The elder Peddie died in 1832, leaving his wife and six children in moderate financial circumstances and whose support then depended mainly upon Thomas.

Seeing little chance in Scotland of earning a living for so many dependent ones, and hearing of America as the land of opportunity, he emigrated in 1833; after studying the advantages offered by several towns, he concluded to make Newark, New Jersey, his home.

When he died, his factory and warehouses covered nearly a block, his employees were numbered in the hundreds, and his name stood at the head of this branch of industry in the United States.

Now, I believe that all this prosperity has come to me from God, and I owe all my religious convictions to the fellowship I have enjoyed all these years in the First Baptist Church.

Then pausing and turning abruptly to me he said with great emphasis, I am building this church simply to express my gratitude to God.