he ordered the troops to fire on the rioters, for
which he was arrested on the charge of murder,
but was not indicted. He was twice elected com
mander of the Union Veteran Legion, in 1869 and
1888 ; became a member of the board of managers
of the National Home for Bisabled Soldiers in
1891 ; was a member of the select council, and
of the Pittsburg board of health. He edited the
Sunday Critic, 1886-87, and wrote three plays.
He died in Pittsburg, Pa., Jan. 6, 1903.
PEARSON, Eliphalet, educator, was born at
By field, Mass., June 11, 1725 ; son of David and
Sarah (Danforth) Pearson, and a descendant of
John Pearson, who emigrated from Yorkshire,
England, in 1643, and settled at Rowley, Mass.,
where he built the first clothing mill in New
England. Eliphalet attended Dummer academy,
By field, Mass., qnd was graduated from Harvard
college, A.B ., 1773, A. M., 1776. He taught
school at Andover, Mass. ; engaged with Samuel
Phillips in the manufacture of gunpowder for the
American army in 1775, and upon the opening of
the Phillips school in April, 1778, became its first
preceptor, which office he held until 1786. He
was Hancock professor of Hebrew at Harvard
college, 1786-1806. Upon the death of Lieutenant-
Governor Phillips in 1802, Pearson succeeded him
as president of the board of trustees of Phillips
academy and continued in office until 18 20. He
was acting president of Harvard college, 1804-06 ;
was connected with Col. John Phillips in the
establishment of the Andover Theological semin
ary, and succeeded in combining the Hopkinson
and Andover seminaries in 1808. He was or
dained to the ministry, Sept. 22, 1808, and served
as associate professor of sacred literature at the
Andover Theological seminary, 1808-09. He was
secretary of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences ; a member of the Society for Promoting
the Gospel among the Indians and Others in
North America; a founder of the American Edu
cation society ; president of the Society for Pro
moting Christian Knowledge ; a member of the
Massachusetts Historical society, and fellow of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He was married, first, to Priscilla, daughter of
President Edward Holyoke of Harvard college,
and secondly, in 1785, to Sarah, daughter of
[183]
PEARSON
PEARSONS
Henry Bromfield of Harvard, Mass. The hono
rary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by
Yale and by the College of New Jersey in 1802.
He edited Bishop Wilson s " Sacra Privata : " and
is the author of a Hebrew grammar, and lectures.
He died at Greenland, N.H.. Sept. 12, 1826.
PEARSON, George Frederick, naval officer,
was born in New Hampshire, Feb. 6, 1796. He
was appointed to the U.S. navy as a midshipman,
Ma rcli 11, 1815; was promoted lieutenant, Jan.
13, 1835 ; commanded the schooner Shark at
Norfolk, Va., in 1839, and was stationed at the
U. S. navy yard, Portsmouth, N.H., 1839-41. He
was promoted commander, Sept. 8, 1841, com
manded the Falmouth at Norfolk, Va., 1852-53,
and was promoted captain, Sept. 14, 1855. He
commanded the steamer Powhatan in the East
Indies, 1858-60, was placed on the retired list,
Dec. 21, 1861, but served as commandant of the
U.S. navy yard at Portsmouth, N.H., 1861-67.
He was promoted commodore on the retired list,
July 16, 1863, and rear-admiral, July 25, 1866.
He died in Portsmouth. N.H., June 30, 1867.
PEARSON, Jonathan, educator, was born in
Chichester, N.H., Feb. 23, 1813; son of Caleb
Pearson, a fifer in the Revolutionary arm} , and
a descendant of John Pearson, a carpenter, who
emigrated from England in 1643, and settled at
Rowley, Mass. He was graduated at Union col
lege, N.Y.. A.B., 1835, A.M., 1838; was a tutor
there, 1836-39 ; adjunct professor of chemistry
and natural history, 1839-50 ; full professor,
1850-57 ; professor of natural history, 1857-73,
and of agriculture and botany, being also lib
rarian, 1873-87. He was treasurer of the col
lege, 1854-83. He devoted his leisure to historical
and genealogical research, translated the records
of Albany and Schenectady from Mohawk Dutch
into English, and is the author of : Early Records
of the County of Albany (1869) ; Genealogy of tlie
First Settlers of Albany (1872) ; Genealogies of the
First Settlers of Schenectady (1873); History of the
Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Schenectady
(1880) ; History of the Schenectady Patent (1883).
