Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/794

Tania in 1815, and admitted to the Philadelphia bar, became city solicitor in 1820, and shortly after- ward was deputy state attorney-general. He was in the legislature in 1830-'l, associate judge of the district court in 1832-'5, and its presiding judge for the next ten years, subsequently declining fur- ther service. He then resumed practice, but was soon afterward appointed by President Polk U S. attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, and in March, 1853, became director of the U. S. mint, which post he held for a month before his death. He was a vice-president of the Historical society of Pennsylvania. Mr. Pettit was active in the service of the Democratic party in Pennsyl- vania, and promoted the election of Gren. Jackson to the presidency. He assisted Thomas Sergeant to prepare " The Common Law Reports of England " {Philadelphia, 1822) ; and published numerous ad- dresses, which include discourses before the His- torical society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1828) ; the Philoma'thean society of Pennsylvania (1830) ; and "Memoirs of Robert Vaux" in the "Memo- rials" of the former bodv.

PETTIT, John, senator, b. in Sackett's Harbor, JST. Y., 24 June, 1807 ; d. in Lafayette, Ind., 17 Jan., 1877. After receiving a classical education, and studying law. he removed to Indiana in 1831 and settled in Lafayette. He soon became active in state polities, was in the legislature, and served as U. S. district attorney. He was elected to congress -as a Democrat in 1842, served two terms, and was in the State constitutional convention in 1850. He was a member of the U. S. senate in 1853-'5, having been chosen to fill the unexpired term of James Whiteomb, was subsequently circuit judge, and in 1859 he was appointed by President Buchanan chief justice of Kansas. He was a delegate to the Chi- cago Democratic convention in 1864, and, return- ing to Indiana, became judge of the state supreme court in 1870. He was renominated in 1876, but his name was withdrawn before the election.

PEYRI, Antonio, missionary, b. in Catalonia, Spain, in 1765 ; d. after 1832. He became a mem- ber of the order of St. Francis at an early age, and was sent to the American mission soon after his ordination. He built a cottage on the banks of San Luis river, Cal., obtained sq^ne cattle and a few converted Indians from other missions, and began the foundation of the mission of San Luis Rey de Franeia among the Quechi Indians, which, under his care, became the greatest in California. He was a skilful architect, and built a church of great size and beauty. His Indian converts num- bered 3,500, scattered over twenty ranches, and were noted for their industry and prosperity. Here he had lived among his flock for twenty-six years when the arrival of Echandia, the first governor that was sent to California by the republic of Mexico, changed the condition of the missions. The new governor was a bitter enemy to them, and interfered continually with the missionaries. Father Peyri resisted his attempts to deprive the Indians of Iheir rights, and became obnoxious to the Mexi- can authorities. He was at length driven from the mission in 1832, and in a few years many of the Indians sank back into barbarism. When he left them they had 60,000 head of cattle, and raised 13,000 bushels of grain a year, while many of them were blacksmiths, carpenters, and mechan- ics. Father Peyri went to Mexico, where he lived for some time,"but finally returned to Spain, and appears to have resided in Barcelona. See Alvin Robinson's " Life in California " (New York, 1846) and John R. Bartlett's " Personal Narrative " (2 vols., New York, 1854).

PEYTON, Balle, congressman, b. in Sumner county, Tenn., 26 Nov., 1803 ; d. in Gallatin, Tenn., 19 Aug., 1878. He was educated at a private school, adopted the profession of law, was a representa- tive to congress in 1833-'7.having been elected as a Whig, and in 1837 removed to Louisiana, where he was U. S. district- attorney. In 1841 he declined the sec- retaryship of war. During the Mexican war he served on the staff of Gen. Will- iam J. Worth. He was U. S. minister to Chili in 1849-53, and subsequently went to California, in which state he re-

sumed practice. He

returned to Tennessee in 1859, was a presidential elector in 1860 on the Bell-Everett ticket, and was an ardent Unionist, throughout the war consist- ently throwing his influence on the national side. He resumed his profession in 1865, served in the state senate, and was an unsuccessful candidate for congress. His brother, Joseph H., was a member of congress in 1843-'5. — His cousin, Ephraim Greoffrey, jurist, b. near Elizabethtown, Ky., 29 Oct., 1802 ; d. in Jackson, Miss., 5 Sept., 1876, was educated at Gallatin college, Tenn., but left before graduation to emigrate to Mississippi. After many hardships he found employment in a printing- office, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1824. He subsequently settled in Gallatin, Miss., served one term in the legislature, became district attorney in 1839, and after several years returned to his profession. He bitterly opposed secession, and after the civil war joined the Republican party. He was appointed a judge of the state supreme court in 1868, and was chief justice from 1870 till his retirement in 1875.

PEYTON, John Howe, lawyer, b. in Stafford County, Va., 29 April, 1778 ; d. in Staunton, Va., 27 April, 1847. His ancestor, John, emigrated to this country in 1644, and settled in Westmoreland county, Va. John Howe was graduated at Princeton in 1797, and admitted to the bar in 1799, establishing a reputation as a criminal lawyer. He served many years in the legislature, and was the author of a series of resolutions upon the attitude of the state of Pennsylvania with reference to an amendment of the "Constitution of the United States that provided a tribunal for settling disputes between the state and the federal judiciary. Of these resolutions Daniel Webster said : " They are so conclusive of the question that they admit of no further discussion." He was prosecuting attorney for the Augusta district in 1808-'9. During the war of 1812 he was commissioned major of militia, and served till 1815. He then became deputy U. S. attorney for the western district of Virginia, and declined a nomination to congress in 1820 and a judgeship in 1824. He was in the state senate in 1836-'44, at which date he fell from his horse and received an injury that compelled his retirement from public life. In 1840 he was appointed a visitor to the U. S. military academy, and he wrote the report of that year. For ten years he was president of the board of directors of the Western Virginia lunatic asylum. Mr. Peyton was an active member of the Whig party, opposed nullification