Butte County
Biographies
JAMES A. PECK
JAMES A. PECK.--A native son of Butte
County, and the very efficient constable of Chico
Township, James A. Peck was born at Cana,
June 4, 1865. His father, George Peck, was a native of Saratoga,
N. Y., and was a man who stood six feet four and one-
half inches in his stockings. He
came across the plains in 1859, with ox teams, arriving in October of that year
in Butte County,
where he engaged in mining and later became a teamster. He hauled freight from
Chico Landing, on the Sacramento River, to Idaho,
using mule teams, later hauling
lumber to the valley. He returned to live at Chico
and there his death occurred, June 26, 1917, at the ripe age of eighty-four. He
married Harriett Allen, born in Canada
and a daughter of David Allen, of New York
birth. She
traced her lineage to Ethan Allen,
the hero of Ticonderoga. Grandfather Allen brought
a large family across the plains and located in Butte
County, where he mined and raised
stock. He lived for a time in Sonoma County,
later returning to Chico, where he
died. He nicknamed James A., "Teddy," by which name he is familiarly
known in Butte County.
Mrs. Harriett Allen Peck died about twenty-five years ago, the mother of seven
children, five now living: Alice, who married F. M. Mecum, of Chico; Frank, who
is in Washington (he is six feet eight inches tall, the tallest man in the
county); Laura B., who is Mrs. Arnold, of Chico; James A., of this review; and
Georgia, who married Hans Petersen of Chico. "Teddy" Peck was
educated in the public schools at Chico,
and was reared on a farm. He obtained a teacher's certificate but did not avail
himself of the privilege. He followed lumbering and ranching, then spent five
years as a member of the Chico
police force, and later was special agent for the Diamond Match Company
eleven years, having charge of
their watchmen and of their fire-protection system. During this interval no
serious fire occurred nor was any material stolen. In 1914, Mr. Peck was a
candidate for constable of Chico Township
and was elected by a two-to-one vote
over his
opponent, for a four-year term. He gives his entire time to the duties of his
office.
Mr.
Peck was married, in San Francisco,
to Miss Clara M. Blasingame, a native daughter. Mr.
Peck is a member of Chico Lodge, No. 423, B. P. O. Elks, and an active member
of the Exempt Firemen, having been a member of Deluge Hose company,
of Chico. In politics he is a
Republican. He resides at his home, 1542 South Broadway, Chico.
Transcribed by Sande Beach.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 488-491, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2007 Sande Beach.
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