I have lived in New York 30 years and have not yet exhausted all the free or low-cost staycations there are to be had here. Nor even all the ones in Brooklyn! To wit: a few days ago, I realized that I was related to
Henry C. Bowen, one of the Founders (sort of the main founder, since he underwrote it) of
Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights, the historic Abolition-promoting church where
Henry Ward Beecher was pastor. Bowen came from my mother's hometown of Woodstock, Connecticut. Our common ancestor is the Welsh Puritan
Griffith Bowen (ca. 1600-1675). I'd probably first learned about the church in grammar school, but hadn't realized it still stood -- it's on a very obscure sidestreet in old Brooklyn, kind of cut off from everything by Cadman Plaza and major roads heading to the Brooklyn Bridge. But I did a little research, and voila!
Today is also the birthday of another Abolitionist (and early feminist)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, whom I even more closely related to, an auspicious day on which to do this. Brooklyn is known as the borough of churches -- and our churches continue to carry the torch of progressivism. These days they champion refugee and immigrants, among others.
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| Plymouth Church |
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| Statue of Henry Ward Beecher |
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| Lincoln frieze. I'd be interested to know when this was added. |
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| I spotted this at the nearby First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn. But I quickly realized they were all over the place. |
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| This exhibition on Brooklyn Abolitionists is at the Brooklyn Historical Society through June 2018 |
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| The Quaker Meeting House is located on Schermerhorn Street |
