Robert Peck, the elder, of Beccles

Not the son of John Peck & Joan Peck. Careful: false pedigree in circulation.

Robert Peck, Sr.

• Born about 1500 near Beccles, Suffolk, England
• Died 20 Nov 1556 at about age 56 in Beccles, Suffolk, England
• Son of Henry Peck and Margery (Leeke) Peck
• Husband of Joan Anne (Norton) Peck — married [date unknown] in England
• Husband of Joan (Waters) Peck — married 1540 in Suffolk, England

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Robert Peck, the Elder, of Beccles, was the grandson of John Leeke, of Beccles. Died testate with a will dated October 31, 1556, which was proved November 20, 1556, in which he requested burial in the churchyard at Beccles near the grave of his wife Joan.

family

had 7 children

Six children by his second wife (three sons: John, Robert, and Thomas; and three daughters: Margaret, Olive, and Anne) were living on 31 Oct. 1556, and that his sons John and Robert and his daughter Margaret were born before 28 May 1547, when they were named as legatees in the will of their grandfather, John Waters, the two sons and their sister Margaret being under twenty-one on that date.

Will

• Will dated 31 October 1556
• My body to be buried in the churchyard of Beccles, near unto the grave of Joan, my wife.
• To every one of my household servants 12d.
• To John Peck my son, my messuage wherein I dwell and my tenement "late Mayster Rede" and the two meadows lying next the meadow in the tenor of Mathew Prynte and my little garden "late Philippe Doddes," my close "sometyme Helyn Churches," my "fryttlell as the further Wynde Myll late Richard Tyde," and three acres of land "late William Marshes" upon condition that he shall pay to Thomas Pecke, my sons, and to my three daughters Margaret, Olyve, and Anne.
• To Robard Pecke, my son, my other two meadows in Barstun (?Barsham) "late Churchmans" and the meadows late "Doctor Rede sometyme Baldewyns," my close at Ingate church, one acre of land "late Tyde at Ingatefelds" and the "three roode acres called Bells acre."
• To Thomas Pecke, my son, my two tenements I purchased of John Walter and my tenter yard.
• To my daughters Margaret, Olyve, and Anne, to each £6.13s.4d.
• To every one of John Water's and William Water's children 4d.
• To every one of my godchildren 4d.
• Executors: Richard Crampton and Thomas Hagas.
• Supervisors: John Waters and Robert Bradley.
• My little "pyctell called Caves pyctell" lying in Ingate shall be sold.
• To Joan Meriman, my daughter, a gown and a petticoat that were her mother's and the worser paire of Corall beads."
• Witnesses: Sir John Bymbyn, Robert Tower, Robert Grene, Thomas Goodwyn, and John Waters. Proved 20 November 1556.

notes

an executor of grandfather John Leeke's wil

Robert Peck [his grandson] ministered in secret to his flock, much in the same manner as had his grandfather, who in the days of the Catholic Queen Mary preached the gospel ‘in woods and forrest places.’ [Peck Family Predigree, Tanner MSS, CLXXX, 24-25]. “1844

“Although deprived of his parish, Robert Peck ministered in secret to his flock, much in the same matter as had his grandfather [this Peck], who in the days of the Catholic Queen Mary preached the gospel ‘in woods and forrrest places.’ 316

comments

said to have settled in Beccles, which implies that he was not born or baptized there

Pedigree

• 2. Henry Peck [of Carlton Colville, Suffolk, d. 1525] = Margery Leeke
• 3. Robert Peck, Sr. [of Beccles, Suffolk, d. 1556] = Joan Water
• 4. Robert Peck [of Beccles, Suffolk] = Ellen Babbs
• 5. Joseph Peck, baptised at Beccles 30 Apr 1587 [immigrant, 1638]

Origins

Since … he was living in Beccles as early as 1525 and in 1529 was one of the executors of the will of John Leek, it is evident that he was then a man of mature years, and, considering the tender years at that time of the children of John Peck of Wakefield, co. York, Esq., who died in 1559, that he was not a son of John Peck of Wakefield by his wife Joan Anne. Probably this first Robert Peck of Beccles was born in the vicinity of Beccles. The surname is common both to Norfolk and to Suffolk from a very early date. The lay subsidy tax for Suffolk for 1524, as already stated, is in print (in volume 10 of the Suffolk Green Books), and with this as a guide it is possible to enumerate all the Peck families living at this time in Suffolk, in the neighborhood of Beccles. Beccles, however, lies on the Waveney River, which separates Norfolk from Suffolk, and the list of the Peck families residing in the neighborhood of Beccles but across the Waveney in Norfolk must remain incomplete until a lay subsidy for Norfolk of the same period has been examined. It is evident, nevertheless, that the Pecks in that section of Norfolk, near Beccles, were not very prolific, as no testators of the name have been found there in the records of the Norfolk probate courts."

