Peck, Joseph (1835-1900)

Primitive Methodist Magazine 1887

Early years

Joseph was born on 3 August 1835 at East Bergholt, Suffolk to parents Joseph Peck and Roda Hayward. He was baptised on 6 September 1835 at East Bergholt. Joseph senior was a farmer.

When he was young, Joseph’s parents moved to Gallywood, Essex. Until the age of 14, Joseph attended the parish church. He was converted after being given a tract by a passing distributer whilst he was working in a field.

Shortly after conversion, Joseph moved to Chelmsford where he joined a Wesleyan society (September 1850), but soon afterwards he switched to the Primitive Methodists. He became a local preacher and received calls to the ministry. Joseph accepted on the third call.

Ministry

At Teignmouth, Joseph suffered considerable persecution for preaching in the open-air. Through listening to George Müller of Bristol, Joseph developed a passion for a connexional orphanage. He did a lot of research into how various homes operated

An old chapel at Alresford, Hampshire was purchased in 1886 by Joseph from Mrs Ownslow for the sum of £500. It was to be used as an orphanage, a new venture in child-care by the Primitive Methodist Church. He was the founder and first secretary of the orphanage, which opened in 1889.

Joseph’s obituary records that he was not physically robust, but he was a good industrious servant of his Lord. His preaching was methodistic and earnest. His visits to the homes of the people were frequent and much appreciated.

Family

Joseph married Hannah Stoneman (b abt 1844) in the summer of 1862 at Teignmouth, Devon. Census returns identify eight children.

  • Eleanor Hayward (1863-1964) – married Walter Hart, an NSPCC Inspector (1911)
  • Joseph Clowes Bramwell (1864-1952) – a Presbyterian clergyman; emigrated to USA
  • Emily Stoneman (b1866) – a Salvation Army Officer
  • George Ernest (b1868) – an insurance inspector (1911)
  • William Henry Wesley (1869-1947) – a pharmacist; died in South Africa
  • Florence Marion (b1871) – married Emanuel Breeze, a Presbyterian minister in Illinois, USA
  • Robert Key (b1873) – a minister in Canada; emigrated in 1892
  • John Wicliffe (1876-1968) – a pharmaceutical chemist

Joseph died in 1900 in London.

Circuits

  • 1858 Gravesend
  • 1859 Brighton
  • 1860 Isle of Wight
  • 1861 Teignmouth
  • 1862 Alderney
  • 1863 Bridgewater
  • 1864 Gloucester
  • 1865 Redhill
  • 1867 Dover
  • 1869 Ryde & Ventnor
  • 1871 Grays
  • 1873 Sheerness
  • 1874 Buriton
  • 1877 Maldon
  • 1880 Marlborough
  • 1881 Newbury
  • 1883 Micheldever
  • 1886 Poole
  • 1889 Hungerford
  • 1891 Newport
  • 1893 Pembroke Dock
  • 1894 Stewkley
  • 1896 Abergavenny
  • 1898 Kilburn (Sup)

References

Primitive Methodist Magazine 1887 (portrait); 1901/225

PM World 1900/551

B A Barber, A Methodist Pageant, 1932, p206

Joseph Ritson, The Romance of Primitive Methodism , 1909, p306

W Leary , Directory of Primitive Methodist Ministers and their Circuits , 1990

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers

 

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Comments about this page

  • This page was modified on 14 March 2017 to add a transcription of his obituary published in the Primitive Methodist Magazine 1901.

    By Geoff Dickinson (14/03/2017)

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