Daniel Herr Beecher ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9}

   Another name for Daniel was Daniel Bucher.^{3 11}

   FamilySearch ID: KZJF-M3V.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Occupation: founded L. & W. C. Beecher dry goods store in 1838 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ¹³

2. Census in 1840 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ¹⁴ In 1840 the household of Danl Beecher is listed with:
Males (born)
20-29 (1811-1820) = 2
Females (born)
No females.

3. Newspaper: Der Liberale Beobachter: --durch den Ehrw. Hrn. E. Burker, am 17. Dieses, Hr. Daniel H. Beecher mit Miss Elisabeth Leaf, beide von Pottstaun, M. Co., 29 Mar 1842, Reading, Berks, PA. ² Translation:
Married
-- by the honorable E. Burker, on the 17th of this month, Mr. Daniel H. Beecher with Miss Elisabeth Leaf, both of Pottstown, Montgomery County.

4. Newspaper: Pihladelphia Ledger: Bankrupts.--Petitions for the benefit of the bankrupt law filed on Saturday: William Beecher, merchant of the late firms of Beecher and Coleman, and W. And D. H. Beecher, Berks county;, 17 Jan 1843, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. ¹⁵

5. Newspaper: Philadelphia Public Ledger, 16 Feb 1843, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. ¹⁶ $20 REWARD -- LOST, on Tuesday morning, Feb 14, at the Auction Store of Messrs. Thomas, Funces, & Co, a small POCKET WALLET, containing D. H. Beecher's note, to the order of Wm. Beecher, dated July 1st, 1842, at 8 mos., for $292.50; D. H. Beecher's note, to the order of A. H. Raguel & Co., for $214; two notes drawn by Wm. H. Cooper, to the order of A. H. Rarguel & Co.,; Wm. S. Green's note, drawn to order of G. W. Deweese, for $100; also, Daniel Hunter's due bill for $9.52, together with several Notes and Memorandums (payment of all of which has been stopped,) of no use to any person but the owner. The finder will receive the above reward, by leaving the Pocket Book and Contents at the Store of S. M. BUNN, No. 74 NORTH THIRD Street.

6. Daniel and Elizabeth's son Lyman was baptized at Christ Episcopal Church on 4 Sep 1843 in Pottstown: Christ Episcopal Church, Montgomery, PA. ⁶

7. Daniel H. Beecher's name appears as donor of matting for the new Christ Episcopal Church. His brother-in-law, Rev. Edmund Leaf, was the rector from 1844-1858. In Oct 1846 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA.

8. Census in 1850 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ¹⁷ Elizabeth Beecher, 56, was living with Daniel H., 31, merchant. Also with them: Daniel Wingert, 26, merchant; Sarah M. Cane, 14; William Auchenbach, 18, merchant; Elizabeth Gilbert, 25; and Lyman Beecher, 8. Everyone was born in Pennsylvania.

9. Census in 1860 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ⁴ Daniel H. Beecher, 42, dry good merchant, was living with Elizabeth, 67; Lyman Beecher, 17; and Mary Ruffe, 13 and Sallie Keyser, 36, domestic. Daniel and Elizabeth were born in Maryland, the others in Pennsylvania. Daniel's real estate was worth $10,000, his personal estate was $11,000.

10. Census in 1870 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ^{17 18} Daniel H. Beecher, 52, retired merchant, was living with his mother Elizabeth, 77. Also with them was Eliza Kulp, 21, domestic servant. Daniel and Elizabeth were born in Maryland. His real estate was worth $25,000 and personal estate $25,000. Elizabeth's real estate was worth $8,000 and personal estate $1,000.

11. Book: The Centennial Celebration at Pottstown, Pa., July 4, 1876, 1876. ¹⁹
The Old Business Men of the Place.
The following persons have been in business in Pottstown 20 years or more, and are still so engaged: John Thompson, conveyancer, 55 years; Joshua Bechtel, cigar manufacturer, 45 years; Henry Lessign, shoe manufacturer, 44 years; John Yohn, carriage buildign, 42 years; James S. Fillmen, master carpenter, 41 years; John W. Casselberry, banker, 39 years; Daniel H. Beecher, merchant, 38 years; David Weand, grocer, 35 years...

12. Census in 1880 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ²⁰ The 1880 census recorded at 130 King Street: Daniel H. Beecher [indexed as Bucher not Beecher], widowed, 62, store keeper, was living with his brother, Samuel Beecher, widowed, clerk in store, 64, and a servant and boarder. Everyone and their parents were born in Pennsylvania.

