (undated) : B6-F8
- The Law of Sympathy (1858-1859) : B2-F1
- The Lord's Prayer No.2 (January 17, 1865): B2-F6
- The Lord's Prayer No.3 (undated) : B6-F13
- The Love of Money (undated) : B6-F9
- The Progress of Thought in the Church (in North American Review) (August 1882) : B3-F14
- The Threefold Man (undated) : B6-F7
- The Unity of Christians by the Power of Love (July 11, 1886) : B5-F6
- The Vulgarity of Ignorance (undated) : B6-F6
- The Worth of Man (January 1882) : B3-F13
- Truths of Law Founded in Nature (undated) : B6-F6
- Two Hundred and Forty Years Ago! (undated) : B6-F4
- Unconscious Selfishness (undated) : B6-F9
- Upper and Under (circa 1874) : B3-F5
- Wants of Young Men (May 6, 1860) : B2-F2
- What Men Believe Religion Can Do For Them (undated) : B6-F6
- Works (undated) : B6-F8
- Young America (undated) : B6-F5
Container List
Series 1: Henry Ward Beecher, 1819-1958. 16.5 Cubic Feet
Scope and ContentsThis series includes material that pertains directly to Henry Ward Beecher, his career at and relations with Plymouth Church, and his public and private life. The series opens with both personal and business correspondence, both to and from Beecher. Topics of the correspondence range from Beecher's political stance, to the upkeep of his summer home in Peekskill, N.Y., to the sincerity of one of his product endorsements. Also included within the correspondence section of the series is a copy of Beecher's letter of acceptance of the pastorate at Plymouth Church. The series includes a section of miscellaneous personal materials relating to Beecher, such as a scrapbook of his final journey to England and a stock certificate, as well as materials pertaining to other members of the Beecher family, including his wife Eunice White Bullard, his sister Harriet Beecher Stowe, and his son William. As a whole, the section of personal and familial papers is primarily made up of correspondence and newspaper clippings. Beecher's sermons, lectures, and publications in both manuscript and print form also form a substantial portion of the series. These include both hand-written manuscripts and typescripts made and compiled by Beecher's stenographer, T. J. Ellinwood. Beecher's various activities and aspects of his career are well-documented in the series. A few items pertaining to Beecher's tenure in Indianapolis are in the series, including newspaper clippings, reminiscences, and the hundredth anniversary program of the Second Presbyterian Church where he served as pastor. Material on Beecher's anti-slavery activities includes documents relaying Plymouth's position on slavery, materials relating to Rose Ward Hunt (an enslaved girl who Beecher "auctioned" at Plymouth), and a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings and correspondence regarding Beecher's position on slavery, especially expressing opposition to Beecher's stance (box 41). Included here is an audio cylinder with brief remarks from Rose Ward Hunt on the occasion of her return to Plymouth Church in 1927; a digital version of the cylinder recording can be heard in the library. Newspaper accounts of Beecher's activities generally at Plymouth Church are in the series, including material relating to Church events centered around Beecher, such as his "Silver Wedding" Celebration. Beecher's political involvement is reflected in the correspondence of major figures of the day, newspaper clippings relating to Beecher and Lincoln, reactions to Lincoln's assassination, and a memento of General U.S. Grant. The Beecher-Tilton adultery trial is well documented through contemporary newspaper clippings, the published proceedings of the trial, and pamphlets regarding the trial. Also included in this section is an invitation to visit the Tiltons on their tenth anniversary. A section of the series concerning Beecher's death contains a number of memorials to Beecher, including poetry, memorial booklets, his eulogy, scrapbooks, and photographs. Also found here are artifacts from his funeral and a hand-calligraphed album commemorating the pastor. The series closes with a section on Beecher memorials, containing information regarding several of the organizations founded in Beecher's name following his death, memorial magazines, a Brooklyn City memorial proclamation made in 1958, and reminiscences of friends and congregants, including Irene Ovington's 1895 memories of Beecher with a reference to the Underground Railroad.
ArrangementThe series is organized in ten sections: Section 1: Correspondence, Personal and Business (1847-1887) Section 2: Personal and Familial Papers (1845-1975) Section 3: Sermons, Lectures, and Publications (1848-1904) Section 4: Beecher in Indianapolis (1913-1938) Section 5: Beecher and Plymouth Church (1860-1885) Section 6: Beecher's Involvement in the Anti-Slavery Movement (1819-1959) Section 7: Political Climate (1834-1937) Section 8: Beecher-Tilton Trial (1873-1934) Section 9: Death (1887-1891) Section 10: Memorials (1871-1958) In section 3, the container list indicates which materials are in handwritten, typescript, or print form. Typescripts and printed matter explicitly attributable to T.J. Ellinwood are indicated with the initals TJE. |
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Box: 1 | Folder : 1 | Beecher to Tilton re: experiences in Britain. |
1863 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 2 | To Charles re: his political position. |
1866 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 3 | To Mr. Rodgers. |
1865-1867 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 4 | To caretakers of summer house, Mr. and Mrs. Fred D. Chandler. |
1881-1887 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 5 | Letter from HWB on letterhead. |
1885 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 6 | To Mrs. Beach. |
undated | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 7 | Letter of acceptance to Plymouth (photo reproduction). |
1847 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 8 | To Cushing family re: baptism. |
1849 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 9 | Letter to lozenge company exalting product and newspaper reprint (October 15). |
1858 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 10 | re: Plymouth Church organist. |
1878 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 11 | From G.E. Sawyer re: donation to church. |
1884 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 12 | To Mayor Whitney: declining public reception in his honor. |
1886 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 13 | re: Pear's soap endorsement, original and reply. |
1886 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 14 | Miscellaneous: printed in newspapers. |
1878-1886 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 15 | Beecher's stock certificate for Continental Insurance Co. |
1867 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 16 | Trip to England: departure ceremony- tickets, invitation, itinerary, lecture announcements. |
1886 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 17 | New York news clippings reporting on trip. |
1886 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 18 | British news clippings reporting on trip. |
