Coincidence! The best kind in "Incident" Harriet Beecher Stowe

I was prepping an example of 19th century magic lantern slides using the story of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The story, written in the years leading up to the civil war revealed the hardships of the enslaved. It was very popular but also helped to solidify the polarization of the North and South. I also discovered two things that were personally interesting revelations. First, I had no idea that she was born here in Connecticut, and just a few towns away from me. Second, I had purchased a very old book at a sale recently because it was one the oldest I had seen (1819) and it involved someone from Cornwall Connecticut- a few towns away. I decided to give it a closer look. When I dug up the book in my collection I was stunned to find that it had been written by Harriet’s father Lyman Beecher! I can tell you from experience that if you dig in the past you are going to discover some very wild coincidences from time to time.

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