Our Family: Peckham, Moore, Webb, Walley

By Shirley Niles

Stories for the family to enjoy and learn about about our ancestors, where they came from, what they did for a living, where they lived and who their children were.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: May 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781977265654

Shirley Niles

The author was raised on a dairy farm in upstate New York after WWII, when life was safe and secure. Graduated and later married, raised children and worked as an executive secretary and administrative professional for over 45 years in an aerospace company in Central New York. Retirement began many years of research and writing the family ancestry.

Book preview

Our Family

Peckham, Moore, Webb, Walley

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2023 Shirley Niles

v1.0

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DEDICATION

This story of my collective ancestral lines is dedicated primarily to my mother, Jennie Webb Peckham, and to all my family members who have contributed stories or data, without whom the book would be just a collection of facts. I hope the family will enjoy all the stories we have been able to find or recall and that it will be fascinating reading for current and future generations.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Peckham Family

Chapter 2: Moore Family

Chapter 3: Webb Family

Chapter 4: Walley Family

Chapter 5: Tompkins, Kelsey, Cannonsville

Chapter 6: Famous People that are Distant Cousins

Preface

It had been my plan for many years that after my retirement I would put together a book of stories about my family. I wanted something that would give my children and future generations an interesting document that included not only family names and dates but stories they would enjoy reading.

It was my good fortune to meet someone who had a similar interest and had done the same for his family: J. Robert Brunelle. With the help of my mother, Jennie Peckham, who happily recorded many memories of her childhood and mine, and the invaluable assistance of Bob Brunelle in guiding me along the way, I have gathered a wealth of information for present and future generations to enjoy.

Many others have helped by supplying data or stories. To all of those that I have mentioned in the Acknowledgement, I am extremely grateful. I particularly want to give much credit to my cousin Helen Webb Hacker and her husband Lou who gathered a wealth of information on the Walley and Webb families. I was also inspired by my Aunt Bea Frosch Peckham who sparked my interest in the Peckham ancestry.

Shirley A. Niles

Smyrna, New York

Acknowledgements

Jennie Webb Peckham

Dr. Louis Hacker

Helen Webb Hacker

Beatrice Frosch Peckham

Grant Moore Peckham

Grant Howard Peckham

Dorothy Webb Brizzee

Frances Sherman Webb

Joseph Robert Brunelle

Jacob Wallace

June Beadle Niles

Paul E. Niles

Gladys Marian Moore Maguire

Celia Corkwell

Dorothea Cook Brundege

Helen Creagh Veres

Ford Walley

Jacquie Moore Mirsky

Alton Carpenter

Prologue

The surname Peckham is derived from the parish of Peckham in the County of Kent, England. The suffix ham in the early Saxon language signified home or town. Peckham, therefore, means the town of Peck or the home of Peck. Eminent authorities give the original home of the family as Scandinavia and the time of its founding in England as the eleventh century, shortly after the Norman Conquest. Our ancestor John Peckham immigrated from England to the United States in 1634, looking for religious freedom, eventually becoming one of the first settlers of Portsmouth/Middletown/ Newport, Rhode Island.

Our first Moore ancestor came to this country from Ireland, possibly through England and then to Connecticut sometime prior to 1730 (my assumption is ca. 1725).

Our first Webb ancestor came to the United States in 1865 from England after having served in Her Majesty’s Army in the Crimean and other wars before leaving military service.

Our earliest Walley ancestor immigrated to this country from France in 1757 at the age of 15, being in poor health. His mother felt that he would do better in the cleaner air in the new world.

Descendants of these four families eventually settled in Delaware County and some of their stories are contained in this book.

DISCLAIMER:

There is much information in this book that was obtained by searching of records found on the internet. I cannot verify that all of it is accurate. I do hope that most of it is. I have been working on this information since I retired in 2006 so some of it may have changed since then (people moved, had children, gotten married or divorced, etc.).

CHAPTER 1

The Peckham Family

The earliest record we have of the Peckham family goes back to England in the twelfth century. The Peckhams of Rhode Island are from an ancient English family, the first member presented to history being John de Peckham who was on the Palestine Crusade in 1191 with Richard I. A subsequent John Peckham who died in 1292 was an English prelate at Oxford who taught discipline, morals etc. During the middle of the 13th century, the Franciscan Order in Europe had become one of the most learned institutions in the world. John Peckham (c. 1230 – 8 December 1292) became Archbishop of Canterbury (1279-1292) and Bonaventure, to become one of the famous Franciscan masters of Oxford. It is unknown whether the Archbishop is the same John that died in 1292. The following is a record of John as printed in Wikipedia:

John Peckham (or Pecham) (c. 1230 – 8 December 1292) was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Friar Minor about 1250. He studied at the University of Paris under Bonaventure, where he would later teach theology. From his teaching, he came into conflict with Thomas Aquinas, whom he debated on two occasions. Known as a conservative theologian, he opposed Aquinas’ views on the nature of the soul. Peckham also studied optics and astronomy, and his studies in those subjects were influenced by Roger Bacon.

In around 1270, Peckham returned to England, where he taught at the University of Oxford, and was elected the provincial minister of England (Minoriten) in 1275. After a brief stint in Rome, he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1279. His time as archbishop was marked by efforts to improve discipline in the clergy as well as reorganize the estates of his see. Pluralism, or holding more than one clerical benefice, was one of the abuses that Peckham combatted. He served King Edward I of England in Wales, where he formed a low opinion of the Welsh people and laws. Before and during his time as archbishop, he wrote a number of works on optics, philosophy, and theology, as well as writing hymns. Numerous manuscripts of his works survive. On his death, his body was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, but his heart was given to the Franciscans for burial.

