1775 - 1863
Congregational minister, educator, and vocal leader of American Protestants, Lyman Beecher embodied the shift from the harsh, demanding Puritan faith of the Second Great Awakening to a religion that found its expression in larger society. Beecher first received wide public recognition in 1806, with a sermon he gave against dueling after the death of Alexander Hamilton in a duel with Aaron Burr. From 1810 to 1826, as a minister in Litchfield, Connecticut, Beecher and his wife also ran a school for girls, with an unusually practical and serious curriculum. In 1833, Beecher and his family moved to Cincinnati, where he became president of the Lane Theological Seminary, a training ground for the religious leaders of the abolition movement. Beecher's ability to carry religious principles into daily life deeply influenced his children, especially Catharine Beecher, who became a national voice for practical domestic management, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, the best-selling author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The widespread fame of this virtuous family led a contemporary to joke, "This country is inhabited by saints, sinners, and Beechers."
This hand-colored image represents the fine work of a Brady colorist.
Mathew Brady Studio
Hand-colored photograph, circa 1856
18.4 x 15.2 cm (7 1/4 x 6 inches); 19.7 x 15.9 cm (7 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches) in case
George Sullivan