George Peck (clergyman)
Encyclopedia
George Peck, born August 8, 1797, in Middlefield, New York
, and died on May 20, 1876, in Scranton, Pennsylvania
. He is buried in Forty Fort Meeting, near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
. He was the son of Luther Peck, a blacksmith, and his wife, Annis nee Collar. He and his four brothers became ministers in the Methodist Episcopal Church
. One, Jesse T. Peck, became a bishop. The trend in his family toward the Methodist ministry led his grandson, Stephen Crane
, to say: "Upon my mother's side, everyone in my family became a Methodist clergyman as soon as they could walk, the ambling-nag, saddlebag, exhorting kind."
, during which he visited small villages and hamlets throughout western New York, preached in the open air and people's parlors, occasionally in a church, without remuneration. In 1816, he joined the Genesee Conference.
He also helped to found Cazenovia Seminary
, and became its president in 1835. Later, he convinced local farmers and businessmen to fund a Methodist Episcopal Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania, called Wyoming Seminary
. After several two year pastoral assignments (two years was the standard in the Methodist Episcopal church at the time), he became editor of the Methodist Quarterly Review, the denomination's primary periodical, and general book editor of the denomination's publishing program from 1848-51; he followed this with a term as editor of the Christian Advocate
, from 1852-53.
In the 1860s and 1870s, he took an active role in supporting the Holiness movement
. The movement gained widespread support for its emphasis on which called upon adult conversions through which individuals sought Christian perfection
; its sentimentality also created controversy and its critics claimed that the movement undermined the reality of the social gospel.
. They had four children, George M. (1820-1897) and Luther Wesley (1825-1900), who became ministers in the same conference as their father, Wilbur Fiske (1833-1900?), a medical doctor, and a daughter. Their daughter, Mary Helen, married Jonathan Townley Crane
, of the Newark New Jersey Conference, and was the mother of Stephen Crane
. His wife died on July 31, 1881, at the home of her son, Rev. George M. Peck, in Clifford, Pennsylvania.
, and a history of the Wesley family
.
He also published several tracts of his own work, most which were connected to the Holiness movement of the 1840s and 1850s.
His Sketches & incidents, or, A budget from the saddle-bags of a superannuated itinerant and Life and Times of Reverend George Peck, DD, offered insight into the challenges facing the itinerant clergyman, or circuit rider, as they had been called; by the time he published his memoirs in 1874, these roles for clergyman had long since disappeared.
Middlefield, New York
Middlefield is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,249 at the 2000 census.The Town of Middlefield is in the northeast part of the county...
, and died on May 20, 1876, in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
. He is buried in Forty Fort Meeting, near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. He was the son of Luther Peck, a blacksmith, and his wife, Annis nee Collar. He and his four brothers became ministers in the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
. One, Jesse T. Peck, became a bishop. The trend in his family toward the Methodist ministry led his grandson, Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
, to say: "Upon my mother's side, everyone in my family became a Methodist clergyman as soon as they could walk, the ambling-nag, saddlebag, exhorting kind."
Career
George Peck received his Exhorter's License in 1815 and, in 1816, his local preacher's license. He served a year on the Cortland Circuit as a circuit riderCircuit rider (Religious)
Circuit rider is a popular term referring to clergy in the earliest years of the United States who were assigned to travel around specific geographic territories to minister to settlers and organize congregations...
, during which he visited small villages and hamlets throughout western New York, preached in the open air and people's parlors, occasionally in a church, without remuneration. In 1816, he joined the Genesee Conference.
He also helped to found Cazenovia Seminary
Cazenovia Seminary
Cazenovia Seminary was an academic seminary of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was located in Cazenovia, New York, U.S.A.. It was founded in 1825, at the instigation of George Peck and several other prominent clergymen in the area...
, and became its president in 1835. Later, he convinced local farmers and businessmen to fund a Methodist Episcopal Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania, called Wyoming Seminary
Wyoming Seminary
Wyoming Seminary, founded in 1844 and currently led by President Kip P. Nygren, is a private college preparatory school located in the Wyoming Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in Kingston and Forty Fort It is near the Susquehanna River and the city of Wilkes-Barre...
. After several two year pastoral assignments (two years was the standard in the Methodist Episcopal church at the time), he became editor of the Methodist Quarterly Review, the denomination's primary periodical, and general book editor of the denomination's publishing program from 1848-51; he followed this with a term as editor of the Christian Advocate
Christian Advocate
The Christian Advocate was a weekly newspaper published in New York by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It began publication in 1826 and by the mid-1830s had become the largest circulating weekly in America with more than 30,000 subscribers and an estimated 150,000 readers....