He died in Sc-henectady, N.Y., June 20, 1887.
PEARSON, Joseph, representative, was born
in Rowan county, N.C., about 1776 ; son of Rich
mond Pearson, who removed from Dinwiddie
county, Va., to Rowan county, N.C., where
Joseph was educated for the law. He practised
in Salisbury, N.C. ; was a member of the house
of commons of North Carolina, 1804-05, and a
Federalist representative in the llth, 12th, and
13th congresses, 1809-15. He fought a duel while
a member of the llth congress with Representa
tive John George Jackson (q.v.) of Virginia, and
was severely wounded on the second fire. He
was married three times: first, to a Miss Linn,
secondly, to Ellen, daughter of R. Y. Brent of
Washington, D.C., and thirdly, to Elizabeth
Worthington of Georgetown, N.C. He died at
Salisbury, N.C., Oct. 27, 1834.
PEARSON, Richmond, representative, was
born at Richmond Hill, N.C., Jan. 26, 1852 ; son
of Judge Richmond Mumford (q.v.) and Margaret
(Williams) Pearson. He was graduated at the Col
lege of New Jersey, A.B. , 1872, A.M. , 1875. and was
admitted to the bar of North Carolina in 1874.
He served as U.S. consul at Belgium, 1874-77 ;
was a representative in the North Carolina
legislature in 1885 and in 1887, and an originator
of the coalition which in 1894 overwhelmed
the Democratic party in his state. He was
married in 1882 to Gabrielle daughter of James
Thomas of Richmond, Va. He was a Pro
tectionist and Republican representative from
the ninth congressional district in the 54th, 55th
and 56th congresses, 1895-1901, where he served
as a member of the committee on foreign affairs
and of the sub-committee, which drafted the
house declaration of war against Spain, 1898.
On Dec. 10, 1901, he was appointed U.S. consul at
Geneva, Italy.
PEARSON, Richmond Mumford, jurist, was
born in Rowan county, N.C. , June 28, 1805 : son
of Richmond (a student at the University of
North Carolina, 179!)) and Eliza (Mumford)
Pearson, and grandson of Richmond Pearson, a
native of Dinwiddie county, Va. , who settled in
Rowan county in early life, served in the Revolu
tionary war, and was afterward a merchant and
planter. Richmond Mumford Pearson was pre
pared for college at Statesville, N.C., by John
Mushat, and was graduated at the University of
North Carolina, A.B., 1823. A.M., 1826. After
studying law under Judge Archibald Henderson
he was admitted to the bar in 1826. He was
married in 1832 to Margaret, daughter of Col.
John Williams (q.v.) of Knoxville, Tenn. He
was a representative in the general assembly,
1829-32 ; an unsuccessful candidate for represen
tative in the 24th congress in 1834 ; judge of the
superior court of North Carolina, 1826-48 ; of the
supreme court, 1848-58, and chief-justice, as
successor to Chief-Justice Frederick Nash, 1858-
78. For several years he conducted a large law
school at Richmond Hill, N.C. He died at
Winston. N.C., Jan. 6. 1878.
PEARSONS, Daniel Kimball, philanthropist,
was born in Bradford, Vt. , April 14, 1820 ; son of
John and Hannah (Putnam) Pearsons: grand
son of John Putnam, and a descendant of Gen.
