John
Peck
John F. Peck, a prominent school teacher 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 descendant 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 winter's employment and the greater part of
his summer's 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,
I881, 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 children's paper and which now has a circulation of about
1,000. He is a faithful worker in the school-room and he possesses a rank among the best teachers of the county.
History of Rush County, Indiana, Brant & Fuller, 1887, pages 389-390.
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