The devotees of the newspaper fraternity have ever been a power in the development and progress of the country since the time when the first papers rolled from the early presses. Men of talent and enterprise have fought out the battles of thought and settled right the questions which have been agitated and been brought up in the progress which the same papers had fostered and made possible. As a representative of the fraternity, a man of ability and sound principles, the subject of this article, who is owner and editor of the Peck Press, a paper of vitality and merit, is justly represented in the history of northern Idaho and it is with pleasure that we grant him space here.
J. C. Peterson was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, on December 22, 1868, the son of Martin B. and Margaret A. (Bowers) Peterson, born in Ohio, in 1844 and 1846, respectively. The father came from Xenia. The mother is a daughter of a noted Dunkard minister. Martin Bowers. The parents both live in Latah County now.
Our subject was well educated in his native country and in 1889, came with his parents to Washington and settled on Union flats, Whitman County. They farmed there one year and in 1890 they settled in the vicinity of Vollmer, Idaho, where he farmed for some time. In 1895, our subject married Miss Rosa M. Hatter, of Vollmer, after which he removed into the town of Vollmer and learned the printer’s art. He engaged in the publication of the Vollmer News, succeeding C. S. Moody, and continued the sheet until 1898, when he sold out, his partner, John E. Hoffman, purchasing it. Then Mr. Peterson removed to Oro Fino, and there was connected with the Oro Fino Courier until November, 1900, when he bought the Peck Press and since that time Mr. Peterson has devoted himself to that paper. He has made the paper popular and it is a bright newsy sheet of good appearance and taste and is one of the lively and sound Republican papers of the northern part of the state.
Mr. Peterson has two brothers. Homar L. and Sam B., and six sisters, Laura Booth, Mary Kenny, Maggie Rundle, Lulu Minehead, Angre, Edith Brown, deceased.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, Beatrice and Lois. Mr. Peterson takes an active part in political matters and is one of the solid Republicans who stand on their platform from principle. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the M. W. A. Mr. Peterson has a farm adjoining Peck in addition to his paper and other property. He is a man whose uprightness and integrity have made him popular and of excellent standing among all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
Back to: Nez Perce Biographies
Source: An Illustrated History of Northern Idaho, Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903