James Chaplin Beecher
James Chaplin Beecher was born on January 8, 1828, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Lyman and Harriet Beecher. His father was a prominent Presbyterian minister who served as president of Lane Seminary. Beecher’s half-siblings included Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, and Catharine Beecher. He grew up and attended school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he graduated from Lane Seminary in 1848. According to an early biographer, he spent the next five years as a “sailor and officer” in the East India trade.
He returned to Boston around 1853, and he married Anne Morse there on September 1, 1853. He studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary in the mid-1850s, and he was ordained as a Congregationalist minister in May 1856. They sailed for China soon afterward, and he spent the next five years as missionaries in Canton and Hong Kong. His wife suffered from alcohol and drug addiction, and she returned to America in 1859. She was committed to an asylum the following year.
Beecher returned to America in the early 1860s, and on June 20, 1861, he became a chaplain with the 67th New York Infantry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Williamsburg, the Battle of Seven Pines, and the Seven Days’ Battles. In October 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 141st New York Infantry.
His wife’s health, however, began to deteriorate, and he received a discharge in March 1863. She died soon afterward, and he returned to the Union army in May 1863 as lieutenant colonel of the 35th USCT Infantry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Olustee and the Battle of Honey Hill. He eventually earned a promotion to colonel and then to brevet brigadier general for “faithful and meritorious service.” He mustered out on June 1, 1866.
He married Frances B. Johnson on July 18, 1864, and the couple adopted three daughters. He resumed his work as a minister, and the couple lived throughout New York. They moved to Elmira, New York, around 1882. His mental health deteriorated in the 1880s, and he committed suicide in Elmira on August 25, 1886.
Image: James C. Beecher (courtesy Wikicommons)
DATABASE CONTENT
| (2754) | Beecher, James Chaplin | 1828-01-08 | 1886-08-25 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: Chaplain
- Rank out: Colonel
- Rank highest: Colonel
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 2
Places - Records: 2
Regiments - Records: 3
SOURCES
1880 United States Federal Census, available from Ancestry.com; Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Military Service Records of James C. Beecher, available from Fold3.com; Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930, available from Ancestry.com; General Catalogue of the Theological Seminary, Andover, Massachusetts, 1808-1908 (Boston, MA: Thomas Todd, n.d.); “James Chaplin Beecher” Wikipedia profile, available from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Chaplin_Beecher