13. Newspaper: Reading Times: "Mrs. Sarah Gilbert Herr, of Philadelphia, aunt of Daniel H. And Samuel Beecher, of Pottstown, died yesterday, aged 80 years.", 15 Apr 1880, Reading, Berks, PA. ⁸

14. Newspaper: Reading Times: Pottstown News: "D. H. Beecher received a fine lot of sheephead and other fish direct from the sea shore to-day. They were seen by a number of persons, some of whom had never looked at such big fish before.", 6 Jul 1882, Reading, Berks, PA. ²¹

15. Newspaper: Reading Times: Pottstown News: "D. H. Beecher, of this borough, if off on an extensive trip to the West, taking in Colorado and California.", 8 Sep 1882, Reading, Berks, PA. ²²

16. Newspaper: Reading Times: Pacific Ocean excursion of Daniel H. Beecher and granddaughter Lizzie Beecher., 3 May 1883, Reading, Berks, PA. ²³ Pottstown Affairs. Mr. Daniel H. Beecher and his grand-daughter Miss Lizzie Beecher, of this place, leave to-morrow morning for Philadelphia where they will join Cook's grand excursion to the Pacific Ocean. The party is limited to sixty persons and a special train of three Pullman Palace cars will leave Philadelphia at 4 o'clock. A Southern route will be taken going, touching Washington, Baltimore, Mammoth Cave, Ky., St. Louis, Yosemite Valley, and all places of interest. It will take about two and one-half months to complete this trip.

17. Newspaper: Los Angeles Herald: D.H. Beecher's arrival in Los Angeles, 23 May 1883, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. ²⁴ "The following is the list of passengers by the Southern route, to arrive in Los Angeles at 4:46 o'clock this evening, specially telegraphed to the Herald from Caaa Grande, Arizona, at 10 o'clock last night...COOK'S CALIFORNIA EXCURSION. D H Beecher, Miss E L Beecher, Philadelphia."

18. Residence: 1884 Boyd's Pottstown Directory: listing of Beecher households and occupations in 1884 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ²⁵ Beecher Daniel H., h King n Hanover
Beecher Frank, puddler, h Beech ab Washington
Beecher John V., agent, h Apple bel Franklin
Beecher Lyman, (L & W. C. Beecher), h 315 King
Beecher L & W. C. drygoods, 223 High
Beecher Samuel, cashier, 223 High, h King n Hanover
Beecher William C., (L & W. C. Beecher), h High bel Baily.

19. Newspaper: Pottstown Mercury: article about construction of Beecher plot in Edgewood Cemetery, 3 Jan 1884, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ²⁶ Handsome Coping Around A Burial Lot

Workmen have just completed the erection of a marble coping around the burial lot of D. H. Beecher, in Edgewood Cemetery, of elegant and massive design. The entrance sill bears the name "Beecher," in large raised letters; on it rests two massive posts 18 inches square and 3 feet 6 inches high. There are heavy posts at the corners between all the pieces of coping, this being the latest style of constructing such work in the large cemeteries in Philadelphia and New York. The foundations and marble rest bases had been set to receive the work early in November last, in order to have them solid before frost set in. The work was done by Messrs. Reifsnyder & Storb, this borough.

20. Newspaper: Reading Times: Pottstown Affairs: "Our townsman D. H. Beecher is having constructed at Anglesea Beach, N. J., a handsome cottage. Mr. Beecher left for that resort on Saturday.", 17 Mar 1884, Reading, Berks, PA. ²⁷

21. Newspaper: Pottstown Mercury, 28 Sep 1885, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ²⁸ Daniel H. Beecher is engaged in putting new curbing in front of his premises, the L. & W. C. Beecher company, 223 High street. It consists of one block of granite, the like of which never has been laid in Pottstown, and in few other places in this country, being 20 feet in length, two feet wide and dressed eight inches.

22. Newspaper: Pottstown Ledger: Electric lights installed, 7 Oct 1885, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. The electric lights will be shedding their effulgent rays on High street tomorrow evening. The number thereof will be six -- one in the center between the Shuler house and Hartman's restaurant; one in Ahenfelter and Shuler's drug store; one at Hanover street; two in the Beecher dry goods house, and one at Penn street. If the business people like these lights they may remain and be introduced generally throughout the place.

