Katharine Beck Jacoby ^{1 2 3 4 5}

   FamilySearch ID: LCFF-8SK.

  Noted events in her life were:

1. Census in 1900 in York, York, PA. ⁸ Alfred H. Jacoby, salesman, 33, born Nov 1866, was married for 9 years to Carrie L., 33, Jun 1867. She had birthed 3 children and 2 were alive in 1900. With them: Katharin B., 7, Aug 1892; and Florene I., 4, Jan 1896. Everyone and their parents were born in Pennsylvania. They were living at 541 W. Philadelphia St.

2. Newspaper: York Daily: Beecher -- Jacoby Wedding, 30 Apr 1913, York, York, PA. ⁹ Henry Ward Beecher, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Miss Catherine E. Jacoby, daughter of Mrs. Carrie Jacoby, 17 West Market street, were married at Buffalo, N. Y., on last Sunday. Mr. Beecher is well known in this city, having been employed by the York Card and Paper company until a month ago, when he accepted a position with the Stanton Wall Paper company at Toronto. He organized and managed the York basketball team during the past season. The young couple will reside at Toronto.

3. Census in 1920 in Louisville, Jefferson, KY. ¹⁰ The 1920 census recorded as lodgers in a boarding home at 847 Fourth Street in Louisville, Kentucky: Henry Beecher, 32, living with wife Katherine, 27. Henry was an office manager in a light gas company. They are their parents were born in Pennsylvania.

4. Residence: The 1922 Greensboro City Directory recorded: Beecher, Henry W. (Katherine), mgr North State Motor Co. Inc. H 210 E. Bessemer ave - phone 3143 in 1922 in Greensboro, Guilford, NC. ¹¹

5. Census in 1930 in Greensboro, Guilford, NC. ¹² The 1930 census recorded at 1312 W. Market Street: Henry W. Beecher, proprietor real estate company, 42, living with wife Katherine, 36; sons Henry J., 7; Kenneth, 4 and 2 months; David, 2. Also with them: Lula Mills, servant, 34. The parents and their parents were born in Pennsylvania, and the children and Lula in North Carolina.

6. Census in 1940 in Manchester, York, PA. ¹³ The 1940 census recorded at 69 S. Main Street: Henry Beecher, 52, candy maker candy factory, living with wife Katherine, candy maker candy factory, 47; and son Kenneth, 14. Everyone was born in Pennsylvania.

Henry's sons Henry and David were mistakenly not listed on page 4B of the census with their parents, and their correction is listed on page 61A in Manchester, York. The information there:

Henry, 17, single, 3 years of high school; and David, 12, 6 years of school. Both born in Pennsylvania.

7. Newspaper: York Daily Record, 1949, Manchester Twp., York, PA. Beecher's new digs
The Katherine Beecher Company, maker of butter mints and other candies, moves into a new factory. Katherine Beecher began making mints for her friends and neighbors in 1930. The demand grew, and Beecher's husband, Henry W., hit the road to market the candy more broadly. The Beechers sold their candy to Army PX stores and Navy ship commissaries. They were thereby able to secure sugar during the war years. Their government contracts introduced their candy on a national scale. "She was right on top of everything," a son later recalled. "She was at home among the salesmen. She could meet with them and discuss the business and the problems with customers and she always came up with an answer."

8. Newspaper: Mint Facotry Will Have New Quarters, 29 Jan 1949, York, York, PA. ¹⁴ MINT FACTORY WILL HAVE NEW QUARTERS
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HAVE OPEN HOUSE AT MANCHESTER
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STARTED IN KITCHEN
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The new home of Katherine Beecher Butter Mints at Manchester will be open to the public tomorrow from 2 to 9 p. m.

The Colonial-type structure with a Williamsburg brick front is located in the southern part of the borough. The plant recently completed, has all the modern facilities for candy making which will be explained by employees during "open house."

Mrs. Beecher's candy, once made in her kitchen and distributed locally, are now being sold throughout the country. Here is a success story from those early days in the 1930's which is largely attributable to the personal touch that makes Mrs. Beecher's product distinctive.

Although she had no intention of going into the candy business on a large scale, Mrs. Beecher in 1932 had some of her mints placed in a hotel dining room at Harrisburg. These were given to guests at each meal and it was her good fortune to have a specialty foods salesman, J. Bruce Wallace, who dined at a hotel and tasted her mints. He called on Mrs. Beecher, at her Manchester address, and offered to sell all she could make.
Mrs. Beecher hesitated but the salesman's persistent correspondence persuaded her to start producing more and more mints. The demand soon became too great for her kitchen production facilities so she had to hire neighbor women to aid in the candymaking business.

She moved from her kitchen to a brick factory building in the borough. Here too she soon became cramped for space and now after over 10 years at that site the factory and its 40 employes is moving to a new plant . The industry has from its first days employed residents of Manchester and vicinity and will continue to do so in the future.