John The Elder Peckham was born about 1484 in Boxgrove, Sussex, England, United Kingdom, and died between 1517 and 1604. His son John George Peckham was born about 1525 in Boxgrove. He died in 1566 in Donnington, Sussex. John George Peckham married Elizabeth Brand (or Brane), born about 1505 in East Hampnett. They had two children: Henry Edward Peckham, Lord of East Hampnett, born about 15 February 1523 or 1524 in Sussex and Anne Peckham, born 1536 in Sussex.

Henry Edward Peckham married Mary Badger (born circa 1538 – 1545, Boxgrove, Sussex) in 1559. Henry Edward Peckham died in 1598 in Boxgrove, Sussex. Their son Henry Peckham, Esquire was born in April 8, 1565 in Boxgrove, Sussex. He died at age 51 on November 1, 1616 in Boxgrove, Sussex.

Henry Edward and Mary Badger Peckham’s son Henry (1565) married Elizabeth Badger. Elizabeth was born about 1572 in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Elizabeth was the daughter of Robert Badger (born circa 1530 in England). Elizabeth died in 1633. Henry later married Grace Sambourne.

John Peckham, son of Henry and Elizabeth Badger Peckham, was born on 8 April 1595 (some records indicate 24 April) in Boxgrove, Sussex and resided at East Hampnett Manor, Sussex. John was thought to have been baptized in the Boxgrove Parish about four miles from Chichester. Siblings included Henry (1594), William (1596), Robert (1599), Thomas (1601), Grace (1603) and Judith (1604.) John matriculated at Cambridge in 1612 at the age of 17. He received his M.A. degree from Pembroke College in Cambridge and became an ordained clergyman. He became chaplain to the Earl of Hertford. As time passed, his religious views changed. He came to disagree with some of the church teachings and became known as somewhat of a maverick, for a John Peckham, A Vicar of Little Horste d Sussex was sequestered by the House of Commons. He was described in the Century of Malignant Priests as a particularly bad and difficult character. This was a period of great political unrest in England and John seems to have sided with the rebels.

It has been proven that John Peckham who came to Massachusetts and later to present day Rhode Island was not Rev. John Peckham, son of Henry and Elizabeth Peckham. Rev. John Peckham has been proven to have stayed in England.

The following is another excerpt from a Wikitree.com with an account of the life of John Peckham:

"William Seymore, Duke of Somerset, was one of the most powerful noblemen of the reign of Charles the First. One of his most familiar country seats was Petworth, about twelve miles north of Chichester, in the neighborhood in which the Peckhams lived. A chaplain of a nobleman of this character would be brought in contact with many of the leading spirits of that age. The Duke enjoyed, during the whole of King Charles the First’s reign, the confidence of his King, with the exception of the episode of his marriage with Arabella Stuart, which proved more unfortunate for the lady than for him. There is no doubt that as Chaplain to this nobleman, John Peckham made the acquaintance of Sir Henry Vane the younger. Sir Henry Vane the elder was Comptroller of the Household of Charles the First, and consequently intimately associated with the King. He lived on the old Peckham Manor which his great-grandfather had purchased or inherited from the heirs of William Peckham, who was cup bearer to Archbishop Thomas Bourchier. This site was the home of the Vanes from the middle of the Fifteenth to the middle of the Eighteenth centuries. Sir Henry Vane was born and reared there.

"There can be little doubt that the extreme theological views which were formulated in the mind of Sir Henry Vane during his early years became the convincing arguments that turned John Peckham from his allegiance to the Church of England. These more or less extreme views may be described in the language of that day as those of a Baptist Lollard. No doubt John Peckham came to Boston with Sir Henry Vane in 1634. He probably met there Mary Clarke, who had accompanied her brother, Dr. John Clark, to Boston at about the same time. Their acquaintance resulted in their marriage, of which no record can be found; probably in consequence of the fact that as Baptist Lollards, both families were outside the churches, which were then strictly Congregational and antagonistic to the Lollards.

"While there are no records to be found in Boston, all of the circumstances attending the subsequent lives of the Clarkes and the Peckhams and their relations with each other, tend to make these suppositions almost certainties. As a clergyman of the Church of England, having taken very strict vows of ordination, John Peckham would be reluctant to take an active part in theological acts or discussions which would openly ally him with the party who opposed the English Church. We, therefore, reach this conclusion that John Peckham and Mary Clarke were married some time during the administration of Sir Henry Vane as Governor of the Massachusetts colony, and, that having formed this connection with the Clarke family, he did not return to England with Sir Henry, but stayed and followed the fortunes of the Clarkes at Rhode Island.

While his name does not appear on the list of those disarmed in Boston, nor among the followers of Wheelwright, nor was he one of the signers of the Portsmouth Covenant, yet he must have been one of the party known as the Ann Hutchinson party, who founded a settlement on the north end of Rhode Island, which became the town of Portsmouth. His lands were allotted along with those of William Freeborn and John Coggeshall, who were among the first settlers of the Island of Aquidnick, or Rhode Island, where, on May 20th, 1638, his name appears in a list of those who were admitted inhabitants of Newport. In 1640 the bounds of his lands were established. On March 16th, 1641, he was admitted a Freeman. In 1648 he was one of the 10 male members of the First Baptist Church of Newport in full communion. This same year his second wife, Eleanor Peckham, was baptized.

