Family History Project – dannypeck.net

This is the hub of information for the Cleveland/Jefferson/Bennett and Peck/Marentette/Small/Gannon family history project I’m working on. If you are related to me and would like to view my ancestry family tree, email me for an invite to collaborate.

I am working on a few of things simultaneously. Through 2025 I’m focusing quite a bit on the writings of my Grandfather Ken Jefferson. As I get through that and related projects, I’ll redirect my attention to other areas of the family tree.

Project One is the Ancestry family tree. It is both a source (thanks to its Hints system) and a repository (thanks to the ability to upload photos and documents) of information. If you’re here to contribute to it, use this Dropbox Request Folder to upload photos/documents.
         Mysteries and Discoveries
                   This page is where I’m keeping track of mysteries I’m trying to solve                                                         and fun discoveries. Mysteries usually mean “missing” people in the
                   tree, and discoveries are things like how I’m related to some relatively
                   famous people, and a Mayflower descendant.

Project Two is connecting with people. My grandfathers on both sides were historians, with Grandpa Ken Jefferson writing down many of his memories, particularly about life in Vermont, and my Grandpa Bill Peck participating in some family history projects for members of both his Marentette ancestors and his wife’s Gannon ancestors, and identifying lots of old photos that his son, my Uncle Michael, still has. Neither of my grandfathers had the wonders of modern internet connections, Facebook, Ancestry, or uploaded public records when they started their own projects in the late 1990s. Particularly thanks to Facebook, I have found lots of extended family members and as I get brave and have some time, I plan to reach out to them to say hello, and see if any of them want to join in this project.

Project Three is writing and editing. Grandpa Ken wrote an autobiographical document about North Hero and other places in Vermont. He also wrote a newsletter for years, titled the North Hero News & World Review (when he was writing Stateside) and the Ottawa Outlook (when he was north of the border). My writing projects are going to start with compiling/editing these and work out from there. I hope collecting data inspires me to write down some stories. But my immediate goal is to have a nicely-formatted, edited compilation of Ken Jefferson’s writings to distribute to his family before what would have been his 100th birthday in March 2026.
Sub-project:Grandpa Ken painted lots of watercolors. I have one, most of our family have one or more. I’d also like to have an index and photos of these. But I’d really like someone else to tackle this project. If you feel like bugging the family and gathering some high quality photos of Ken Jefferson’s art in one place, I’d love for you to volunteer to do that.

Project Four: Reading/Watching/Cooking. I’m obviously reading a ton of records and writings. But particularly as I go through Grandpa Ken’s writing, I have come across a few other things I have wanted to read or watch. He also included in the Appendix of his book some recipes that he enjoyed or referenced in his writing, and occasionally included a recipe in his newsletter. I’ll be making some of them I will keep track of the results of all these projects here.

Project Five: Pilgrimages. I’ve never been to most of the places in Vermont that Grandpa Ken wrote about. I’ve never been to Hempstead, L.I. where he grew up. I barely remember Northfield, Vermont from a childhood visit. I recently discovered that the Cleveland side of the family are Mayflower descendants and I’d like to hit Boston/Plymouth again (haven’t been there since elementary school). I’d like to get to West Pittston, PA where many Wildes and Jeffersons are buried. But these potential trips are all in the idea phase right now. More to come on this thought.

Projects and Documents directly related to the KJ in VT/NHN&WR compilation:

Documents:
KJ in VT (PDF scan of printed version)
KJ in VT (editable Word document)… in Progress
KJ in VT updated, expanded and revised… in Progress. This will be the compilation and final result of all the rest of the documents in this section

NHN&WR and Ottawa Outlooks (list in progress… please send me any you have that I’m missing)
List here is printed with titles as sent, typos and all. Filenames include the date sent. If there is a different date within the document, that is the date is was written (or intended to be sent). For the compilation, I will edit these into a consistent format.
2003
Special Mid-March Edition
Spring
April Letter
Sabbatical Report
September Letter
December Letter

2004
April Letter
June Letter
July Letter
Mid-July Letter
August Letter
September Letter
October Letter
December Letter
Holiday Letter

2005
January Letter
February Letter
April Letter
June Letter
July Letter
Jason
August Letter
October Letter
November Letter
12/12

2006
February Letter
Mid-Winter Report
80
April Letter
June Letter
October Letter
November Letter
Thanksgiving 2006
Final 2006 Letter

2007
February Letter
March Letter
April Letter
May Letter
May Special
June Letter
July Letter
August Letter
September Letter
Mid-month Special (September)
October Letter
Humble Pie
B&C Weekend
U.S. Thanksgiving Special
December Letter
12/25/07