People

William R Peck

William R. Peck (October 2, 1803 – date of death unknown) was an early settler of Dundee Township, Kane County, Illinois, who arrived in the area in 1853. Born in Rhode Island, he was known during his lifetime as a committed abolitionist whose convictions brought him into open conflict with his church. He and his wife Mary Hayes Peck celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary in 1887, marking more than three decades of residence in the Dundee community.

Known Activities

Peck held strong abolitionist principles at a time when such views were deeply controversial, and according to the Commemorative Portrait and Biographical Record of Kane and Kendall Counties (1888), he was expelled from the Methodist Episcopal Church on account of those principles. (Source: Commemorative Portrait and Biographical Record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Illinois (1888))

He was also reportedly opposed to secret fraternities, a position that placed him at odds with several popular civic organizations of the era.

His wife, Mary Hayes Peck, maintained her own standing as a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Foreign Missionary Association, suggesting that the couple navigated their religious and civic lives independently to some degree following his expulsion.

Timeline

Year	Event
October 2, 1803	Born in Rhode Island
c. 1827	Married Mary Hayes in New Berlin, N.Y. (inferred from 60th anniversary date)
c. 1800s–1852	Resided in New York; Mary Hayes Peck born in Jefferson County, N.Y.
1853	Moved to Kane County, Illinois; settled in Dundee Township
September 2, 1887	Celebrated sixtieth wedding anniversary with Mary Hayes Peck

## Sources

Commemorative Portrait and Biographical Record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Ill. (1888). Retrieved from archive.org. Primary biographical entry for William R. Peck and Mary Hayes Peck.