The Marrying Kind

Charles Henry Peck was the son of  Nathan Henry Peck & Maria Elizabeth Riley and with a bit of elbow grease, I put the pieces together! While many only show 2 wives for Charles, the last marriage entry shows he was married 4 times and it helped me make sense of his tombstone.

courtesy of Dave Peck - Find A Grave

Let's start there, the stone, it lists:

Charles H Peck - 1856-1936

Lena L - 1861-1913

Eva S - 1860-1891

Maria E - 1837-1887

George W A - 1853-1913

Charles H Jr - 1893-1894

The easy stuff - George W A was Charles' brother who died in California; Marie E was his mother Maria E, nee Riley. 

While her husband is listed as being buried in the same cemetery as the rest of the family, it's possible that Nathan Henry Peck was buried at the Eloise Cemetery  in Michigan because he died at the Eloise Psychiatric Hospital, aka Wayne Co Hospital where he had been placed.

Next, the marriage entry of 1918 that shows Charles had married 4 times - with only the tombstone & his profession as a clue - off I went.

First Wife 
Married in 1882, Eva L Swertfigure. On the stone there is an Eva S - did this one ever throw me for a while - I knew she was a wife but until the recent addition of marriage records by Ancestry, Eva was all I had. She was Eva L Swartfigure and she was the daughter of John Swartfigure & Mary Allen.

Second Wife
Thru the censuses, I found a girl named Anna Graves living with Charles & George on the 1892 census - at first I didn't think anything of it until I found Anna with the Peck surname which then led to a divorce announcement in the Daily Saratogian, Mon, 4 Feb 1907, col 5. Anna went back to live with her parents, John Graves & Elizabeth Chase. She was a nurse & it appears she never remarried but she did follow her sister to Connecticut where I lost her after the 1940 census. Many had Charles Jr listed as a son of Sabrina's or his third wife, but the marriage entries don't support this.

Third Wife
Married in 1906 at New Jersey, Evlena Loveless was the daughter of Arial Loveless & Deliah Carlton. 

Fourth Wife
Married in 1918, Sabrina - the daughter of Evan Jones & Phebe Closson. Sabrina was first married to David Clement who died in 1908.

The following are the obits for Charles, Lena & Sabrina

The Saratogian, Fri, 13 Nov 1936
Charles H Peck, a well known watchmaker and lifelong resident, died at 1230 am today at his home, 16 State Street, following an extended period of ill health.  He was born Oct 11, 1856, in this city. Surviving are his wife, Mrs Sabrina A Peck; one sister, Mrs Hattie Lockrow, and one niece, Mrs Lester Davis, all of this city. Private funeral will be held Sunday at 230 pm at the residence.  The Rev R H Claxon, pastor of the Presbyterian Church will officiate and burial will be in the family plot in Greenridge Cemetery. Friends are asked to omit flowers.

The Saratogian, Mon, 14 Apr 1913
Mrs C H Peck
Mrs Lena L Peck of Gloversville, wife of C H Peck, died at the Nathan Littauer Hospital last Saturday at the age of fifty-two years. She was a former resident of this village, having resided here about twenty years ago. Besides her husband, she is survived by her mother, two brothers and two sisters. The funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon at 230 o'clock in Gloversville.

courtesy of Thomas Dunne - Find A Grave

The Saratogian, Fri, 4 May 1945
Mrs Sabrina Ada Peck, widow of Charles Peck, died yesterday at 5 pm at her home 16 State. A native of Glenville, where she was born Aug 2, 1856, she had resided in Saratoga Springs 60 years and had many friends. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church and the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Survivors are one son Isaac J Clement; two step-sisters, Mrs Peter Kaulfuss of Glens Falls; and Mrs Ann Buell of Ballston Center, several nieces and nephews. The Rev R H Claxon, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, will officiate at the funeral services Sunday at 230 pm at the residence. Burial will be in Greenridge Cemetery. Friends may call after 5 pm.