James Peck (1747 - 1818)

Born 5 Jul 1747 in Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Died 14 Nov 1818 at age 71 in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States

Biography

James Peck was a son of Israel Peck and his wife Sarah, born at Warren, Rhode Island on 5 July 1747.^[1]

Ira Peck says that James married and settled in Sheffield, Massachusetts, where he and his wife died. They had two children: James, who died young, and Martha, who married James Austin on 8 August 1804.^[2]

James Peck is credited with Revolutionary War military service. James Peck of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, received a pension for his Revolutionary War service as a private in the Massachusetts line (Continental Army). The pension commenced in April 1818, when he was age 70, and was ended by his death on 14 November 1818.^[3] There are multiple Revolutionary War records for "James Peck" in Massachusetts,^[4] and it is difficult to determine which of the records correspond to this man. This James Peck can be assumed, however, to be the man of that name who is listed as having deserted from the 9th Massachusetts Regiment commanded by Col. Henry Jackson. That James Peck was a farmer, recorded as a resident of Pittsfield, Berkshire County, age 34, who enlisted in 1777 and deserted on 25 July 1781.^[5]

The 1800 U.S. Census recorded James Peck in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. His household consisted of four free white persons: one male and one female age 45 and above, one female age 10 to 15, and one male under 10.^[6]

James Peck died on 14 November 1818 and is buried in Hewins Cemetery, Sheffield, Massachusetts. The gravestone inscription reads: "In memory of James Peck who died Nov. 14, 1818. Aged 72 years." ^[7]

Physical Description

During the Revolutionary War, James Peck was described as 5 ft 9 in tall, with dark hair and a dark complexion.^[5]

Research Notes

Other Revolutionary War records

Another James Peck who had Revolutionary War service is James Peck (1754-1834), who can be assumed to be associated with with records that identify James Peck with the town of Rehoboth.

One James Peck is listed as a private on the Sept. 9th 1778 roll of Capt. James Cooper's Company in the 12th Massachusetts Battalion commanded by Col. James Bradford.^[8]

War of 1812?

A James Peck (this man in his 60s? his son? someone entirely different?) is recorded as a lieutenant from Sept. 14 to Sept. 30, 1814, in Captain A. Jones' Company, Lieutenant Colonel S. K. Chamberlin's Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. The company was raised at Otis, Massachusetts, and vicinity and served at Boston. ^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Vital Record of Rhode Island, Warren Births, page 84. Accessed at Ancestry.com. "PECK, James, of Izrael and Sarah, July 5, 1747."
2. ↑ Peck, page 252.
3. ↑ United States Senate. The Pension Roll of 1835.4 vols. 1968 Reprint, with index. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1992. Vol. 1, page 340. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60514/images/pensionroll1835i-002107.
4. ↑ Massachusetts. Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. 17 volumes. Boston, MA, USA: Wright & Potter Printing, 1896-1908. Vol. 12, page 48, accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62337/images/7726-volume12-0049.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Microfilm Publication M246, 138 rolls; NAID: 602384; War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93; The National Archives in Washington, D.C. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/569671:4282. Note: It is not clear if the age on his record is the age at enlistment or the age at desertion. This James Peck would have been age 34 in 1781, the date of desertion.
6. ↑ United States Census, 1800. Enumeration sheet for Sheffield, Berkshire, Massachusetts; Series: M32; Roll: 13; Page: 229; Image: 229; Family History Library Film: 205611. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7590/images/4440899_00229; indexed at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/124232:7590.
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71427699/james-peck: accessed 28 December 2023), memorial page for James Peck (5 Jul 1747–14 Nov 1818), Find a Grave Memorial ID 71427699, citing Hewins Cemetery, Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Mark Wing (contributor 47348447).
8. ↑ Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Microfilm Publication M246, 138 rolls; NAID: 602384; War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93; The National Archives in Washington, D.C. 10th Regiment, 1778-1780 (Folders 13-14) - 15th Regiment, 1777-1780 (Folder 19). Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1006118:4282
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Adjutant General Military Records, 1631-1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: California State Library; Sacramento; Records of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia in the War of 1812, page 31. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1873/images/32501_1220702381_0128-00050.

• Peck, Ira Ballou. A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck (Alfred Mudge & Son, Boston, 1868)