1886 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 19 | United States papers reporting on trip. |
1886 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 20 | British and other foreign papers reporting on trip. |
1886 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 21 | Correspondence re: Charles and James C. Beecher. |
1857, 1942 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 22 | Family autographs/ notes: Lyman Beecher, Edward, Thomas, Charles, William, and Henry
Beecher. |
1845-1891 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 23 | Mrs. John Tasker Howard to Mr. Howard re: daughter's conversion and relationship with
the Stowes: annotated transcription. |
1858 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 24 | Edward Beecher: golden wedding anniversary, newspaper clippings, obituary. |
1862, 1893-1895 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 25 | William C. Beecher: business letter, letter to Durkee (pastor of Plymouth). |
1881, 1927 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 26 | Correspondence from Eunice Beecher; incl. autograph book. |
1886-1896 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 27 | 2 letters from Eunice Beecher. |
1891 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 28 | Eunice Beecher: newspaper clippings. |
1897 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 29 | Letter from Hattie B. Beecher (wife of HWB Jr.). |
1898 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 30 | Harriet Beecher Stowe: articles, newsclippings, brochure from house tour. |
circa 1896-1975 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 31 | Dr. John Beecher: newsclipping about "Walk for Peace". |
1961 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 32 | Family scrapbook pages: newsclippings, images. |
circa 1880-1911 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 33 | Family tree: beginning with Henry Ward Beecher. |
circa 1940 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 34 | John Greenleaf Whittier writing sample. |
undated | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 35 | Mrs. Oliver Coomes: 2 Brooklyn Sanitary Fair tickets, cards relating to Coomes incl.
calling card. |
1868 | |
Box: 30 | Item : 1 | The Christian World (British) reporting on trip. |
1886 | |
Box: 31 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook of newsclippings re: HWB and family. |
1887-1907 | |
Box: 32 | Item : 1 | William C. Beecher Letterbook. |
1864-1869 | |
Box: 33 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook: clippings on Beecher. |
1866-1876 | |
Box: 34 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook: clippings on Beecher. |
1877 | |
Box: 35 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook of political news. |
1880 | |
Box: 36 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook: clippings on Beecher. |
1883-1884 | |
Box: 37 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook: clippings on Beecher. |
1885-1886 | |
Box: 38 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook of trip kept by Maj. Pond, Beecher's agent. |
1886 | |
Box: 39 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook: Beecher, family and church. |
1852, 1860-1879 | |
Box: 66 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook: clippings on Beecher. |
1885-1916 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 36 | "God's Seal and Testimony" (print). |
1858 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 1 | "The Law of Sympathy" and lecture excerpt (handwritten). |
1859 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 2 | "Wants of Young Men" (May 6) (TJE, typescript). |
1860 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 3 | "The Camp and Country" (October) (handwritten). |
1861 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 4 | "Education of the Citizen" (handwritten). |
circa 1860-1863 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 5 | Sermon (January 17) (typescript). |
1864 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 6 | "The Lord's Prayer" (January 17) (typescript). |
1865 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 8 | Sermon (December 7) (typescript). |
1865 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 9 | "The Hidden Manna and the White Stone" and "The Cleveland Letters" (TJE, printed,
circa 1892). |
1866 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 10 | Speech delivered at American Equal Rights Association (May 10) (typescript). |
1867 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 11 | Sermon (October) (typescript). |
1868 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 12 | "The Household" (handwritten). |
1869-1871 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 13 | Sermons (typescript). |
1860-1869 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 14 | "Happiness" (handwritten). |
1870-1871 | |
Box: 3 | Item : 1 | "Narrative on Trip to Ft. Sumter" (April 12) (TJE, typescript, 1892). |
1865 | |
Box: 3 | Item : 2 | "Patient Waiting" (April 16) (TJE, typescript, 1892). |
1865 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 1 | Corinthians 1:28 (November 19) (handwritten). |
1872 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 2 | "Money and Manhood" (handwritten). |
1872-1873 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 3 | Paul and Silas in the Prison of Thyatria (September 20) (printed). |
1873 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 4 | Sermon notes for Ehesians 4:31-32 (December 28) (handwritten). |
1873 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 5 | "Upper and Under" (handwritten). |
circa 1874 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 6 | Hebrews 4:9 (handwritten) (October 11). |
1874 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 7 | Matthew 25:26 (December 19) (handwritten). |
1875 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 8 | "Henry Ward Beecher in the West" (printed). |
1877 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 9 | Sermon notes for Luke 14:10 (Self-seeking): including set given to James Higgins by
Beecher (June 22) (handwritten). |
1877 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 10 | Sermons and Talks (handwritten and typescripts). |
1870-1879 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 11 | "The Bible" and "Sepulcher in the Garden" (March 26) (typescripts). |
1880 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 12 | Titus 2: 7-15 "Profession of Faith" (July 11) (handwritten). |
1880 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 13 | "The Worth of Man" (January 1882; February 18, 1883) (typescript). |
1882, 1883 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 14 | "Progress of Thought in the Church"(printed in AugustNorth American Review.) Beecher's statement on evolution. |
1882 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 15 | "Statement Before the Congressional Association," including Beecher's resignation
from the Association resulting from his views on evolution. (October 13) (printed). |