Mrs. Beecher has as her partner in business her husband, Henry W. Beecher. The elder of two sons, Henry, has recently become active in the business after his graduation at the University of North Carolina. David, also a North Carolina student, will join the business after he is graduated.

9. Newspaper: Harrisburg Evening News: Katharine Beecher Opens Factory, 1 Feb 1949, Harrisburg, Dauphin, PA. ¹⁵ It's interesting to learn that Mrs. Katharine Beecher, whose delicious butter mints have attained nationwide fame, started her business in her own Manchester kitchen in 1931, using an old family recipe, and making the candy for her own family. Friends, however, persuaded her to increase the quantity and sell the confections, and as a result of their advice the York County woman's business has grown to the point where she opened a large new plant over the week-end.

10. Census in 1950 in Manchester, York, PA. ¹⁶ The 1950 census recorded renting at 69 S. Main Street: Henry W. Beecher, deceased 4/5/1950, 62, listed with wife Katherine J., proprietor candy factory, and son David L., 22. The parents were born in Pennsylvania and David in North Carolina.

11. Cause of Death: Katherine died at York Hospital from coronary thrombosis, 10 Oct 1952, York, York, PA. ⁴

12. Occupation: candy manufacturer on 10 Oct 1952 in York, York, PA. ⁴

13. Residence: 69 S. Main St., Manchester, PA on 10 Oct 1952 in Manchester, York, PA. ⁴

14. Newspaper: Funeral for Mrs. Katharine J. Beecher, 14 Oct 1952, York, York, PA. ¹⁷ Funeral services for Mrs. Katharine J. Beecher, Manchester candy manufacturer and widow of Henry W. Beecher, who died Friday, were held yesterday from Christ Lutheran Church, Manchester. The Rev. Samuel R. Frank, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, York, and former pastor of Christ Church, officiated, assisted by the Rev. Dr. C. E. Arnold, supply pastor at Christ Church. Serving as pallbearers were George Dellinger, John Neft, John Sowers, Lincoln Conrad, Dr. R. S. Neiman, Myles Miller, Bruce Wallace, Allan Johnson and Edward Maff. Interment was in Manchester Union Cemetery.

15. Newspaper: York Daily Record Article: Candy Maker's Exit Bittersweet Katharine Beecher Candies Is Leaving Manchester As Part Of A Consolidation Move, 20 Oct 1999, York, York, PA. ¹⁸ Photo Caption: Katharine Beecher Candies' plant at 140 S. Main St., Manchester, will soon be vacant as the candy maker is moving to a building in Lower Allen Township. The expansion of business for Pennsylvania Dutch Co., the parent company of York County candy maker, necessitates the move. A plant in Mt. Holly Springs is also a part of the consolidation.

Article:

Next spring, the Manchester factory where Katharine Beecher turned her home-spun butter mint business into a nationally known candy maker will be vacant.
Pennsylvania Dutch Co., parent company of Katharine Beecher Candies, plans to consolidate the Manchester factory and a plant in Mount Holly Springs into an empty 200,000-square-foot building in Lower Allen Township off Route 15 near the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Its two existing plants were too small to accommodate the company's plans for expansion, said Dick Billman, president of Pennsylvania Dutch Co. The 30 or so employees at the company's Mount Holly Springs headquarters and the workers at Katharine Beecher have been offered a chance to relocate.
Some have opted to retire, but other employees at the Manchester plant may try finding work in York County's strong job market. Part-time employee Richard Godfrey said several workers at the factory are talking about turning down the offer to relocate and staying put in the borough or its surrounding areas.
"It's going to be a lengthy ride for them," said Godfrey, who makes the 35-minute commute from the Red Lion area three days a week. "There will be many people here who'll not go."
Cook Jim Brown and other workers wiggled out of their white coats and caps at about 2 p.m. Tuesday and walked toward their cars. He likes working at the facto ry, but he said he probably won't be making the long commute from Manchester to the new plant.
Brown, who has worked at the factory for six years, has another job to work locally and will seek other employment when the time comes.
Some of the employees have worked at the factory for more than 20 years. Steady business has prevented longtime cooks and workers in other departments from sharing any sadness they might have about the closing, said Jim Steed, who picked up a temporary job at the plant through Manpower.
"It's been so busy, it's hard to tell any emotions," Steed said.
The 50-year-old colonial-style factory is a link to the story of Katharine Beecher, a Manchester native who started the business in 1931 just two blocks away in a house at 69 S. Main St.
A small road called Butter Mint Lane winds behind the rear of the modern-day plant at 140 S. Main St.
Katharine Beecher's son, Henry Beecher, kept the business in the family for 22 years after Katharine's death in 1952. In 1974, he sold the factory's assets to Pennsylvania Dutch Co.
Today, the factory makes Katharine Beecher's peanut brittle, various chocolate covered nuts and butter mints, which were shipped by the millions to soldiers during World War II.
It sells candies mostly to mass merchandisers such as Kmart and Wal-Mart and discount drug chains, Billman said.
The pastel colored mints are often served at wedding receptions or offered at parties as after-dinner mints.
Expansion into the development of products for the convenience store market, wholesale clubs and contract manufacturing and packaging necessitated the move into the Lower Allen Township factory, formerly occu pied by Iceland Seafood Co.
Billman said Pennsylvania Dutch Co. intends to eventually sell the Katharine Beecher factory to another user.
For now, the company's decision to leave the 30,000-square-foot factory will hurt Manchester, said Mayor Kenneth Cole, who had not heard Katharine Beecher was leaving. The move gives the borough three vacant buildings in the center of town.
"It is difficult for a small borough to attract new businesses. They're going to the strip malls and the shopping centers," Cole said. "I hate to hear it, but this is a reality in business."
The borough might not be hurting for too long, said David Carver, president of the York County Economic Development Corp.
Katharine Beecher Candies has kept the factory in good shape over the years, and the plant's roadside access should make it an attractive property, Carver said.
There's nothing York County can do to stop consolidation - it's a necessary evil of the current economy, he said.
However, the workers who turn down Pennsylvania Dutch Co.'s relocation offer should have no problem finding a job in the Manchester area.
"There are plenty of companies that have plenty of employment opportunities," Carver said. "It's a good time to be job search ing."

