George, Peleg, 1800 - 1837
Peleg George was born circa 1800, the son of Peter George and Poll Apes. He had at least one sibling, a brother, Peter, who was five years younger. Like many Pequot men, Peleg took to the sea at a young age. His occupation as a mariner kept him from home for years on end and that, combined with his relatively short life, meant fewer opportunities for engagement in political or other community affairs.
However, as a young man, in April of 1819, Peleg George was a signatory to a petition for the appointment of a new overseer. He, along with his younger brother, Peter, and 23 others from the community, petitioned the New London County Court for the appointment of Captain Eneas Morgan as overseer.
While there is no extant marriage certificate, Peleg George and Lucretia Fagins were likely married around 1821, as this is the year their daughter Sally George was born.
Four years later, in 1825, Peleg and Lucretia put their names to a request for the appointment of a new overseer. They, along with 17 others, petitioned the New London County Court for the discharge of Overseer Elisha Crary and the appointment of Erastus Williams in his stead. This was the same year that Lucretia and Peleg welcomed son, Austin, to the family.
In June of 1826 Peleg’s brother, Peter George, was embroiled in a legal matter which was salacious and hit close to home. Peter was named as a defendant in an adultery case brought by the State of Connecticut and was charged on January 1, 1826 in neighboring Preston, CT with “carnal knowledge” of Lucretia George, Peleg’s wife. Members of the Brayton and Orchard families served as witnesses in the case and Peter was arrested in association with the charge in September of that year.
Though ultimately found not guilt, it’s unclear what effect this controversy might have had on the relationship between the brothers, but what is known is that Peleg George spent much of the remainder of his life at sea. In September of 1827, with his Seaman’s Protection Certificate in hand, Peleg embarked on the first of what would be eight whaling voyages. He and Lucretia had another child, Amos Washington George, born c. 1831 and despite his time away from home, was, in 1833, noted in an informal census of those belonging to the tribe. In December of that year, former overseer, Erastus Williams, having just concluded his tenure, described Peleg as a 33 year old of white and Indian ancestry and head of a household including his wife, 28 year old Lucretia George, as well as the couple’s three children: Sally ( age 12 ), Austin (age 8 ), and Amos (age 2 ). On his final whaling voyage, Peleg, serving as the ship’s cooper, contracted small pox and after 14 days illness succumbed the disease. He was buried at sea, August 1837, in the waters off the coast of Brazil.
CHS, William Samuel Johnson Papers, III, 100: December 13, 1833 Letter from Erastus Williams to William T. Williams; Brown and Rose, Black Roots, 410; ; Petition of the Western Pequots to the Connecticut General Assembly, 1819.04.24.00; Brown and Rose, Black Roots, 159-161;Seaman’s Protection Certificate, Mystic Seaport, https://research.mysticseaport.org/databases/protection/; Mystic Seaport, Museum Resources, Active Maps, Peleg the Cooper, https://educators.mysticseaport.org/maps/story/amos_george/
Born:
c. 1800Died:
August 1837