Florida’s Featured Author ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

“So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war,” President Abraham Lincoln said when he met Harriet Beecher Stowe. 

 

Or did he?

The first record of Lincoln’s greeting appears in Mrs. Stowe’s 1890 biography. Though her son, Charles Edward Stowe, tells the story as family lore, his closeness to the source gives it plenty of credibility.

 

Besides, many believe that Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet's classic novel, truly did light a spark within the abolitionist movement. 

 

Here are a few facts we know are true:

 

Harriet was born on June 14, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut to Roxanna Foote Beecher (1775-1816) and her husband, Reverend Lyman Beecher (1775-1863). 

 

She married Calvin Stowe, a professor of Biblical Literature at Lane Theological Seminary, on January 6, 1836. 

The Stowes had seven children, including twin daughters. Tragically, their son, Samuel Charles, died of cholera in 1849. He was only eighteen months old. 

She died on July 1, 1896—not even a month after her 85^th birthday.

Her Writing Opened Hearts

 

Her scholarly husband, Harriet once said, was “rich in Greek & Hebrew, Latin & Arabic, and alas! rich in nothing else” (HBSC).

 

However, even before she married and had a family, Harriet's writing provided an income. Her first publication, Primary Geography for Children, was published in 1833 when she was only twenty-two or twenty-three.

 

She wrote her most famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, about twenty years later. The National Era, an abolitionist paper, wanted a short story to run in installments “that would paint a word picture of slavery” (HBSC).

Instead of the planned three or four chapters, Harriet wrote a full-length novel that opened readers' hearts to the suffering of enslaved people. 

Three more abolitionist novels followed: The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1853),

Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856), and The Minister’s Wooing (1859).

 

During her writing career, which spanned half a century, Harriet published thirty books plus numerous articles, essays, hymns, poetry, and short stories. Her influence through her writings is immeasurable. 

 

The Stowe Family’s Florida Connection

 

The Stowes lived many years in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later in Brunswick, Maine where they housed fugitive slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. 

 

After the Civil War, however, they became snowbirds and purchased property in Mandarin, Florida, on the St. Johns River. They wintered there for more than fifteen years and even bought an orange grove for their son, Frederick, to manage.

 

Charles Beecher, a minister and educator, opened a nearby school to educate formerly enslaved people, a cause which was dear to his sister’s heart.

 

Harriet expressed her appreciation for Florida’s unique beauty in her book, Palmetto Leaves(1873), where she compared the area’s semi-tropical climate to that of Italy. (Which surprises me ~ I’ve lived most of my adult life in Central Florida and I’ve visited Tuscany. To me, the climates are very different!)

 

The Beecher Family Tradition ~ A Legacy of Service

 

When it came to service and reform, the Beecher family didn’t sit quietly in the pews. 

 

Harriet’s older sister, Catharine, founded the Hartford Female Seminary which provided women the opportunity to study the classics, languages and mathematics. Harriet attended this school.

 

Isabella, Harriet’s youngest sister, helped to found the National Women’s Suffrage Association.

All of Harriet’s brothers were ministers.

Honors

• 1986 ~ Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame;
• 2007 ~ A 75¢ U.S. postage stamp was issued in her honor in the “Distinguished Americans” series;
• 2010 ~ The Ohio Historical Society nominated Mrs. Stowe as a finalist  for Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, however, Thomas Edison was selected instead.

Your Turn ~ Uncle Tom's Cabin has been on my TBR (To Be Read) list since my son-in-law read a heart-rending chapter out loud to us a few years ago. I procrastinate because the novel seems so daunting. But I truly hope to read it when life slows down a bit. 

Have you read Uncle Tom's Cabin? If so, what did you think? If not, do you plan to? What other classics do you have on your TBR list?

Journey of the Heart

In the shadow of slavery, love answers with courage.

Stories of heart, mystery, and timeless truth.

Johnnie Alexander writes award-winning stories of enduring love and quiet courage. Her historical and contemporary novels weave together unforgettable romance, compelling characters, and a touch of mystery. A sometime hermit and occasional vagabond who most often kicks off her shoes in Florida, Johnnie cherishes cozy family times and enjoys long road trips. Readers are invited to discover glimpses of grace and timeless truth in her stories. Connect with her at johnnie-alexander.com.

Photos ~ Unless otherwise indicated, photos are in the public domain.

