Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/270

 PECKHAM

PECKHAM

of Dan H. and Ilariiette Maria (Welles) Arnold of New York city. He was district attorney of Albany county, N.Y., 1868; corporation counsel of the city of Albany in 1880-81, and a justice of the supreme court of the state of New York, 1883-86, resign- ing, in 1886 to accept the office of judge of the court of appeals. He was appointed, Dec. 3, 1895, by Presi- dent Cleveland to fill the vacancy on the bench of the U.S. supreme court, caused by the death of Justice Howell E. Jackson, his appoint- "meut being duly con- firmed by the senate. The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Union college in 189-4; by Yale university in 1896. and by Cohinibia university in 1901.

PECKHAM, Samuel Wardwell, librarian, was born in Providence, R.I., July 5, 1814; son of Thomas and Sarah (Wardwell) Peckham. His father, collector of the port of Providence for many years, was a descendant of the Peck- hams, who were Quakers, and among the first settlers of Aquidneck. He was graduated from Brown university, A.B., 1832, A.M., 1835; taught school; studied law with Chief-Justice Richard W. Greene, and was admitted to the bar in 1836. He was librarian of the Providence Athenaeum, 1836-38; secretary, 1836-45 and 1856-57, and one of its constant directors, and was a member of the school committee, 1845-49 and 1855-57. He was married in 1846 to Margaret, daughter of Jacob and Mary Wanton (Lyman) Dunnell. She died of small-pox in 1849. Mr. Peckham was justice and clerk of the court of magistrates, 1846-53; a representative in the state assembly in 1854; justice of the police court, 1857-69; clerk of the municipal court during the summer of 1857, and master in chancery for over thirty years. He declined his election as president of the Athenaeum in 1888, but consented to serve in 1889 and was annually re-elected. Upon his death he bequeathed $4,000 to the Rhode Island hospital to establish a free bed in memory of hia wife. He was a member of the First Congrega- tional (Unitarian) society, 1845-95, and its presi- dent for several years. He is the author of: Re- ports of the Providence Athenceiim (1844, 1850, 1883 and 1886); Verses in Various Moods and on Various Occasions, and valuable contributions to library literature. He died in Providence, R.I. , June 29, 1895.

PECKHAM, Stephen Farnum, chemist, was born at Fruit Hill, North Providence, R.I., March 26, 1839; son of Charles and Hannah Lapham (Farnum) Peckham; grandson of Thomas Peckham of Providence, R.I., and a descendant of John Peckham of Newport, R.I., 1638, of John Howland of the Mayjlower and of Richard Scott, the first Quaker in Rliode Island. He attended the district schools and the Friends boarding scliool at Providence, and studied chemistry at Brown university. In 1861 he en- gaged in erecting an establishment for the manu- facture of illuminating oil from petroleum. He enlisted in the Federal army, Aug. 15, 1862, as hospital steward of the 7th R.I. regiment, and in 1864 had charge of the chemical department of the U. S. army laboratory at Philadelphia, being honorably discharged. May 26, 1865. He was chemist of the California Petroleum company, Santa Barbara county, Cal., 1865-66; a member of the California Geological survey, 1866-67, and prepared a report on the " Oil Interests of Southern California; " was an instructor in chem- istry at Brown university, 1867-68; professor of chemistry at Washington college. Pa., 1868-69; professor of chemistry at the Maine State College of Agriculture, 1869-71; at Buchtel college, Ohio, 1871-72, and at the University of Minnesota, 1872-80. He returned to Providence in 1881. He was chemist of the Minnesota Geological survey; special agent of the U. S. census ofliice, 1880-85; state assayer of Maine, Rhode Island and Minne- sota, and chemist of the Union Oil company of California, 1893-94. He investigated the problem of street paving with asphaltum and read a paper on the subject before the congress of chemists at the Columbian exposition. He made wide re- searches into the subject of bitumens and became a recognized expert, being for a number of years chemist to the commissioners of accounts of the city of New York. He was married, June 13, 1865, to Mary Chace, daughter of Charles Miller and Adriana (Fisher) Peck of Providence, R.I. She died in Ann Arbor, Mich., Mar. 20, 1892. He was elected a member of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1876; a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1870; a member of the Society of Chemical In- dustry in 1898; thelAmerican Philosopliical society in 1897, and the American Chemical society in 1898. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred on him by Brown university in 1870. He is the author of: Elementary Text Book on Chemistry (1873); a monograpli on Petruleina and its Pro- ducts fertile " Tenth Census of the United States" (1885); an article on Petroleum for the last original edition of the " Encylopa?dia Britannica " (1885), and many contributions to current scientific literature.