Norwich bulletin., 1911-05-12

Allen factory aad later as clerk.
 His father died several months a&0.
 He is survived by two brothers. Will-4
 fam of this city and Rev. John Fogarty
 of Danbary.
 Prof. Jshn Fl. Peek.
 Prof. John. H. Peck, for thirty one
 years principal of the New Britain
 High school, and for nine years prin-
 cipal of the West Hartford High
 school, and since retired. died at mid
 night Wednesdsy night at his home
 No. Sumner street, Hartford He had
 been i'll for two weeks from blood
 poisoning.
 The funeral will be held at his late
 home Saturday morning. The Rev.
 Thomas M. Hodgdon, pastor of the
 West Hartford Congregational church,
 will off1eiate. The body will be taken to Norwich for burial in Yantic cerne- tery.
 Professor Peck was born at Yantic,
 Conn, Sept. '. 1888, the eldest son of
 John Hazen and Abby Hyde Peck. He attended the public and private schools of Norwich and early showed a pre-
 affection to study. At the precocaous age of Is he accepted position as teacher at Franklin, Conn, where he
 served with satisfaction for several months, then entering the State Nor
 mai school at New Britain, where he was graduated in 1856. For two years he taught at Portland, and then enter ed WilbrahafA academy, where he fit ted for Yale. He was graduated from Yale with the class of 1888. Theee were the days of the Civil war and Professor Peck often recalled the gloom that enshrouded the class room follow ing some battle in which the result was a serious setback for the defand- CTS of the union. He was leader of the college choir at Yale and as leader of the first Yale Glee club to tour the cities of New England acquired pres tigs in college musical circles. Pro- lessor Peck never lost his interest in music and he made 1t an Important portion of the curriculum in the schools which he had in charge during his life time.
 After lis graduation Professor Peck was two years in Milford, and then, in 1865, went to New Britain. taking charge of the old high school at the corner of Main and Chestnut streets. For the generation and B half that followed Professor Peck was one of the leaders in all movements in New Britain for educational and civil ad- vancement. Several hundred pupils l were trained under him. He was a l prominent member of the South Con- ! gragational church and served as dea- con. He became a leader in educa- tional affairs throughout the state and was honored by the county and state l teachers association by elections to l the presidency.
 The great hold that Professor Peck l had upon his former pupils and the town in general was illustrated very decisively when one year the school board refused him reelection. A l great mass meeting of citizens assem- | bled in town meeting and passed per I emptory resolutions instructiong the | school board to restore Professor Pack 1 to the prineipalship- The school board l members were upbraided in ringing l speeches and the dictum of the town l meeting was respected. Later on, how l ever, some legislation was secured al l the capitol which made the decision o1 l the school board absolute in the mat | ter of appointing and removing teat h. ] CTS. AS principal, Professor Peck W as a strict discfplinarian.
 l A few months after Professor Peck's retirement from the New Britain 1 school, in 1S96 he was invited to the l school. The duties of this position ap- 1 pealed to him, and for nine years he l served the town with satisfaction. Professor Peck could lay claim te 1 distinguished Connecticut ancestry. He I was descended from four of the oSig- 1 insI proprietors of Hartford William l Hyde, Stephen Post, William Pratt anG I Matthew Marvin, and from two of the l original proprietors of New Haven Henry Peck and Richard Sperry, sev- eral of the first settlers of Saybrook | and eleven of the original proprietors l of Norwich He married in 1883 liar l riet Brfscoe Dfbb1e of New Haven, wht 1 died in 1871, and on Dec A, 1874, he married Sarah Frances (Marshall1 | Waterman who survives him. Thei1 | children who survive him are William l Hagen Peck, a lawyer, of New York and Henry Waterman Peck, an eng neer. of Rochester N. Y.; also Frank Y Waterman of Summit, N. J.. and Miss | Martha T. Waterman of Hartford, chil- | .dren of Mrs. Peck. Two sisters a1st | survive, Mrs. James c. Pratt and Mrs l Warren l.. Forbes, both of Hartford