Israel Putnam. He was a pupil at the public
school, 1826-36 ; a teacher, 1836-41 ; was graduated
from the medical college at Woodstock, Vt. r
M.D.. in 1842. and practised in Chicopee, Mass.,
1849-53. He was married in August, 1847, to
Marietta, daughter of Giles S. Chapin of Chico-
[184]
PEARY
PEARY
pee, Mass. He engaged in farming in Ogle
county, 111., 1837-60, and in the real estate busi
ness in Chicago, 111., 1860-87. He was alderman
of the city of Chicago, 1873-76, and during the
financial crisis when certificates of indebtedness
were issued for the payment of city debts, he
was largely instrumental in the restoration of
the credit of the city. He retired from active
business in 1887, but retained the directorship in
the Chicago City Railway Co., and in other
corporations. He gave sums of money aggregat
ing $3.500,000 to various educational and other
institutions, including McCormick Theological
seminary ; Chicago Theological seminary ; Lake
Forest college : Beloit college ; Yukon college,
S.D. ; Mount Holyoke college; Drury college ;
Colorado college, and Knox college.
PEARY, Robert Edwin, explorer, was born in
Cresson, Pa.. May 6, 1856; son of Charles and
Mary (Willey) Peary, His ancestors were Maine
lumbermen. His father died in 1858, and he
removed with his mother to Portland, Maine,
where he prepared
for college. He was
graduated from Bow-
doin in 1877, second
in a class of fifty-one ;
was a land surveyor
in Fryeburg, Maine,
1877-79, and was em
ployed in the U.S.
coast and geodetic
survey, Washington,
B.C., 1879-81. In
1881 he passed the
navy department ex-
mi nation for the ad
mission of civil en
gineers, and in the
same year planned and built a new pier at Key
West, Fla. , at nearly $30,000 less than the previous
estimate, though the contractors had given it
up as impossible at the estimated cost. He was
in Nicaragua as sub-chief of the Inter-Oceanic
canal survey, 1884-85, and after his return
conceived the idea of making an arctic exploring
expedition. In May, 1886, having obtained a six
months leave of absence from the navy depart
ment, he started for Greenland, penetrating
farther into the interior than any white man
had ever gone before. After his return he was
engineer-in-chief of the surveys of the Nicaragua
canal, 1886-88, and in 1888 was sent to superin
tend the building of the new dry dock at the
League Island navy yard, Philadelphia. In the
same year he was married to Josephine Diebitsch.
Meanwhile he was devoting all his leisure to
plans for future explorations, and in June, 1891,
having obtained eighteen months leave of absence
[185]
from the navy he started to discover the northern
limits of Greenland and perhaps to reach the
pole. He was accompanied by Mrs. Peary and a
small party. In the spring of 1893 he started
north with a single companion. In forty days
they covered 600 miles, and on July 4 reached the
rocky northern shore of Greenland which no
man had ever seen before. Peary named the
hill on which the American flag was set up,
" Navy Cliff" ; the bay he called " Independence
Bay " in honor of the day, and the land visible
across the bay "Melville and Heilprin " lands.
Returning, he reached McCormick Bay in August
and thence the party sailed to New York. He was
received with enthusiasm, was awarded several
medals from learned societies, and the name Peary-
land was suggested by Pettermann s Mitteilungen
and adopted for North Greenland. He at once
planned another expedition, and securing a three
years leave of absence, started on a lecturing tour
to secure funds. He spoke 168 times in 96 days, and
thus earned $13,000, meanwhile dictating matter
for his book. He also obtained contributions from
scientific societies, $2000 from a New York news
paper for letters, and a considerable sum from a
book written by Mrs. Peary. After the Falcon had
been chartered and the equipment provided, the
funds were exhausted, and the deficiency was
supplied by exhibiting the ship at various large
cities. The expedition sailed in June, 1893, Mrs.