1882 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 16 | Sermons (2 bound copies) (September-March) (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1882-1883 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 17 | Sermons (typescripts and printed). |
1883 | |
Box: 4 | Item : 1 | Sermons (2 bound copies) (April-October) (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1883 | |
Box: 4 | Item : 2 | Sermons (2 bound copies) (October-April) (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1883-1884 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 1 | Sermon: Deuteronomy 6:1, 6-12 (July 2) (handwritten). |
1884 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 2 | Sermon (typescripts). |
1884 | |
Box: 5 | Item : 1-2 | Sermons (2 copies) (April-October) (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1884 | |
Box: 5 | Item : 3-4 | Sermons (2 copies) (October-November) (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1884 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 1 | Sermon: Romans 8:19-23 (June 14) (handwritten). |
1885 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 2 | Sermon: James 46:5 (June 28) (handwritten). |
1885 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 3 | Sermon: John 11:44 (July 5) (handwritten). |
1885 | |
Box: 5 | Item : 5 | "Eulogy on General Grant" (October 22) (handwritten). |
1885 | |
Box: 5 | Item : 6 | Sermons (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1885-1886 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 4 | "Significance of the Term Hatred as Used by Christ" (January 10) (handwritten). |
1886 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 5 | Sermon Notes for Philistines 1: 15-18 (February 21) (handwritten). |
1886 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 6 | Sermons (typescripts and printed). |
1886 | |
Box: 5 | Item : 7 | Sermons (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1886-1887 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 1 | Sermons (printed). |
circa 1887 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 2 | "Getting up in the Morning,"Luke 16:4, and Romans 14: 12 (handwritten). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 3 | Sermon: Romans: 2:4-5 (typescript). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 4 | "Two Hundred and Forty Years Ago" (handwritten). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 5 | "Young America" (handwritten). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 6-9 | Sermons (typescripts). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 10-11 | Sermons and sermon notes (handwritten). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 12 | Sermon notes (handwritten). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 13 | "The Lord's Prayer No. III" (typescript). |
undated | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 14 | Reports of Beecher's sermons (handwritten, typescripts, and printed). |
1856-1887 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 15 | Prayers and Announcements (typescripts). |
1860-1869 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 16 | Prayers (typescripts). |
1872-1879 | |
Box: 6 | Item : 1 | Lecture/ Sermon Notebook (handwritten). |
1848-1849 | |
Box: 6 | Item : 2 | Bible Lecture Prayers (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1878-1879 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 1 | Announcements (typescripts). |
1872-1879 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 2 | Prayers and Announcements (typescripts). |
1840s-1880s | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 3 | Prayers published in Plymouth Chimes (typescripts). |
1861-1887 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 4 | Promotional material for Norwood. |
undated | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 5 | Metaphors and Similes: reviews and correspondence. |
1896 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 6 | A Treasury of Illustration: reviews and correspondence. |
1904 | |
Box: 7 | Item : 1 | Remarks on Preaching (TJE, printed, circa 1890). |
undated | |
Box: 7 | Item : 2 | Bound stenographic typescript of Miscellaneous Sayings (TJE, printed, circa 1890). |
undated | |
Box: 7 | Item : 3 | Last Morning Prayers (TJE, printed, 1892). |
1886-1887 | |
Box: 7 | Item : 4 | Compiled reviews of A Book of Prayer (bound). |
1892 | |
Box: 8 | Item : 1 | Compiled reviews of Bible Studies (bound). |
1893 | |
Box: 8 | Item : 2 | Bound "draft" typescript of Pictures and Music, initialed by T.J. Ellinwood. |
undated | |
Box: 8 | Item : 3 | Bound stenographic typescript of Birds and Flowers (TJE). |
undated | |
Box: 8 | Item : 4 | Bound stenographic typescript of Advice to Young People (TJE). |
undated | |
Box: 8 | Item : 5 | Bound stenographic typescript of Concerning Children (TJE). |
undated | |
Box: 8 | Item : 6 | Bound stenographic typescript of Biographical Sketches (TJE). |
undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 1 | Miscellaneous Correspondence. |
circa 1877, 1883 | |
Box: 40 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook of clippings re: sermons, lectures and some correspondence. |
1860-1864 | |
Box: 73 | Folder : 1 | Sermons printed in Christian Union and Christian World |
1872-1886 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 1 | 1840 Letter to Lewis J. Cist from Henry Ward Beecher; letter re: call to Indianapolis;
2 clips; memoir of Beecher there; hundredth anniversary program |
1840, 1913, 1927, 1938 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 2 | Newspaper accounts of Beecher's activities at the church. |
circa 1860-1885 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 3 | Page from anti-evolution work "Evolution Decadent". |
undated | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 4 | Silver Wedding ephemera: tickets. |
1872 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 5 | Silver Wedding programs and anthems. |
1872 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 6 | Ribbon from Silver Wedding. |
1872 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 7 | Account of Silver Wedding by Horatio C. King (3 copies). |
1873 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 8 | Beecher's 70th birthday celebration: ticket, newsclippings and programs. |
1883 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 9 | Church's position on slavery. |
circa 1850, 1942, 1959 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 10 | Auctioning of slaves at Plymouth: written reminiscences (including typescripts and
other reproductions of documents circa 1839-circa 1860). |
1927 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 11 | Original tax return of Charlotte Collins of Charleston, including slaves as property. |
1819 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 12 | Statement on slavery from British churches to Congregational Churches of New York. |
1853 | |
Box: 9 | Folder : 13-14 | Rose Ward Hunt: newspaper clippings re: return to church for celebration of 80th anniversary
of Beecher's first sermon preached at Plymouth Church. |
1927 | |
Box: 74 | Item : 1 | Audio cylinder of Rose Ward Hunt remarks
Conditions Governing UseAudio cylinder recording has been digitized, and the recording can be accessed onsite at Brooklyn Historical Society through PastPerfect. |
