Thomas Baldwin Peddie (February 11, 1808 – February 16, 1889) was an American Republican politician who represented in the

United States House of Representatives 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 1877 to 1879. Earlier he was a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 1864 to 1865 and the Mayor of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, from 1866 to 1869.

Birth

He was born on February 11, 1808, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. His father was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

exhorter, working at trunk-making during the week and preaching on Sundays. The elder Peddie died in 1832, leaving his wife and six children in moderate financial circumstances and whose support then depended mainly upon Thomas. Seeing little chance in Scotland of earning a living for so many dependent ones, and hearing of America as the land of opportunity, he emigrated in 1833; after studying the advantages offered by several towns, he concluded to make

, his home. For two years he worked at the bench in a

saddlery Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, and harnesses. Equipping a horse is ...

establishment and then, in a basement on Broad Street in Newark, began to manufacture trunks, not having, as he said, enough money to pay for the iron on his first trunk. When he died, his factory and warehouses covered nearly a

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

, his employees were numbered in the hundreds, and his name stood at the head of this branch of industry in the United States.

Public affairs

In addition to his public service described earlier, Peddie helped to found the Essex National Bank and was its vice president; he founded the Security Savings Bank and was its only president; he was president of the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

; manager of various city institutions; and director of insurance companies and charitable organizations. The money for the Newark First Baptist Church was given by Peddie. H. J. Latham wrote:

He said to me, Now, don't mention my name in this service, but pass me by. After the service was over, we walked down Broad Street together, and he said to me, I don't think that you or any of the others quite understand me in this gift. How so? I asked. He replied, Think of it, I came to this city a poor young man. See where I am now! Look at my happy home! Think how many friends I have. Everything I've touched has seemed to prosper. Now, I believe that all this prosperity has come to me from God, and I owe all my religious convictions to the fellowship I have enjoyed all these years in the First Baptist Church. Then pausing and turning abruptly to me he said with great emphasis, I am building this church simply to express my gratitude to God.

U.S. Patent

"This invention has for its object to improve the construction of trunks, valises, portmanteaus, pellesiers, traveling bags, etc., so as to adapt them to receive and carry a portfolio in such a way that while carrying it safely, it may be conveniently removed when required for use." (1870).

Death

He died in Newark on February 16, 1889, and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark.

Legacy

The

Peddie School The Peddie School is a non-denominational, coeducational college preparatory school located on a campus in Hightstown, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA that serves boarding and day students in the ninth through twelfth grades, as well as po ...

in Hightstown, where he was a generous benefactor, and the Peddie Memorial Baptist Church in Newark are named after him.

References

External links

Thomas Baldwin Peddie
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peddie, Thomas Baldwin Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) Mayors of Newark, New Jersey Scottish emigrants to the United States 1808 births 1889 deaths Politicians from Edinburgh Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey 19th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature