Research Guides: Beecher-Stowe family: Home

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Start your archival research on the Beecher-Stowe family with this guide.

The Beecher family is considered by many as one of the most influential families among its contemporaries. The family is known for their stance on abolition, religion, education, and women’s rights. Its members had written and preached about the immorality of slavery for decades and had taken action in various ways, including purchasing and subsequently freeing slaves. When the Civil War began, they were ardent supporters. Like other abolitionist families, they sent family members into the war as soldiers, officers, chaplains and teachers: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s son, several nephews, two half-brothers, and a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law served in some capacity.

The collection housed at the Schlesinger Library consists of over 10,000 items, which includes correspondence (both business and personal), manuscripts, newspaper articles, and photographs from family members. Across the collection, there are documents related to Lyman Beecher, Catharine Beecher, Edward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, William Beecher, Thomas Beecher, James Beecher, Calvin Ellis Stowe, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

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Digitized Archival Collections

The initial project of digitizing the Beecher-Stowe papers consisted of a collection of approximately 10,000 digitized documents. These items include correspondence, articles, and photographs from Lyman Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, Catharine Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, James C. Beecher, Frances Johnson Beecher Perkins, Calvin Stowe, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and other family members.

Beecher-Stowe family papers (Call#: A-102)
Digital content for Call#: A-102 can be accessed through the finding aid.
This collection includes correspondence, miscellaneous writings, clippings and memorabilia of Lyman Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, Catharine Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Calvin Stowe, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and other members of the family. Also included is Lyman Beecher Stowe's correspondence and research re: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Charlotte Cushman.
Beecher-Stowe family additional papers (Call#: A-102.1)
Digitized photographs for Call#: A-120.1 can be accessed in HOLLIS Images.
This collection includes photographs of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Calvin Stowe, and Henry Ward Beecher.
Additional papers of the Beecher-Stowe family (Call#: A/B414s2)
Digital content for Call#: A/B414s2 can be accessed through the HOLLIS catalog record.
Collection includes handwritten letters signed by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1863-1896; two photographs of Eunice White (Mrs. Henry Ward) Beecher, 1886; autograph letters signed by Henry Ward Beecher, 1853-1887, as well as sentiments and essays written by him; photographs of Henry Ward Beecher, 1881; engravings of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher; etc. Many of the letters and photographs are addressed to Edward W. Bok, editor of the Ladies' Home Journal.
James Chaplin Beecher (Call#: A-123)
Digital content for Call#: A-123 can be accessed through the A-123 finding aid.
James Beecher, son of Lyman Beecher, was commander of the First North Carolina Colored Volunteers in the Civil War. The collection contains correspondence, diaries, and photos. Included are James Beecher's correspondence about the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Freedmen's Bureau, and papers of his wife, Frances (Johnson) Beecher Perkins, their adopted twin daughters, Mary Frances (Beecher) Beecher and Margaret (Beecher) Ward, and other Beechers and Johnsons.
Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe (A/S892)
Digital content for Call#: A/S892 can be accessed through the HOLLIS catalog record.
This folder consists of letters (mostly autograph letters signed) by Harriet Beecher Stowe to various correspondents concerning her publishers, friends, and the abolition of slavery.
Letters from Harriet Beecher Stowe (A/S892b)
Digital content for Call#: A/S892b can be accessed through the HOLLIS catalog record.
This folder consists of two autograph letters signed by Harriet Beecher Stowe, one concerning Uncle Tom's Cabin, the other about a possible article on John Brown.
Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Hattie Stowe (Call#: A/S892a)
Digital content for Call#: A/S892a can be accessed through the HOLLIS catalog record.
Collection consists of a letter from Harriet Beecher Stowe and a letter from her daughter Hattie Stowe to Mrs. Lewis, a friend and an assistant principal of Girls' High School in Brooklyn, New York. One letter concerns donating autographed copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin for a fair at Girls' High School in Brooklyn, New York, and the other letter is about the life and death of Phillips Brooks.