23. Newspaper: Pottstown Mercury: TRAVELERS — Daniel H. Beecher, Mr. And Mrs. Lyman Beecher and their daughter, Miss Lizzie Beecher, left Pottstown this morning for Jacksonville, Fla., where they will remain for two weeks., 8 Feb 1888, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ²⁹ .

24. Newspaper: Pottstown Mercury: "Elected: D. H. Beecher was re-elected president of the Pottstown Mutual Fire Insurance company last night.", 8 Jan 1890, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ³⁰

25. Newspaper: The Times: Beecher Store Destroyed by Fire, 14 Dec 1890, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. ³¹ FLAMES IN POTTSTOWN

GREATEST FIRE EVER KNOWN IN THE LONG HISTORY OF THE PLACE RAGING SIX HOURS BEYOND CONTROL

The Best Business Block On The High Street Submits to the Fate of an Early Morning Conflagration That Begins With the Assistance of an Over-Taxed Heater in Shaner's Clothing Store - Help From Reading Comes Just in Time, for the High Winds Were Drive The Fire Everywhere.

Special telegram to The Times
POTTSTOWN, December 13.

One-half of the leading and best business block of this borough is in ruins to-night from a fire that started at 2 o'clock this morning and raged beyond on all control fully six hours. It is a baptism of flame for intensity and value the greatest in local history, and the losses figure up $160,000. On this there are insurances of about $110,000.

The scene of the conflagration is on High street, north side, from Penn to Hanover, and the commencement was in John R. Shaner's clothing store in the basement. Alarms were quickly sounded and the borough companies responded promptly, getting into action very swiftly, but it required only a hurried view to convince the authorities that a serious disaster was impending and telegrams for aid were sent Mayor Merritt, of Reading a special train bringing down the Junior and Reading steamers with their companies. They rendered invaluable assistance.

FIGHTING AGAINST THE WIND

A high wind and the bitter cold night almost paralyzed the efforts of the town companies, and the flames spread at appalling speed throughout the block. The fire soon burst through the floors of the Smith building, in which the Shaner store is located. Westerly wind drove the embers into Stone's jewelry store, to the eastward. Then followed Howard Leopold's dressmaking establishment and both were roaring furnaces before anyone could realize it.

While the firemen were exerting every energy to stay the progress of the flames at Leopold's the treacherous element was just as busy seeking new fields, and found a fruitful one in the extensive dry goods house of L. & W. C. Beecher, the Wanamaker of Pottstown. Thousands of persons raised the shout, and consternation seized hold of everybody. The flames burst from the roof of the Beecher building, covering the three floors in a great mass of fire and destroying a valuable stock of goods. Following this the building of R. Morgan Root, the hatter, fell an easy victim, and the Evan's book store, where the firemen made a stand and succeeded in getting the situation under control. It took six hours to do this.

THE HEAVIEST LOSERS.

The L. & C. Beecher firm is among the oldest established dry goods houses in this section. Their loss is $50,000, covered by $20,000 insurance, equally divided in the Mutual, of Pottstown; Reading, Phoenix, of London; Continental and Home, of New York. John R. Shaner loses on stock $15,000 and has a $6,000 insurance; Mrs. Knight, millinery, has a $1,000 loss; J. Leopold dry goods and dressmaking, $6,000; R. Morgan Root, hats and caps, $7,000; Mrs. D. Q. M. Geyer, dressmaking, $500; W. L. Stone, jeweler, $300; A. Evans, books and stationery, $3,000. The losses on buildings schedule in this way: D. Beecher, $13,000; D. K. Hatfield, $9,000; William H. Smith, $5,000; R. M. Root, $6,000; Gottlieb Moyer, $2,000; A. Evans, $3,000. The home of Mrs. Lawrence was also destroyed and the residence of Clinton Lessig badly damaged. The total loss is given at $160,000 and may go higher.

The fire is supposed to have originated from a heater in the cellar under John R. Shaner's store.

26. Newspaper: Reading Times: death of Daniel H. Beecher, 22 Jan 1891, Reading, Berks, PA. ¹³ Death of a Prominent Pottstown Business Man.
Pottstown, Pa., Jan 21. -- Daniel H. Beecher, founder of the dry goods house of L. & W. C. Beecher, which he started in 1838, and one of the best known business men in the Schuylkill Valley, died of grip to-day, aged seventy-five years.

