Josephine and her older brother William were born in Ontario County, New York, as a consequence of their father relocating the family from Superior, Wisconsin, to help tend to his ailing father. In 1870, at age 2, Josephine was back to Superior, and by 1873, the family had moved to Duluth for good. Her father, Hamilton Murray Peyton, was already well established in banking and only grew more successful other family members joined in. The Peyton family believed in higher education, for girls as well as boys, and Josephine graduated from St. Mary’s Hall in Faribault, Minnesota around 1891. She and her siblings assumed a prominent role in Duluth Society in the 1890’s, being named in the Society section of the Duluth News Tribune over 100 times in a 5 year span. They attended dinner parties, dances, concerts, horse-drawn outings to local lakes, and overnight boating trips along the north shore of Lake Superior. Following is an excerpt from an article in the Duluth News-Tribune from September 6, 1896, titled “Ten of Duluth’s Beautiful Women”.
“No girl is really so typical of Duluth as Miss Josephine Peyton, and she is a Duluthian in every sense of the word. Strikingly pretty at all times, but at her very best when on the water, and having spent much time there is a splendid sailor. When the North Land was launched at Buffalo last year Miss Josephine christened her: a great honor wisely conferred and borne with grace. In point of feature and form, Miss Peyton is more an English girl. Her hair is light, fair complexion and she has the build of the women of Britain. Also fondness for outdoor exercise. In dress, though, she is rather Frenchy.”
Despite the lavish praise showered by the local society press, Josephine, like her younger sisters Alice and Martha, remained stubbornly single.
The situation changed when in January, 1911, Mary Ensign Hunter passed away. She was the wife of James C. Hunter, lifelong cashier of the American Exchange Bank owned by Hamilton Peyton. No doubt the James and Josephine already knew each other like family, having attended innumerable events together in the course of James’ close business ties to her father. By 1912, personal events such as an overnight group excursion to Island Lake north of Duluth were arranged for Josephine and James, and by July of 1913 they were married in her parents’ home. Josephine was age 44 and James was 51. Sisters Alice and Martha, on the other hand, never wed and lived together in Duluth for the rest of their lives.
James had two daughters from his first marriage, born in the latter half of the 1880’s. In 1905, after 25 years as cashier of the Peyton’s American Exchange Bank, he resigned his position to purchase iron mining interests on the Aitikokan iron range in Ontario. One year, he got involved in a labor dispute with his miners in Canada, and had his home in Duluth mysteriously go up in flames just before Christmas. He persevered on. He owned an iron mine known as “Tip Top” in Ontario, for which he and Josephine later named their family dog, nicknamed “Tippy”. In July, 1932, he travelled to New Jersey to visit his younger daughter Catherine and her family. Unfortunately he contracted pneumonia and made the trip back to Duluth in a coffin.
The Hunters and Peytons, even the unwed daughters, were sufficiently well off to be able to afford to hire household servants. My mother, freshly graduated from Duluth Central High School in 1933, took her first job working for Mrs. Hunter as a live-in maid. At her job interview, Mrs. Hunter asked my mother whether she could cook. My mother answered, yes, a little – upon which Mrs. Hunter asked that she poach her an egg. My mother replied that she had never poached an egg, whereupon Mrs. Hunter showed her how to do it. Mrs. Hunter was a good cook, from whom my mother learned many recipes that she later prepared for our family for the rest of her life. Included in this memorial is Mrs. Hunter’s favorite Christmas cookie recipe.
Thanksgiving was a major event in Mrs. Hunter’s and the Peyton’s households. It was celebrated with noon and evening meals served at different houses: one featuring turkey and the other a ham. The servants regularly served visiting members of the family and learned their traits. Staff who had known James C. Hunter from years before told my mother that he was a flirt with the maids. The one newspaper photo I found of James C. Hunter was at the American Institute of Mining Engineers meeting at the Mahoning open pit mine near Hibbing in September, 1904. He was in a group of some 100 dour-faced iron mine owners and investors, standing next to one of the few women in attendance, looking directly at her and smiling broadly - in my mind lent credence to the maids’ gossip. John Newton Peyton, on the other hand, was beloved for being a generous tipper, often giving each member of the staff a silver dollar at the conclusion of the meal. John could afford it – in 1931 at the age of 46 he became Minnesota’s banking commissioner and chairman of the Federal Reserve’s ninth district in Minneapolis.