1927 | |
Box: 41 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook: clippings and correspondence to Beecher. |
1858-1868 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 1 | Typescript about "Beecher's Volunteers," letter relating Lincoln's attendance of a
Plymouth service |
1926 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 2 | Gen. U.S. Grant memorial ribbon. |
circa 1885 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 3 | Andrew Johnson: leaf from account book. |
1834-1837 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 4 | Letter from Admiral John A. Dahlgren (recipient unknown) and engraved image. |
1861 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 5 | Transcript of farewell address to Beecher from Britain sent to Plymouth, and Plymouth's
response. |
1863 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 6 | Death of Lincoln: photo of portrait, memorial ribbon, manuscript of the "Action of
the [Washington, DC] City Government on the occasion of the Assassination of President
Lincoln," 3 pieces Confederate currency. |
1863,1865 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 7 | Letter to Tilton from Cheever and engraved image of Cheever. |
1864 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 8 | Fort Sumter flag raising program. |
1865 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 9 | Letter from Sen. Charles Sumner to Chandler re: reconstruction and engraving of Sumner. |
1867 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 10 | Newsclipping and "comic book style" history re: Beecher and Lincoln. |
circa 1937 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 11 | Pamphlets of trial proceedings. |
1875-1876 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 12 | Newsclippings re: trial. |
1874-1934 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 13 | Invitation to party celebrating 10th anniversary of the Tiltons. |
1865 | |
Box: 10 | Folder : 14 | Article on Beecher- Tilton Case. |
1920 | |
Box: 10 | Item : 1 | Theodore Tilton vs. Henry Ward Beecher (Verbatim Report): vol. 2. |
1875 | |
Box: 11 | Item : 1-4 | Theodore Tilton vs. Henry Ward Beecher (Verbatim Report): vol. 2, vol. 3 (2 copies); Official Report vol. 2. |
1875 | |
Box: 42 | Item : 1 | Copies of the New York Tribune containing articles on Beecher-Tilton case (July 29-Aug 28) |
1874 | |
Box: 43 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook of newsclippings re: trial. |
1873-1876 | |
Box: 73 | Item : 1 | Mounted political cartoons. |
circa 1874 | |
Box: 77 | Six Issues of The Daily Graphic |
August, 1874 - October, 1874 | ||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 1 | Ephemera: flowers and leaves from casket, copies of "His [Beecher's] Last Prayer,"
tickets to funeral, order of service, ribbon/ Easter card from Beecher(?). |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 2 | Manuscripts and printed poems. |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 3 | Printed, single items. |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 4 | Brooklyn Baptist Social Union: Beecher Memoriam (March 17). |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 5 | Sermon of Rev. Armitage, at Plymouth (March 27). |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 6 | Newsclippings of death and funeral. |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 7 | Eulogy by Joseph Parker. |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 8 | "Henry Ward Beecher: A Sermon" by John Chadwick (May). |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 9 | Plymouth Sunday School Memorial (February). |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 10 | General eulogies of Beecher. |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 11-12 | Beecher Memorial Album (4 copies). |
1887 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 13 | "I am Resolved What to Do": Beecher's last sermon. |
1887 | |
Box: 44 | Item : 1 | Hand calligraphed memorial album by Henry E. Nelmes; 2 photos of an elderly woman
(Eunice Beecher?). |
1887 | |
Box: 45 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: Brooklyn Citizen. |
1887 | |
Box: 46 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: Brooklyn Daily Eagle. |
1887 | |
Box: 47 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: Brooklyn Union. |
1887 | |
Box: 48 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: New York Herald. |
1887 | |
Box: 49 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: various papers. |
1887 | |
Box: 50 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: New York Sun. |
1887 | |
Box: 51 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: New York Times. |
1887 | |
Box: 52 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: New York Tribune. |
1887 | |
Box: 53 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: New York World. |
1887 | |
Box: 54 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: Miscellaneous. |
1887-1891 | |
Box: 55 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: Miscellaneous. |
1887 | |
Box: 56 | Item : 1 | News clipping scrapbook: Miscellaneous. |
1887-1891 | |
Box: 12 | Folder : 14 | Henry Ward Beecher Funeral Tickets, Sermon Extracts, and Autograph Cards of Lyman
Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe |
1887 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 1 | Beecher Memorial Ephemera: programs, Eunice Beecher's ticket to unveiling of Beecher
statue. |
1888-1941 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 2 | Memorials (including poems by William E. Davenport). |
1887-1927 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 3 | Memorial pamphlets. |
1888 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 4 | Memorial programs. |
1891 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 5 | Memorial addresses. |
1895, 1897, 1899 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 6 | Memorial pamphlets. |
1903 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 7 | Plymouth Chimes. |
1914, 1917 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 8 | Memorial pamphlets. |
1923, 1927 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 9 | Memorial magazines: Brooklyn Eagle Library. |
1900 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 10 | Memorial magazines. |
1903 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 11 | The Congregationalist and Christian World (January 2). |
1904 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 12 | Memorial magazines. |
1913, 1914 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 13 | Brooklyn memorial proclamation of Henry Ward Beecher Anniversary Day (June 9). |
1958 | |
Box: 13 | Folder : 15 | History of the 13th Regiment. |
1894 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 1 | Personal reminiscences by church members (typescripts). |
circa 1904 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 2 | Personal reminiscences by church members (manuscripts). |
1881-1947 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 3 | Tape recorded reminiscences of Plymouth by Grace Parsons Hart.
