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Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 128 - 129 |
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ALVAH PECK
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Among the sturdy sons of the Empire state to secure congenial homes in Wexford county, Michigan, and achieve success in various avenues of endeavor is the representative citizen of Hanover township whose name appears at the head of this article. Alvah Peck is a native of Niagara county, New York, where his birth occurred on the 5th day of May, 1834, being the son of Alvah and Lovica (Ketch) Peck, both born, reared and married in Vermont, and both now sleeping the sleep that knows no waking, near the old family home where their son first saw the light of day. By reason of the death of his parents, which occurred when he was quite young, the subject was reared by friends who took him to Steuben county and it was there he spent his childhood and youth on a farm and received his educational training in the public schools. Early thrown upon his own resources, he learned to rely upon himself and to make the most of his opportunities, and he grew to full stature of manhood with a proper appreciation of the dignity and responsibility of life. On the 27th of May, 1855, in Ontario county, New York, he was united in marriage with Miss Julia Cronk, daughter of John and Margaret (Wilson) Cronk, and from that time until 1882 lived principally in the county of Steuben, devoting his attention chiefly to agricultural pursuits, which he prosecuted with fair success and profit. Mrs. Peck was born at Naples, Ontario county, March 30, 1838, grew to maturity and received her education in that town and it was there that her parents died and were buried. In the spring of 1882 Mr. Peck disposed of his interests in his native state and moved to Wexford county, Michigan, selecting for his location a tract of land in section 6, Hanover township, which he has since developed and improved, converting it into one of the best and most valuable farms in that part of the county. Of the one hundred acres constituting his place seventy-four are in a high state of cultivation, and on this he raises abundantly all crops grown in the latitude, devoting especial attention to horticulture, which he has found not only a pleasant and agreeable pursuit, but a far more reliable source of income than any other branch of. husbandry. In the material development of his township and the advancement of its local interests Mr. Peck has manifested. a commendable spirit, in recognition of which fact he has been honored at different times with official positions, proving under all circumstances a capable, painstaking and popular public servant. Keeping in close touch with the trend of modern progress, and having faith in the future growth and prosperity of his adopted county, he has labored earnestly to promote the general welfare of the community, lending his aid to all worthy enterprises for its material improvement and using his best endeavors to bring about better social conditions and disseminate a stronger and more steadfast moral sentiment. His position in the esteem and friendship of those with whom he mingles has long been assured; he does honor to the community which is proud to recognize his citizenship and, being essentially a man of the people, with their interests at heart, his influence has always been on the right side of every question or issue affecting the public welfare. Politically Mr. Peck is a Republican and as such has been a factor of considerable weight in local affairs, laboring zealously for his party and contributing not a little to its success since becoming a resident of this county. Religiously he belongs, with his wife, to the Disciple church in Wexford township, both being zealous members and active workers, also liberal supporters in spreading the gospel both at home and abroad. Personally Mr. Peck is a most affable gentleman, possessing a pleasing presence and genial manners, which, with other amiable qualities and characteristics, have won him the respect of neighbors and friends and a worthy prestige in the community which all recognize and appreciate. To the subject and wife have been born four children, namely: Eugene; Belle, now Mrs. William Mohler; Elwood, late prominent attorney of Cadillac, whose sketch and portrait appear elsewhere, and Nellie, who married Roy Simmons, of Woodland, Michigan. Of the home life and social relations of Mr. and Mrs. Peck it is unnecessary to speak except in a general way, as both are widely and favorably known, all having the pleasure of their acquaintance bearing cheerful testimony to their high standing and sterling worth. A courteous gentleman of the old school, the subject possesses the happy faculty of winning friends and binding them to him with bonds which time or circumstances rarely sever, the same qualities being characteristic of his amiable and loving companion, whose gentle disposition, kindly words and helpful influence, like benedictions, have lightened the burdens an brightened the pathway of many of earth's tired, careworn sons and daughters and whose whole life has been a simple, though grand, poem of rugged, toilsome duty faithfully and uncomplainingly done. Those who have met Mr. and Mrs. Peck within the inner circle of their domestic fireside, where they can be seen at their best, are most profuse in their praise, and it is the prayer of all such as well as the universal wish of others that their lives may be spared many years in which to be a continued blessing, to the world as they have been in time gone by. |