16. Newspaper: York Daily Record Article: WOMEN OF YORK Katharine Beecher, business executive 1892-1952, 21 Feb 2005, York, York, PA. ¹⁹ KATHERINE BEECHER
Business Executive 1892 - 1952

During the Great Depression, many women tried to help their families by making some money, but few were as successful as Katherine Beecher.

Katherine Beck Jacoby Beecher was born in York on August 4, 1892. She grew up in York and worked for a short time in a camera store before she married Henry W. Beecher in 1913.

The Beechers lived in Jefferson, Indiana for about a year and then moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. Mrs. Beecher made many friends and became active in the church. She was an excellent cook and housekeeper, and learned to make butter mints, a regional southern candy, while she lived in Greensboro.

In 1930, Mr. and Mrs. Beecher moved back to York County. After living in York for a year, they bought a home in Manchester, a small town northeast of York. There was a summer kitchen behind the house, and in the summer kitchen, Katherine Beecher began making butter mints for her friends and neighbors. The butter mints were very popular among York countians, who had never tasted anything like them, and the demand for the butter mints grew and grew.

Mr. Beecher, who was working for a furniture company, decided to quit his job and help his wife in the growing candy business. By buying some additional equipment, he helped to increase the efficiency of the business. Mr. Beecher sold the mints to customers in Harrisburg, including the Harrisburg Hotel. A speciality foods salesman, J. Bruce Wallace, tasted the mints while he was staying at the Harrisburg Hotel and was so impressed by their quality and uniqueness, that he persuaded the Beechers to produce mints for distribution in the midwest.

World War II came along and the company had a problem - obtaining sugar to make their product. The Beechers began to sell to the Army PX stores and Navy ships' stores and commissaries in order to get government certificates to take to their suppliers so they could buy more sugar. In this way, the product was introduced to men and women from all over the United States.

By 1949, the small business had grown into a $300,000 a year operation and the Katherine Beecher Company moved into a modern new factory in Manchester.

"She was a very dynamic individual who had a tremendously captivating personality, and people just loved to meet her and to be with her and to talk with her," said her oldest son, Henry Beecher. "She was right on top of everything. . . She was at home among the salesmen. She could meet with them and discuss the business and the problems with customers and she always came up with an answer. She always had a good answer, too, and they respected her answers. She was a strong individual who knew how she wanted things."

Katherine Beecher was described by youngest son, David, as being just 4 feet 11/2 inches tall. "She wore her hair swept up and was a good looking woman... She was not afraid to speak her mind at all."

Katherine Beecher died on October 10, 1952.
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17. Evidence: Photo and article about Katharine Beecher on YorkBlog.com, 29 Dec 2007, York, York, PA. Https://yorkblog.com/yorktownsquare/legacies-4/.

18. Newspaper: York Daily Record Article: 25 influential people from York County history, 1 Jun 2008, York, York, PA. ²⁰ 23. Katherine Beecher -- During the Depression, this businesswoman founds candymaker Katherine Beecher Company in Manchester. The company continues to feed sweet tooths today.

Katharine married Henry Ward Beecher, son of John Henry Beecher and Ella M. Godfrey, on 26 Apr 1913 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. (Henry Ward Beecher was born on 28 Jul 1887 in Seven Valleys, York, PA ^{2 5 21 22 23 24 25}, christened on 10 Nov 1887 in Glen Rock: Emmanuel United Methodist Church, York, PA,²⁵ died on 4 Apr 1950 in Baltimore, Baltimore, MD ^{5 24 26 27} and was buried on 7 Apr 1950 in Manchester: Manchester Union Cemetery, York, PA ^{5 24 26 27}.)