Rev Henry Peck

Like his father Everard, Henry Peck became a fervent abolitionist after graduating from Bowdoin College and studying theology at Oberlin, where he serves as a Professor of Sacred Rhetoric from 1852-1865. While there he becomes a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad and leads the chorus in condemning the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In light of his leadership, he is asked to run for the U.S. House in 1855, but declines. In 1859 he is one of the “Ohio Rescuers” who help “Little John” Price, an 18 year old runaway from Kentucky, escape a bounty hunter and flee to safety in Canada. Peck is arrested along with 36 other conspirators and spends 83 days in jail before a compromise frees them all. He returns to teaching and when the war begins he is 40 years old and serves on recruiting efforts and by visiting hospitals. In 1865, President Lincoln appoints Peck as Commissioner and Counsel General to Haiti, where he dies of yellow fever in 1867.