George Washington Peck (June 4, 1818 – June 30, 1905) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Biography

Peck was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and pursued classical studies, attending

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

and studying law in New York City. He moved to Michigan in 1839 and settled in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, where he was admitted to the bar in 1842 and commenced practice there in the same year. He was a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives Michigan ( ) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio ...

in 1846 and 1847 and served as speaker the last term. He moved to

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

, when the state capital was located there in 1847. He was the first postmaster of Lansing and was

Michigan Secretary of State The Michigan Department of State is a principal executive department of the government of Michigan. It is responsible for administering Election, elections, regulating Notary public, notaries public, and maintaining records of statutes and the S ...

from 1848 to 1849. He was editor and proprietor of the '' Lansing Journal'' and the state printer 1852-1855. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth Congress, serving from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1857, representing

Michigan's 4th congressional district Michigan's 4th congressional district is a United States congressional district located in the state of Michigan. The current 4th district contains much of Michigan's 2nd congressional district, Michigan's old 2nd district, and includes all of A ...

. He was unsuccessful in seeking reelection in 1856. As a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, Peck was first active in Detroit Lodge No. 2 (Detroit, Mich.), being therein initiated 11 Feb 1846, passed 25 Feb 1846, and raised 17 Mar 1846. He would then over the years become a member of Lansing Lodge No. 33 (Lansing, Mich.), Brighton Lodge No. 42 (Brighton, Mich.), Capitol Lodge of Strict Observance No. 66 (Lansing, Mich.). He served for two terms as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, first elected on 12 Jan 1854, and then re-elected in Jan 1855.Grand Lodge of the State of Michigan. Transactions of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, of the State of Michigan, at its annual communication. 1895, pp. 278-283. Available: https://archive.org/details/transactionsofgr00free Peck was elected mayor of Lansing in 1867. He then moved to

East Saginaw East Saginaw was a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is now part of the city of Saginaw. History Much of the area that later became East Saginaw was granted by treaty to James Reilly, the Métis son of fur trader Stephen V. ...

and engaged in the practice of law until 1873. He moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, in 1873, and to

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...

, in 1880, and then to Bismarck, Missouri, in 1882. He died in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

, and is interred in Brady Hill Cemetery there.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peck, George Washington 1818 births 1905 deaths American Freemasons Speakers of the Michigan House of Representatives Mayors of Lansing, Michigan Secretaries of state of Michigan Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature People from Brighton, Michigan Politicians from Saginaw, Michigan Yale College alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives