Hugh Peters Family Papers

John Thompson Peters was born in Hebron, Connecticut, on October 11, 1765, being a son of Jonathan Peters, of Hebron, and a nephew of the Rev. Samuel Peters (Yale 1757). His mother was Abigail, daughter of John Thompson, of Hebron. A younger brother was graduated here in 1794.

After graduation he studied law with the Hon. John Cotton Smith (Yale 1783), of Sharon, and settled in practice in his native town. His fellow-citizens elected him thirteen times as a Representative in the General Assembly between 1802 and 1813.

In 1813 he was appointed Collector of United States Revenue for the First District of Connecticut, and removed to Hartford. He was an Episcopalian and a Republican, and in May, 1818, on the accession of the Republicans to power, he was made a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, and continued in that office until his death, although his mind had begun to fail perceptibly long before the constitutional limit of his term of service, which would have been reached a few weeks after his death.

He died in Hartford on August 28, 1834, in his 69th year. The tall monument erected over his grave, in the churchyard adjoining the Episcopal Church in Hebron, includes a marble bust, reproducing his features in a lifelike representation.

He married Mrs. Elizabeth Caulkins, of Norwich, Connecticut, daughter of Captain John and Elizabeth (Chapman) Farnham. She died in New York City, on September 4, 1841, aged 71 years.

One son was graduated in Yale in 1826, and after showing marked literary ability died before his father.

(Taken from Yale University Obituary Record).