He was born on October 9, 1825, in
Fairfield,
Herkimer County, New York, the son of Rev. Allen R. Beach (1797–1879) and Amy Brown Beach (1803–c.1890). He graduated from
Union College in 1848, and was admitted to the bar in 1852. His first wife Abby A. Woodruff died in 1856. In 1862, he married Olivia H. Pickering, and they had one daughter, Amy. Active in politics as a
Democrat, Beach served as chairman of the
Jefferson County Democratic Committee, and was a delegate to numerous county and state party conventions. Jefferson County was a Republican stronghold, and Beach ran unsuccessfully for several offices, including county judge. He was a delegate to the
1860 and
1876 Democratic National Conventions. As a
Democrat, he was
Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1869 to 1872, elected in
1868 and
1870. He was
Secretary of State of New York from 1878 to 1879, elected in
1877 and defeated for re-election in
1879. He died on October 17, 1918, in
Rochester, New York. ==Sources==