Ebenezer Peck

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Peck

Ebenezer Peck (May 22, 1805 – May 25, 1881) was a lawyer and political figure in Lower Canada and the United States. He represented Stanstead in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1829 to 1834.

He was born in Portland, Maine, the son of Thomas Peck and Sarah Pierce, and came to Montreal with his parents at a young age. Peck was educated at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal, studied law with William Walker, was admitted to the Lower Canada bar in 1827 and set up practice in Stanstead and later Sherbrooke, Quebec. In 1833, he was named King's Counsel. Peck served as administrator for Charleston Academy in East Hatley; he was also inspector of schools for Drummond, Sherbrooke, and Stanstead counties. He did not take part in the vote on the Ninety-Two Resolutions. Peck subsequently left the province and moved to Chicago, Illinois.

He was a delegate to the first Democratic State convention in Illinois in 1835 and was chief advocate for the adoption of the convention system in the state. Peck was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1838 and to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1840. He left the Democratic party in 1853 and helped establish the state Republican Party in 1856. In 1858, he was elected to the state House of Representatives again as a Republican. He was named a judge in the United States Court of Claims in 1863 by President Lincoln and served until 1875. He died in Chicago at the age of 76.