Peary accompanying her husband. A daughter,
Marie, was born in Greeland in this year, and
Mrs, Peary returned on the first relief ship,
together with all the party, save Lieutenant Peary
and two men. In April, 1895, they started to cross
the ice-cap and after fearful hardships reached a
latitude of 81 47 , ten miles farther north than
Peary had gone before, when they were forced to
turn back for lack of provisions. In 1896 and
1897 he made two voyages, discovering and
bringing back the Cape York meteorites, the
largest in the world, one of which weighed forty
tons. In 1898 he lectured before the London
Geographical society, and was the recipient of
numerous honors. A four years leave of
absence from the navy was secured in 1897 ; the
Peary Arctic club was formed, and in 1899 he
started well equipped on his fifth expedition,
which he stated would be his last. He arrived
at Brigus, Newfoundland, Sept. 10, 1899, and
spent the winter among the Eskimos at Etah,
Greenland. During the first winter out, while
on the march to Fort Conger, both his feet were
frost-bitten, necessitating the amputation of
seven toes. In 1900 lie rounded the northern
limit of the Greenland archipelago, the most
northerly known land in the world ; attained the
highest latitude reached in the western hemis
phere, 80 50 N., and determined the origin of
PEASE
PEASE
the so-called paleocrystic ice (floe-berg). He
made an unsuccessful attempt to reach the pole
in the spring of 1901 ; encamped at Cape Sabine
in the winter of 1901-02, living among the
Eskimos, whose customs he had thoroughly
mastered, and having established ample caches
of provisions along the route, was preparing to
start for the pole in March. 1902, by way of
Smith Sound and Kennedy and Robeson channels
to Cape Hecla, planning to make his " dash "
from that point, about 500 miles south of the
pole. After continuing his travels 150 miles he
found insuperable natural obstacles preventing
further progress and the attempt was abandoned
when he was within 350 miles of the north pole.
He found Greeley s outfit and reached 84 17
north latitude, the highest yet attained by any
American. In the fall of 1902 he met the Wind
ward at Cape Sabine and arrived in Portland,
Me. , Sept. 23, 1902. Lieutenant Peary attributed
his failure to reach the pole to the fact that his
ship was unequal to the requirements, and to his
lack of sufficient money and time. In May,
1902, the Geographical Society of Philadelphia
awarded the Kane gold medal to Lieutenant
Peary.
PEASE, Calvin, educator, was born in Canaan,
Conn., Aug. 12, 1813. He removed with his
parents to Charlotte, Vt., in 1826, attended Hines-
burgh academy, and was graduated from the
University of Vermont, A.B.. 1838, A.M., 1841.
He was principal of the academy at Montpelier,
Vt., 1838-42 ; professor of Latin and Greek at
the University of Vermont, 1842-55, and librarian
of the university, 1847-53. He was licensed to
preach in 1851, and in December, 1853, was
elected president of the University of Vermont,
to succeed the Rev. Worthington Smith. He
presided during the monetary crisis of 1857-58,
and resigned on account of failing health in
1861. He was pastor of the First Presbyterian
church, Rochester, N.Y., 1861-63. He was a
member of the Vermont board of education ;
president of the Vermont Teachers association,
and a member of the American Philosophical
society. The honorary degree of D.D. was con
ferred on him by Middlebury college in 1856. He
is the author of : A Discourse on the Import and
Value of tJie Popular Lecturing of the Day (\8-iO) ;
Address Before the Medical Department of the
University (1856); Baccalaureate Sermons (1856-
60), and many contributions to the " Bibliotheca
Sacra." He died in Burlington, Vt.. Sept. 17, 1863.
PEASE, Elisha Marshall, governor of Texas,
was born at Enfield, Conn., Jan. 3, 1812 ; son of
Lorain Thompson and Sarah (Marshall) Pease,
and grandson of John Pease, a soldier in the Con
tinental army during the Revolutionary war.
His first ancestors in America, Robert and Mar
garet Pease, emigrated from Great Baddow,
England, and settled in Boston in 1634. Elisha
attended the district schools of Enfield and an
academy at Westfield, Mass., and in 1826 obtained
employment as a clerk in a country store. He
removed to Mina, Col., in 1834 : studied law with
Col. D. C. Barrett ; entered the Texan insurgent
army in 1835, and engaged in the battle of Gon-
zales. He was secretary of the provisional coun
cil of Texas, 1835-36 ; chief clerk of the navy and
treasury departments, and for a short time act
ed as secretary of the treasury. He was a mem
ber of the committee that framed the state con
stitution, and in November. 1836, was appointed
clerk of the judiciary committee of the state leg
islature. He was admitted to the bar in April,
1837, and practised in Brazoria. Texas. He was
district attorney of Brazoria, and upon the an
nexation of Texas in 1845, a representative in the
state legislature for two terms, and state senator
in 1849. He was married in 1850 to L. C. Niles
of Windsor, Conn. He was governor of Texas,
1853-57, and during the civil
war lived in retirement, be
ing opposed to secession.
