John PECKHAM

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Nothing is known of this John Peckham, except that he lived on the Peckham estate at Little Compton, R.I., and was one of the original Proprietors of East Greenwich, R.I., although there is no evidence that he ever resided there. he married in 1667 to Sarah Newport. The Newports were a distinguished English family and connected with the family of George Herbert, the well known writer of religious poems. Isaac Walton, in his Life of George Herbert, page 20, mentions this connection, which we quote:

"The place of George Herbert's birth was near the town of Montgomery, England. The castle was then a place of state and prestige and had been successively happy in the family of Herbert, who long possessed it with plentiful estate and hearts as liberal to their poor neighbors. The family had been blessed with men of remarkable wisdom and willingness to serve their country and did good to all mankind for which they were eminent.

"The father of George Herbert was Richard Herbert, a son of Edward Herbert, Knight, the son of Richard Herbert, Knight, the son of the famous Sir Richard Herbert of Colebrook in the County of Monmouth, Banneret, who was the youngest brother of that memorable William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, who lived in the reign of Edward 4th. His mother was Magdalen Newport, the youngest daughter of Sir Richard and sister to Sir Fancis Newport of High Arcall in the County of Salop, Knight, grandfather of Francis, Lord Newport, High Comptroller in his Majesty's household, a family that for their loyalty have suffered much. This mother of George Herbert was the mother of seven sons and three daughters, which she would often say was Job's number and Job's distribution, and blessed God that they were neither deficient in their shapes or in their reasons, and blessed God for so great a blessing. Edward the oldest was made Knight of the Bath at that glorious tie of our late Prince Henry, son of James I, being installed Knight of the Garter, after many years of travel attaining many languages, was sent as Ambassador resident to the French King, Louis XIII, and returned in the reign of King Charles the 1st who made him First Baron of Castle Island and of Cherbury in the County of Salop, Lord Herbert of Cherbury distinguished himself in the Wars of the Netherlands and died 1648, the two bothers were Richard and William. They ventured their lives in the Wars of the Low Countries and died Officers. Charles was the fourth son and died Fellow of New College in Oxford. Henry was the fifth, who became a menial servant to the crown in the reign of King jJmes and continued the same for fifty years. The sixth was Thomas, Captain of a ship in the fleet with which Sir Robert Maunsell was sent against Algiers and had there shown fortunate and true English valour.

"Of the three sisters, I need not say more than that they were all married to persons of worth and plentiful fortune and lived to be examples of virtue and did good in their generation."

John married Sarah NEWPORT in 1667. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. John PECKHAM was born on 19 Jun 1671 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, USA; died in 1722 in Little Compton, Newport County, Rhode Island.

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Residence: Newport. He married first Mary Clarke, the sister of John Clarke. He married second Eleanor (?).

According to Stephen Farnam Peckham in his Genealogy: "John Peckham no doubt came to Boston with Sir Henry Vane in 1634 and he probably met there Mary Clarke who accompanied her brother John Clarke to Boston at about the same time. The acquaintance resulted in marriage of which no record can be found. He probably was one of the party called the Ann Hutchinson party, who founded a settlement on the north end of Rhode Island, which became the town of Portsmouth. In 1640 the bounds of his land were established."

On 20 May 1638 his name appeared on a list as one of those admitted as an inhabitant of Portsmouth. He became a freeman in 1641. In 1648 his second wife Eleanor was baptized.

His residence was in that part of Newport which is now Middletown, and a stone marked J.P. is supposed to mark his grave.

John married Mary CLARKE. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]