Bust of Harriet Beecher Stowe by Brenda Putnam at Hall of Fame for Great Americans. Photo by H0n0r at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17210647.

 

Sources

Gershon, Noel. Harriet Beecher Stowe: Biography. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (1976).

HBSC ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe Center (harrietbeecherstowecenter.org).

Hedrick, Joan D. Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life. Oxford University Press (1994).

Happy Birthday to…Winning Women

Today we celebrate three women who received awards and accolades for their achievements in literature, theater and film, and sports.

Happy 213^th Birthday to Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

 

Born: June 14, 1811

Birthplace: Litchfield, Connecticut, United States

Died: July 1, 1896 (85 years old)

 

When my son-in-law was an over-the-road trucker, he read Uncle Tom’s Cabin and raved about it. One time when he was home, he read a scene aloud—my daughter and I were in tears.

 

This novel is definitely on my TBR list!

 

Harriet’s landmark novel, written at her abolitionist family’s request, was published in 1852 and “shook the nation’s consciousness on the inhumanity of slavery” (FP-Stowe).

 

Achievements and Accolades

• Author of dozens of books, essays, and articles;
• Multiple landmarks in Ohio, Florida, Maine and Connecticut are dedicated to her memory including homes where she lived;
• November 1862 ~ Met President Abraham Lincoln;
• 1986 ~ Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame;
• June 2007 ~ USPS issues a stamp in her honor in the Distinguished Americans Series;
• 2010 ~ Proposed as a finalist for inclusion in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall by the Ohio Historical Society but lost to Thomas Edison. 

Fun Fact ~ Harriet often took Bob, her pet canary, to church with her. Thankfully, she kept him in his birdcage!

 

Happy 108^th Birthday to Dorothy McGuire

Actress

 

Born: June 14, 1916

Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Died: September 13, 2001 (85 years old)

 

As a youngster, I loved Disney’s Old Yeller (though it made me cry). Swiss Family Robinson was a fun movie, too. As an adult, I watched Friendly Persuasion—a Civil War movie about a Quaker family which also stars a young Anthony Perkins (Psycho fame!). Love it, too.

 

Dorothy played the mom in all three of these movies plus several more including the film adaptation of the acclaimed novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In addition to dozens of movies, she appeared on stage and television.

Achievements and Accolades

• 1947 ~ Nominated by New York Film Critics Circle for Best Actress in Gentlemen’s Agreement;
• 1948 ~ Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Gentlemen’s Agreement;
• 1956 ~ Won Best Actress for her role in Friendly Persuasion by the National Board of Review;
• 1960 ~ Awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame;
• 1976 ~ Nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in Rich Man, Poor Man.

(Confession: I’m sad to say I often confuse Dorothy with Donna Reed who starred in It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and later her own television series, The Donna Reed Show!)

 

Happy 107^th Birthday to Katherine Rawls

American Competition Swimmer and Diver

 

Born: June 14, 1917

Birthplace: Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Died: April 8, 1982 (64 years old)

 

Why had I never heard of Katy “The Minnow” Rawls before I started writing this post? Not only did she compete as an Olympic swimmer and diver in the 1930s, but she also flew planes as her contribution to the U.S. World War II effort.

As a child, Katy and her sisters, known as the Rawls Diving Trio, participated in swimming and diving competitions and exhibitions throughout Florida. Include two more siblings and you have the Rawls Water Babies.

 

In her later life, Katy taught swimming for 20 years at The Greenbrier, a luxury resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. 

Achievements and Accolades

• 1931-1938 ~ won a total of 33 U.S. National Championships (5 in diving and 28 in swimming);
• 1932 Olympics ~ silver medal (diving);
• 1936 Olympics ~ silver and bronze medals (diving);
• 1937 ~ named Associate Press Female Athlete of the Year;
• 1942 ~ one of the first members of the newly-formed Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron responsible for transporting military cargo;
• 1965 ~ an inaugural inductee to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. 

 

Your Turn

 

Whose birthday party do you most want to attend? You can…

• Talk social issues with Harriet Beecher Stowe;
• Enjoy a classic movie with Dorothy; or
• Swim with The Minnow.

Johnnie Alexander imagines stories you won’t forget in multiple genres. 

A fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips, 

she shares a life of quiet adventure with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, 

and Rugby, her racoon-treeing papillon. 

Visit her at johnnie-alexander.com.

Photos ~ all images designed with Canva.

