Quote by Henry Ward Beecher and History of the "Pinky Ring"

"The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't."
by Henry Ward Beecher

Henry Ward Beecher was born in June 1813 in Connecticut and died in March of 1887 with a massive cerebral hemorrhage. He was a prominent, theologian, political reformer, abolitionist and against bigotry of all kinds. He was the most stirring religious orators of the 19th Century, often supporting unpopular causes. He was for Woman's suffrage, ablution of slavery, He did not believe in Hell and defended Darwin's theory of evolution and believed in living the outdoor life. His thoughts were not very original and he didn't start any movements but attracted many people both religious and non-religious folks to his writing and church. With his oration, he helped them to understand the conflicts of life. Harriet Beecher Stowe was his sister and other of his 16 siblings in his family were famous also.

He was married and had 10 children. This did not stop his having several affairs of the heart, one of which almost did him in. He was involved in an adultery trial that was one of the most famous trials of the 19th century. He never admitted to having been an adulterer but did say he had no regrets about things that he had to learn morally, or the battering he had gotten in the trial helped him to grow.

Henry was a handsome preacher with long wavy hair.and often considered a sexy celebrity, a popular philosopher and eloquent preacher. He also believed we needed to adapt to our culture to the changing times. One of his sister's (Victoria Woodhall) believed in and expounded free love as a way of life. He of course denied it and rejected her ideas. She was sent to jail later for writing about her ideas on free love and this caused n immense split in his family.

One amazing thing that he was a party to in his church, “The Plymouth Churchâ€, they bought slaves freedom for many. One such slave was named Pinky. In order to raise enough money to set this slave free in 1860, one person place a gold ring in the collection plate. They later gave Pinky the ring on the day of her freedom. Many years later, she returned the ring to the church with her thanks. Even today Pinky's ring and the paid receipt for her freedom is on view in that church in Brooklyn, New York. . This is probably the story behind the so-called famous “Pinky ring†and what it promises.