, from 1852-53.
In the 1860s and 1870s, he took an active role in supporting the Holiness movement
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
. The movement gained widespread support for its emphasis on which called upon adult conversions through which individuals sought Christian perfection
Christian perfection
Christian perfection, also known as perfect love; heart purity; the baptism of the Holy Spirit; the fullness of the blessing; Christian holiness; the second blessing; and entire sanctification, is a Christian doctrine which holds that the heart of the regenerant Christian may attain a state of...
; its sentimentality also created controversy and its critics claimed that the movement undermined the reality of the social gospel.
Family
On June 19, 1819, he married Mary Meyers of Forty Fort, PennsylvaniaForty Fort, Pennsylvania
Forty Fort is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,579 at the 2000 census. It neighbors the boroughs of Kingston, Wyoming, and Swoyersville...
. They had four children, George M. (1820-1897) and Luther Wesley (1825-1900), who became ministers in the same conference as their father, Wilbur Fiske (1833-1900?), a medical doctor, and a daughter. Their daughter, Mary Helen, married Jonathan Townley Crane
Jonathan Townley Crane
Jonathan Townley Crane was an American clergyman, author and abolitionist. He was born in Connecticut Farms, in Union Township, New Jersey, and is most widely known as the father of writer Stephen Crane.-Early years :...
, of the Newark New Jersey Conference, and was the mother of Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
. His wife died on July 31, 1881, at the home of her son, Rev. George M. Peck, in Clifford, Pennsylvania.
Published works
As director of the Methodist Episcopal Church's publishing concern, Peck was responsible for several historical biographies in what was then the new style of historiography, drawing on the use of original documents. These included a biography of John WycliffeJohn Wycliffe
John Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...
, and a history of the Wesley family
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
.
He also published several tracts of his own work, most which were connected to the Holiness movement of the 1840s and 1850s.
- Christian exertion, or, The duty of private members of the Church of Christ to labor for the souls of men. s.n. 1845.
- National Evils and their Remedies: a discourse delivered on the occasion of the national fast, May 14, 1841 in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Greene-Street, New-York New York. G. Lane, 1841.
- Appeal from tradition and common sense, or an answer to the question, what constitutes the divine rule of faith and practice. New York. G. Lane, 1844.
- The Scripture doctrine of Christian perfection stated and defended: with practical illustrations and advices. In a series of lectures. Abridged from the author’s larger work. New York, Lane and Tippett, 1845.
- Slavery and the Episcopacy: being an examination of Dr. Bascom’s review of the reply of the majority to the protest of the minority of the late General conference of the M.E. Church, in the case of Bishop Andrew. New York, G. Lane & C.B. Tippett, 1845.
- Scripture doctrine of Christian perfection, with practical illustrations and advices in a series of lectures. New York, Lane & Scott, 1851.
- Lives of the apostles and evangelists. New-York, Pub. by Lane & Scott, for the Sunday-school union of the Methodist Episcopal church. 1851.
- The formation of manly character: a series of lectures to young men. New York, Carlton & Phillips, 1853.
- Wyoming (Pennsylvania) its history, stirring incidents and romantic adventures. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1858.
- Scripture doctrine of Christian perfection stated and defended: with a critical and historical examination of the controversy, ancient and modern. 1860.
- Early Methodism within the bounds of the old Genesee Conference. 1860.
- Our country, its trial and triumph, A series of discourses suggested by the varying events of the war for the union. New York, Carlton & Porter, 1865.
His Sketches & incidents, or, A budget from the saddle-bags of a superannuated itinerant and Life and Times of Reverend George Peck, DD, offered insight into the challenges facing the itinerant clergyman, or circuit rider, as they had been called; by the time he published his memoirs in 1874, these roles for clergyman had long since disappeared.
Biographies
- Peck, Rev. J.K., Luther Peck and His Five Sons, 1897.
- Weyburn, S. Fletcher, History of a distinctive family of Scranton and Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Lackawanna historical society, 1929.
Sources
- Chaffee, Amasa Franklin "George Peck," History of the Wyoming Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. New York: Eaton & Mains, 1904, pp. 220-223. Found in USGenWeb Archives. Accessed 26 August 2009.