Letters by john Mason Peck - NIU Digital Projects

LETTERS BY JOHN MASON PE CK
EDITED BY JOHN T. FLANAGAN
THE first half of the nineteenth century brought to .
many men who were destined to play significant roles
the development of the Prairie State. In training and gifts
were highly diverse: lawyers and physicians, clergymen
teachers, soldiers and merchants, farmers and
Often they claimed more than one profession and com
their roles in a way that is constantly amazing to an age
has placed specialization above versatility. Such a man
John Mason Peck, the Connecticut-born Baptist minister
came to St. Louis in 1817 and shortly thereafter settled
Rock Spring, St. Clair County, Illinois, retaining his .
there until his death in 1858.
Peck was a missionary and a temperance crusader,
teacher and a journalist, an editor and a publicist for
settlement. He was active in promoting a seminary at
Spring for the training of the Baptist clergy, an .
which, when transferred to Alton and rebaptized after
eastern philanthropist, -developed into Shurtleff College.
labored hard to publish religious periodicals and to
ate devotional tracts. He was constantly soliciting funds
f ohn T. Fla1zagan is a professor of English at the University / '
Illinois. H e has written several articles for this Journal and tS II fd
the ailthor of James H all, Literary Pioneer of the Ohio Vallel a1l d
editor of America Is West, an Anthology of Middlewestern 11 e an
Literature.
264

JOHN T. FLANAGAN 273
I will consent to appear & preach the Sermon in
. 'Tell your father he must write, frequently, & let
how he progresses.
am hard at work making the tables of associations in
. Almanac now in press & I shall come very near
correct returns. Next week I am to attend a meeting
Alumni of Brown University-as all graduates & honorare
invited to attend & form an association.
Eve. Oct. 15, I have been appointed . to preach a
about the Home Mission & wants of the Western
before the New York Missionary Convention at
Jll
YOURS &c
J. M. PECK
ROCK SPRING, ILL. JULY 29, 1850.
HIGHLY ESTEEMED FRIENDyou
left the college, (friday) the appointment of
in the Junior Preparatory Department became
. The "Faculty" with some hesitation, said they
nominate no other than the former teacher Mr. Cun-
,16 who by some was thought to be inefficient. Your
mentioned by some of the Board. A reply from
ashn Leverett,17 chairman of the nominating comwas
(after a moments consultation with others) that
dare not name Mr. Russell for a post in the
Department-it would appear like an insult to a
of the literary distinction, standing and age of
to nominate him to such an inferior station; but
Was a Professorship to be filled he would not hesitate
but would cheerfully decline any nomination and
wh.ole subject to the Trustees. Quite an interesting
slOgular discussion took place. It was soon mani-
Cunningham, a graduate of Shurtleff College, taught in the preparatory
and subsequently at Greenville.
leverett (1805·1889) went to Shurtleff in 1836 as professor of
land natural philosophy; he served until 1868. His twin brother Warren
Was affiliated with the college almost as long and held the professorship

JOHN T. FLANAGAN 275
'p in a College- I shall look over College docuto
see if I can find a precedent- The salary of the last
was $3S0-but we could not think of less than $400.
there is any way by increase of scholars to get the
will raise it. The Institution opens again in seven
you consent, let me know at once. I told the trusyOU
come you would very likely occupy a room in
building with your son. 20
from St. Louis about 30 papers of last volume of
an, thinking you would want a file of such as
special editorials, descriptions of the changes in
&c. 21
your long absence, I suppose you are not' 'well
up" in Baptist progress in Missouri. The denominathat
state are so far ahead that they cannot be seen
.. crl"'\1">p from Illinois.
raised in two years, without one dollar agency
sixty thousand dollars to establish a Baptist College.
about the last of August give the Proceedings
tion held at Booneville to locate it. Liberty in
ty, is the site. The people are now raising $40,000
in buildings & apparatus. We have talents, inpiety
and wealth now in the Baptist denomination
'-and large views and liberality too. And then they
and have none of the petty rivalships & jealousies
small fellows in Illinois. I feel vexed, mortified, and
at the lagging course of things in Illinois. We have
of "York-State" baptist preachers in northern Illinois,
our folks gave up the lead some six or seven years
and all they have done is to monopolize the Home
funds, quarrel with each other, write letters prejuto
Southern Illinois, ( by which they mean all the counof
Peoria) and keep any thing from being done in
Association. When I came back from Phil athe'y
had 20 missionaries sustained by the Home
SOCIety north of the middle of the state, and four a
G. Russell, John Russell's son, was at this time a student at Shurtleff.
served as the Bluffdale postmaster.
newspaper, Watchman of the Prau ies, was published in Chicago from
earlier W estern Watchman may have been published in Rock Spring
19 Franklin W. Scott, in Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814-1879
10),305, terms this improbable.

