December 26, 2017

December 26 is the day that upper and middle-class Victorians celebrated as “Boxing Day.” Church alms boxes were broken open and their contents distributed to the poor; servants were given the day off and sent home with presents and boxes of Christmas leftovers for their families. Jacksonville’s prominent 19th Century pioneer Beekman family honored this tradition—sometimes on the early side. When two local boys wanted to be part of the Presbyterian Church’s Christmas Eve celebration but lacked appropriate attire, Cornelius Beekman bought them both new suits.