Jacob Shew Beecher

Jacob Shew Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut on February 13, 1839, to Leman Beecher (1795-1848) and Catherine Shew Beecher (1794-1877)^[1]. He was baptized at the First Congregational Church in Litchfield that October^[2]. Jacob was the youngest of nine children.^[3]

During the Civil War, Beecher enlisted in the United States Navy. He served aboard the North Carolina as a Landsman from May 31, 1861, until June 8, 1861. He then transferred to the Santee with the rank of Surgeon’s Steward and was discharged September 12, 1862.^[4]

At some time during the 1860s, Beecher worked as a photographer at Patton’s Gallery in Mount Holly, New Jersey^[5]. He was the operator of the studio at the corner of Main and Mill Streets, adjoining the Farmer’s Bank.

Always on the move for a new opportunity, he worked as an operator for James M. Philips gallery in Reading between 1864-1866.^[6] Beecher took on the responsibilities of a family when he married Lillian T. Donaldson in Philadelphia in 1866.^[7]

In about 1867, Beecher purchased Odiorne’s Excelsior Gallery in West Chester, PA, located above the Adams Express Office.^[8]

The first mention of Beecher’s gallery in West Chester appears in The Village Record in the June 18, 1867, edition, “A Good Picture- we were shown last week, a picture of Garrett & Jones’ Marble Yard taken by J. S. Beecher, Photographist, West Chester. The picture is strong & clear and shows that Mr. B. is an artist of considerable merit.”^[9]

One of the earliest examples of Beecher’s work in West Chester is a carte-de- visite inscribed “July 1867”. The back mark identified his gallery: “J. S. Beecher of Philad’a, Photographer, Corner of Market and High Streets, over Darlington’s Dry Goods store, West Chester, PA. $2.00 per Dozen or Six for $1.25^[10].”

An advertising label on the back of an undated tintype in the collection of the Chester County History Center emphasized his connection with the big city as a selling point,

However, Beecher’s name could not be found in available Philadelphia directories for the period before his arrival in West Chester^[12]. His brother, A. P. Beecher is listed in the 1862 McElroy’s Philadelphia City Directory^[13], it is possible that Jacob worked for him at this time.

The first advertisement for his gallery is in the program for the Grand Instrumental and Vocal Concert at Horticultural Hall, West Chester, PA held on January 14, 1868:

Sometime during 1868 Beecher joined in partnership with B. Dickinson. There are only three examples that provide evidence of Beecher’s partnership with Dickinson in the Chester County History Center’s collection^[14]. One carte-de-visite of Miss Wennez is hand dated 1868. It was not long before Beecher sold his gallery at the corner of Market & High Streets to Dickinson, who advertised himself as “Successor to J. S. Beecher” on the imprint of his cartes-de-visite. Dickinson’s stay in West Chester was of short duration. His name does not appear in local tax lists, newspaper advertisements or directory listings.

Beecher left West Chester late in 1868, we learn of it through this announcement in The Village Record, December 15, 1868:

Working in the photographic supply industry must not have been to Beecher’s taste because he returned to West Chester in 1869. There is interesting evidence of his return on an undated carte-de-visite in the CCHC collection of a little boy named Coburn. The imprint on the back reads: “J. S. Beecher, Photographer, HAS RETURNED TO West Chester, Pa., corner of Market and High Streets, opposite the Turk’s Head Hotel.^[16]” The bold text told his customers that he was back at his old location and ready to serve them.

When Beecher needed help in his gallery, he figured that hiring a woman was the most affordable option. He advertised in the Village Record on January 19, 1869, for a young lady. He outlined her duties, “Wanted, immediately, a Young Lady to attend to reception rooms at the Photograph Gallery of the subscriber – to receive visitors, attend to the books, mount and deliver pictures &c.”

We have no way to discover who he hired, but it is interesting to note that in the 1870 United States Census for West Chester, a Theresa Mahlon is recorded with the occupation “works in Photograph Gallery.^[17]” Beecher, as well as other photographers could see the benefit of hiring young women, with good social and record keeping skills. Young women were an asset in the photographic supply industry also, recognized for their superior dexterity and attention to detail. They were often employed to print, mount and hand color albumen prints. They also were paid a lower wage than their male counterparts.

