Page of frank peck memoirs “freedom”
Frank Hale Peck was the youngest son of Harriet and Sheldon Peck. He was born in Babcock's Grove on 19 March 1853 and lived in the family home nearly his entire life. He married Ida Grace Matthews in Iroquois County, Illinois on 16 June 1897
Frank Peck wanted to ensure future residents of Lombard knew about his life and the life of his family so he wrote down accounts of his life, including when his family harbored Freedom Seekers, like Old Charley. These first-person accounts allow us to understand what life was like was in early Lombard, and provide a key piece of historical evidence for the Underground Railroad.
What the Peck family and other Conductors of the Underground Railroad did was illegal. To keep themselves and the people they were helping safe, few written documents were produced outlining who exactly was a part of this network. Frank's memoirs are a rare account of a politically divided time in American history. Below are exerts from Frank’s memoirs.
