Henry Peck

Henry Peck, the nephew of Almira Porter Barnes,[1]born on July 20, 1821, was a professor of sacred rhetoric and moral and mental philosophy at Oberlin College[2]from 1852-1865.[3]Henry Peck was born to Everard Peck, a publisher in Rochester New York.[4]He studied at Oneida Institute and graduated Bowdoin. He was a student of Theology at Oberlin College, after which, he joined the faculty there in 1844[5]. At this time, he is commonly referred to as being an eccentric, a liberal, and a staunch abolitionist.[6]During his time at Oberlin, he was offered a position on the general assembly on the Republican party but declined because he lacked the support of his faculty members.[7]On top of being quite vocal about his abolitionist views Henry Peck also is noted for having been involved in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. During his work as a professor, Peck became co-editor of the Lorrain County Newsa newspaper in Ohio.[8]After the passing of the fugitive slave act in 1850 a man of color named John Price was kidnapped from Oberlin in attempts to sell him into slavery.[9]To this there was a massive response from residents. Many people flocked to the hotel where he was being held in Wellington in order to free him. During the Oberlin-Wellington affair, Henry Peck was arrested having aided the rescue. He was the most prominent member of the defense and was considered by the prosecution to be the ringleader of the “Saints of Oberlin.”[10]In 1865 Henry Peck was appointed as the minister in Haiti following the large migration of black people to the island.[11]It was there that he died of yellow fever soon after in 1867.[12]

[1]Gorman, Ron. Oberlin Heritage Center Blog. March 22, 2016. Accessed November 28, 2018. https://www.oberlinheritagecenter.org/blog/tag/henry-peck/.

[2]Blodgett, Geoffrey. “John Mercer Langston and the Case of Edmonia Lewis: Oberlin, 1862.” The Journal of Negro History 53, no. 3 (1968): 201-18. doi:10.2307/2716216.

[3]A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundation Through the Civil War. By Robert Samuel Fletcher. Volumes I and II. (Oberlin: Oberlin College. 1943. Pp. Xvii, 502; Xi, 507–1004.).” The American Historical Review, 1944. doi:10.1086/ahr/49.3.501.

[4]Ibid.

[5]Blodgett, Geoffrey. “John Mercer Langston and the Case of Edmonia Lewis: Oberlin, 1862.” The Journal of Negro History 53, no. 3 (1968): 201-18. doi:10.2307/2716216.

[6]“A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundation Through the Civil War. By Robert Samuel Fletcher. Volumes I and II. (Oberlin: Oberlin College. 1943. Pp. Xvii, 502; Xi, 507–1004.).” The American Historical Review, 1944. doi:10.1086/ahr/49.3.501.

[7]Rokicky, Catherine M. James Monroe: Oberlin’s Christian Statesman and Reformer, 1821-1898. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2002.

[8]Blodgett, Geoffrey. “John Mercer Langston and the Case of Edmonia Lewis: Oberlin, 1862.” The Journal of Negro History 53, no. 3 (1968): 201-18. doi:10.2307/2716216.

[9]Shipherd, Jacob R., Ralph Plumb, and Henry E. Peck. History of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. Boston: J.P. Jewett and, 1859.

[10]Blodgett, Geoffrey. “John Mercer Langston and the Case of Edmonia Lewis: Oberlin, 1862.” The Journal of Negro History 53, no. 3 (1968): 201-18. doi:10.2307/2716216.

[11]“A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundation Through the Civil War.” By Robert Samuel Fletcher. Volumes I and II. (Oberlin: Oberlin College. 1943. Pp. Xvii, 502; Xi, 507–1004.).” The American Historical Review, 1944. doi:10.1086/ahr/49.3.501.

[12]Ibid.