William Peck (abt. 1600 - 1694)

Born about 1600 in London, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 14 Oct 1694 at about age 94 in Lyme, New London, Connecticut Colony

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William Peck migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 258) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

William was born about 1600/1604. The New Haven town record says he was age 90 at death in 1694. His gravestone, now located at the Grove Street Cemetery, says he died age 93 in 1694.^[1][2][3]

Uncertain Origin

It is believed, because of his early association with the settlers of the Colony of New Haven, many of whom were from London and vicinity, that William was probably born in the vicinity of London, England. His parents are unknown. Darius Peck states that "A persistent effort to trace the line of his progenitors involving much time and a large expense has proved unsuccessful."^[4]

He is not known to be a son of William Peck as previously given, and is definitely not William, son of Edward Peck, sergeant-at-arms to Charles II, as stated in the Selleck Memorial with Collateral Connections.^[5]

One possible origin (unproven): Burke's American Families claims that "William Peck, of Knoston Colchester, Essex, living in the sixteenth century, was nineteenth in direct line of descent from John Peck, of Belton, Yorkshire, a descendant of Hamo Peche, living in the twelfth century. He had a son William." Burke alleged that his son William was the immigrant to New Haven Colony about 1639. ^[6]

Joseph Peck and Henry Peck also lived in New Haven. No relationship to these persons has been proven.

Marriages

William had two known wives.

• He married as his 1st, to Elizabeth (Unknown). She died 5 December 1683 in Lyme,^[1] possibly while visiting her son.^[7]
• He married as his 2nd, to Sarah (Unknown) Holt, widow of William Holt. She died in 1717.^[1][8]

Immigration

William may have sailed aboard the Hector with his wife Elizabeth and son Jeremiah.^[7] This voyage, which arrived at Boston 26 June, 1637, also included Governors Eaton and Hopkins, Rev. John Davenport, and the son of the Earl of Marlborough.^[7] However, William did not sign the New Haven Fundamental Agreement 4 June 1639, with the other first signers. He signed at a later time.^[9]

New Haven

William was admitted to the New Haven Court 29th of 8 M: 1640.^[10]

Jacobus in his "The Henry Peck Family..." writes that William Peck "was an original proprietor and is the only one of the three [Henry, William, and Joseph Peck] whose name appears in the list of planters and estates which was clearly drawn up as early as 1640-1, though copied into the records in 1643."^[11] At that time William had a household of four persons, an estate valued at £12, and about 25 acres in granted land. His rate was £00-06-10. [NHCR1 p. 92

There was a meeting about casting lots for the east meadows and the meadows in the Mill River in Newhaven on 17th 1st month in 1641. "Goodm Peck" receive a small lot on the bank side by the west creek.^[10]Another meeting held 3rd month 1641, "Bro: Pecke chosen measurer for the towne to fill and strike all the corne thatt comes into the plantatio[n] from other places, for w[hi]ch he is to have 6d for every score bushells w[hi]ch he measureth, an a halfe peny for every bushell vunder tenne bushells, the one halfe to be payd by the buyer, and the other halfe by the seller." You will find him listed among the 1643 New Haven Colony planters on page 91 of Hoadly's "Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven..."^[10]

In 1659, he was chosen Deacon and served in this capacity until his death.^[7][12]

He is among the proprietors of New Haven in 1685 along with Joseph Peck and Benjamin Peck,^[13][14] who may be the sons of Henry Peck baptized in 1647.

Later Years

William was active in New Haven as late as Dec 1687. Deacon William Peck was a trustee of the Hopkins Grammar school and in this capacity requested that the town lay out land for this purpose.^[15]

William wrote his will in 1689 at New Haven in which he mentioned his second wife and children Jeremiah, Joseph, John, Elizabeth Andrews and her son Samuel Andrews, and Jonathan Atwater, his grandson-in-law.^[16]

Where did he die?

The death of William Peck was recorded in New Haven and Lyme, Connecticut. His gravestone, in New Haven, records the date Oct 1694 (but currently looks like the 14th) age 93.^[2]

• New Haven: "Deacon W^m Peck dyed y^e 4^th of October aged 90 as s^d 1694." in New Haven, Connecticut.^[17]
• Lyme: Deacon William Peck died Oct. 4, 1694, ae 93 years.^[18]

The will of William Peck of New Haven is dated 9 March 1689 and recorded in New Haven.^[19]

His inventory was taken in New Haven 11 Oct 1694.^[19][16]

Because he probably died in Lyme, with his death being additionally recorded in New Haven, The Great Migration Directory indicates that he settled in New Haven and then Lyme.^[20] It doesn't appear that he had lands or left records, other than his death, in Lyme. It is likely that he spent his declining days, however long that was, with his son Joseph and was returned to New Haven for burial.

