Johann Jakob Beck (b. July 7, 1723, d. 1800 in Va.); m. ca. 1743, Lydia Borden who was born about 1728 in New Jersey, and died in 1800 in Virginia. . . .
It has not been definitely determined when Johann Jakob Beck arrived in America [perhaps 27 Sep 1740], nor at which port he landed [perhaps Philadelphia on the ship "Lydia"], but the record indicates, as will be shown later, that he was in Frederick County, Virginia, prior to 1740. There were many emigrants from Wurttemberg who had preceded him to America, therefore, it seems quite reasonable to assume that he contacted some of his friends or relatives soon after his arrival, either at Philadelphia or Baltimore, and was persuaded to join the caravan headed for North-West Virginia. Whether or not our reasoning is correct, we find him in Frederick County about 1741. He married Lydia Borden of that County about 1743 and started a home of his own in that part of Frederick County which was later set off and called Clark County, not far from Opequon Creek. He evidently remained in Frederick County, Virginia, until after 1747 when he moved to a location near Sharpsburg, Maryland where he remained until about 1780 when he moved to South-West Virginia and settled near Fincastle, in Botetourt County, where he remained the rest of his life.
Johann Jakob Beck was known in this country as Jacob Peck. The change of Beck to Peck is merely orthographic; it was and is pronounced, in the region from which Jakob Beck came, in a way that is practically indistinguishable from English Peck. . . .
Children of Jacob and Lydia (Borden) Peck:
Benjamin Peck
Jacob Peck
John Peck
Adam Peck
Mary Peck
Hester Anne Peck
Hannah Peck
Joseph Peck