Conditions Governing UseThe folder includes a reel-to-reel tape, along with some correspondence. There is no mechanism in the library for playing the tape. |
1958 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 4 | Reminiscences of William E. Davenport, with typescript of Beecher 1886 lecture on
industrial conditions. |
1927-1935 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 5 | Printed reminiscences by Beecher's friends. |
1887, 1910-11 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 6 | Henry Ward Beecher as Preacher and Reformer by Joseph Cook. |
1887 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 7 | General printed memorials of Beecher. |
1887-1978 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 8 | General printed memorials of Beecher: Brooklyn Daily Eagle newsclipping (October 13). |
1913 | |
Box: 14 | Folder : 9-13 | Loose clippings on Beecher, family and church. |
circa 1883-circa 1927 | |
Box: 15 | Folder : 1-6 | Scrapbook pages of clippings on Beecher, family and church. |
circa 1876-1900 | |
Box: 16 | Folder : 1-2 | Loose clippings on Beecher, family and church. |
1871-1913 | |
Box: 16 | Folder : 3 | Henry Ward Beecher Missionary Circle: Organization and History. |
1888-1918 | |
Box: 16 | Folder : 4 | Henry Ward Beecher Missionary Circle: Business Records, including correspondence,
photos |
1884, 1913-1926 | |
Box: 16 | Folder : 5 | Plymouth Foreign Missionary Society: General Printed Material. |
1871-1936 | |
Box: 16 | Folder : 6 | Beecher Memorial Church: newspaper clipping. |
1932 | |
Box: 16 | Item : 1 | Henry Ward Beecher Literary and Debating Society: 2 Minute Books. |
1889-1894 | |
|
||||
Series 2: Plymouth Church, 1824-circa 1980. 9.6 Cubic Feet
ArrangementThe series is arranged in eight sections: Section 1: Publications (1854-1980) Section 2: Records (1851-1933) Section 3: Sunday School (1845-1962) Section 4: Church Organizations (1863-1949) Section 5: Pastors (1888-1955) Section 6: History (1856-1961) Section 7: General (1824-1978) Section 8: Scrapbooks (1854-1916)
Scope and ContentsThis series contains materials that primarily concern Plymouth Church. Although certain items document the church during Henry Ward Beecher's tenure, their primary use is in documenting the activities of the church, rather than those of Beecher. In addition to church records, this series includes papers of and regarding four of Beecher's successors at Plymouth Church. The series also includes some material from Church of the Pilgrims and, to a lesser extent, other churches in Brooklyn and elsewhere. The series contains church publications, including the monthly Plymouth Chimes, church bulletins, church manuals, articles of faith, miscellaneous programs, annual reports, and other print matter. Records of Plymouth Church in the series include those relating to membership, such as a parish book, a shareholders' book, pew rental charts, and a list of applicants to the church. The series includes materials pertaining to the Sunday/Sabbath Schools, such as rosters, hymn books, sheet music, and programs for Sunday School events. The many organizations that were affiliated with Plymouth Church and Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims are represented in this section with material such as programs, membership rosters, and news clippings. The organizations represented include the Plymouth League, the Bethel Mission, Work Committee, Men's and Women's Clubs, the Arbuckle Institute, Plymouth Institute, and Plymouth Church house. Lyman Abbott, Newell Dwight Hillis, J. Stanley Durkee, and L. Wendell Fifield , the four pastors immediately following Henry Ward Beecher at Plymouth, are represented in the series with writings, sermons, news clippings, and ephemera. The series also includes materials pertaining to the general history, architecture, and notable members and leaders of Plymouth Church. Materials relating to Paxton Hibben's 1927 biography of Beecher are in the series. Several scrapbooks compiled by members of the congregation are found in the series; among these are one compiled with substantive annotations by Horatio C. King (circa 1901-1907) and one with political ephemera from the 1870s-1880s. |
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 1 | Church Manuals. |
1854, 1867, 1874, 1923 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 2 | Church Manuals. |
1931 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 3 | Church Manuals. |
1940 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 4 | Articles of Faith and Principles and Rules |
1884, 1895, 1920 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 5 | "Letter-Missive." Sent to Congregational Churches. |
1876 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 6 | Plymouth Pulpit: Sermons by HWB. |
1869-1870 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 7 | List of Church leaders. |
1882, 1884, 1920 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 8 | Bulletins. |
1888-1921 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 9 | Bulletins. |
1935-1942 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 10 | Bulletins. |
1958-1963 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 11 | Bulletins- Polytechnic Baccalaureate ceremony. |
1930, 1936 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 12 | Programs: Concerts. |
1869-1892 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 13 | Miscellaneous Programs. |
1876, 1892, 1937-1938, 1958 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 14 | Anniversary programs. |
1900-1937 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 15 | Programs: Miscellaneous events at Plymouth, not Plymouth specific |
1930-1932, 1934 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 16 | Lenten and Christmas programs. |
1934-1960 | |
Box: 17 | Folder : 17 | Plymouth Triangle magazine. |
1879 | |
Box: 57 | Item : 1 | Plymouth Chimes: bound volume. |
1877-1895 | |
Box: 18 | Folder : 1 | Plymouth Chimes. |
1885-1899 | |
Box: 18 | Folder : 2-19 | Plymouth Chimes (18 folders). |
1900-1915 | |
Box: 19 | Folder : 1-8 | Plymouth Chimes (8 folders). |
1916-1922 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 1 | Plymouth Chimes. |
1923 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 2 | Plymouth Chimes calender. |
1891-1892, 1902-1908 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 3 | Plymouth News. |
1952-1953 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 4 | The Plymouth Hymnal: For the Church the Social Meeting and the Home. |
1895 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 5 | Organ and window information, including programs. |
1905, 1907 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 6 | Endowment Funds Pamphlet. |
1932 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 7 | Plymouth Church and Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims - general church information. |
1935 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 8 | $300,000 Capital Restoration Program pamphlet. |
circa 1980 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 9 | Notes to visitors. |
circa 1930s-circa 1940s | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 10 | "Reply to Membership Inquiries". |
circa 1910 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 11 | Membership information and description of Church. |
circa 1960s | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 12 | Pew Rental Receipts. |
1851-1853, 1931 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 13 | Shareholders' book. |
1858 | |
Box: 20 | Folder : 14 | Applicants to the Church. |
1868-1870 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 1 | Annual Reports. |
1889, 1891, 1896-1897, 1903 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 2 | Subscribers to Semi-centennial fund |
circa 1897 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 3 | Plymouth Church Pew Rental Charts. |
1900-1924 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 4 | Parish Book. |
1904 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 5 | Treasurer's Report. |
1920 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 6 | Minutes - Church Work Committee. |
1920-1921 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 7 | Report to Annual Meeting. |
1923 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 8 | Church of the Pilgrims: Treasurer's reports. |
1925-1926, 1931-1933 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 9 | Lists of members. |