End of quote.

In yet another record on John Peckham, I found the following:

John came to Boston with Sir Henry Vane on the GRIFFIN and it was there that he probably met Mary Clarke who accompanied her brother Dr. John Clarke to Boston about that time. John was probably one of the party called the Ann Hutchinson party who founded a settlement on the north end of Rhode Island which became the town of Portsmouth. They left in 1638 to found POCASSETT, now Portsmith RI, due to their belief in religious liberalism. John was among the first settlers of the Island of Aquidneck (Rhode Island) in 1638. On 20 May 1638 his name appeared on the list as one of those admitted as an inhabitant of Portsmouth. In 1640 the bounds of his land (36 acres) were established. Another record indicated he held 40 acres of land, 32 acres in a parcel near Hambrook Mill on Stony River bordering the land of Thomas Clarke and the rest in meadow and his home lot. On 16 March 1641, he was admitted a Freeman of Newport. He was one of the ten male members in full communion of the First Baptist Church of Newport in 1648 and one of its founders in 1644. John became a leader of great prominence in the affairs of the Baptist church. He was a resident of that part of Newport which became Middletown where he was made a freeman in 1655.

We know that soon after the first settlement of Rhode Island, the Peckhams bought a tract of land one mile square at Little Compton on which they built a house in 1640 which stood two hundred years and in which six generations of Peckhams were born. Their purchases also extended into Dartmouth, Mass., to the Acushnet River, where a part of the city of New Bedford now stands.

Our John Peckham married Mary Clarke (probably in 1638), born 17 July 1607, daughter of Thomas Clarke and Rose Kerrich in Westhorpe, Suffolk, England. Mary came to America with her brother Doctor John Clarke of Bedfordshire, England, Boston and Newport, an associate of Roger Williams. John and Mary had four children: (1) Thomas Peckham born in 1639 in Newport (married first (possibly Hannah Clarke per Geni.com, second Hannah Weeden); (2) Mary Clarke Peckham born about 1642 in Newport (married Tobias Saunders); (3) John Peckham born about 1645 in Newport (married Sarah Newport) and (4) William Peckham born about 1647 in Newport (married Elizabeth Clarke, b. 1652 in 1674 in Newport). Rev. John Peckham’s wife Mary Clarke Peckham died in 1647 or 1648. Shortly thereafter he married his second wife Eleanor Weaver, born 10 Sept. 1623 in Glatonbury, Somerset, England.

In 1648 John’s second wife Eleanor was baptised. His residence was in that part of Newport which is now Middletown. John died in October, 1681 and was buried 19 October 1681 in Middletown, RI. His will was dated January 6, 1681, however the contents are unknown. A stone marked J.P. or I.P. on the land of William F. Peckham is supposed to mark his grave. In a visit to the historic Peckham grave, to me, it looks more like I.P. which could be Isaac Peckham, a grandson. There are several Peckhams buried in that historic cemetery so John’s grave (as are a few other family members) may be unmarked. Eleanor Peckham died in 1670. Her burial location is unknown.

John and his second wife Eleanor had nine children: (1) Stephen born about 1652 in Middletown; (2) James born 1655 in Newport; (3) Clement born 1656 in Newport; (4) Rebecca born 1658 in Newport; (5) Deborah born October 1659 in Middletown; (6) Sarah born about 1661 in Newport; (7) Susanna born 1663 in Newport; (8) Phoebe born 1666 in Newport; (9) Elizabeth born 1668 in Newport. Some researchers say there was an Eleanor born in 1648 but I am convinced that is incorrect.

Prior to 1700 the Peckhams were among the large landowners of Rhode Island, figuring in the Petaquamscot purchase of 1660, the Westerly purchase of 1661, and the East Greenwich purchase of 1677. Their holdings were in southern Rhode Island and even extended into Massachusetts; their descendants, passing into the old Bay State, eastern Connecticut and central New York (our branch) but very many of them locating in Newport and Providence counties in Rhode Island. Not a few of them made their impress as legislators, lawyers and judges, and many were prominent as businessmen and manufacturers. In the class last named may be mentioned Thomas C. Peckham, Pardon S., Leander W. Peckham and Luther A. Peckham, all of whom were identified with the woolen industries of the state.

Our family is descended from John, the second child of Reverend John Peckham and Mary Clarke Peckham. As a point of interest, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is also a descendant of Reverend John Peckham, however, the former president descends from John’s second wife, Eleanor and through their son Stephen. FDR is descended from the maternal (Delano) line.

The son John Peckham, born in 1642, married Sarah Stewart Newport on 19 June 1667 in Little Compton, Newport. Sarah was born about 1648, daughter of Andrew Newport. It is assumed that Sarah’s father was also connected to the Anne Hutchinson party and that this family had something to do with the naming of the town of Newport.

John and Sarah had 10 children: (1) Elizabeth born 17 Sept. 1668 in Newport; (2) John born 9 June 1673 in Little Compton, Newport; (3) Mary born 30 Sept. 1674 in Newport; (4) Reuben born 3 February 1675/76 in Newport; (5) Peleg born 11 December 1677 in Newport; (6) Joseph born 8 March 1678/79 in Newport; (7) Timothy born 5 August 1681 in East Greenwich, Kent, RI; (8) Benjamin born 9 June 1684 in Newport; (9) Isaac (our ancestor) born 11 April 1685 in Newport; (10) Sarah born 26 June 1690 in Newport.

