Jedediah Peck

An outspoken opponent of the John Adams administration and the Federalist Party in New York State, Peck was arrested by Federalist Judge William Cooper for circulating a petition against the Adams-era Alien and Sedition Acts and taken to jail in chains; massive protests from Peck supporters and opponents of the administration won his release without trial.

He was raised on the family farm, and his formal education was limited to attending a country grammar school, but he taught himself by reading the Bible many times over.

He became extremely depressed and wrote in his journal that he longed for: Days and times past when may father and Mother and all my bretherin and Sisters were about me in helth and prosperity but alas!

There is no place that Seemes to be home to me.He kept that journal in a secret drawer in his desk throughout the remainder of his life, and from that time he became quite evangelical about his faith.

He also worked as a surveyor and millwright, studied law, was appointed as a judge, wrote political tracts, and conducted religious services on request.

He is said to have been seen as an awkward figure, with his "drawling, nasal, yankee twang" and his saddle-bags "filled with political papers and scraps" that he distributed to all who would listen.