Advertising was the key to keeping his business on customer’s radar, his chief competitors during this period were Thomas W. Taylor, C. Alfred Garrett and other artists passing through such as R. B. Mulford, Edmund Smedley, etc. He frequently advertised in The Village Record and The Jeffersonian newspapers, and in the programs for the Chester County Teacher’s Institute held every summer in West Chester. The rural teacher’s arrival in the borough for a week of enrichment classes sponsored by the County gave the local shop keepers a welcome spike in business.

Beecher’s advertising hit all the appropriate holidays, as in the February 8, 1868 edition of The Village Record, “Those who wish to surprise their friends on St. Valentine’s day, cannot do better than send their own photographs.^[18]” Beecher’s back mark on his cartes-de-visite and tintypes featured this catchy tagline: “None so Cheap, None so Good, Corner of Market and High Streets over Darlington’s Dry Goods Store, West Chester, PA $2 per dozen, Six for $1.50. The Negative of this picture will be preserved for future orders^[19].”

Beecher’s popularity is evidenced in Chester County History Center’s collection with 43 examples of cartes-de-visite, more can be found in the photograph albums collection.

Beecher’s family is recorded in the United States Census for 1870. It included Jacob a 30-year-old photographer with his 19-year-old wife Lillian L. Beecher, son Harry, age 3, and Wayne, 9 months old and a domestic servant Rachel Aldsworth age 24.^[20] Tragedy struck this young family on March 25, 1871, with the death of Wayne Beecher aged 1 year, 6 months and 8 days^[21].

This enterprising photographer made it a point to be on hand for popular community events. He advertised in the July 27, 1872, edition of The Jeffersonian that he would attend the St. Agnes Sabbath School picnic in Stewart’s Grove near Boot Tavern. He had for sale pictures of Pope Pius IX of Rome and area Catholic Priests^[22].

Beecher’s business must have been going well, since he enlarged and improved his gallery space. The September 21, 1872, edition of The Jeffersonian announced,

Another change came for Beecher’s business in the addition of a business partner, announced in The Daily Local News on November 29, 1872,

Andrew Alison Grier (1851-1908)^[25] was the eldest son of renown potter B. Franklin Grier and his wife Adaline O’Daniel Grier, born at the Mount Jordan Pottery in East Nottingham, PA^[26].

Another announcement made the news in the American Republican on January 14, 1873: “A New Firm – Mr. J. S. Beecher, Photographer of this Borough, has taken Mr. A. Grier as a partner in the business. Their rooms are in the third story of the building on the south-east corner of High and Market sts. They are splendid artists and have turned out many pictures that cannot be excelled.”^[27] The glowing endorsement could only have helped business during the slow winter months.

The partnership of Beecher and Grier is listed in Boyd’s Chester County Directory for 1873-74. If it lasted into 1874 is not known. Grier is never listed in the West Chester tax lists. A hand dated carte-de-visite in the CCHC collection of George Morris Philips was taken by Beecher & Grier in April of 1873^[28]. It is most likely that the partnership had dissolved by 1874, since Beecher is again running advertisements with his name alone.

It is possible that Beecher had sold the half share in his business to Grier because he needed cash. Beecher’s problems with cash flow and the changing economy are evidenced in the following events.

Businesses were struggling when the Panic of 1873 sent the financial world into a tailspin. The period from 1873 through 1877 was known as “The Great Depression.” People were caught off guard, many lost their jobs and life savings from local banks. It was a rough time for photographers. And Beecher, who may have been doing well in the early 1870s, was clearly living too high on the hog. An advertisement in the Daily Local News for September 25, 1873, announced the auction of some luxury items from his household as follows:

It must have been humiliating for the Beechers to have their lovely items, which expressed their sense of taste and culture to be sold right off the front door step!

Cash flow problems continued for the photographer into 1874 when he appeared at the Court of Common Pleas for his debt of $141.50 to Thomas Maguire. Beecher had been paying the debt off a little at a time. Maguire had even contracted with Beecher to make his portrait and a cabinet card of his brother in order to reduce the amount of the debt. But Beecher wasn’t paying quickly enough for the Plaintiff. The court issued an order that the debt be paid within thirty days.^[30]

Portraits in the format of cartes-de-visite and cabinet cards were photographer’s bread and butter during this time period, but outdoor work could boost sales. It was in outdoor views that Beecher truly excelled. In both 1874 and 1875^[31], Beecher advertised photographs of cemetery memorials in the newly established Oaklands Cemetery. His photographs were reviewed in the Daily Local News on June 25, 1874:

