His father, Lyman Beecher, was one of the famous divines of his day, and of his four sons each rose to eminence in the ministry, while his two daughters were equally prominent in literature, ime of them, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, achieving a world-wide reputation as the author of " Uncle Tom's Cabin." Henry Ward Beecher was born in Litchfield, Conn., June 24, 1813, graduated at Amherst College in 1834, and studied divinity at the Lane Theological Seminary at Cincinnati. He first had charge, as an ordained minister, of a Presbyterian congregation at Lawrenceburgh, Ind., whence he removed in 1839 to Indianapolis. In 1847 he left the latter city to accept the pastorate of Plymouth Congregational Church at Brooklyn, N. Y., which he has rendered famous throughout the land as the church in which he preaches. Mr. Beecher has been equally successful on the lecture platform, and has long occupied an undisputed position as one of the leading orators of the country. He has been a voluminous contributor to the press, and assisted in founding two religious newspapers -- The Independent, and The Christian Union, both of which achieved a large circulation and commanding influence. He has published a number of essays, lectures, etc., in book form, which have been read by many thousands of people, and his published sermons have long commanded a host of readers. In April, 1865, Mr. Beecher, at the request of the federal government, delivered an oration at Fort Sumter on the anniversary of its fall, and on the occasion of the formal restoration of the national flag by Ma,jor Anderson. Besides his other literary labors, Mr. Beecher edited " The Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes," a work largely used by churches that practice congregational singing. In 1867 he wrote for the New York Ledger, for which he had previously contributed a series of papers teaching the art of profit and enjoyment in familiar objects -- a novel entitled, " Norwood ; or.