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We know more about Peter Compton’s family and his life than any
other of the ten Compton children—even more than my ancestor, his
youngest sister Hannah who started all this. From the records that have
survived, Peter seems to be the most outgoing and take-charge person of
the siblings. Not surprisingly, his children who survived to adulthood
gave every evidence of having been cut from the same fabric. They were
talented and industrious and made a clear imprint on those whose lives
they touched. Read below a tribute to him by a descendant of his brother Hezekiah,
followed by a snippet about his equally impressive wife. Then check out
his five children who lived the longest. THE LEGACY OF PETER COMPTON This quote is taken
from an article by Hans Meinardus, called “Needle to the Pole” on
the website “Frontier Camp.” I think it describes Peter Compton as
I've came to understand him. A compass yields
some great object lessons for our lives. One of the (many) campusology quotes that freshman in the Corps at Texas A&M
have to memorize includes this great quaint line from Governor Richard
Coke’s 1876 address to the student body: “Be as true to a trust
reposed as the needle to the pole.” In
other words, the character of our integrity, honesty, and steadfastness
should be as unwavering as a compass pointing north. If you learn nothing
else about Peter Compton, it won't matter. Peter Compton was born in Orange county, New York, April 25, 1799, and lived there with his growing family until 1819, when he moved west with his brother-in-law Seymour Lockwood and his sister Anna to Steuben County. There he settled on “wild land” and began clearing a farm. A year later, he married a daughter of Samuel Buckbee and started a family. Four or five years later he was commissioned by Governor Marcy as colonel of the Eighty-first New York Militia. Under Governor Bouck and the state senate, he was appointed inspector of the Eighteenth Brigade, a position he held until the state militia was disbanded.
Peter was generous to his father. He gave him fifty acres of the 232 acres he purchased and afterward purchased it back when his father could no longer work the land. Peter lived on his farm during good and bad times. He was able to send his eligible daughters to college and outfit his two eldest sons and a son-in-law to go to the goldfields of California. Peter was always on the move, making several trips to California. One of them was to take his daughters to Grass Valley where both sons now resided. On another trip, he took another daughter. He didn't earn money by mining gold, however; he earned it with his carpentry skills. By the time Peter had moved his entire family to Grass Valley, the children already there were pillars in the community. I believe his children were a mirror of himself, except for one thing—they don’t seem to have had his wandering spirit. When the Rebellion broke out, he headed back to his home roots, and with his own money he raised up men to fight for his beloved Union. Though he intended to join the conflict himself, he was persuaded by his son Andrew that it would be enough that he would go and represent the family. By this time Peter was 62 years of age. After the war, Peter
and Andy made some property investments in the Havana area and at the
same time helped friends by cosigning for them. As a result of the
friends going under, Peter and Andrew were forced to liquidate their
holdings and pay off the debt. Another testimony to Peter's integrity. Peter continued to work until almost the time of his death. In this day and age, this man’s life is one we would do well to emulate.
~Charles
Bud Compton We also have a remarkable and touching picture of Peter’s wife, Maria Buckbee Compton, in this exerpt from her obituary:“Mrs.
Compton was a remarkable woman, in possessing a wonderfully retentive
memory, being always accurate in her recollection of events and dates of
the most important or ordinary character, and up to her latest moments
took a lively interest in her surroundings and in the moments of the
great world. She was always an attentive reader, and seemed never to
forget, even to the smallest details the information gathered from books
and newspapers. It
was vouchsafed to her to live the greater part of the century in which
the world has made its greatest progress in the arts, sciences and
mechanics, and she could accurately speak of these and give the dates
from memory of the special events that marked this progress. She
recollected distinctly the trial trip of Robert Fulton’s steamboat, Claremont,
on the Hudson [1807], being the first attempt of the kind in America,
although a mere child at the time [age 5], being taken to the river bank
by her father to witness the effort of Fulton to give practical to his
invention, which has soon borne such abundant fruit.” |
Peter
must have really stood out among men, young men as well as old. He had a
work ethic as well as an honesty ethic. He was committed to his
community as well as his family. He reminds me of Joseph of the Bible.
In good times, he set some things aside, and when bad times came, he
used his resource—in Peter’s case, to rescue his former boss who had
gone bankrupt. Peter and his crew finished the last boat the boss was
building and presented it to him free of charge.