In 1866 he was a delegate to
the convention of southern
loyalists and chosen vice-
president of the same. He
was candidate for governor
on the Union ticket being defeated by J. "W.
Throckmorton in 1866, but served as provisional
governor by appointment of General Sheridan,
1867-69. He retired from law practice in 1877
and was appointed collector of the port of Gal-
veston, Texas, in 1879. He died at Lampasas
Springs, Tex., Aug. 26, 1883.
PEASE, Henry Roberts, senator, was born in
Connecticut, Feb. 19, 1835. He received a normal
school training and engaged in teaching in 1848-
59. He was admitted to the bar in 185 .). and
practised until 1861, when he entered the Union
army as a private. He attained the rank of cap
tain and served principally on staff duty, and in
1865 was appointed superintendent of education
in Louisiana while the state was under military
rule. He was appointed superintendent of edu
cation by the Freed men s bureau in Mississippi in
1867; was active in the reconstruction of that
state : was elected state superintendent of educa
tion in 1869, and was elected to the U. S. senate
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Adelbert Ames, and served from Feb. 12, 1874, to
March 3, 1875. He was appointed postmaster of
Vicksburg, Miss., in 1875. but was soon removed
for political reasons. He established and edited
TJie Mississippi Educational Journal, the pioneer
of popular education in the south, and subse
quently removed to Dakota.
[18C]
PEASLEE
PECK
PEASLEE, Charles Hazen, representative,
was born at Gilmanton, N.H., Feb. 6, 1804; son
of William and Hannah (Folsom) Peaslee ; grand
son of Robert and Ann (Hazen) Peaslee, and a
descendant of Joseph and Mary (Johnson) Peas
lee, who emigrated from Wales to New Eng
land about 1633, settled in Newbury, Mass., pre
vious to 1642, and in Haverhill, Mass., about 1646.
He was. graduated at Dartmouth college, A.B.,
1824, A.M., 1827, studied law under Stephen
Moody, and was admitted to the bar. He settled
in practice in Concord, N.H., in 1828; was a rep
resentative in the state legislature, 1833-37, adju
tant and inspector-general of New Hampshire,
1839-47, and Democratic representative from
New Hampshire in the 30th, 31st and 32d con
gresses, 1847-53. He was appointed collector of
the port of Boston, Mass., by President Pierce,
April 1, 1853, and served until March 4, 1857,
when he retired to Portsmouth, N.H. He was a
trustee of the New Hampshire Asylum for the
Insane and a director of the Concord railroad.
He was married, Dec. 9, 1846, to Mrs. Mary A. L.
Dana, daughter of Robert Harris of Portsmouth,
N.H. He died in St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 20, 1866.
PEASLEE, John Bradley, educationist and
author, was born at Plaistow, N.H., Sept. 3, 1842 ;
son of Reuben and Harriet (Willetts) Peaslee ;
grandson of Joab and Elizabeth (Eaton) Peas
lee, and of John and Lavina (Smith) Willetts,
and a descendant of Joseph Peaslee, the " conie-
outer, " who emigrated from England ; settled
in Newbury, Essex county, Mass., in 1635 ; with
Thomas Whittier, an ancestor of the poet, laid
out and surveyed Haverhill, Mass, in 1642, and
removed to East Parish, Haverhill, in 1645. John
B. Peaslee was educated at Atkinson and Gil
manton academies ; was graduated from Dart
mouth, A.B., 1863, A.M., 1866, and from Cin
cinnati college, LL.B.. in 1866. He was principal
of the North grammar school, Columbus, Ohio,
1863-64 ; first assitant of district and principal of
district and intermediate schools, Cincinnati,
1864-74, and superintendent of Cincinnati public
schools, 1874-86. In 1879 he was awarded a di
ploma of life membership in the University of
Turin for the exhibit of the Cincinnati schools at
the Paris exposition of 1878. He inaugurated the
celebration of "author day and arbor day,"
and in 1882 the school children planted and dedi
cated to American authors a grove of six acres,
