Burial of Harriet Beecher Stowe

1. The wives of the seminary professors placed floral decorations at the gravesite:

• They placed few bouquets on the cross on Calvin Stowe’s grave
• They entwined some roses on Henry Stowe’s stone marker.

2. There was also a floral decoration of carnations and roses arranged as a crown and sickle, which had been sent by the “colored people of Boston,” who signed the card accompanying the flowers, “With Condolences of Descendants of Uncle Tom.”
3. The service used the “Episcopal commitment,” also referred to as the “Episcopal form.”

1. The Courant reported that Edward Beecher had been part of the funeral party, and it’s not at all clear who Edward Beecher was. Harriet’s brother Edward had died in 1895, as had Edward’s wife, Isabella Porter Jones.  I’m still looking for an Edward Beecher who was alive in 1896.
2. “There was no music.” This was reported by the New York Times, while the Courant reported that two hymns were sung.
3. The only wife mentioned by name was Mary Jane Donald (Churchill). It isn’t clear if the other wives involved were the wives of the other pallbearers or wives of other professors at Andover Theological Seminary as well.

The funeral of Harriet Beecher Stowe was held yesterday at her home in Hartford.

Before the burial service:

1. The funeral party left Hartford on the 8:04 AM train. Their arrangements were overseen by W. R. Morgan of Morgan & Pratt.
2. On board were

• Freeman Allen
• Edward B. Hooker
• Isabella Beecher Hooker
• John Hooker
• Martha Clark Kilboure (Hooker)
• Susan Mitchell Munroe (Stowe)
• Charles Edward Stowe
• Eliza Stowe
• Harriet Stowe

3. The funeral train left Boston at 1:00 PM, and the funeral party was joined by:

• Annie West Adams (Fields)
• Charles Beecher
• Sarah Orne Jewett

4. The train arrived in Andover at 1:35 PM.
5. The four pallbearers, Frank H. Messer, and Egbert C. Smyth met them at the train station.
6. The procession to the cemetery went along School Street to Chapel Avenue, along which it passed by the old Stowe House on Chapel Avenue. A large American flag, “festooned with black,” was draped over the portico of the house.

After the burial service:

1. Edward B. Hooker returned to Hartford on the 7:10 PM express.
2. John Hooker and Isabella Beecher Hooker accompanied Freeman Allen back to his home in Boston.
3. Charles E. Stowe, Susan Munroe (Stowe), and Lyman Beecher Stowe traveled to Cambridge to stay with Susan Hall (Munroe).

The Hartford Courant and the New York Times described the old Stowe House as “practically the same” as when Harriet Beecher Stowe lived there, between 1833 and 1864, except that:

• The roof and the upper part of the house had been destroyed by fire in 1887.
• The upper part was restored to its original structure.
• Along the roof, a few dormer windows had been added.

1. “Great simplicity marked the commitment to the earth of the body of Harriet Beecher Stowe this afternoon, in accordance with the wishes of the famous authoress.”
2. “When Prof. Smyth pronounced the words ‘Dust to dust’ handfuls of earth were dropped upon the box containing the body.”

1. The articles in the Courant and the Times are substantially the same, with the Courant including a few extra details about some of the floral decorations at the gravesite and how some of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s family members dispersed after the service.
2. C. P. F. Bancroft, John W. Churchill, Selah Merrill, George F. Moore, and Egbert Smyth were all professors at Andover Theological Seminary.
3. Calvin Stowe was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s
4. Henry E. B. Stowe was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s
5. Freeman Allen was Harriet’s
6. Edward B. Hooker was Harriet’s nephew.
7. Isabella Beecher Hooker was Harriet’s half-sister. The New York Times named identified her as “Elizabeth.”
8. John Hooker was Isabella’s husband and Harriet’s brother-in-law.
9. Martha Clark Kilboure was Edward B. Hooker’s
10. Susan Mitchell Munroe was Charles Edward Stowe’s
11. Charles Edward Stowe was Harriet’s
12. Eliza Stowe was Harriet’s
13. Harriet Stowe was Harriet’s daughter.
14. Annie West Adams was the widow of James T. Fields, who had been Harriet’s Adams was a great supporter and promoter of women writers, including Harriet Beecher Stowe.
15. Sarah Orne Jewett was a novelist and poet. She had been inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and she was currently living with Annie West Adams.
16. Frank H. Messer, a funeral director, had been in charge of the funeral arrangements in Andover.
17. Susan Hall Munroe was the mother of Susan Munroe Stowe.

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

Unattributed.  “Mrs. Stowe’s funeral,” Hartford Courant, July 3, 1896, page 4.

Unattributed.  “Mrs. Stowe’s funeral,” New York Times, July 4, 1896, page 4.