1925, undated | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 10 | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims: Financial Reports. |
1934-1937 | |
Box: 21 | Folder : 11 | Former address of members. |
circa 1925 | |
Box: 76 | Card-file Index to the Beecheriana Library at Plymouth Church House |
undated | ||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 58 | Item : 1 | Church of the Pilgrims- S.S. Record Book. |
1845-1907 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 1 | Programs: Sunday School Concert and festival. |
1853-1962 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 2 | Sunday school ephemera. |
1859-1882 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 3 | Hymn Book: Book of Praise. |
1875 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 4 | Sunday school attendance book. |
1875-1876 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 5 | Sunday School roll book and roster; photo of first Sabbath School building in Brooklyn
. |
1879-1880 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 6 | Santa Claus: A Christmas Cantata (play by S.S.). |
circa 1880 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 7 | Sunday School Hymn Book, Church of the Pilgrims. |
1894 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 8 | Plymouth Sunday School: Christmas Carols. |
1904 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 9 | Sunday school vacation questions. |
1906 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 10 | "Land of My Children" from Plymouth Bible Class. |
1918 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 11 | Mayflower Sunday School: Annual Reports |
1923-1925, 1928-1929 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 12 | Sunday School Manuals: Catechism, Lenten Manuals. |
1939, undated | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 13 | Weekday school roster. |
undated | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 14 | Arbuckle Institute. |
1914-1921 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 15 | Plymouth Institute: Letter indicating name change and publicity pamphlets. |
1918 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 16 | Plymouth Institute- Play Programs. |
1934 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 17 | Plymouth Institute: Report. |
1939 | |
Box: 22 | Folder : 18 | Plymouth Institute: Misc. Organizations. |
1937 | |
Box: 59 | Item : 1 | Bethel Mission Scrapbook |
1863-1904 | |
Box: 73 | Item : 1 | "Bethel Mission" newsletter (October). |
1873 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 1 | Bethel Scrapbook Pages. |
circa 1869-1891 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 2 | Bethel Mission ephemera. |
circa 1877-1881, 1891 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 3 | Bethel Branch bulletin. |
1900 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 4 | Bethel Closing, Newsclippings. |
1899-1929 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 5 | Benevolence Fund: "Yearbook" list of food items donated and purchased by the Church
"Yearbook" listing donations and disbursements of Thanksgiving items. |
1920-1934 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 6 | Benevolence Fund account book. |
1934-1935 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 7 | Church Work Committee. |
1889, undated | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 8 | Henry Ward Beecher Memorial Association: Scrapbook presented by John Low, Jr. and
Horatio C. King. |
1917 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 9 | Ladies of the Foreign Missionary Society - "Favorite Quotations of Plymouth People". |
circa 1900 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 10 | Mayflower Mission Sunday School Reminisces. |
circa 1945 | |
Box: 23 | Folder : 11 | Plymouth Church Choir Book. |
1871 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 1 | Plymouth League Constitution. |
1887 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 2 | Plymouth League programs and ephemera. |
1896-1902 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 3 | Plymouth Men's Club- Constitution and Bylaws. |
1917 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 4 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Preparation. |
1940 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 5 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Bills and Receipts. |
1940 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 6 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Correspondence, invitations and replies. |
1940 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 7 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Correspondence, acknowledgements. |
1940 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 8 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Programs. |
1940 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 9 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Speeches. |
1940 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 10 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Press Releases. |
1940 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 11 | Plymouth Rock Celebration: Miscellaneous. |
1940 | |
Box: 60 | Item : 1 | Plymouth Rock Celebration scrapbook. |
1940-1941 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 12 | Plymouth Work Committee Fund: Misc. Program. |
1896 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 13 | Tandem Club Constitution. |
1949 | |
Box: 24 | Folder : 14 | Thanksgiving Cheer Fund- Correspondence and receipts. |
1925-1932 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 1 | Women's Home Missionary Society. |
1899, 1911-12 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 2 | Women's Guild of Plymouth Church. |
1927 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 3 | Church of the Pilgrims: Benevolence Fund, Annual Report. |
1930 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 4 | List of women who contributed to Plymouth. |
circa 1920s | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 5 | Miscellaneous Activities. |
1937-1941 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 6 | "Installation Council" proceedings. |
1890 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 7 | Writings, sermons, lectures. |
1888-1911 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 8 | Correspondence. |
1891-1896 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 9 | Miscellaneous- Programs and clippings. |
1895-1922 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 10 | Clippings. |
circa 1898 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 11 | Writings, sermons, lectures. |
1900-1920 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 12 | Correspondence: from servicemen. |
1918-1919 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 13 | Better America Lectures. |
circa 1919-1920 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 14 | Search Committee for Hillis's successor, memorials |
1925, 1929, 1953 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 15 | Sermons: Brooklyn Eagle Reprints. |
1911-1915 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 16 | Miscellaneous- Ephemera, programs and clippings. |
circa 1900-1929 | |
Box: 25 | Folder : 17 | Book: Great Books as Life's Teachers. |
1899 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 1 | Book, A Yearbook of Quotations from Contemporary Women, by Mrs. NDH. |
1927 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 2 | Book: Aftersermon Prayers. |
1930 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 3 | Biographical information. |
circa 1925 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence. |
1928 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 5 | Writings, sermons, lectures. |
1940-1941 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 6 | Dedication of Durkee Memorial Library. |
1938 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 7 | Miscellaneous- Ephemera, programs, and clippings. |
1925-1926, 1937 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 8 | Book, Pull of the Invisible- signed; published volume of radio addresses. |
1941 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 9 | Biographical and general information. |
1941 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 10 | Writings, sermons. |
1941, 1943-1955 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 11 | Correspondence. |
1941-1943 | |
Box: 26 | Folder : 12 | Radio Addresses. |