27. Newspaper: Philadelphia Inquirer: Daniel H. Beecher, founder of the dry godds house of L. & W.C. Beecher, which he started in 1838, and one of the best-known business men in the Schuylkill Valley, died of the grip yesterday, at Pottstown, aged 75 years., 22 Jan 1892, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. ³²

28. Newspaper: Philadelphia Times: Death of a Pottstown Merchant, 22 Jan 1892, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. ¹² POTTSTOWN, January 21. -- Daniel Herr Beecher, aged 73, a wealthy citizen and retired dry goods merchant, died here to-day, of vertigo and nervous prostration. He was a native of Hagerstown, Md., and after receiving his business training in Chambersburg, Reading and Philadelphia, he in 1838 established the Beecher dry goods house, now conducted by his son and his nephew, Lyman and William C. Beecher. He was prominent in many enterprises in this city, having been a manager of the Schuylkill Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Pottstown and a large stockholder in various corporations.

29. Newspaper: Pottstown Mercury: "Prominent Citizen Dies -- Daniel H. Beecher, an aged and respected citizen, died yesterday morning at the age of 73 years. He was one of our most successful merchants, The Daily News said.", 22 Jan 1892, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ³³

30. Obituary: New York Times on 22 Jan 1892 in New York, New York, NY. ⁵ Daniel H. Beecher of Pottstown, Penn., founder of the dry goods house of L. & W. C. Beecher, which he started in 1838, and one of the best-known business men in the Schuylkill Valley, died of grip yesterday, aged seventy-five years.

31. Book: Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, 1904. ³⁴
Rev. Edmund Leaf, D. D., was a native of Pottstown, where he was born in 1818. He died at Birdsboro, in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1890. He was a rector of St. Gabriel's Episcopal church at Douglassville from 1844 to 1876. His father, George Leaf, was a pioneer merchant of Pottstown, and died there in 1823. His children: George, Thomas, William, Harlan, Edmund, Mary, Anna, Julia, Elizabeth. Mary married Thomas Boyd. Elizabeth married Daniel H. Beecher, for many years a prominent merchant of Pottstown. Edmund was the last survivor of the family.

32. Newspaper: Pottstown Mercury: "Twenty-five years ago the Beecher mansion on King street was dedicated as the home of the Pottstown Young Women's Christian association.", 3 Nov 1938, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ³⁵

33. Book: Montgomery county, the second hundred years, 1983. ³⁶
Pottstown's (and the county's) oldest department store is Ellis Mills, Inc. Ellis Mills started the store in 1873. In the beginning he sold both to retail and wholesale customers and to rural customers with the aid of a horse-drawn mobile store in a wagon. In 1898 Ellis Mills bought the Beecher store at 223 High Street and has been located there ever since. The Mills family still owns and operates the store.

On 13 December 1890, a fire in the old Beecher store had destroyed many adjacent stores along High Street. Many were replaced; the store Ellis Mills bought was one of them. The Beecher store had been a general merchandise and dry-goods store and was larger than the Mills store in 1898, when it was sold to the Mills family.

34. Newspaper: Pottstown Mercury - Beecher's Store, 6 Dec 2015, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ³⁷ Pottstown history '97 Ellis Mills revisited
by Snyder Michael Dec 6, 2015

Research for an article about Ellis and Alice Stanney Mills, their life in Pottstown and their descendants that appeared in November's The Mercury's First Sunday Look at History led to another story that begins with the Ellis Mills Store and works its way back about 150 years.

In 1899, Mills bought out Lyman Beecher, the owner of what was at that time Pottstown's largest department store. For the next 85 years it would be known as the Ellis Mills Store and, in the opinion of most area residents, was one of the most attractive buildings in town.

But the building was created for a family of Pottstown businessmen: D. H. Beecher, his son, Lyman Beecher, and his nephew, William Beecher. The elder Beecher was retired at that point in the store's history and his son and nephew ran the business. Left to their own devices, they would have probably been content to continue doing business in the store the older Beecher built on that site, 231 High St., in 1851. However, it was destroyed by fire on Dec. 19, 1890.

The Beechers moved quickly in the wake of the disaster and reopened the business temporarily at 241 High. The ashes of the ruins were most likely still warm when they bought a lot on its east side and hired local contractor Matthias Geist to begin work on a building that would be larger and more elegant than the previous one.

