THE LATE MR PEABODY.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 620, 8 January 1870, Page 4

THE LATE MR PEABODY.

George Peabody, a descendant of the Pilgrim Fathers, of a family for.merly settled in Leicestershire, was born at Danvers, Massachusetts, U.£>., 18tli February, 1795. His father was in business, and the son was apprenticed to a grocer at Danvers. In 1812 he was in partnership with his uncle, John Peabody, at Georgetown, and at the same time saw active service as a volunteer at Fort Washington. Having been for some years a successful merchant, in partnership with Mr Biggs, at Baltimore, and with branch houses, at Philadelphia and New York, he came to England in 1837, and established himself as a merchant arid money broker in 1843. In this capacity his name has been a guarantee for many monetary transactions on the part of more than one of the United States ; and in 3848 he largely contributed towards the itstpration of the credit of Maryland. Mr

Peabody supplied at his own cost the arranging aud garnishing of the U.S. department at the great exhibition of 1851, and he contributed to the expense of the American expedition fitted out under Dr Kane to explore the Arctic regions for Sir John Franklin in 1852. He founded at Danvers, U.S., at the cost of L 25,000, an institution which bears his name, and has given upwards of LIOO,OOO towards a similar institution in Maryland. On retiring from business with a large- fortune in 1862, he, in a letter dated 12th March, presented the City of London with the munificent sum of L 150,000, to be applied to the purpose of benefiting the working classes by the erection of comfortable and convenient lodging-houses, and gave for the same purposes an additional L 150,000 in Feb. 1866. The first block of buildings in Spitalfields, known as the Peabody Dwellings, was opened in 1864. He presented to Harvard University f 150,000 to establish a museum, and professorship of American archaeology and ethnology in Oct. 1866, and the United States Congress passed a vote of thanks to him for his gifts to the people in March, 1867.