Beecher, Thomas K. "Being Many We Are One Body" - Our Seven Churches. New York: J. B. Ford and Company, 1870. First Edition. [10232]
Brick red cloth with gilt titles & designs, binding a bit scuffed yet tight and sound, 6 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches. viii., 167 pp., some foxing & smudges. Good. Hardcover.
An appeal to Christian unity with descriptions of the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Congregational, and Liberal or Unitarian churches in America. The strengths of each denomination is stressed, so that those of other denominations would appreciate them, even though different from themselves.
Thomas Kinnicut Beecher (1824-1900), b. Litchfield, CT; d. Elmira, NY. He was one of thirteen children in the family of the Rev. Lyman Beecher; and brother to Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Thomas became a Congregational minister and was an active advocate for the Union cause, helping to raise a regiment and serving as a chaplain in the 141st New York Regiment during the Civil War. While residing in Elmira he became close friends with Samuel Clemens and officiated at the marriage of Clemens to Olivia Langdon. His ministry at Elmira was very successful, with overflowing crowds attending his services and overseeing a Sunday School with over 700 attendees.
