Lydia Pitts Harris (1834-1917) 1st Cousin, 5x
Through the help of another descendant of my 5th great-grandparents, Asa Harris IV and Lydia Pitts, I discovered that their daughter Lydia (my 4GGM) had a niece who was also named Lydia: Lydia Pitts Harris. This “other” Lydia was a child of “our” Lydia’s brother, Lewis McCall Harris, who came to Michigan from New York, too. It was while examining his household listed in the 1860 U.S. Census that I discovered “The Peak Family Bell Ringers.”
In 1860, Lewis McCall, Sr., a brickmaker, and his wife Eliza were head
of a large household in St. Joseph County that included their 24-year old daughter
Lydia, her husband William H. Peak (Jr.) and their three-year old son, Frank. As
occupation, all three Peaks were listed simply as “Peak Family Bell Ringers.” But, interestingly, so were the rest of
Lydia’s siblings: Lewis M. Harris, Jr. (18), Henry D. (16), Eliza M. (14), Charles
(12), and Asa P. (10). Not only were they all included as part of the troupe, but
further down the list (along with other 5 other brickmakers listed in Lewis’
household), was even the person acting as agent for the Peak family performers.
By 1870, the Michigan town of Niles would not only be the home base of
this Harris family, but also the Mid-West headquarters of The Peak Family Bell
Ringers. So, who were they? To answer
that question, we need to go back a generation, to William Peak’s father and a
man called Phineas T. Barnum.
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| The Peak Family comes to town |
While on a tour of England with the celebrated “General Tom Thumb,”
Barnum attended a concert given by the Lancashire Bell Ringers and immediately
signed them up to perform in America. The quintessential showman stipulated
that they must grow Tyrolean-style mustaches and dress in colorful Swiss costumes
so he could bill them as “Swiss Bell Ringers.” Although these English-born
performers did tour in the States with Barnum, they soon returned to England,
leaving their legendary bells behind. That’s where William H. Peak, Sr. entered
the story.
Although accounts differ, it is thought that Barnum and the elder Peak
became acquainted during a White House event where Barnum’s celebrated “Swiss” handbell-ringers
performed along with other acts, including the talented vocalist, Peak. Following
the disbanding of Barnum’s bell troupe in the late 1840’s, Peak supposedly purchased
the set of bells from Barnum and soon incorporated them into his own company,
naming it the “Peak Family Swiss Bell Ringers.” In a newspaper article dated 1896, William H.
Peak, Sr. reinforced Barnum’s mythical origins of the “Swiss” bells:
“It was in the
early fifties, and all my children were able to perform well on the harp and
other musical instruments, while my wife had gained fame everywhere with her
soprano voice… Well, Barnum had just brought out some bell-ringers from
Switzerland, and I saw and heard them at his American museum in New York. From
that moment I was enthusiastic over Swiss bell-ringing, and importing my own
bells from Switzerland, I organized the family troupe, which gained almost
instantaneous popularity and distinction.”
Crawford Avalanche (Grayling, Michigan), March 12, 1896, p. 6
Under the direction
of William Peak, Sr., this celebrated, musical touring company traveled to venues across the
country from the early ‘40s until after the Civil War when it split into two
regional troupes with son William stationed in the Mid-West. Just as he and his
siblings brought their talents to his father’s original group, so William Jr. and wife
Lydia (Harris) utilized family members to build their branch of “The Peak
Family Bell Ringers.” The troupe, including Lydia’s brothers, was multi-talented,
adding brass and stringed instruments to the increasingly popular bell-ringing
performances.
By 1870, the
dynamics of the group had changed, with Lydia and William, Jr. comfortably situated
on a farm in Cass County and daughter Annie now married and keeping house. Of Lydia's brothers: Lewis had died of typhoid,
and Asa would die two years later. Charles Harris and brother Henry
were still active in the group, but even that wouldn’t last long. Lydia’s brother,
Charles R. Harris had “other fish to fry” …as we will see in the next blog post.
(l-r: Lewis M. Harris, Jr., Annie and Fannie Peak, Charles R. Harris)
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article, however, in 1860, the family was located in White Pigeon Township, St. Joseph County, Michigan, as per the census.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kelley! You are absolutely right and I have made the correction. I appreciate your input and interest.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteAny idea how this story interacts with the Peake family, who sang in many Temperance meetings around the Boston area, 1846-8, and were from Medford, Massachusetts?
Yes, the subject of this post, Lydia Pitts Harris, married William Henry Peak(e), Jr. of Medford. His father (originator of the bell-ringing family business) William, Sr., and mother, Mehitable, began as performing vocalists and raised a family of musicians, but unfortunately ended their days in a Cortland Co. NY 'poor house.'
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