Peckham, Charles J.

Born: 1833-11-19 Providence, Rhode Island

Died: 1901-12-18 Winfield, Kansas

Flourished: Princeton, Illinois

Charles J. Peckham was an attorney, town official, and army officer. He worked as attorney in Princeton, Illinois, before the Civil War. In December 1856, Peckham married Mary Jane Grey Newberry, with whom he had at least one child. Peckham served as town clerk of Princeton from 1859 to 1861. In 1860, he was practicing law and owned real property valued at $150. Peckham entered military service as a first sergeant in May 1864 with the 139th Illinois Infantry, mustering out in June at the expiration of his 100-day enlistment. In February 1865, he returned to military duty as a captain in the 148th Illinois Infantry. He received promotion to lieutenant colonel in late February. He mustered out of service on September 5, 1865 in Nashville.

Rhode Island and Pawtucket, Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Index, 1800-1855 (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2020); H. C. Bradsby, ed., History of Bureau County, Illinois (Chicago: World, 1895), 410-41; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Bureau County, 17 December 1856, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Arkansas City Daily Traveler (KS), 21 December 1901, 5:3; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Princeton, Bureau County, IL, 45; Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls , Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Gravestone, Union-Graham Cemetery, Winfield, KS.