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Alonzo S. Peak, now retired, is one of the substantial men
of McHenry County, who is residing in Coral Township, near the
village of the same name. He was born in Wayne County, Ohio,
near Wooster, March 22, 1845, a son of Christopher and Elizabeth
(Colgrove) Peak, both of whom were born at Schoharie,
N. Y., and were there married, going afterwards to Ohio about
1840. In 1848 the family migrated to McHenry County, settling
in Coral Township, two and one-half miles west of Huntley, on
wild land, that had on it a small log house.
Christopher Peak went to work at once to clear off his land.
He moved three times, his permanent home being west of Harmony
where he lived until his death at the age of eighty-five years,
having been retired for some years prior to his passing away.
His wife died at the age of seventy-two years. He was a Republican
and a very public spirited man, and one of the organizers of
the Harmony Methodist church. Prices in the early days were not
what they are today, and A. S. Peak distinctly remembers operating
the churn for his mother's butter which was sold about 1855,
at eight and ten cents per pound to pay the family's subscription
to the church. The Peak family have continued to attend this
church ever since, but their subscription totals up a much larger
amount than it did in 1855. At one time this church had a very
large congregation. The parents of A. S. Peak are buried in the
old Harmony Cemetery, kept in fine condition by the present members
of the church. Christopher Peak and his wife had the following
family: A. S. whose name heads this review; Eleanor, who is the
wife of Albert Shapley of Logan, Kan.; George D., who lives at
Logan, Kan; William J., who lives at Colorado Springs, Colo.,
who are living, and seven who are deceased, three of the seven
having passed away in childhood. Ursula, who became Mrs. N. Van
Vleet, died at the age of twenty-seven years; Mindel died in
young womanhood; Charles W. Peak died in childhood; and,
Arvilla, who also died in young womanhood.
Alonzo S. Peak remained at home until he enlisted on September
17, 1863, for service during the Civil War, in Company B, Seventeenth
Illinois Cavalry, under Colonel Beveridge and Captain McReynolds,
and was sent to Alton, Ill., to guard prisoners, from there being
transferred to Missouri at the time General Price made his great
raid. The company divided, a portion going to Kansas, but his
command pursuing the bushwhackers in Missouri. He received his
honorable discharge at the end of a year, and was not wounded
or captured, and came out as a high private. A portion of his
service consisted in the carrying of dispatches in which he ran
considerable risk, but was not captured.
Returning home A. S. Peak conducted his father's farm until the
latter's death when he bought the homestead and continued his
farming until his retirement, after which he rented the farm,
and moved to a small property near the village of Coral. He is
secretary and treasurer of the Harmony Cemetery Association,
and was on the school board for twenty-five years, and for forty-three
years was township collector. At first his collections amounted
to about $4,000, advancing to $10,000 after the Civil War. In
1916 the taxes amounted to $150,000, the last year he held office.
A strong Republican, for thirty-five years he has served his
party as county-committee man, and still holds that office from
Coral Township. For thirty years a justice of the peace, a school
director for twenty-two years, and judge of election for fifty
years, he' is a well-known man in this region.
On June 4, 1871, Mr. Peak was married to Emily E Stevens a sister
of Frank Stevens, whose biography appears elsewhere, and they
became the parents of these children: Esther Almira, who died
in infancy; Charles N., unmarried, who lives in Coral
Township; and Ernest G., who was struck by lightning August 15,
1919, owned the Peak homestead bought by his grandfather, just
prior to the Civil War, and which has been in the family for
over sixty years. On June 3, 1921, Mr. and Mrs. Peak celebrated
their golden wedding anniversary. Congratulations and good wishes
arrived from distant friends; many beautiful and useful gifts
were received, including a shower of gold pieces to the amount
of $325. The occasion was a very happy and memorable one.
Submitted by Dr. William
L. Baran
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