John lived on the Peckham estate at Little Compton and was one of the original proprietors of East Greenwich in 1677. John died 12 February 1712 in Newport. His wife Sarah died in 1692.

Our ancestor Isaac, their 9th child, first married Rebecca Phillips. There apparently were no children. It is assumed she died as he then married Barbara Phillips on 8 November 1711 in Little Compton, Newport. They had eight children (John, Isaac Jr. (1713-1791), Sarah, Benjamin (1717-1783), Ruth, Clement, Stephen and Philip). We assume she died around 1725 as Isaac then married Jane Sisson on 7 June 1726 in Portsmouth RI. Jane, born on 5 July 1706 in Portsmouth, was the daughter of Richard and Ann Card Sisson. Isaac and Jane had 11 children: (1) William born 1 October 1727; (2) Barbara born 19 June 1729; (3) Anna born 13 August 1731; (4) Mary born 16 August 1733; (5) Elizabeth born 26 October 1735: (6) Joseph (our ancestor) born 2 May 1738 in Middletown; (7) Jane born 23 March 1740; (8) Rachel born 23 November 1742; (9) Abigail born 29 December 1743; (10) Richard born 8 October 1745; (11) Virtue born 7 February 1751.

Isaac Peckham Sr. first lived in Newport and was made a freeman in 1714. Later he moved to Middletown RI where he was a freeman in 1757. Isaac was a successful farmer for the rest of his life and owned a considerable amount of land which he deeded to several of his sons during his lifetime.

Isaac Sr. died on 10 February 1765 in Middletown RI. His wife Jane died on 25 Sept. 1778. Isaac’s will was dated May 14, 1763 and was proven on February 27, 1765. He left his wife Jane ten acres of land in Middletown for life or until she remarried. She also received farm implements and oxen. Isaaac’s son John received land in Middletown; sons Benjamin, Philip and Joseph received farm implements and oxen and each of the remaining thirteen children received a silver spoon. Isaac Sr. was buried in the Peckham burying ground at Middletown RI (This confirms my speculation about the I.P. on the gravestone in the historic cemetery).

Isaac Peckham Sr.’s son Benjamin Peckham (1717-1783) had a son Daniel (1758-1852). Daniel’s daughter Ruth Peckham (1792-1879) married Adam Burdick (1791-1834) on April 12, 1812. Adam fought in the War of 1812 in Pvt. Capt. Jonathan T. Almey’s Co. R I Militia in 1813. They lived in Newport RI.

Isaac Peckham Jr. had a daughter Ann (1744-1837). Ann had a daughter Anne Nancy Burdick (1768-1862). Anna’s son John Burdick IV (1791) served in the War of 1812 in Col. Burdicks Co. R I Militia.

Our ancestor Isaac Sr.’s son Joseph was born on 2 May 1738 in Middletown RI. He married Sarah Weeden on 20 November 1760 in Middletown. Sarah was born in 1742 in Middletown. They had seven children: (1) Eunice born 23 December 1761 in Middletown; (2) Isaac born 12 August 1763 in Warwick (d. April 6, 1828); (3) Alanson (our ancestor) born 20 September 1765 in Middletown (d. May 10, 1836); (4) Charles born 13 November 1767 in Middletown (d. Feb. 15, 1861); (5) Mary born in 1769, died in 1772; (6) Sarah Peckham born Jan. 5, 1772-d. Oct. 9, 1867; (7) Barbara born 1774, death unknown.

Joseph Peckham, his wife Sarah and his children lived in Middletown where he was admitted as a freeman (citizenship) in May 1760. He was described as a zealous patriot in the Revolution. Record indicates he served in the Revolutionary War, CS RI DAR Patriot Index, Centennial Ed."

According to the Middletown record, Joseph and his son Alanson were involved in numerous land transfers, being both buyers as well as sellers. Joseph’s son Charles was not mentioned in any of the transfers which supports a theory that he moved to Ohio.

Being of strong and firm conviction, Joseph remained loyal to his principles until his death. In the notice of his death, he was described as a man who strictly followed the principles of honesty and integrity. He died on 12 July 1812 in Middletown at age 74.

In Joseph’s will dated 16 February 1803, his son Alanson (the executor) was given real estate, farm tools and personal estate. He was required to support his mother and his sister Barbara (both alive at the writing of the will). His son Isaac was to receive from Alanson $400.00, testator’s wearing apparel and his small Arm or Fusil. His son Charles and Grandson Arnold Barker were to receive $50.00. Arnold and Mary Barker are probably son and daughter of Eunice who was deceased by the time the will was written. His daughter Mary Peckham was to receive $100.00. His daughter Sarah and Granddaughter Mary Barker all received household furniture to be equally divided between them. Joseph’s oldest child Eunice Peckham was married to Matthew Barker. She died in 1792. Daughter Sarah, the sixth child, married William Smith Peckham (1771-1851). They had eight children.

Joseph’s wife Sarah Weeden Peckham died on 5 June 1831 in White Creek, Washington County, New York at age 89. She is buried in Waites Corner Cemetery in White Creek.