Mrs. Hunter liked to rent a lake cabin in the summer and have staff accompany her on retreat. She enjoyed a wilderness experience. Once my mother accompanied her when stayed at cabins on Hungary Jack Lake northeast of the Gunflint Trail, and row-boated into adjoining West Bearskin Lake. My mother parted ways amicably with Mrs. Hunter in early 1940 to take an accounting job, but not before being recorded in the Hunter household in the 1940 US Census.
Josephine and her sisters Martha and Alice lived out full lives in Duluth. On April 26, 1959, the Duluth News-Tribune published an article titled “Peytons Help Develop Duluth” that featured current quotes and a photo of Martha and Alice. Josephine was mentioned by name in the article as well, and many of the family recollections certainly applied. Josephine lived to a greater age than all of her siblings and even her venerated father, passing away at the age of 95 in October of 1964.
============================================================
Mrs. Hunter’s Christmas Cookie recipe
350 degree oven
Cream together:
1 cup butter
1 ½ cup packed brown sugar
Then add 2 eggs and beat until fluffy
Mix together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
And then add to bowl and mix
Add 1 tsp vanilla and mix.
Prepare this fruit mixture
2 pounds cut up dates
2 pounds candied fruit (cherries or pineapple or such)
1 cup cut up walnuts or pecans or filberts
Mix in ½ cup flour to things don’t stick together so much
Then stir in fruit/nut mixture (dough will be thick)
Drop by tsp onto greased cookie sheet
Bake 10-12 minutes until golden, don’t overbake as they can burn easily
“No girl is really so typical of Duluth as Miss Josephine Peyton, and she is a Duluthian in every sense of the word. Strikingly pretty at all times, but at her very best when on the water, and having spent much time there is a splendid sailor. When the North Land was launched at Buffalo last year Miss Josephine christened her: a great honor wisely conferred and borne with grace. In point of feature and form, Miss Peyton is more an English girl. Her hair is light, fair complexion and she has the build of the women of Britain. Also fondness for outdoor exercise. In dress, though, she is rather Frenchy.”
Despite the lavish praise showered by the local society press, Josephine, like her younger sisters Alice and Martha, remained stubbornly single.
The situation changed when in January, 1911, Mary Ensign Hunter passed away. She was the wife of James C. Hunter, lifelong cashier of the American Exchange Bank owned by Hamilton Peyton. No doubt the James and Josephine already knew each other like family, having attended innumerable events together in the course of James’ close business ties to her father. By 1912, personal events such as an overnight group excursion to Island Lake north of Duluth were arranged for Josephine and James, and by July of 1913 they were married in her parents’ home. Josephine was age 44 and James was 51. Sisters Alice and Martha, on the other hand, never wed and lived together in Duluth for the rest of their lives.
James had two daughters from his first marriage, born in the latter half of the 1880’s. In 1905, after 25 years as cashier of the Peyton’s American Exchange Bank, he resigned his position to purchase iron mining interests on the Aitikokan iron range in Ontario. One year, he got involved in a labor dispute with his miners in Canada, and had his home in Duluth mysteriously go up in flames just before Christmas. He persevered on. He owned an iron mine known as “Tip Top” in Ontario, for which he and Josephine later named their family dog, nicknamed “Tippy”. In July, 1932, he travelled to New Jersey to visit his younger daughter Catherine and her family. Unfortunately he contracted pneumonia and made the trip back to Duluth in a coffin.
The Hunters and Peytons, even the unwed daughters, were sufficiently well off to be able to afford to hire household servants. My mother, freshly graduated from Duluth Central High School in 1933, took her first job working for Mrs. Hunter as a live-in maid. At her job interview, Mrs. Hunter asked my mother whether she could cook. My mother answered, yes, a little – upon which Mrs. Hunter asked that she poach her an egg. My mother replied that she had never poached an egg, whereupon Mrs. Hunter showed her how to do it. Mrs. Hunter was a good cook, from whom my mother learned many recipes that she later prepared for our family for the rest of her life. Included in this memorial is Mrs. Hunter’s favorite Christmas cookie recipe.
