In early records Maria Peek is called in 1664 "one of the oldest inhabitants of New Amsterdam." She was the wife of Jan Peek, an early settler of New Amsterdam, who for many years kept an inn. In 1655 he sold two houses in Fort Orange to Johannes Dyckman. His wife was Maria (De Truy) Volchers, a widow whom he married February 20, 1650. They had a son Jacobus, who took up land on the second flat, south side of the Mohawk river. He married Elizabeth Leunise and had many children. It is from this ancestry that the Peek family herein considered undoubtedly sprang, although the true line of descent cannot be given.
(I) James C. Peek was born in 1755, died March 7, 1826. He married Nancy ————, who died January 30, 1829. They settled on new land in the southwestern part of the town of Florida, Montgomery county, New York, where they cleared a farm and made a home in the wilderness. They endured all the hardships and were exposed to all the dangers of the pioneer. In that heavily timbered section the labor of clearing a farm was a long and arduous task. They reared a family, whose names with a single exception cannot at this time be given.
(II) John, son of James C. and Nancy Peek, was born on the homestead not far from the Mohawk river in Florida, 1784, died there in 1859. He inherited the homestead farm, which he still further brought under cultivation, and lived on it all his days. He married Nancy Van Voorhees, a daughter of another pioneer settler of Florida, where she was born. She survived her husband and lived to the age of eighty years. Children:
- James, who was a farmer of Florida for over forty years; he married ———— Cady, who lived to be eighty years of age, and left children, Walter and Hannah, both of whom survive.
- Walter, see forward.
- Margaret, married Chester Cooley, of Florida; they settled on a farm in the town of Amsterdam where they lived to be very old people.
- Cornelius, lived and died in the town of Amsterdam, New York; he was a blacksmith; he married Annie Swart and reared a family.
(III) Walter, second child of John and Nancy (Van Voorhees) Peek, was born on the farm in Florida, January 24, 1812, and here died January 29, 1853. He followed the pursuit of agriculture all his life. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and a man of high standing in his community. He married, January 12, 1837, Katherine Peek (a cousin), born October 23, 1820, died April 28, 1908. She was also a Presbyterian. She survived her husband and became the wife of Dr. Grant Vanken, a widower with two children, Ida and Frank. Children of Walter and Katherine (Peek) Peek:
- John H., see forward.
- Ann Elizabeth, born June 15, 1845; married James R. Robb, a farmer of Florida; they reside on the farm; children:
- Agnes, wife of V. Turnbull, and
- Alexander Robb;
- a daughter, Dorothy Robb, is deceased.
(IV) John H., only son of Walter and Katherine (Peek) Peek, was born March 8, 1835, on the homestead farm, where he was reared and has always lived. He is of the fourth generation to own and cultivate the fertile acres which James C. Peek located and cleared. He, like the members of his family, is a member of the Presbyterian church. In political faith he is a Republican. He married, in Florida, June 8, 1871, Katherine O'Breen, born in the village of Ames, town of Canajoharie, Montgomery county, New York, January 25, 1842. Children:
- Henrietta, born June 23, 1873; now resides with her father; she is the widow of Peter Sibel, born in the town of Rotterdam, Schenectady county, New York, May 4, 1865, died on his farm in that town, January 31, 1909. He was of German parentage, a progressive, successful farmer. She is the mother of
- Louise Sibel, born August 11, 1894;
- Walter Sibel, December 6, 1895;
- Alta Sibel, May 2, 1896;
- Irene and
- Loreen Sibel (twins), March 3, 1905.
- Tracy W., born July 31, 1875; educated in the schools of Albany; married Albert Tyron, who is an electrician, and with his family resides in Schenectady, New York. They have two children:
- John F. Tyron, born May 21, 1908, and
- Ralph Tyron, born October 29, 1909.