Overview
| Repository: |
Yale University Divinity School
Library
409 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511 Email: divinity.library@yale.edu Phone: (203) 432-5301 |
| Call Number: | Record Group No. 60 |
| Creator: | Beach, David Nelson, 1848-1926 |
| Title: | Beach Family Papers, |
| Dates: | 1858-1961 |
| Physical Description: | Total archival boxes 14 plus 1 oversize volume; total linear footage 6' |
| Language(s): | Materials in English. |
| Summary: | The papers document various aspects of the lives of brothers David Nelson Beach and Harlan Page Beach, including their student days at Yale (1868-1878), Harlan's work in North China (1883-1890), David's work as a clergyman and with the Anti-Saloon League while in Cambridge, Minneapolis and Denver. David Nelson Beach, 1848-1926, was a prominent Congregational clergyman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Denver, Colorado and was active in temperance reform. He was president of Bangor Theological Seminary from 1903-1921. Harlan Page Beach, 1854-1933, was a missionary to China under the American Board from 1883-1890. He was professor of missions at Yale Divinity School from 1905-1921 and librarian of Yale's Day Missions Library from 1911-1925. |
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| Finding Aid Link: | To cite or bookmark this finding aid, use the following address: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.060 |
| Request Materials: | To view manuscript and archival materials at the Yale Divinity Library, please submit the request form at http://www.library.yale.edu/div/request.htm. |
| Catalog Record: | A record for this collection, including location information, may be available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog. |
Administrative Information
Information about Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Cite As
Beach Family Papers, Record Group No. 60, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Biographical Sketch
Chronology of David Nelson Beach
| 1848 Nov 30 | Born in South Orange, N.J., son of Joseph Wickliff and Mary Angeline (Walkley) Beach |
| 1865-1868 | Golden Hill Institute, Bridgeport, Ct. |
| 1868-1872 | Yale University, B.A. 1872. Class poet. New Haven correspondent, New York Tribune |
| 1872-1873 | Assistant city editor, New York Tribune |
| 1873-1876 | Yale Divinity School, B.D. |
| 1876-1879 | Pastor of Pawcatuck Congregational Church, Westerly, R.I. |
| 1878 | Married Lilian Tappan who became the mother of Dorothea, John, Joseph, and David Nelson Jr. before her death June 30, 1902 |
| 1879-1884 | Pastor of Congregational Church, Wakefield, Mass. |
| 1884-1896 | Pastor of Prospect Street Church, Cambridge, Mass. |
| 1896-1898 | Pastor, Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis, Minn. |
| 1896 | D.D. Western Reserve University |
| 1899-1902 | Pastor of First Congregational Church, Denver, Colo. |
| 1903 | Married Dora Freeman who died March 14, 1915 |
| 1903-1921 | President and Professor of Sacred Rhetoric, Bangor Theological Seminary |
| 1916 | Married Ellen Olive Walkley (his cousin). |
| 1921-1926 | Pastor-at-large, residing in Guilford and Southington, Ct. |
| 1926 Oct 18 | Died in Southington, Ct. |
Beach was active in temperance work and in work for church unity. He was a member of the Liberal Congress of Religion. His published works included: The Newer Religious Thinking and The Annie Laurie Mine.
Chronology of Harlan Page Beach
| 1854 | Born in South Orange, N.J., son of Joseph Wickliff and Mary Angeline (Walkley) Beach |
| 1870,1871 | Worked in Plantsville, Conn. as a bookkeeper |
| 1871 | Entered Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. |
| 1878 | B.A. Yale University |
| 1883 | B.D. Andover Theological Seminary |
| 1883-1890 | Missionary in North China under the American Board, with his wife Lucy Ward Beach. |
| 1901 | M.A. (hon.) Yale |
| 1905-1914 | Professor of the Theory and Practice of Missions, Yale. |
| 1911-1925 | Librarian, Day Missions Library, Yale |
| 1913 | D.D. Amherst College |
| 1914-1921 | Willis James Professor of the Theory and Practice of Missions, Yale |
| 1921-1933 | Professor Emeritus |
| 1933 Mar 4 | Died in Florida |
Description of the Papers
Rather than providing complete documentation of the lives and work of David Nelson Beach and Harlan Page Beach, the papers of this collection highlight certain aspects of their lives while leaving others untouched. The college years at Yale of both David and Harlan are well documented through letters and diaries. David's career as a prominent Congregational clergyman is traced through correspondence and newspaper clippings up until the year 1903, when he became president of Bangor Theological Seminary. Regular letters to family members document the period when Harlan and his wife Lucy were missionaries in China. Extensive information regarding Beach family relationships and history is available in the collection.
The larger portion of the papers in this collection are related to David Nelson Beach, with only several folders of family correspondence and one item of general correspondence relating to Harlan. Harlan's work as a professor of missions at Yale is touched upon only in a bound volume of letters from former students. No material related to David's work as president of Bangor Theological Seminary is available in this collection.
The first series, Correspondence dates from 1863 to 1961 and is divided into Family Correspondence and General Correspondence. The General Correspondence of David Nelson Beach documents his connection with the Liberal Congress of Religion and the American Anti-Saloon League and includes letters from Henry Cabot Lodge, Charles F. Thwing and Henry Clay Trumbull.
The Diaries and Journals of Series II date from the Beaches' student days, 1862 to 1876, and from a trip to Europe taken by David in 1885.
The writings of David Nelson Beach in Series III date from 1862 to 1909 and include many compositions and poems written while a student. The series also contains two items related to mission work which were written by Harlan Page Beach, and one essay related to Congregationalism which was written by David Nelson Beach, Jr. in 1957.
The Personal Items and Memorabilia of Series IV date from 1858 to 1919. The series contains primarily biographical material relating to David Nelson Beach, newspaper clippings, printed material, school reports and so forth. Reviews and correspondence related to his published writings are also in this series.
The Photographs of Series V include one folder of portraits of David and Harlan and several folders of photographs from the travels of Harlan and his wife in Africa, India and the Far East.