Harriet Beecher Stowe died

1. At her bedside when she died were

• Henrietta McKay Arms
• Edward B. Hooker
• Isabella Beecher Hooker
• John Hooker
• Charles Edward Stowe
• Eliza Stowe
• Harriet Stowe

2. There were also other unnamed relatives there.
3. Edward B. Hooker was also her “medical attendant.”

1. The Hartford Courant and the New York Times offer differing accounts of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s death:

• The Times reported that more than six people were there (six named relatives and an unquantified number of other relatives), while the Courant reported that there were only four people there.
• The Times did not mention Henrietta McKay Arms as being there, while the Courant did.

2. While the Courant might get credit for accuracy because it was the local newspaper, the Courant also named their source: Isabella Beecher Hooker, who was present in the room.  The Times did not cite their source.

On June 30, 1896, Stowe lapsed into unconsciousness, and she did not regain consciousness.

1. This evening, a bunch of fresh-cut, white flowers on a background of dark ivy leaves was hung at the door to the house.
2. Also this evening, a reporter from the Courant interviewed Isabella Beecher Hooker.
3. Hooker provided a portion of Stowe’s poem “The Other World” to the reporter, and this poem will be sung as a hymn at Stowe’s funeral tomorrow.

The funeral of Harriet Beecher Stowe will take place tomorrow at 5:00 PM at 73 Forest Street.

“Mrs. Hooker recalling the death of her brother, Henry Ward Beecher, said that, like Mrs. Stowe, he was stricken on Friday, and remained in an unconscious state until the following Tuesday, when he died.  Like Mrs. Stowe, also, he frequently gazed about the room during his last hours, as if cognizant of the presence of the friends at his bedside.”

1. “She passed peacefully away, as though into a deep sleep.”
2. “There were no emblems of mourning, only a reminder to the passer-by that a pure, white soul had passed on to the evergreen and glorious beyond.”

1. Henrietta McKay Adams was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s
2. Edward B. Hooker was Stowe’s nephew and physician.
3. Isabella Beecher Hooker was Stowe’s half-sister.
4. John Hooker was Isabella’s
5. Charles Edward Stowe was Harriet’s
6. Eliza Stowe was Harriet’s
7. Harriet Stowe was Harriet’s

Unattributed.  “Death of Mrs. Stowe,” Hartford Courant, July 2, 1896, page 6.

Unattributed.  “Harriet Beecher Stowe,” New York Times, July 2, 1896, page 5.