The Oakland Cemetery was established in 1852 when the Borough of West Chester passed an ordinance for the removal of all burials from the borough proper, citing health concerns for water quality and disease control. Therefore, all the graveyards within the borough boundaries were removed to two newly established cemeteries, Oaklands on the hill to the north, and Greenmount to the east. Oaklands cemetery was designed as part of the rural cemetery movement to make burial grounds a beautiful and peaceful place to come and pay respects to deceased family members^[33]. Frequently designed by landscape architects, they were landscaped with specimen trees, flowering shrubs, winding walkways and other features. Many photographers offered photographs for sale of these scenic areas, often featuring distinctive memorials of prominent citizens.

Beecher even increased his points of distribution by selling the cemetery views in local book shops. The Daily Local News published this announcement in the edition on July 27, 1875:

Also in the collection of the Chester County History Center, are large format albumen prints of the Jackson Family Reunion, held at Harmony Grove in London Grove Township, August of 1875^[36]. The family reunion was a well-attended and newsworthy event. The Village Record reported in great detail, Beecher photographing picnic and family activities:

The resulting sets of a prints were praised by The Daily Local News which gave them a plug for their sale:

Other notable subjects of Beecher’s camera were a floral decoration made by Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas^[39] nursery and a picture of the residence of Honorable Washington Townsend^[40], at that time serving in the Congress in Washington, D.C.. CCHC has a copy of this original 8 x 10 albumen photograph on a mount with decorative border inscribed: “J. S. Beecher, Photographer, West Chester, PA” in the collection^[41].

His large 8 x 10 albumen prints were presented on card mounts with ornate decorative borders. There are several examples in the collection of the Chester County History Center including a group portrait of the West Chester Pioneers Corp^[42]and McClellan’s School for Boys^[43]. The photograph of the school, which was located on the southeast corner of Union and Church Streets in West Chester, is striking to the modern eye for the manner in which the children were posed on the building, hanging out of the windows and sitting on the roof! Today the Principal would have his feet to the fire for any such pose placing the children in danger.

Beecher may have had an assistant operator working with him sometime during the 1870s. An intriguing back mark on an undated cabinet card portrait of West Chester Friends School class reads, “David Stein, Photographer. The Negative of this Photograph will be preserved at J. S. Beecher’s Gallery, Opposite the Turk’s Head Hotel, West Chester, PA. Pictures furnished from it at any time.”^[44]

Beecher’s time in West Chester came to a close probably in July of 1876, when Paxson and Marshall became his successors at the studio on the corner of High & Market Streets.^[45] This dovetails with proof through the tax lists for West Chester that he was working in the Borough between 1870 and 1876.^[46] Having paid his taxes that spring, he moved to Wilmington. The Wilmington City Directory records him living in Delaware House, occupation photographer, his employer not identified.^[47]

The latest example of a photograph taken by J. S. Beecher in Chester County is a spectacular mammoth plate outdoor view of M.B. Chamber’s Tannery on the Brandywine Creek in West Bradford Township, labeled with the date of July 29, 1878^[48]. This photograph demonstrates that Beecher returned to Chester County to serve some of his old customers even after he had moved on.

The 1880 United States Census offers some clues into potential personal and financial woes for the photographer. He is recorded as living in Wilmington as a divorced photographer, age 40 living in a boarding house with his son Harry^[49]. According to Department of Interior, Bureau of Pensions, questionnaire, Jacob Beecher and Lillian T. Donaldson were divorced in Philadelphia on December 20, 1879^[50]. We cannot know what fueled the split between the photographer and his wife, who was very young at the time of their marriage. Many marriages suffer after the death of young children and also through times of financial distress.

William McKay, in his A Directory of Delaware Photographers 1839-1900 and Beyond, thoroughly documents Beecher’s career in Wilmington, where he worked for his brother A.P. Beecher^[51]. McKay finds no evidence that he continued working as a photographer after 1910, citing that he is listed as a stenographer in directories thereafter.

Beecher married a second time, Ada Emmons in 1883, the couple had one son Paul Emmons Beecher^[52]. Jacob Beecher died on December 1, 1917, at age 78 and was buried in the Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery^[53]. His widow Ada died on March 17, 1934, and was also interred there^[54].

© Pamela C. Powell, 2024.