Alanson, son of Joseph and Sarah Peckham was born 20 September 1765 in Middletown RI. He married Catharine Coggeshall on December 20, 1787 in Middletown. Catharine, born 23 August 1768 in Middletown, was the daughter of Captain Jonathan Coggeshall (1748-1796) and Sarah Wilcox. Alanson and Catharine had thirteen children: (1) Jethro Jackson Peckham born 13 Nov. 1788; (2) Jane born 13 Dec. 1789; (3) Asa born 20 Nov. 1791; (4) Josiah Coggeshall Peckham born 25 Nov. 1793; (5) Eunice born 31 Dec. 1795; (6) Catherine born 20 Oct. 1797; (7) Jonathan born 3 July 1799; (8) Catharine R. born 29 Aug. 1802; (9) Sarah Ann born 5 Aug. 1804; (10) Alanson Jr. born 18 May, 1806; (11) Adelaide or Adeline born 22 May 1808; (12) Joseph (our ancestor) born 4 Apr. 1810; and (13) Jesse Peckham born 10 April 1812. It is assumed that all the children were born in Middletown.

Alanson, Catharine and family moved to Washington County, New York in 1826, in or near the village of White Creek. His mother Sarah lived with them after Joseph died and moved with the family to White Creek.

Alanson’s wife Catharine died on 1 April 1836 at age 67. Alanson died 10 May 1836 at age 70. They are both buried in Waites Corners Cemetery, White Creek NY. There is no record of Alanson’s sister Barbara. Alanson Jr, Adelaide and Sarah Weeden Peckham are also buried in White Creek.

Joseph Peckham, son of Alanson and Catharine Peckham was born on April 4, 1810. He married Alida Cateline Bratt (Note: incorrectly spelled Braght on one website) in White Creek NY on 28 December 1837 by John Pitcher. Alida was born 1 Nov. 1811 in White Creek. Names of her parents are Harmon Bratt and Henderickge VanAntwerp Bratt. Joseph and Alida had four children: (1) John B. Peckham (our ancestor) born 18 Dec. 1838 in White Creek NY; (2 and 3) twins Catherine E. and Alanson Woodman Peckham born in Sept. 1843 and (4) Daniel W. Peckham, born Aug.1845, who died on Nov. 20, 1900. Joseph and Alida moved to Broome County from White Creek in 1870 where they purchased land (115 acres) and built a house in Center Village, Town of Colesville, Broome County. Joseph at age 70 was a farmer according to the 1880 census.

Alida died 2 October 1879 at age 71 and is buried in Harpur Cemetery in Colesville, Broome County, NY. Joseph died 26 April 1891 in Broome County at age 81. He is buried in the Presbytherian cemetery in Nineveh, NY. Alida’s name is included on the Peckham monument in the cemetery in Nineveh. Her maiden name is spelled Bradt on the stone.

John B. Peckham, son of Joseph and Alida Peckham grew up in Washington County, living at home in White Creek or nearby until he volunteered for service in the Civil War at the age of 24. He enlisted in the Army on the 8th of September, 1863 in Company E, 2nd Regiment New York Veterans Cavalry. He was shortly thereafter transferred to Company A. By January/February, 1864 he was promoted from Private to Corporal. By the end of that year he was reduced from Corporal back to Private, no reason given in the record. At the end of the war, he was honorably discharged on the 8th day of November 1865 in Talladega, Alabama.

John then returned home to Washington County, NY. Shortly thereafter, in February 1866, he and his brother Alanson went from Washington County to Bay City, Michigan and engaged in the lumbering business. They both obtained board at a boarding house there and worked together. At the boarding house was a young lady employed by the name of Mary Magdalene Eastman who was at that time about 22 years of age. Mary was born in July 1844 in Michigan, the daughter of Michael Eastman. John and Alanson became well acquainted with her.

In the spring of 1867, Alanson departed for Illinois where he stayed until December of that year. When he returned to Bay City, he learned that John and Mary had gotten married and were on a visit to his old home in New York. They married on 23 October 1867 by Rev. D. B. Campbell at Wenona, Michigan. Sometime in the following winter they returned from New York to Michigan and John returned to his old occupation near Wenona. John and Mary were then living in Bay City, just across the river. This is where their first son Frank H. Peckham was born on 16 August 1868. They stayed there until moving back east in 1870. John and Mary lived and worked on his father’s farm in Center Village, Town of Colesville, New York. This is where their second son Arthur J. Peckham was born on 6 January 1871. They had a third son, Elmer, born in 1877, who died on September 22, 1880. Elmer is buried in Harpur Cemetery next to his grandmother Alida in Harper Cemetery, Town of Colesville, Broome County. His mother’s name on the tombstone is recorded as Lana. We do not know the origin of this name since his mother is Mary Magdalene (we assume Lana is a nickname). The youngest son Howard Lyle (my grandfather) was born 2 June 1884 in Center Village. John and Mary lived there in Center Village until John’s death on 29 January 1905 at 66. Mary died 17 April 1926 at age 82. They are both buried at the Presbyterian Cemetery in Nineveh, NY.

John’s brother Alanson W. Peckham returned from Michigan to New York shortly after John and Mary in 1870. Alanson married his wife Ellen J. Goodrich (daughter of Gustavus A. Goodrich and Hannah Jane (Clark) Goodrich) on December 25th of that year in Washington County. Ellen was born in February 11, 1851. They apparently moved to Harpursville, New York in the spring of 1872 when, according to Mary Eastmen Peckham’s pension request documents, Ellen stated she met her brother-in-law John and his wife for the first time. Alanson and Ellen had three sons: Joseph F. born ca. 1872; Harry E. born 1873 and Adelbert J. born in 1876. Harry E. Peckham, according to the gravestone in Nineveh Cemetery, died in 1877 (about age 4). Some time between 1900 and 1910, the family moved to Glenville, Schenectady County NY. Alanson died on June 23, 1913. Ellen Peckham moved to Schenectady, then to Troy and subsequently to Mechanicville NY. She died in 1926. Alanson, Ellen and little Harry Peckham are buried in the Nineveh Presbyterian Cemetery.