now known as " Authors Grove." On Oct. 18,
1889, the American Forestry congress planted an
oak tree near Agricultural hall, Fairmount Park,
Philadelphia, dedicating it to Dr. Peaslee in
"recognition of his distinguished services in pro
moting the cause of popular forestry, and espe
cially in introducing the celebration of Arbor
Day by the public schools of Cincinnati and
thereafter of the country." He was a trustee of
Miami university, 1871-79 ; clerk of the Hamilton
county courts, 1888-95 ; president of the Ohio
State Teachers association, 1886 ; president of the
Ohio Forestry bureau, 1889-95 ; candidate for
lieutenant-governor of Ohio, 1895 ; a life member
of the National Council of Education and of the
National Educational association ; director of the
University of Cincinnati ; president of the Ohio
state board of examiners for teachers, and a
director of the Ohio Humane society. His pub
lished works include : Reports of the Cincinnati
Public Schools (1874-86); Graded Selections for
Memorizing (1882) ; Trees and Tree-planting,
ivith Exercises and Directions for the Celebration
of Arbor Day (1884) ; Moral and Literary Train
ing in Public ScJiools, an address (1881); German
Instruction in Public Schools, an address (1889);
Thoughts and Experiences In and Out of School
(1900), and many articles in educational journals.
PEATTIE, Elia Wilkinson, journalist and
author, was born in Kalamazoo, Mich., Jan. 15,
1862 ; daughter of Frederick and Amanda (Cahill)
Wilkinson. She removed with her parents to
Chicago, where she received a good education.
She was married in 1883 to Robert Burns Peattie,
a Chicago journalist, and was engaged in news
paper work with him, 1883-95, being a reporter
on Chicago dailies, 1883-88, and an editorial
writer for the Omaha World Herald, 1888-96.
She returned to Chicago in 1896, and engaged in
literature. She is the author of : With Scrip and
Staff (1891) ; A Mountain Woman (1896); Pip
pins and Cheese (1897); Love of Caliban (1897) ;
The Shape of Fear (1898) ; Ickery Ann (1899) ;
The Beleaguered Forest (1901) ; How Jaques came
into the Forest of Arden (1901), and many con
tributions to periodicals.
PECK, Asahel, governor of Vermont, was born
in Royalston, Mass., in September, 1803; son of
Squire and Elizabeth (Goddard) Peck ; grandson
of John and Mary (Drown) Peck, and a descen
dant of Joseph and Rebecca (Clark) Peck. Joseph
Peck, a native of Suffolk
county, England, emigrated
from Hingham, Norfolk
county, to New England in
the ship Diligent in 1638,
settled in Hingham, Mass.,
and at Seekonk or Rehoboth,
Mass., in 1645. Asahel Peck
was taken to Montpelier, Vt., by iiis parents in
1803, attended the public schools irregularly, 1808-
24, and the University of Vermont, 1824-26, but
was not graduated. He studied French in the
family of the president of a French college in
Canada, and law under his brother, Nathan Peck,
at Hinesburgh, and subsequently in the office of
Bailey & Marsh, Burlington, Vt. He was ad-
PECK
PECK
mitted to the bar in 1832, settled in practice in
Montpelier and was at one time associated with
Archibald Hyde and later with D. A. Sinalley.
He was originally a Democrat in politics, but in
1848 became a Free Soiler, and a member of the
convention at Buffalo that nominated Van Buren
and Adams, and was subsequently active in or
ganizing the Republican party. He was judge of
the circuit court of Vermont, 1851-57, judge of
the supreme court of the state. 18(50-74, and gov
ernor of Vermont, 1874-76. He retired to his
farm in Jericho Vt., in 1876, where he died, May
18, 1879.
PECK, Elijah Wolsey, jurist, was born in
Blenheim, Schoharie county, N. Y., Aug. 7,
1799 ; son of David and Christiana (Minturn)
Peck. He was educated for the profession of law
and was admitted to the bar in 1824. He prac
tised law in Ely ton, Ala., 1824-38 ; removed to
Tuskaloosa, Ala., in 1838, and was chancellor of