Abel Beach

Abel Beach (February 7, 1829 – June 19, 1899) was an American poet, attorney, state auditor, and college professor. He was one of the six founders of the international fraternity Theta Delta Chi.

Early life

Beach was born in Groton, New York in 1829. In 1846, he enrolled in Union College in Schenectady, New York his sophomore year. His classmates at Union included Chester A. Aurthur and Daniel Butterfield.

While at Union, he was a founder of Theta Delta Chi fraternity in 1847. He also helped designed the fraternity's badge and wrote its motto. In what should have been his senior year, he taught school. He tied for first place in his class and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Career After graduating from college, he taught school at the Ithaca Academy in Ithaca, New York. He was one of three faculty members for what was then called the Mechanics Academy in the spring 1855 term. His appointment was approved by the board on March 15, 1855, and his pay was $130 for the seven weeks of the term. The state capital of Iowa moved from Iowa City to Des Moines in 1857, necessitating Beach's move to Des Moines.

Corn was one of the crops he grew on his farm; in 1860, he had the best bushel of yellow corn at the fair. He left the farm for Iowa City where he pursued various businesses. Later, he received a patent for a writing tablet.

Around 1865, he started a book and stationery mercantile, Beach & Allin, with R. A. Allin. His clients were veterans of the Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Mexican–American War. He was also affiliated with the Bureau of Pensions. He wrote and recited poems for special events, such as the Johnson County Pioneers' Gala Day in 1892 where, according to the local newspaper, his recitation was "thrilling". However, a review of one of poetry collections noted, "Eager as we were to find real poetry in his Western Airs, our laborious research proved unavailing...." A modern author, Clarence Andrews, consider's Beach's poetry to be "sentimental and ordinary".

Beach also contributed articles and prose that were published in various newspapers. One of his essays, "Modern Architecture: A Plea for the Establishment of a Purely American School", was published in the Chicago Journal in 1888 and reprinted by newspapers in the midwest.

Personal life Shortly after graduating from college, Beach contracted a bronchial condition. They had three sons, two who survived to adulthood. He delivered an address and was honored at the fraternity's 50th convention in New York City in 1898; at the time, he was one of its two surviving founders. He was also active in the Methodist Episcopal Church. P.S. The Mysteries of Life and Other Late Poems: Supplemental to Western Airs. Iowa City, Iowa: [s.n.], 1897

Poetry anthologies

Local and National Poets of America: With Biographical Sketches and Choice Selections from Over One Thousand Living American Poets. Thomas William Herringshaw, ed. (1890). Chicago: American Publishers' Association, 1890. Poets and Poetry of Iowa. Thomas William Herringshaw, editor. Chicago, American Publishers' Association, 1894.