 

Harriet Beecher Stowe ~ Portrait of Stowe by Alanson Fisher, 1853. Created: 1853; public domain.

 

Dorothy McGuire ~ Promotional photograph (1940s); Unknown author; public domain.

 

Katherine Rawls ~ 1935 Vintage Photo National Champ 300m medley 220yd breaststroke; Wide World Photos Inc. Permission details: “published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.” Created: 19 July 1935; public domain.

 

Sources ~ all sites accessed 6/7/24.

 

FP-Stowe ~ Famous People Quote

 

IMDB ~ Dorothy McGuire

 

History ~ “History and World Records,” Parks and Recreation, City of Fort Lauderdale website

Those Amazing Beechers

Thomas Beecher among Elmira notaries

In the Nineteenth Century, a certain form of Biblical progressivism rapidly changed the dynamics in regards to women's rights, abolition of slavery, and many other social causes. As I researched several of my stories from The Abolitionist's Daughter, set in a Civil War town where women could get the same college degree as a man in the mid1800's, to my newest Barbour novella project involving school teachers, one family's influence kept coming up over and over, and that is the Beecher Family.


I've previously written about Thomas K. Beecher, a beloved pastor and influential figure in my hometown of Elmira, NY. Members of his congregation were active on the Underground Railroad and committed to Abolition. Reverend Beecher himself ministered to Confederate Prisoners of War at Elmira Prison camp, and served the community for decades, creating a true community where the church extended beyond the walls of his Independent Congregationalist building. He enjoyed people, and loved life, and valued education, and it showed. He helped organize baseball teams in town, led parties to the local observatory and planetarium, participated in croquet, billiards, target shooting, cricket, and encouraged community activity and relationship building with other faiths. He could often be seen riding a three wheeled bicycle through town, wearing his straw hat, waving and calling citizens by name. He organized a library in his church building with his own collection of books for community use. He was a devout man of the Word, and his sermons are filled with inspiration, clearly a man motivated to love others because of a passionate love for the Lord. He had the privilege of officiating the marriage of Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, to Elmiran Olivia Langdon. He himself was married to the granddaughter of Noah Webster. Beecher helped sponsor and raise up two different regiments of recruits in Elmira during the Civil War--NY 107th and NY 141st, and served briefly as chaplain for the latter.

I was delighted to learn some time ago that Thomas was brother to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the renowned author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. She wrote 30 books, none as successful as this record-setting novel about the perils of slaves after the Fugitive Slave Law, a book which most scholars argue was a catalyst to the Civil War. The book sold more than 300,000 copies in the US and over a million in Great Britain. It was made into a play which ran in New York City. Stowe was received by President Lincoln in 1862, where it is alleged he greeted her as "the little lady who started this great war." Stowe was active in education and in abolition and the Underground Railroad with her husband.

Henry Ward Beecher was another minister brother, who was also active in the Abolitionist cause. Henry was perhaps the most controversial in the family. He raised money to purchase slaves' freedom, and guns to distribute to the abolitionist militants in bleeding Kansas and Nebraska. The rifles were euphemistically called "Beecher's Bibles." Later in life he took a kindler, gentler view of social reform and the gospel, emphasizing God's love. He championed women's suffrage, and the temperance movement. But he also supported Darwinism and evolution, and was accused of adultery. The subsequent trial over his former business partner's accusation of philandering with his wife resulted in the most sensationalized court proceeding if its day, like an OJ Simpson Murder trial of its time. Despite this controversy in his later years, one can still find inspirational Henry Ward Beecher quotes in calendars and publications. His biographer considered him "The Most Famous Man in America."


Today I learned that one more sibling left a significant mark in history, in the area of education, and women's roles. I've been researching early schools and classrooms in America for a brand new collection in which I have been contracted to write a novella. As I was reading, the name Catharine Beecher appeared as one of the pioneers credited with gaining acceptance for women teachers in the classroom. I thought, no way. Couldn't be. Must be a coincidence. But sure enough, she was also born to Lyman Beecher, the father of Henry, Thomas and Harriet. Catharine grew up in a time when men led classrooms, and women were often undereducated. She achieved her own education, meaning she was self taught in the subjects not offered to girls back then, including math and Latin. She taught a private classroom in Hartford, Connecticut in 1821, and soon started a school for educating women to be teachers, Hartford Female Seminary, which grew in three years time from 7 to 100 students, and where her sister Harriet graduated and assisted. She wrote many of her own textbooks for the school.