1942-1943 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 1 | Invitations and replies to receptions for Fifield. |
1941, 1951 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 2 | Installation. |
1941-1942 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 3 | Resignation. |
1954 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 4 | Miscellaneous- programs and clippings. |
circa 1941-circa 1955 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 5 | "The Young Man". |
1894 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 6 | 50th Anniversary Newsclip. |
1897 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 7 | Correspondence regarding printing "Souvenir" of Plymouth Church. |
1904 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 8 | "Plymouth Church Statistics" from Plymouth Chimes Calendar. |
1904 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 9 | Organization of Plymouth Church. |
1912, 1924 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 10 | "The Honor Roll". |
1918, undated | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 11 | Fire: Newsclipping. |
1920 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 12 | Newsclippings. |
1920-1924 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 13 | Paxton Hibben: Biography of HWB- reviews and correspondence. |
1927 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 14 | Correspondence re: Plymouth Church Architecture. |
1932 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 15 | Metropolitan Church Life- Announcement of service at Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims. |
1934 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 16 | Portland vase: Clipping and letter re: gift of vase. |
1934 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 17 | Department of the Interior press release re: Plymouth's aid to Metlakahtla Indians. |
1937 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 18 | Advertising flyer for One Hundred Years of Plymouth Church . |
circa 1949 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 19 | United Church Herald: article on Plymouth's designation as historical landmark. |
1961 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 20 | Henry Ward Beecher: quotations. |
1862 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 21 | Howard S. Bliss: Obituary and memorial. |
1920 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 22 | William E. Davenport: Correspondence and pamphlet. |
1899-1929 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 23 | Charles Dickens: Lecture at Plymouth. |
undated | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 24 | Amorette E. Fraser: Luncheon: correspondence. |
1934, 1937 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 25 | Reverend S.B. Halliday: Address given. |
1894 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 26 | Charles Halsey: memorial service. |
1933 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 27 | John R. Howard: Correspondence and newsclips. |
1856, 1897-1926 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 28 | John Tasker Howard: Correspondence and Newsclip. |
1888 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 29 | Horatio C. King: Clippings and ephemera. |
1876-1918 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 30 | Rossiter Wortington Raymond: Obit and biography. |
1919-1935 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 31 | Dummy of "Plymouth Church: Its History, Membership, Chronology" edited by R.W. Raymond. |
1904 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 32 | Captain Edward M. Smith: Memorial. |
1920 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 33 | Augustus Storrs: Memorial. |
1892 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 34 | Rose Ward: Newsclippings. |
1927-1928 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 35 | Miscellaneous people of Plymouth: correspondence. |
1901-1902 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 36 | Miscellaneous people of Plymouth: correspondence. |
1927, 1970, 1972 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 37 | Miscellaneous people of Plymouth. |
circa 1941 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 38 | Ephemera: Church under Hillis- Ribbons, receipts, clippings. |
circa 1899-circa 1929 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 39 | Ephemera: Church under Hillis- Programs, clippings. |
1891-1938 | |
Box: 27 | Folder : 40 | Ephemera: Miscellaneous. |
circa 1859-circa 1935 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 1 | First Presbyterian Church. |
1824, 1970 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 2 | "The Illustrated Pilgrim Memorial". |
1863 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 3 | "The Musical Critic and Trade Review". |
1881 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 4 | Church of the Pilgrims: "The Church of the Pilgrims After Forty Years of Pastoral
Service" by Richard Storrs. |
1886 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 5 | Church of the Pilgrims: Miscellaneous items. |
1902, 1918 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 6 | Church Hymns: Publishing dummy. |
circa 1886 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 7 | Miscellaneous ephemera, including programs from other churches. |
1901-1938 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 8 | Brooklyn Eagle Library, The New Onward Movement. |
1904 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 9 | Notebook containing extracts from sermons and addresses by ministers, evangelists,
religious teachers, and others. |
circa 1913-circa 1919 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 10 | Miscellaneous clippings re: Beecher. |
1928 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 11 | Green-Wood Cemetery: materials pertaining to plot of Bond Family. |
1934-1935 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 12 | United Church of Christ, A.D. 1978: Photos of Beecher. |
1978 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 13 | History of Communion sets used at Plymouth Church. |
circa 1870, 1911 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 14 | Pilgrim origins (includes photos not transferred to Series 3) (includes photocopies
and typescripts of 17th and 19th century material). |
1938-circa 1960s | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 15 | Plymouth, Massachusetts ephemera (includes postcards not transferred to Series 3) |
circa 1940 | |
Box: 28 | Folder : 16 | Scroll presented to Beatrice Loenecke and Plymouth Church. |
1969 | |
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 61 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook of non-Beecher items - Newsclips and ephemera, principally New York City
politics and amateur athletics. |
1874-1887 | |
Box: 62 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook presented to Plymouth Church by Marie A. Freckelton in memory of her parents,
May 9, 1943 - Brooklyn, Plymouth Church, Beecher, England trip, and miscellaneous
newsclippings and ephemera. |
1863-1893 | |
Box: 63 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook compiled by Shipman family - Brooklyn, Plymouth Church, Beecher, Bethel,
Sunday School, poems, hymns, and miscellaneous newsclippings and ephemera. |
circa 1854-circa 1890s | |
Box: 64 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook complied by Frances Lee Pratt - Brooklyn, Plymouth Church, Sunday School,
and Beecher newsclippings and ephemera. |
1870s-1890s | |
Box: 29 | Folder : 1 | Scrapbook leaves 1 of 2 - Brooklyn, Plymouth Church, and Beecher newsclippings and
ephemera. |
circa 1868-circa 1908 | |
Box: 29 | Folder : 2 | Scrapbook leaves 2 of 2 - Brooklyn, Plymouth Church, and Beecher clippings and ephemera. |
circa 1868-circa 1908 | |
Box: 29 | Folder : 3 | Scrapbook leaves "Book 1" - Plymouth Church, Hillis, members, and Brooklyn newsclips
(May 27-November 17). |
1901-1902 | |
Box: 65 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook by Horatio King - Morning service and other programs, with annotations and
journal entries, with newsclips and ephemera concerning Plymouth Church, members,
and Hillis. |
1901-1907 | |
Box: 66 | Item : 1 | Scrapbook re: both Beecher and Plymouth. |
circa 1887-circa 1907, 1916 | |
|
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Series 3: Images, circa 1840s-circa 1966. 1.6 Cubic Feet
ArrangementThe series is arranged generally by format, size of image, and subject matter.