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Spurious pedigree

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~barbpretz/genealogy/ps04/ps04_459.htm

“The records relating to the Pecks of Wakefield, co. York, and the families connected with them by marriage . . . have failed to prove that John Peck of Wakefield, Esq., the testator of 2 November 1558 (who, it has been claimed, was the father of Robert Peck of Beccles, co. Suffolk, the testator of 31 October 1556, ancestor of Joseph Peck of Hingham and Rehoboth in New England), ever had a son named Robert Peck”. 1865

https://groups.google.com/g/soc.genealogy.medieval/c/N_yyaqQn4tk

I have now skimmed S. Allen Peck's 72-page article, and admit I share
John's yawn (overkill on the documents in extenso), except for the
forgery part. The alleged Yorkshire connection comes from a
20-generation pedigree supplied in 1853 to wealthy American descendant
Ira Peck by none other than Horatio Gates Somerby, the prolific forger.
It is gently impugned by S. Allyn Peck, without being too bald in
fingering Somerby. Somerby told Ira Peck it can be found in BL MS Add.
5524, folio 152 (recte 158), and S. Allyn Peck printed a facsimile, in
five plates tipped in before NEHGR 90 (1936):371. I wonder if anyone
familiar with Somerby's own manuscripts (maybe Paul Reed?) could say
definitely if this pedigree is in Somerby's own hand. What is the
acquisition date / provenance of BL Add. MS 5524? I do not find it in
the BL Catalogue, online.

If people are interested, I have posted the entirety of S. Allyn Peck's
72 page NEHGR article online, including the facsimile of the forged
20-generation pedigree, here (3.7 MB):

http://www.nltaylor.net/temp/Peck_NEHGR.pdf

Consult:

http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PECK/2002-01/1012515364

The original article is:

S. Allyn Peck [and Frederick Stanhope Peck], "The English Ancestry of
Joseph Peck of Hingham, Mass, in 1638," NEHGR 89-94 (Oct 1935 through
Jan 1940), ...

According to Bradford Peck's summary (quoted below), the 1935-40 article
shows the following holes in the above descent:

.. the NEHGR series certainly seems to eliminate John Peck of Wakefield, d. 3 Feb 1558/9 & Joan Anne / Aune as the parents of Robert Peck Sr, d. 1556, of Beccles as was reported in both the Ira Peck and Herbert Peck books.
Also the NEHGR series does a good job of establishing John Leeke, d. 1529 as Robert Peck Sr.'s maternal grandfather. However Robert Peck's father is not identified who married the unidentified daughter of John Leek, d. 1529. Further that this John Leeke is the probable son of a John Leeke, d. 1504 (and possibly his wife Alys). It does suggest early in the series that Robert might be the son of Henry Peke, d. 1525, of Carlton Colville, Suffolk (about 5 miles east of Beccles) who names his wife Margery, a son Robert and a daughter Kateryn in his will dated 16 Apr 1525 & proved Nov 1525. However it is stated: "Thus far no proof has been found." [V.89, page 334, Oct 1934].

References

• https://groups.google.com/g/soc.genealogy.medieval/c/N_yyaqQn4tk
• http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PECK/2002-01/101251536

1. Find A Grave: Memorial #182452913 (has errors)
2. Peck, Allyn S., and Frederick Stanhope Peck. The English Ancestry of Joseph Peck, of Hingham, Mass. in 1638. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Part I, v. 89 (1935), pp. 327-339. Part II, v. 90 (1936), p. 58. Part III, v. 91 (1937), p. 7.
3. Peck, Ira Ballou. A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck. 1868. Page 13.
4. Barbara Fleming's Genealogy -[3].
5. Ancestors of Thomas Wilson Martin, accessed 24 Sep 2005 -[4].
6. Source:S205 Title: OneWorldTree Repository: #R2 NOTE Source Medium: Ancestry.com
7. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch [5] :entry for Robert /Peck/.
8. St Michael's Parish Churchyard, Beccles, Suffolk, England.

• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Peck-65
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182452913/robert-peck
• 1 Baldwin, Charles C., Baldwin Genealogy: with Maternal Branches, Summit, New Jersey: Unknown (1945), 45, Heritage Quest (Digital Library).
• 2 Cutter, William Richard, ed., New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of . . . Volume 3, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company (1913), 1051, Google Books (Digital Library).
• 3 Peck, Ira B., A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck: Who Imigrated with His Family to This County in 1638, Boston: Alfred Mudge and Son (1868), 20, Google Books (Digital Library).
• https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~barbpretz/genealogy/ps04/ps04_459.htm