Biographies and Obituaries
In loving memory
George Washington Peery
A biography written by his Granddaughter
Written between 1900-1910.
Born in old Fort Hawkins in Indiana
There was fear of an Indian raid and all the settlers took refuge in
the fort, and there he was born in 1814. While he was still a young
boy he had smallpox. I have heard that he and his brother were shut
in their bedroom and a large dishpan full of dried apples with lots
of juice was placed on the table. The boys were told to drink the juice
whenever they felt thirsty. They were given no other food or drink.
Perhaps they had a light case, or else the vitamin C (not to be discovered
for another hundred years) in the apple juice gets the credit, but
both recovered with no scars at all. And in those days it was common
to see people with faces fearfully pitted by smallpox scars. Grandpa
Peery was a stern, upright man careful and industrious and prudent.
I have heard mother say that he always carried a gold piece in his
pocket, he was never without money. He was a God fearing man, reading
his bible constantly, able to quote chapter and verse in arguments
with neighbors, for in those days there was much argument about religious
doctrine. The old Bibles has fine print and grandpa Peery would hold
the book on the other side of the candle as he read. He read his hymn
book too and had a good memory for hymns.
He was not a jolly or light hearted man. Mother said when she and her
brother and sister were small, they never dared play in the evenings
when their father was at home, but if he happened to be a away, grandma
would let them make as much noise as they liked. This little brother
and sister died, and mother had no other playmates, so she was a serious
and lonely child. Other children were born later but by the time she
had the habit of aloneness.
Indiana was still new country in those days, but not like Kansas. It
had thick woods that travelers could get lost in. It was dangerous in
a storm at night coming through the woods too, but woods or prairie,
Grandpa Peery never lost his sense of direction, he always knew which
way was north. And the mud was deep, especially in the spring when the
ground thawed; he could walk without getting boots muddy. "I look where
I set my foot" he said.
He was a stern father and his children even when grown, obeyed him. "as
long as you are in my house you will take my orders." He told his sons.
And I have heard my mother say that she did not dare to linger at the
door even for a few minutes when Lewis Cunningham, who was courting her,
brought her home from church. He wanted to talk a little and couldn't
understand why she must go right in, but she knew her father.
There was a neighbor named Schooley who had a bad habit of getting drunk
and chasing his family out of the house. When he was sober he was a fine
man, and everybody liked him. But one winter night he got drunk and chased
his family out in the snow, and then, annoyed buy the ticking of the
old clock, tossed it out too. Finally he went to sleep and slept it off.
Meanwhile his family had taken refuge with neighbors. The next day the
men of the community got together and decided Schooley must be disciplined.
Eight or ten of them went and got him, tied him to a post and proceeded
to give him a horsewhipping. Each man gave a certain number of lashes,
so that the guilt, if there was a prosecution, would be equally shared.
When my grandfather's turn came, Schooley looked up a him and said "I
never thought you'd do this to me George" My grandfather said, "Well
William, I'm sorry I have to, but something HAS to be done!" As the
story goes, the man never drank again, and made no effort to have his
friends punished for their disciplinary measures. In later years he ran
for Legislature and they all voted for him. He was elected. In later
years my grandfather was bedridden with bronchial trouble. He took comfort
saying over to himself passages from the Bible. He said he read the Bible
more than he ever did meaning he read it from his memory. In younger
days he had taken part in public debates on doctrinal point, and was
known as a remarkable Bible learned man. He lived to seventy nine, dying
most peacefully. He had been set up in a chair while his was made and
he was talking with his daughter (Aunt sis) who had come in from the
country to see him. Suddenly he turned his head aside and said "I feel
sick" and
he was gone.
Note: George Washington Peery was the son of James and Nancy Peery
Photo of George and Margaret Peery
Contributed by: David Peery