Funeral of Harriet Beecher Stowe

1. According to the Courant, a large crowd attended, so much so that not everyone could get into the house.
2. Attendees included friends, “immediate family in this city and the family of Rev. Charles E. Stowe of Simsbury,” and members of the larger Hartford community.
3. Attendees who were specifically identified were:

• Eunice White;
• James B. Pond;
• Samuel Scoville;
• Freeman Allen; and
• Emily Hale Perkins.

4. The part of the north parlor in which the casket was placed was described as follows:

• At the head of the casket, there was a “small marble bust of Mrs. Stowe, as she was in her days of her greatest literary achievement.”
• At the foot of the casket, there was a “life size crayon sketch of the authoress when she was well along in years” hanging on the wall.
• A large portrait of Henry Ward Beecher was hanged nearby, “where it seemed as if the face was looking down upon the casket.”

5. The quartet was led by John M. Gallup and consisted of Frederick M. Green, Theodore W. Hannum, Jr., J. Frank Ahern, and Herbert S. Bullard.

1. Joseph Twichell read “The Other World” before the quartet sang it. It isn’t clear if he read the poem as he read “selected passages of Scripture” or just before the quartet performed it.
2. It’s also not entirely clear whether the funeral service took place in the north parlor or in a different room, as following the service everyone left the house through the north parlor, implying they had moved to a different room for the service.

Harriet Beecher Stowe died yesterday.

“Hurried arrangements” for Harriet’s burial tomorrow were being made in Andover, MA.

1. A funeral party will escort the body of Harriet Beecher Stowe to Andover, MA, and will leave tomorrow morning on the 8:04 AM train to Boston.
2. Harriet Beecher Stowe will be buried in Andover, MA, tomorrow.

From the New York Times:

• “The services were of the simplest character.”
• “The countenance had recovered much of Mrs. Stowe’s younger looks.”

From the Hartford Courant

• “The utmost simplicity characterized the service, and there was an atmosphere of peace and quiet in the rooms rather than one of mourning.”
• “The face of the illustrious dead bore an expression of calmness and repose, and there came to the minds of those who saw her, a forcible reminder of the familiar portraits by which she has been known to the people for many years.”

And in case you were wondering how she looked in her casket:

• “Her hair, silvery white, was loosely combed back, revealing the matchless forehead, beneath which so many noble and unselfish thoughts had stimulated her pen.”

1. Harriet Beecher Stowe composed the poem “The Other World,” which was then turned into a hymn.
2. Charles T. Weitzel was assistant pastor at Plymouth Church, Brooklyn.
3. Eunice White was Henry Ward Beecher’s widow, and Harriet’s sister-in-law.
4. Eunice White, James B. Pond, and Charles T. Weitzel all represented Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, which was Henry Ward Beecher’s
5. Samuel Scoville, who lived in Stamford, was Henry Ward Beecher’s son-in-law.
6. Freeman Allen, who lived in Boston, was Harriet’s
7. Emily Hale Perkins, who was married to Howard H. Knapp and who lived in Bridgeport, was described by the Courant as a “grand niece of Mrs. Stowe.” She was actually Mary Foote Beecher Perkins’s granddaughter, which would make her Harriet Beecher Stowe’s great grand niece.
8. Thomas K. Beecher, her brother, did not attend the funeral in Hartford. He lived in Elmira, NY, and he was too infirm to travel.
9. Charles Beecher, also her brother, did not attend the funeral in Hartford. He lived in Georgetown, MA, and he planned to attend the burial tomorrow in Andover.
10. Mary Foote Beecher Perkins, her sister who lived in Hartford, was “too feeble to be present.”

1. “Many friends passed into the parlor and took a last look upon the familiar countenance, among them several representatives of that race, which will ever rise up to call her memory blessed.”
2. “Striking indeed was the presence at the door of the house, after the funeral service began, of a modestly dressed and lady-like young colored woman, who had come too late to gain entrance, so great was the throng. With many others she sat upon the veranda, where a chair was passed out for her and she remained sitting during the brief services.  It was as if she sat like a sentinel for her race, guarding the remains of one to whom her people owe so much.”

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

Unattributed.  “Funeral of Mrs. Stowe,” New York Times, July 3, 1896, page 4.