Alanson and Ellen’s other two sons were killed in World War 1: Joseph F. (1872 – 1918) and Adelbert J. (1875 – 1918). Both were killed in action in France, shortly before the war ended.

Adelbert J. Peckham was a Corporal in Company B, 3rd division, 38th Infantry A.E.F. at the time of his death on 8 August 1918 at Chateau Therry. He was first reported missing in action and later his body was found. He was then buried in an American cemetery in Fismes, Marne, France. He was reinterred later in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery (Gr 2, Block B, Row 39), Seringes-et-Nesles, Aisne, France along with 6,012 Americans who died while fighting in this vicinity during the war. Records regarding where he was to be buried (France or U.S.) indicate that his wife Lena (Laney M. Eutermarks (1884-1958) had left him in 1913 so the decision was made by his mother Ellen to bury him in France. Adelbert married Lena on November 12, 1902 in Middlefield NY. In 1905 they were living in Middlefield working on a farm. The 1910 census indicates that Adelbert has been married seven years but a wife is not in the household. Laney is listed in the household of widower Charles Barrett in Cooperstown working as the housekeeper.

Joseph F. Peckham was listed in his brother Adelbert Peckham’s household in 1910. It indicated he has been married for 12 years but his wife is not in the household either. I do not know her name or exactly when they married. Where Joseph F. Peckham is buried is unknown, probably in France. Both brothers are included on their parents gravestone in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Nineveh NY.

Catherine E. Peckham Valentine, twin of Alanson and sister of John B. and Daniel W. Peckham was born, grew to womanhood and was married in the town of Cambridge, Washington County, New York. She married Dwight L. Valentine. They had two children, one unknown (ref. census record 1900) and Joseph Dwight Valentine, born on Oct. 12, 1872 in Greenwich, Washington County, NY. Catherine is listed as a widow in the 1900 census. My research indicates that there is a Dwight L. Valentine still alive in Washington County in 1920 and is listed as being divorced. The same Dwight L. Valentine had been previously married and had two other children prior to his marriage to Catherine. In 1915, Catherine’s son Joe Valentine was a traveling salesman (groceries) living in Binghamton NY. Catherine was also living in Binghamton NY with Joe. They later moved to Port Dickinson where she remained for the rest of her life. She died in 1925 and is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Nineveh, NY. Her son Joe married Julia C. Enos. (born 10/10/1881), a dressmaker from Cortland NY on October 31, 1925. By 1940, Joe was Vice President of his wholesale grocery firm Newell & Truesdell Co. Records indicate Joe and Julia had traveled to Bermuda in 1934, 1935 and 1937. It would appear that he was a very successful businessman. Joe died in 1950 and is buried in Nineveh Presbyterian Cemetery along with his wife Julia who died in 1971. My mother met Joe one time when he came to the Peckham family farm in 1939. He asked my grandfather Howard to come to Center Village and help Uncle Arthur Peckham since their brother Frank had just died.

Daniel W. Peckham (1845), youngest son of Joseph and Alida married Helena Ellen E. King (Nov. 1857-1926) in 1881. They had a son Edwin E. Peckham on Oct. 5, 1881. At 18 years old, Edwin was a shoe store clerk. He became a footwear salesman, moving first to Schenectady and then to Albany where he was still living in 1930. He apparently did not marry. Edwin’s date of death is Dec. 21, 1933. Daniel Peckham was a house carpenter by trade and lived in Troy, NY. His wife Helena died after 1930 even though the monument says 1926. Census records show is alive in Albany in 1930. They are all buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Nineveh NY.

John B. and Mary Eastman Peckham’s sons Arthur and Frank Peckham remained on the Peckham farm in Center Village, New York after their parents deaths and stayed there for the remainder of their lives. They never married. Arthur went to Albany Business School. He was engaged but had an epileptic seizure and felt he should not marry so he returned home to the farm. He studied law and received a license to practice. He was a very frugal man and knew how to stretch a penny. He had a 1929 Chrysler car. He also had a Ford Model A truck. Frank ran the farm and never drove. Both farmed the Peckham property in Center Village until Frank’s death in March, 1939. Their brother Howard left home around age 23 or 24 (ca. 1908) and went to Rock Royal, New York to work for Charles Foote.

Howard Lyle Peckham married Isa Grace Moore on December 30, 1908. They met at the Charles Foote home in Rock Royal, New York where they each boarded. Isa was a schoolteacher at the local school. She also played the organ at the local Sunday school. Howard worked for Mr. Foote, owner of the Rock Royal general store, driving a team of horses and delivering supplies. After their marriage, they bought a farm and built a house on upper Sands Creek Road by Russell Lake. It was located at the former Hillman Camp (now owned by the Youngs family). It bordered Isa’s father and mother’s homestead. Howard and Isa were dairy farmers.

The property which is now owned by the Youngs family at Camp Hilltop was farmland owned in 1864 by Charles Hathaway. It passed then to the Thompsons, the Peckhams and then the Griffins. The original farmhouse burned down in 1933 and the present structure was then built. Howard Peckham had helped build the Peckham house there after his marriage to Isa.