Catharine was a crusader. She led the very first national women's political movement, which was against Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal bill. She called on women to write their congressmen and urge them not to fund the bill. Her greatest fame, however, was in her lifelong voice for women as educators. In a time when the country was pushing westward, the need for new educators was strong, and more and more qualified men were leaving the profession for better prospects. Other voices pushed for women to fill the role, especially because they were the cheaper alternative, and readily available. Catharine modeled that women were not only intelligent and capable, but argued that women were a moral force and uniquely created as nurturers to fill the role to shape the next generation. She helped establish teacher training schools in communities on the frontier, women's colleges, and had strong ideals on what the curriculum should include. Physical education, reading aloud, and studying English authors rather than classical Greek literature. She wrote and published books on women's roles in society and the classroom.




Curiously, Catharine was not a proponent of women's suffrage. She believed men and women were created for different roles, and that politics was too dirty if women wanted to retain their moral authority. She felt as instructors, women could shape politics by shaping the young men who would later serve.




Lyman Beecher, the venerable patriarch of this clan, which includes a total of 13 children, was once called "the father of more brains than any man in America." He was a graduate of Yale Divinity School and seemed to witness every major religious and social revolution of his time. From being a proponent of temperance, to favoring gradual emancipation of slaves, to finding agreement with the new evangelism style of revivalism and bucking Presbyterian tradition for the new, Lyman modeled free thought and independence. He headed Lane Theological Seminary and was called "America's most famous preacher."




To study the Beecher family is to understand many of the forces at play in our early republic. Social and religious reform, the Second Great Awakening, slavery and women's issues--all causes that seemed to be taken up by one Beecher or another. And at the center was a deep and abiding love of education. The Beechers were a smart, vital, culture-changing dynasty of America's nineteenth century.







Kathleen L. Maher has had an infatuation with books and fictional heroes ever since her preschool crush, Peter Rabbit. She has a novella releasing with BARBOUR in the 2018 Victorian Christmas Brides collection, featuring her hometown of Elmira, New York. Her debut historical, Bachelor Buttons, blends her Irish heritage and love of the American Civil War. She won the 2012 ACFW Genesis contest for her Civil War story, releasing this summer under a new title The Abolitionist’s Daughter. Kathleen shares an old farmhouse in upstate New York with her husband, children, and a small zoo of rescued animals.

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100 Steps to Freedom

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

Before the Civil War, Ohio had the largest Underground Railroad of any state in the Union. It is believed that every county in Ohio had a route. Many slaves would escape over the Ohio River and through Ohio on their way to Canada. This was a dangerous undertaking because, even though Ohio was a free state, the Fugitive Slave Law made it so anyone helping escaped slaves could be fined and jailed, and the slaves would be returned to their masters.

Parker's Foundry in Ripley, Ohio

Ripley, a small town in Ohio, helped more slaves escape than any where else. Ripley is located on the banks of the Ohio River across from Mason County, Kentucky.

One man who helped slaves escape was a freed black man named John Parker. Parker. He was educated by his master in Virginia and eventually bought his freedom. He traveled to Ohio and opened a foundry on Front Street facing the Ohio River. He was the first black man to earn a patent for one of the inventions he used in his foundry. At night, he would search the Ohio River looking for escaped slaves and helping them find their way to an Underground Railroad Station. In my novel, Red Sky Over America, Parker has a minor role.

Rankin House

Reverend John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister, owned a house on top of a hill in Ripley and also had a large role in the Underground Railroad. He built one hundred steps to the house that could be seen on the other side of the river. At night, he would light a lantern and hang it from the porch to signal slaves that it was safe to cross. It is estimated over 2,000 slaves escaped through the Rankin House. None of them were ever recaptured.

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, about the escape of the slave, Eliza, after hearing the story from Reverend Rankin. I also added John Rankin's house in my new novel, Red Sky Over America. The story takes place on the Ohio River where all these exciting events happened.

Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures and writes Christian historical fiction set in America because there are so many adventures in American history. She has received 2^nd place in the NOCW contest, 3^rd place TARA writer’s contest, and was a finalist in the Frasier Writing Contest. Her Novels, Red Sky Over America and Alice’s Notions and her novellas Resurrection of Hope and A Christmas Promise are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at other online stores.