George Record Peck was an American lawyer and railroad attorney. He was general solicitor for the Santa Fe Railroad.
Background
George Record Peck was born on May 15, 1843 in Cameron, Steuben County, New York, United States. He was the youngest of the ten children of Joel Munger and Amanda (Purdy) Peck and a direct descendant of William Peck, one of the founders of the New Haven Colony.
Education
When George Record Peck was about six years old, he moved with his family to a farm near Palmyra, Jefferson County, Wis. , where he worked on the farm and attended the common schools until, at the age of sixteen, he became a district school teacher. He spent two terms, 1861 - 1862, in Milton Academy, and on August 21, 1862, enlisted as a private in the 16t Wisconsin Heavy Artillery.
Career
George Record Peck was commissioned first lieutenant December 12, 1862, and captain, July 6, 1864, of Company K, 316t Wisconsin Infantry, and participated in Sherman's march to the sea. From 1865 to 1871 Peck studied law in the office of Charles G. Williams at Janesville, Wisconsin, and attended lecture courses in the law school of the state university at Madison. He was admitted to the bar in 1866, served as clerk of the circuit court of Rock County from January 1, 1867, to January 1, 1869, then engaged in general practice in partnership with J. M. Kimball. In December 1871 Peck removed to Independence, Kansas, and entered the office of W. H. Watkins, probate judge of Montgomery County. He studied Kansas law, and in time became a member of the firm of Peck & Chandler.
Appointed United States attorney for the district of Kansas in 1874, George Record Peck moved to Topeka. He was reappointed in 1878, but resigned in March 1879, to devote himself to general practice. While in Topeka he was a member of the firm of Peck, Ryan & Johnson and head of the firm of Peck, Rossington, Smith, & Dallas. On February 9, 1882, he became general solicitor of the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fé Railroad, which position he held until January 1, 1884, and again from Apr. 15, 1886, until September 16, 1895. In 1891 when the Santa Fé attempted to secure control of St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, a stock-holder of the latter sought to enjoin the sale on the ground that the roads were "parallel and competing lines" and the sale therefore illegal.
Peck's successful handling of the consequent litigation in the circuit court and the Supreme Court gave him a place of first rank among railroad attorneys. When the Santa Fé was forced into receivership in December 1893, he directed the legal proceedings so well that the railroad was successfully reorganized in two years, a notable feat of efficiency. Although a leader of the Republican party in Kansas, Peck did not desire political office, and in 1891 declined Governor Humphrey's offer of a seat in the United States Senate vacated by the death of Senator Preston B. Plumb. In 1893 when the Santa Fé established general offices in Chicago, Peck moved to that city, becoming a member of the distinguished law firm of Peck, Miller & Starr. After his resignation as general solicitor of the Santa Fé in September 1895, he served as general counsel for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway until his retirement, January 1, 1911.
George Record Peck was engaged in the foreclosure of the mortgage on the Jacksonville & Southwestern Railroad, was retained in connection with the reorganization of the Northern Pacific, and drafted the articles of incorporation of the Civic Federation of Chicago upon which was modeled the National Civic Federation. In 1896 he was considered by many newspapers as a possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. He was a speaker of unusual ability, much in demand by patriotic societies, private clubs, universities, and colleges. He died in his eightieth year on February 22, 1923.
Achievements
Politics
George Record Peck was a member of Republican Party.
Membership
In 1905 - 1906 George Record Peck was a president of the American Bar Association.
Interests
George Record Peck was a lover of literature, history, and biography. He possessed a library of over twelve thousand volumes.
Connections
On October 24, 1866 George Record Peck was married to Arabella Burdick of Janesville, Wisconsin, who died on March 5, 1896. They had four children.