On the twenty-first day of December, 1902, Captain Frank H. Peck died at the age of 46 years. The announcement of his death was a shock to the entire community, ending in a feeling of profound sorrow. It was difficult to realize its truth. But a day or two before his well-marked figure was upon the streets of this city, showing characteristic vigor and manly bearing; and in the county court sitting in this very place he was performing his duties as a lawyer with signal ability and faithfulness, giving no sign that he was about to depart to return no more.

But if Captain Peck's death was a shock to the people in general, it was one of greater intensity to his kindred, who loved him, and to his fellows of the bar of Jefferson County, who had a more intimate acquaintance with his mental gifts and acquirements than others with lesser opportunities to know them, and who was by us, because of his exceptional abilities, esteemed, respected and admired. In this forum tests are applied which bring out in bold relief the true nature of the man and which with exactness measure his intellectual strength. Here our deceased associate brought into play the resources of a critical mind well grounded in the principles of our jurisprudence. Here we witnessed the bright scintillations  p120 of his genius and his devotion and faithfulness to the interests committed to his charge. And though he be gone,

The death of such a man should not be permitted to pass unheeded or unnoticed. It should not be with him, as with the inanimate stone, that when tossed upon the placid surface of lake or pool, sinks into its depths, only a bubble upon the surface marking where it went down, to be for "a moment seen, then lost forever." No; there should be a pause in our activities, brief though it be, that our sentiments respecting the deceased may find expression and a memorial spread upon the records of the court, that may assist to keep his memory fresh through the years of the future.

He died in the midst of his usefulness, ere yet he had reached midway in a career which his abilities and scholar­ly attainments pointed out as possible to him, and wherein he might have acquired far greater fame.

In the sequestered retreat of the farm where he was born and his boyhood passed, he learned from the teachings of enlightened parents, and from books, of the great world beyond — of its history and of the achievements of men who had borne and were bearing a leading part in the world's affairs. His ambition was awakened. He became a student in the district school, the nursery of scholars; thence for a time at the St. Lawrence University at Canton. But he had a predilection for military life. His proficiency as a scholar and fine physique secured him an appointment and admission to the Military Academy at West Point. The curriculum of the academy, which includes Mathematics, Engineering, Astronomy, Chemistry and other subjects relating to science, as well also the art of war and military discipline, gave him a solid basis for his subsequent education in the law, which, after his graduation, he decided to take up for a life profession. At  p121 this time, 1880, except perhaps desultory Indian fighting on the western plains, there were no war clouds lowering along the horizon of our country. In a piping time of peace it is easy to perceive that inactive garrison life would have few attractions for one ambitious as was the deceased for a career of usefulness and honor, and he resigned his commission and after brief employment as instructor in St. Lawrence University began the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1884 and in 1886 was elected District Attorney of Jefferson County, serving with great credit in that position and being honored with a re‑election in 1889.

His mind was analytical. He was not content with a superficial knowledge of any subject it was important for him to be familiar with. Hence in the practice of law he was aided by a thorough understanding of the elementary principles upon which our laws are founded. In the trial of a cause that involved the investigation of a question that depended for its solution upon the application of scientific principles he was equipped and ready for the ordeal. Experts found in him both learning and skill to enable him to test the value and accuracy of their opinions. He became one of the best trial lawyers at our bar and the general estimate of him by both laymen and lawyers was that he possessed one of the brightest minds in our section of the state. He was neither a poet nor an orator. Sentiment and imagination are the parents of poesy, and these he did not possess in sufficient degree to give his thoughts expression in verse. That enthusiasm and generous flow of soul that are essential to effective oratory were not his to command. He depended more upon reason and logic and direct statement as the weapons with which to convince other minds than his own, rather than upon soul-stirring appeals to passion and sentiment. And yet he had great skill in debate, and in the addresses to court and jury could clearly and forcibly present the strong points of his case.

 p122  When the war with Spain was declared by our government, the heroic spirit within him was aroused. His ancestors were of patriotic stock, having served under General Washington, and a maternal uncle having served on the staff of General Taylor in the war with Mexico. Promptly he tendered his services to the government, the inspiration of patriotism and military ardor leading him to lay aside his law books, his cases and briefs. But applications for commissions were so numerous, making slight the prospect for an appointment, that his impatient spirit would not brook delay, and so he enlisted as a private soldier and joined his company regiment. His abilities were at once recognized and promotion soon followed, first to a Lieutenancy and finally to a Captaincy. He served in the Philippines​b and his record was an honorable one. With the mustering out of his regiment he returned to the practice of his profession in this city. His recognition was immediate, retainers and professional employment came to him rapidly, and when the last summons came he was in the full tide of professional success. His prominence was not the result of circumstance or accident. He won his way by strenuous labor and study. He won success; it was not thrust upon him. In this regard other young men may imitate him with profit.

He has gone. No more will he come and go among us. We shall miss his cordial greeting and companion­ship. His brilliant qualities will long be remembered. That he had faults is but to say that he was human; these it is not for us "to draw from their dread abode;" they are buried in the grave with him. "Beyond the smiling and the weeping," to quote the first words of the hymn so beautifully sung at his funeral, beyond this vale of tears, beyond the cares, the disappointments and struggles pertaining to this mortal life, Captain Peck has gone, and let us hope to a land where none of these hindrances to the soul's happiness exist; to a home of eternal  p123 joy, and where we shall meet him to renew the ties here severed when our appointed hour shall come. He was ever genial and courteous in his intercourse with his fellowmen, and his admiring and devoted friends were legion. Beyond the duty of paying this feeble tribute to his memory there is nothing left to us but to mourn his untimely taking off, and to commend his soul to the mercy of God, the father of us all.