Posted on: Hancock Co. In Biographies
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Surname: Smith, Wadsworth, Smith, Lewis, Leonard, Eaton
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History of Rush County Indiana
1888
Brant & Fuller
Chicago
John F. Peck, a prominent schoolteacher of Center Township, was born in
Hancock County, this State, March 17, 1856. He was the son of James and
Minerva (Smith) Peck, who were natives of Connecticut and North Carolina,
respectively, both of English descent. His father was a direct descendent
of Captain Wadsworth, who concealed the charter of Connecticut in the oak,
and his mother could trace her ancestral lineage back to Captain John Smith.
His father was the son of Erastus and Mary (Lewis) Peck, and his mother
was the daughter of John and Prudence Smith. When he was two years old
his parents came to Rush County, and settled in the village of Arlington,
where the father worked at the trade of a carpenter, and also served as
Justice of the Peace, and where our subject was raised. In 1875, the family
returned to Hancock County, and located in Carrollton, where our subject
made his home with his parents until his marriage. At twenty years of age
he took up the vocation of teacher, and this has furnished his winters
employment and the greater part of his summers employment ever since.
He has now taught for eleven consecutive winters, five of which were in
Hancock County, three in Shelby County, and three in Rush County. He taught
in the graded schools of Carrollton four years, during three of which he
was principal of the school. He was married December 24, 1881, to Miss
Nannie B. Leonard, who is also a native of Hancock County, born February
27, 1865. She was the daughter of Rufus B. and Harriet (Eaton) Leonard,
who were natives of North Carolina, and Indiana, respectively. Her father
was the son of John and Levina Leonard, and her mother was the daughter
of William and Sarah Eaton. Our subject and wife are the parents of two
children: Stella May, born November 16, 1882, and Ralph Waldo, born March
15, 1886. In politics, Mr. Peck is a Republican. In October 1887, Mr. Peck
began the publication of an educational monthly, entitled The Little Messenger,
which is designed to be a childrens paper and which now has a circulation
of about 1,000. He is a faithful worker in the schoolroom and he possesses
a rank among the best teachers of the county.