Last Will and Testament

William's will was written 9 March 1688/9. The legatees were sons Jeremiah Peck, Joseph Peck, and John Peck, daughter Elizabeth Andrews, grandson Samuel Andrews, grandson-in-law Jonathan Atwater and wife Sarah.^[21]

Children

Children of William and Elizabeth:

1. Jeremiah Peck,^[1] b before 1637
2. John Peck, b. c. 1638 ^[1]
3. Joseph Peck, bpt Jan 17, 1640/1^[1]
4. Elizabeth Peck, bpt 6 May 1643;^[1] m 1661 to Samuel Andrews^[22]

Eleazar Peck, bpt 12 March 1643/4 and Elizabeth, bpt March 24, 1650/1 reported in "The Record of Baptisms in New Haven" in the Register of 1847,^[23] do not belong to this family but were, instead, children of Henry Peck.^[24]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Donald Lines Jacobus, Families of Ancient New Haven, Vol 6, 1929, Page 1383-5. View on FamilySearch (online page 40).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 16 November 2019), memorial page for William Peck (1601–14 Oct 1694), Find A Grave: Memorial #5121931, citing Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA ; Maintained by Nareen, et al (contributor 46613568) .
3. ↑ Gravestones were moved from the Cemetery on the current New Haven Green to the Center street Cemetery in 1821.
4. ↑ Peck, Darius, (1877) A Genealogical Account of the Descendants in the Male Line of William Peck ... Hudson: Bryan & Goeltz, printers, Archive.org 14 August 2016 (Pages 7-).
5. ↑ Selleck, William Edwin, Selleck Memorial with Collateral Connections (Chicago: privately printed, 1916) 73 . Although Edward had a son William, that William was in England in 1676 petitioning the court. See Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series ...: Charles II, 1660-1685. 28 v Jan 1907 pp 524, 525
6. ↑ Burke, Sir John Bernard, Burke's American Families with British Ancestry (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983 - Reprint Burke's Gen. and Heraldic History of landed Gentry).
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Whittemore, Henry, (1898) Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America, Vol 3. New York: Archive.org accessed 14 August 2016 (Vol 3, Page 409). A lot of this is copied from the earlier Genealogical Dictionary of New England by Savage, but Whittemore translated the initial NH as New Hampshire instead of New Haven.
8. ↑ Mead, Daniel M., (1857) A History of the Town of Greenwich, Fairfield County, Conn. ... New York: Baker & Godwin, Archive.org accessed 14 August 2016 (Page 295).
9. ↑ p. 18 Hoadly 1
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Charles J. Hoadly. "Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, 1638-1649" vol. 1, pp 44, 50, 51, 92.see at archive.org
11. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) Donald Lines Jacobus. "The Henry Peck Family of New Haven, Conn. in the Line of Eleazer, Eleazer, Charles" Vol. 121, p. 81.subscribers
12. ↑ Franklin Bowditch Dexter, comp., Historical Catalogue of the Members of the First Church of Christ in New Haven, Connecticut (Center church) A. D. 1639-1914. (New Haven, 1914) p. 4 "1639? #41 William Peck Born 1611; married 204 Deacon 1659-1694 * died Oct 1694." p. 14 "#204 1656 Sarah (William) Holt; mother of 913; next married William Peck (41) died 1717"
13. ↑ (1847) The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston: Samuel G. Drake, Archive.org accessed 14 August 2016 {Vol 1, Page 158).
14. ↑ Powers, Zara Jones (editor). Ancient Town Records Vol III. New Haven Town Records 1684-1769. (New Haven, New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1962.) p. 321.
15. ↑ Powers, Ancient Town Records Vol III. pp 20, 22, 54.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} New Haven probate records. Vol 2 pp 157, 158. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92K-G9J3-L?i=352&cat=347594
17. ↑ Vital Records of New Haven 1649-1850 Part I. (Hartford: The Connecticut Society of the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America, 1917.) p. 79
18. ↑ The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records - White, Lorraine Cook, ed. (Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1994-2002) Vol. Lyme, Page 153