Beecher's Pottstown dry goods business was founded by Lyman's father, Daniel Herr Beecher. Beecher, whose surname was originally Bucher, was born March 29, 1818, in Hagerstown, Md. He went into the dry goods business as a teenager and soon left home to work in a store in Chambersburg. He later moved on to work in larger stores, going to Reading and then to Philadelphia before settling permanently in Pottstown in the mid-1830s. Once there, Beecher advanced so quickly that by 1838 he either had or was able to raise enough capital to establish his own store at 231 High St.

With a Pennsylvania German surname like Bucher and hailing from the Pennsylvania German area of Hagerstown it is doubtful if Beecher left home as an Episcopalian, but he eventually became one, probably after he settled in Pottstown. On March 17, 1842, he married Elizabeth Leaf, a daughter of George Leaf, "a pioneer merchant of Pottstown," who died in the borough in 1823, a decade and a half before Beecher's arrival. With that marriage Beecher united with one of Pottstown's earliest merchant families.

Though officially retired at the time fire destroyed the store, Daniel Beecher clearly remained active behind the scenes. As the business loss was heavy and, according to The Daily Pottstown Ledger, far exceeded its insurance coverage, it seems likely that the firm's rapid, expansive rebuilding would not have happened unless Daniel, who was quite wealthy, provided the financial backing. According to The Ledger, the Beechers' uninsured loss was $43,000, which, according to Dave Manuel's inflation calculator, amounts to $1,141,760 in 2015.

The new store had its grand opening on Sept. 21, 1891, less than 10 months after the old one was destroyed. It was large by Pottstown standards, 50 feet wide and 120 feet deep, with three floors and an elevator. The interior was hardwood with plush carpeting, broad stairways, plenty of mirrors, and a pneumatic cash system. The issue of lighting the store was solved by the extensive use of tall glass windows in the front and back and a large skylight. The second and third floors were more like balconies which allowed the light from the roof and high windows to penetrate the entire building, making it possible for customers to clearly see the fabrics, trims, lace and other dress materials even on a cloudy day.

According to The Daily Ledger, when the new store opened Daniel Beecher was "still around" and "still pretty active, with a clear eye for everything in the mercantile line." But four months later Daniel's "active eye" closed forever when he died at his home in Pottstown on Jan. 21, 1892.

So distinguished had he become in his long career that newspapers in other towns carried his obituary, among them The Philadelphia Times, in which it was noted that he was a "wealthy citizen" and was "prominent in many other enterprises in Pottstown."

Daniel Beecher hoped that successive generations would keep his business alive and prosperous. He was "determined to see that the boys (his son and nephew)" whom he had trained for their work "… shall keep right in the front line of everything connected with dry goods operations and trade."

Son Lyman, was only too happy to follow in his father's footsteps and his only son, Lindley R. Beecher, seemed destined to be the third generation of Beechers to serve the public at 231 High St. But it was not to be. Lindley died on May 20, 1896, from gunshot wounds he suffered while hunting in New Jersey.

In the wake of his son's death, Lyman Beecher seemed to lose all interest in his business and three years later sold it to Ellis Mills, thus did Pottstown's most glamorous department store pass from the ownership on one dynasty to another.

35. Fact: Pottstown Historical Society Walking Tour: Beecher's Store, 2017, Pottstown, Montgomery, PA. ³⁸ 223-225-227 High Street '96 Ellis Mills Building formerly Beecher's.
In 1838, Daniel Herr Beecher came to Pottstown and started a dry goods business; in 1852 he built a store at 223 High Street. Daniel retired in 1883, turning the business to his son and nephew. Meanwhile, other merchants had erected buildings at 225 and 227 High St. The entire line of buildings, along with No. 229, were consumed in the disastrous fire of December 1890. After the fire, the Beechers purchased Nos. 225 and 227, combining with No. 223, into a much larger store. Ellis Mills purchased the site in 1899, which served as dry goods, hat store and department store until 1984.

Daniel married Elizabeth Leaf, daughter of George Leaf and Elizabeth Leonard, on 17 Mar 1842 in Pottstown: Christ Episcopal Church, Montgomery, PA.^{1 2} (Elizabeth Leaf was born in 1822 in Pottsgrove Twp., Montgomery, PA,⁴ died in 1844 in Pottstown, Montgomery, PA ^{34 39 40} and was buried in Pottstown: Edgewood Cemetery, Montgomery, PA ⁴⁰.)