Scope and ContentsThe bulk of the series includes images of Henry Ward Beecher in various formats, including engravings, cartes de visite, postcards, and cabinet cards, among others. Images of other individuals in the series include Rose Ward Hunt, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lyman Beecher and other Beecher family members, Lyman Abbott and other Plymouth pastors, and others. There are also images of Plymouth Church and organizations associated with it. |
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 1 | Henry Ward Beecher: small images. |
circa 1840s-1880s | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 2 | H.W. Beecher: medium images. |
circa 1856-circa 1887 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 3 | H.W. Beecher: engravings. |
circa 1840s-1880s | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 4 | H.W. Beecher: large engravings. |
circa 1880s | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 5 | H.W. Beecher: large photographs. |
circa 1885 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 6 | H.W. Beecher: large photographs. |
circa 1880s | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 7 | H.W. Beecher and Eunice Beecher. |
circa 1884 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 8 | H.W. Beecher with others (in England; Harriet Beecher Stowe; others). |
circa 1865-circa 1886 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 9 | Beecher House and Summer House and Eunice Beecher. |
circa 1890 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 10 | Beecher House and Eunice Beecher: large photographs. |
circa 1890 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 11 | H.W. Beecher and Eunice Beecher funerals. |
circa 1887-circa 1897 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 12 | H.W. Beecher sculptures. |
circa 1900, circa 1970 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 13 | H.W. Beecher: miscellaneous photographs. |
circa 1884-circa 1941 | |
Box: 67 | Folder : 14 | Engravings for illustration of Beecher's trip to England. |
circa 1886 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 1 | Eunice Bullard Beecher. |
circa 1890s | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 2 | Beecher children (?). |
undated | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 3 | Beecher family portraits. |
circa 1850s-circa 1890s | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 4 | Harriet Beecher Stowe. |
circa 1850s | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 5 | Lyman Beecher. |
circa 1850s | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 6 | Harriet E.B. Seaville. |
1902 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 7 | Rose Ward Hunt |
circa 1860 | |
Box: Tintypes 1 | Folder : 1 | Rose Ward Hunt tintype |
circa 1860 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 8 | Fannie Virginia Casseopia Lawrence (former slave) (photo reproduction of 1863 photograph;
see box 70). |
1863 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 9 | Ellen Mitchell (former slave). |
1909 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 10 | Lyman Abbott. |
circa 1888-circa 1899 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 11 | J.S. Durkee and Memorial Library. |
circa 1940 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 12 | L.W. Fifield. |
circa 1950s | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 13 | Newell Dwight Hillis. |
circa 1900 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 14 | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims: interiors. |
circa 1900-circa 1958 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 15 | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims: exteriors. |
circa 1950 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 16 | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims: landmark plaque. |
1962 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 17 | Plymouth Institute. |
circa 1920 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 18 | Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims: fire (November). |
1920 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 19 | Church Activities. |
1917-circa 1966 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 20 | Beecher Missionary Society; Mrs. Arms of Mayflower. |
circa 1890s | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 21 | Tandem Club: rummage sale. |
1952-circa 1960 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 22 | The Women's Guild. |
1955-1956 | |
Box: 68 | Folder : 23 | Unidentified/ Miscellaneous. |
circa 1880s-circa 1950s | |
Box: 69 | Item : 1-18 | Printing plates: 18 total, including bill of sale and two images of Rose Ward Hunt |
undated | |
Box: 70 | Item : 1-33 | 33 cartes de visite: 29 of Beecher; 1 of Eunice Beecher, 2 of other Beecher family
members, and 1 of Fannie Virginia Casseopeia Lawrence. |
1863-circa 1880s | |
Box: 71 | Item : 1- | 91 (approx.) cabinet cards: majority of Beecher, also includes Eunice Beecher, Lyman
Abbott, Newell Dwight Hillis and various people related to Plymouth Church. |
circa 1860s-circa 1902 | |
Box: 72 | Item : 1- | 55 (approx.) postcards: majority of Plymouth Church/ Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims;
also includes H.W. Beecher, the house where H.W. Beecher died, and N.D. Hillis. |
circa 1900-circa 1914 | |
Box: 73 | Oversized items: Includes images of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, the
Library at the Church of the Pilgrims, Newell Dwight Hillis, and Plymouth Church;
satirical cartoons; the Freedom Certificate / Bill of Sale for Sally Maria Diggs (later
known as Rose Ward Hunt); newspapers on Tilton matter; printed sermons etc. |
circa 1853-circa 1900 | ||
Box: 68 | Folder : 24 | H.W. Beecher, n.d. |
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