(1813-1887) Henry Ward Beecher, the eighth son of the Rev. Lyman Beecher, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on 24th June, 1813. He was a Congregational clergyman from a family of preachers and literary celebrities, including his sister Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. He was the most popular preacher in America during his lifetime and a staunch supporter of the Union and emancipation of the slaves during the Civil War. Beecher edited The Independent (1861-63) and the Christian Union (1870-78). He became theologically liberal as he grew older, but withdrew membership in his denomination rather than cause controversy.