Henry Ward Beecher and the Second Presbyterian Church

In 1837, Presbyterians in the United States began to split over theological issues. The “Old School” Presbyterians of the first church wanted to maintain their religious views and were more tolerant of slavery. The “New School” supported abolition and reform. On November 13, 1838, the Second Presbyterian Church was created in Indianapolis. Fifteen members of the First Presbyterian Church founded it. Henry Ward Beecher, one of the most infamous preachers in the United States in the 19th century and brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe, became its first pastor. Beecher had initially been a pastor to the First Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, but accepted the position at the Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis in 1839. He was able to build the church into the second-largest Presbyterian Church in the state before he left in 1847 to preach in New York.

Beecher believed that music was an important way of teaching spiritual beliefs. He said that “there is more sound instruction given to a congregation by [proper use of music] than by almost any other [means].” His brother, Charles Beecher, led the choir of the well-known Church. Under his leadership, there were between forty and fifty singers. They often gave public performances. The song “Man the Lifeboat, Brother” was a favorite. Charles was a skilled organist and violinist and would accompany the choir. For the new church, he acquired a pump organ that had to be pumped by hand by the organist. The church would also bring to Indiana one of the first large concerts featuring music by renowned composers like Mozart and Haydn in December 1842. In fact, Henry Ward Beecher sang with the choir’s performance of Mozart’s Twelfth Mass during that concert.

The Second Presbyterian Church was not the only congregation that placed importance on the use of music in worship in Indianapolis. The First Baptist Church, established in 1822, had a choir. They would have the first pipe organ in the city installed in 1863. The First Presbyterian Church had a flute and string orchestra that was started around 1846 and lasted five years. Nearly every singer, music teacher, and orchestral director was linked to churches or church unions in the 19th century. The foundation of music in Indiana’s capital is built on the work of dedicated preachers, teachers, and performers through worship.