Background

George Wilbur Peck was born on September 28, 1840 in Henderson, Jefferson County, New York, United States. He was the son of David B. and Alzina Peck. When he was about three years old, his parents removed to Wisconsin and settled on a farm at Cold Spring, Jefferson County. Later they moved to the town of Whitewater.

Education

George Wilbur Peck attended public school until age 15.

Career

Before he was fifteen, George Wilbur Peck became a "printer's dèvil" on the weekly Register at Whitewater and thus began a connection with newspaper work that continued throughout the most of his life. He purchased a half-interest in the Jefferson County Republican, a weekly paper with which he continued until 1863, when he enlisted as a private in the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry. He served with this unit as sergeant and later as second lieutenant until it was disbanded in 1866. He went to Ripon and began the publication of a weekly paper, the Representative, to which he contributed the first of his humorous articles. In 1868 one of these skits, a letter in Irish dialect signed "Terence McGrant" that satirized the nepotism at the beginning of President Grant's first term, attracted the attention of Marcus M. Pomeroy. As Pomeroy was about to launch a daily paper in New York City, he offered Peck a place on the staff in order to continue the "Terence McGrant" letters. These proved sufficiently popular to be brought together in a volume with illustrations, published in New York in 1871 under the title Adventures of One Terence McGrant.

In 1871 George Wilbur Peck returned to La Crosse and, with a partner, edited Pomeroy's former paper, the La Crosse Democrat, in which he supported the candidacy of Horace Greeley for president in 1872. When he withdrew from the Democrat in 1874, he began a new paper, the Sun, but after four years' struggle he abandoned La Crosse and moved his paper to Milwaukee. With the motto, "It Shines for All, " which had been used earlier by Benjamin H. Day for the New York Sun, Peck's new venture immediately proved a success. It was in Peck's Sun that the "Bad Boy" stories first appeared that were to make Peck's reputation as a humorist throughout the country.

In 1883 appeared Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa, his best-known book, in which were told stories of the practical jokes played on his father by a mischievous youngster. Within a year another collection of these stories entitled The Grocery Man and Peck's Bad Boy (1883) came from the press to add to his popularity. The success of these books augmented that of the weekly Sun, which attained a nationwide circulation of 80, 000 copies. Humorous sketches of his Civil War experiences, How Private Geo. W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion, published in 1887, was his last book for several years. In the spring of 1890 he was elected mayor of Milwaukee on the Democratic ticket. The enactment of the so-called Bennett Law to compel some teaching of English in all schools in the state aroused the fears of Roman Catholics and Lutherans, whose parochial schools were accustomed to give all instruction in foreign languages.

As the Republican party, long dominant in Wisconsin, had been responsible for this legislation, the Democrats took up the issue and nominated Peck for governor. His reputation as a humorist and his success in the Milwaukee mayorality campaign made him a promising candidate. He was elected in November 1890. With his genial personality and humorous speeches, his popularity continued after the law was repealed, and he was reëlected again in 1892 against John C. Spooner. Two years afterward, however, Peck was defeated in the gubernatorial contest and retired to his home in Milwaukee. He ran again for governor in 1904 against Robert M. La Follette but was defeated. Peck continued to be a familiar figure in Milwaukee with his gray moustache and goatee, eye-glasses, and a red carnation as a boutonnière. He also appeared occasionally on the lecture platform. Upon taking office in 1890 Peck turned over the Sun to George W. Peck, Jr. , his eldest son, who continued it for four years; but its popularity had waned, and in 1894 it was merged with another weekly paper.

In 1899 appeared Peck's Uncle Ike and the Red Headed Boy, which was followed by Sunbeams: Humor, Sarcasm and Sense (1900), Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1906), and Peck's Bad Boy with the Cowboys (1907); but these books did not attain the success that the original Bad Boy Series enjoyed. The latter furnished material for a popular comedy, Peck's Bad Boy, and the original stories were reprinted in paper covers to be sold on trains and at news stands for many years.

George Wilbur Peck died from Bright's disease on April 16, 1916.

Achievements

• As a newspaper editor, George Wilbur Peck was famous for his "Peck's Bad Boy" series which was also published in book form. As a politician he was best known as 17th Governor of Wisconsin.

Works

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  • Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus

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  • Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa 1883

Politics

George Wilbur was a member of Democratic Party.

Connections

In 1860 George Wilbur Peck was married to Francena Rowley of Delavan, Wisconsin. They had two children.

Father:

David Bell Peck

Mother:

Alzina Joslin Peck

Spouse:

Francena Rowley Peck

Sister:

Ann Peck Woodruff

Brother :

Chauncey L. Peck