Howard and Isa had three children: Ethel Lavonne born on December 25, 1909, Harlan John (my father) born on June 11, 1916, and Grant Moore Peckham born on December 3, 1917. Harlan was born at the home which is presently Camp Hilltop when his parents owned the property. He lived in Kelsey most of his life. When his mother died in 1919, he lived for a while with his Aunt Nettie Cooper in Apex.

Isa Peckham had an accident when she was seven months pregnant with a fourth child. She fell while wallpapering. The baby did not survive and a few days later, Isa passed away. It was on July 13, 1919. At the time, Grant was about 1 ½ years old so he went to live with his Aunt Katherine (Moore) Shakelton. Ethel and Harlan went to live with Aunt Nettie (Moore) Cooper in Apex. At some point they returned to live with their father. Grant continued to live with Aunt Katherine well into his adulthood. After he married Bea, they continued to live with her for a few years.

Howard Peckham sold their farm after Isa died as it was too big to operate alone. He then bought the Joe Peaslee place about a mile or so down the road that was a smaller farm. He did not remarry.

Ethel married Adelbert Carpenter, a local fellow (son of William Carpenter) on December 9, 1927. Adelbert (Dell) was the mail carrier. Their first child was Alton Howard, born on January 29, 1928. They lived with Howard until Harlan married Jennie Webb (my parents) in June of 1938. Ethel and Dell then moved to the Allen Moore place nearby and started dairy farming.

In March 1939, Howard Peckham was asked by his cousin Joseph Valentine (son of Catherine Peckham Valentine) to go live with his brother Arthur at the Peckham dairy farm in Center Village, New York. Their older brother Frank had just passed away. Just four months later on July 13, 1939, Howard died of a heart attack in Arthur’s hayfield while loading hay. He was just 55 years old.

In 1940, after the deaths of Uncle Frank and Grandfather Howard Peckham, Ethel, Dell and Alton Carpenter moved to the Peckham farm in Center Village.

When Arthur Peckham died (around May 1942), the estate was divided between Ethel, Harlan and Grant. Ethel wanted the Peckham farm in Center Village. Harlan and Grant received money. Alton told us that he was at home with Arthur when he passed away. Ethel and Dell’s second child Anna Mae was born there on the farm on May 16, 1943. The Carpenter family farmed there for many years, later moving to Conklin and eventually to Corbettsville, New York where Dell got very ill and passed away of a heart attack on August 20, 1966.

Ethel then went to live with her daughter Anna Mae and her husband Danny Kilbourne in Kirkwood NY. They were good church workers and attended church regularly. After Anna Mae’s divorce from Danny and her marriage to Don Wescott, they moved to Oxford, NY. In the mid 80s, Ethel came to Florida to stay with Jennie during the winter season. They returned to New York during the summer. Ethel passed away on May 23, 1987. She and Dell are buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Nineveh NY.

Alton Howard Carpenter graduated from Harpursville Central School in 1947. He joined the Army Air Corp at the end of WWII. The Army Air Corp transitioned to the U. S. Air Force, where Alton became a veteran of the Korean War. During his lifetime he was a long-time member of the American Legion. He served as National Historian and as New York State Commander. He devoted much of his time working on veterans’ affairs. He worked as a Systems Analyst for the Bendix Corporation in Sidney, NY for many years. After retirement, he moved from Sidney to Albany, NY where he continued many more years of service with the American Legion headquarters there. He died on May 2, 2015.

Alton married Joan Obermeyer on January 7, 1950 in Colesville NY. They had three children: Lavonne Marie born December 28, 1950, William Arthur born June 11, 1952 and Gerald Alton born July 16, 1955. With his second wife Edith Shaffer (married February 24, 1961), they had three children: Dona Marie born June 1, 1961, Jeffrey Randall born May 29, 1962, and Brian Howard born February 9, 1965. Alton gained three step-children through his marriage to Edith: Michael Francis Whitaker born November 25, 1954, Cheryl Ann Whitaker born November 21, 1956, and Diane Elizabeth Whitaker born June 18, 1959. Alton’s third marriage was to Barbara Baxter Palmatier on May 24, 1981. All marriages ended in divorce.

Alton and Joan’s daughter, LaVonne, married James Hodges in February, 1969. The marriage ended in divorce. The couple had one child, a daughter named Tonya. LaVonne next married Mark Button in the early 1980’s. They lived in Windsor, NY. After her marriage to Mark Button ended in divorce, LaVonne relocated to Enumclaw, WA. Later, she and her long-time partner, Lee McAbee, settled in Shamrock, TX. Lee McAbee passed away in 2014.

Alton’s son William (Bill) lost one of his legs in a silo accident at the age of 13. This did not deter his spirit. He was an exchange student in Japan in his senior year of high school and learned karate under Master Hidy Ochiai, eventually becoming a black belt after a few years. He ran a Dojo near Albany, teaching karate in his adult years. He married Marilyn Shedlock on April 18, 1981. The couple adopted a daughter, Amber. They later divorced. He then married Carol Louise Lasky on May 27, 1988. They had a daughter, Megan Richelle, born on May 16, 1990. This marriage also ended in divorce. His third marriage was to Cheryl L. Randall (born 5/24/1953) on January 4, 2002. The family lived in Slingerlands, NY for many years. They have retired and now live in Venice, FL.