292 LETTERS BY JOHN MASON PECK
not leave his bed, & every effort is made by his f .
ph ysicians to calm him & get him to retire to the tIeods
But he will get up and write under the most alarrn '
citement until perfectly exhausted. 109
He cannot live a month, unless he can be rernov d
all excitement of controversy. e
I shall be in Louisville about April 22nd. and if J
say the word I can arrange with Kirk for you. You t:k
advice and write nothing but what will be useful and e
able. Mind and hoe your garden regularly & labor an
or two daily, so as to have health & physical pOwer. I
you a spare No. of the Repository but it is one of the
in matter. With your help and mine the w ork can be
a No 1 for Miss Valley.
Shall I order you the work from the beginning?
Kirk will send you vol. I bound if I say soimmediately.
YOURS &c
J. M . PECK
XI
ROCK SPRING ( SHILOH P.O.) ILL. AUGUST 26, 1
PROF. RUSSELL, My DEAR FRIEND ,
I find on a reperusal of your last letter that I did
more than half answer it on the 23rd so you may look
this second answer about six days hence.
" Pere M axwell"- The Editors of the Republican SO
indicated me in an editorial of July 4, as to require n
particular from me. There was no rumor more current
more generally believed by Saint & Sinner, Catholic &
tant than that of Pere M axwell praying off the wate.rs
the Ste. Genevieve " common fields , " and getting hIS
in corn, as when I came to Missouri. I heard it fr?ID
& Americans, Catholics & protestants, and that III
religious " Sect," old parson Morse,41 in his G,-e .
nominated " nothingarians ." And since I recel It 1
scarcely come in contact with an old citizen of 181 ,
41 Jedidiah Morse ( 1761-1826 ) was a Congregational m inister, bur he
known for his various pioneer works on American geography.
is

JOHN T. FLANAGAN 299
several publishers, & their books have a good run. I
yOU can make them a series that would be popular, &
bIe to you & them, but to do anything for anybody,
get the foolish & crazy notions out of your imagiof
"insults, " "de gred" [sic], and "slave. " You can
$5 per day in a series of books, and as to topics when
inventive power is exhausted, let me know & I will
of 20 more. There is a wide and exhaustless field in
alley to illustrate character, scenery & events. Stick
your stakes of "facts," as you would mark a new road,
the prairies, and let your immagination play round
. You might make a dozen books from the incidents,
you have witnessed yourself. Even "James Boxwas
a student of yours at Rock Spring, though that
Boxley had not sense enough to break a barometer.
what do you think of the flagelation [sic] I have given
alt for your good. Have I not dissected you-turned you
out, and made you look at your own .. in' ards' '?
will give you the ti tles of some of the books I expect
. Everyone will be matters of truth & reality- "facts
g but facts"-in the sense I have explained to you.
"The Indian Captive," or Life of John Tanner. 54
will illustrate Indian character.
"Father Clark," or the Pioneer of Missouri. This
up preaching, education, schools &c. from 1796.
"The Wreck of the Shepherdess "-4. "The Backq-irl
"-a true story in Crawford County, Illinois but
tllus.trate Daniel Parker & his tribe [word illegible].
PIOneer Mother," in which old mother Lemen &
will be the theme .
. The First Sunday School," in which Berry [?]
& the darkies will figure. 55 I can invent 100
al.l of which shall portray some distinct feature of
"T lIfe & character. And finally I can close the series
he Insult," or the man with a diseased imagination.
YOURS SINCERELY
J. M. PECK.
( 1780 ?-1 847) was captured by Indians and remained in their
years. He later served as interpreter for Schoolcraft and wrote his
o f hIS experiences.
as Berry Meachum ( 1789-1864) was born a slave, bought his own freedom
pastor of the First African Baptist Church in St. Louis.