    • Peck, William, Deac., d. Oct. 4, 1694, AE 93 y. Vol. L-1, Page 17
    • Peck, William, Deac., d. Oct. 4, 1694, AE 93 y. Vol. L-2, Page 129

19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} “New Haven Probate Records, Vol. 1-2, 1647-1703”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92K-G9J3-L  : 14 March 2021), New Haven, Connecticut, FHL microfilm 007626739, image 353-354. New Haven Probate Record, 1668-1703, Vol. 2, Part 2, page 157-159.
20. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson. "The Great Migration Directory, Immigrants to New England 1620-1640" The New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA (2015). p. 258.
21. ↑ New Haven (Conn.) probate records. 1688/9-1703 Vol 2 pt 2 pp 157, 158
22. ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines Families of Ancient New Haven ([CD]Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1981[originally] Rome, N.Y. and New Haven, Conn., 1922), 1, p 40
23. ↑ (1847) The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston: Samuel G. Drake, Archive.org accessed 14 August 2016 {Vol 9, Page 362).
24. ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines. The Henry Peck Family of New Haven, Conn. in the line of Eleazer², Eleazer³, Charles⁴, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., April 1967). Vol 121, Page 81]. NEHGS Member link

See also:

• Jacobus, Donald Lines. "Solving a Peck Problem." The American Genealogist (The American Genealogist, Barrington, RI, 1936) page 122. NEHGS Member link. This article corrects the Ancestry of Joseph Peck m 1758 in New Haven. William¹, Joseph², Joseph³, Joseph⁴
• Cutter, William Richard, New England Families, CD-Local and Family Histories: CT, 1600's - 1800's, (Produced in collaboration with the Genealogical Publishing Company, 2000), vol 4, p 2029. "... one of the founders of the New Haven colony. In the spring of 1638, with his wife and son Jeremiah, he immigrated from England, probably in the company of Governor Eaton in the ship 'Hector,' arriving at Boston from England, June 26, 1637."
• Peck, Maurice E.. Peck genealogy. Sarasota, Fla.: unknown, 1972. Nothing not already known about William.
• Peck, Ira Ballou. A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck, Who Emigrated with His Family to this Country in 1638; and Records of His Father's and Grandfather's Families in England; with the Pedigree Extending Back from Son to Father for Twenty Generations; with Their Coat of Arms, and Copies of Wills. Also, an Appendix, Giving an Account of the Boston and Hingham Pecks ...(1868) Has the usual information
• Powers, Zara Jones (editor). Ancient Town Records Vol III. New Haven Town Records 1684-1769. (New Haven, New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1962.) Index starts at p. 817. Additional minor references: William Peck: abutter 47; (Danl Sperry, m. Wm granddaughter, has land rights thru Peck), 267&n 375&n; Sep 1684, reports on First ch and Mr. Pierpont 7-8; appt to committee to encourage Mr. Pierpont to settle in NH 8-9;
• Anderson, Robert C. The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1640 : a Concise Compendium. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 2015. Entry text: "Peck, William: Unknown; 1640; New Haven, Lyme [NHCR 1:44, 50, 51, 92; NHChR 1; FANH 1383-85; TAG 13:122; NEHGR 121:81]." Note: TAG 13:122 "The correct descent of Joseph[5] Peck"

For informational purposes (unproven line): Peck-217 relationship to Plantagenet-70 (King Edward III of England). Edward III is the 12th great grandfather of William

1. William is the son of William Peck [unproven]

2. William is the son of Stephen Peck [unknown confidence]

3. Stephen is the son of John Peck [unknown confidence]

4. John is the son of John Peck [unknown confidence]

5. John is the son of John Peck Esquire [unknown confidence]

6. John is the son of Richard Peck [unknown confidence]

7. Richard is the son of Joan (Harrington) Peck [unknown confidence]

8. Joan is the daughter of Matilda (Clifford) Sutton [unknown confidence]

9. Maud is the daughter of Thomas Clifford [confident]

10. Thomas is the son of Elizabeth (Percy) Neville [confident]

11. Elizabeth is the daughter of Elizabeth (Mortimer) Camoys [unknown confidence]

12. Elizabeth is the daughter of Philippa (Plantagenet) Mortimer [unknown confidence]

13. Philippa is the daughter of Lionel (Plantagenet) of Antwerp KG [confident]

14. Lionel is the son of Edward (Plantagenet) of England [confident]

This makes Edward III the 12th great grandfather of William.