Alton’s son Gerald (Jerry) married Beverly Tracy July 22, 1978. He suffered severe brain trauma from a car accident while in his 20s. He was in a coma for several months, leaving him with a permanent brain injury. Jerry and Beverly divorced and he later moved to Albany near his father. He has a job and lives in Rotterdam, NY in his own apartment under care provided by Living Resources.

Alton’s daughter, Dona, married Joseph Drumm in June of 1983, with whom she had two children: Joelle and Mark. The marriage ended in divorce and Dona settled in Melbourne, FL. Dona later married Tony Eckert. They live in Palm Bay, FL where they own and operate their own business.

Alton’s son, Jeffrey, settled in Melbourne, FL. There he married Carrie Ann Vallequette. The couple had one child, a daughter, Victoria. The marriage ended in divorce.

Alton’s son, Brian, settled in Palm Bay, FL. There he has worked in the hospitality industry for Radisson Suite Hotel for his entire career. Brian and his long-time domestic partner, William Andrew (Andy) Taylor IV have a home in Palm Bay, FL. The couple has no children.

Anna Mae Carpenter was born May 16, 1943. She married Daniel Kilbourne on December 9, 1961. They had no children. She later married Donald Wescott, Jr. on September 14, 1971. The couple had one child, a daughter, Rachael Lavonne on February 8, 1975. They lived in the Conklin/Kirkwood, NY area for a number of years, before settling in Oxford, NY. Anna Mae and Don divorced after many years and she subsequently married Kenneth Bert on April 24, 1998. Anna Mae worked for Frontier Communications in Sherburne, NY for many years before her health led her into early retirement in 2006. She then became a leader for Weight Watchers in Norwich, NY and later on in Vestal, NY. In 2009, Anna Mae and Ken moved to Endicott, NY to be closer to Rachael, due partially to Anna Mae’s declining health. Anna Mae died on Feb. 18, 2013. Donald Wescott Jr. died on September 6, 2013.

Rachael Wescott married Scott D. Hinman on October 8, 1994, in Oxford NY. The couple divorced in 2001. She then married Richard E. Reynolds, Jr. in 2004. They lived in Binghamton, NY. This marriage ended in divorce. There were no children in either marriage; however, Rachael did gain a step-daughter, Rachel Arlene Reynolds, through her marriage to Richard. Rachael went on to marry Dennis Robert Bob Lawler on October 10, 2008. Rachael is a 1994 graduate of Ridley-Lowell Business and Technical Institute. She worked for NBT Bank from 1994 until retiring in 2010 to devote her time to her Christian singing career and hosting Victorian Teas. She and Bob lived in Endicott in a home that she decorated inside entirely with Victorian furniture and decor. Rachael’s event planning/hosting hobby grew dramatically. In 2015, she and Bob opened an event center in Maine, NY which they called The Maine Event. Rachael and Bob made the decision to close the business and sell their building as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. The couple had no children, but Rachael gained another step-daughter, Sara Rachel Lawler (Hills). The couple now lives in their historic home in Maine, NY, where they enjoy their retirement caring for their granddaughter, Aurora.

Harlan John Peckham, second child of Howard and Isa Moore Peckham went to live with his Aunt Nettie Cooper at age 3 when his mother died. He attended school in Kerryville (Apex) when he lived with Aunt Nettie. He later went to the Kelsey school (now known as the Kelsey Community Center) after moving back with his father. He subsequently attended school in Hancock until he finished 10th grade. During his teen years he loved baseball and enjoyed some of his leisure time playing ball with the local boys (Offnick, Seymour, Franskevicz, Carpenter, etc.).

Note: Most of the following narrative was written by my mother Jennie as I had asked her to write her memories for me.

Harlan and Jennie Vivian Webb (b. May 30, 1920) were married on June 4, 1938. Jennie, the daughter of Charles and Florence Walley Webb of Rock Royal, New York, was born and raised in Rock Royal. They met at a Saturday night dance in Deposit NY.

After their marriage in 1938, Harlan & Jennie lived at the Howard Peckham home in Kelsey. The times were still hard then, still coming out of the depression. Harlan had a job with the county earning $17.00 per week. They also helped Father Peckham with the farm work. Father Peckham had a large garden and about 20 milking cows. He always had a big flock of laying hens (around 100), some roosters and a few hogs. He fed his animals well.

Father Peckham always had a flock of ducks. They would wander from brook to brook. When he was young, every night he’d have to go hunt up his ducks and bring them in to their coop and feed them. He found many eggs along the brook because they would lay early in the morning after he let them out.

Father Peckham was in poor health at that time. He was a very nice man and had been a widower for nearly 20 years but kept his family near. He was pleased at Harlan’s ability to run the farm.

On December 15, 1938 they gave him a nice granddaughter. Harlan named her Vera Louise. He thought at the time that his mother’s middle name was Louise (they later learned her middle name was Grace). Vera weighed 8 lbs. Father Peckham was thrilled as it was his first granddaughter. Ethel and Dell had given him his first grandson, Alton Howard Carpenter, 11 years earlier on January 29, 1928.

Harlan took care of the cattle and continued to do trucking. In 1939 he bought a new red truck. Father Peckham hit the ceiling and said You can’t pay for that! He had traded in their Chevrolet sedan as a down payment. Harlan then did a lot of trucking (logs, milk, feed, helping people move, etc.) and was able to make money quickly. Jennie went with Harlan on many occasions during the time he did trucking. This was his wish.