Thanksgiving was a major event in Mrs. Hunter’s and the Peyton’s households. It was celebrated with noon and evening meals served at different houses: one featuring turkey and the other a ham. The servants regularly served visiting members of the family and learned their traits. Staff who had known James C. Hunter from years before told my mother that he was a flirt with the maids. The one newspaper photo I found of James C. Hunter was at the American Institute of Mining Engineers meeting at the Mahoning open pit mine near Hibbing in September, 1904. He was in a group of some 100 dour-faced iron mine owners and investors, standing next to one of the few women in attendance, looking directly at her and smiling broadly - in my mind lent credence to the maids’ gossip. John Newton Peyton, on the other hand, was beloved for being a generous tipper, often giving each member of the staff a silver dollar at the conclusion of the meal. John could afford it – in 1931 at the age of 46 he became Minnesota’s banking commissioner and chairman of the Federal Reserve’s ninth district in Minneapolis.
Mrs. Hunter liked to rent a lake cabin in the summer and have staff accompany her on retreat. She enjoyed a wilderness experience. Once my mother accompanied her when stayed at cabins on Hungary Jack Lake northeast of the Gunflint Trail, and row-boated into adjoining West Bearskin Lake. My mother parted ways amicably with Mrs. Hunter in early 1940 to take an accounting job, but not before being recorded in the Hunter household in the 1940 US Census.
Josephine and her sisters Martha and Alice lived out full lives in Duluth. On April 26, 1959, the Duluth News-Tribune published an article titled “Peytons Help Develop Duluth” that featured current quotes and a photo of Martha and Alice. Josephine was mentioned by name in the article as well, and many of the family recollections certainly applied. Josephine lived to a greater age than all of her siblings and even her venerated father, passing away at the age of 95 in October of 1964.
============================================================
Mrs. Hunter’s Christmas Cookie recipe
350 degree oven
Cream together:
1 cup butter
1 ½ cup packed brown sugar
Then add 2 eggs and beat until fluffy
Mix together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
And then add to bowl and mix
Add 1 tsp vanilla and mix.
Prepare this fruit mixture
2 pounds cut up dates
2 pounds candied fruit (cherries or pineapple or such)
1 cup cut up walnuts or pecans or filberts
Mix in ½ cup flour to things don’t stick together so much
Then stir in fruit/nut mixture (dough will be thick)
Drop by tsp onto greased cookie sheet
Bake 10-12 minutes until golden, don’t overbake as they can burn easily
Josephine and her older brother William were born in Ontario County, New York, as a consequence of their father relocating the family from Superior, Wisconsin, to help tend to his ailing father. In 1870, at age 2, Josephine was back to Superior, and by 1873, the family had moved to Duluth for good. Her father, Hamilton Murray Peyton, was already well established in banking and only grew more successful other family members joined in. The Peyton family believed in higher education, for girls as well as boys, and Josephine graduated from St. Mary’s Hall in Faribault, Minnesota around 1891. She and her siblings assumed a prominent role in Duluth Society in the 1890’s, being named in the Society section of the Duluth News Tribune over 100 times in a 5 year span. They attended dinner parties, dances, concerts, horse-drawn outings to local lakes, and overnight boating trips along the north shore of Lake Superior. Following is an excerpt from an article in the Duluth News-Tribune from September 6, 1896, titled “Ten of Duluth’s Beautiful Women”.
“No girl is really so typical of Duluth as Miss Josephine Peyton, and she is a Duluthian in every sense of the word. Strikingly pretty at all times, but at her very best when on the water, and having spent much time there is a splendid sailor. When the North Land was launched at Buffalo last year Miss Josephine christened her: a great honor wisely conferred and borne with grace. In point of feature and form, Miss Peyton is more an English girl. Her hair is light, fair complexion and she has the build of the women of Britain. Also fondness for outdoor exercise. In dress, though, she is rather Frenchy.”
Despite the lavish praise showered by the local society press, Josephine, like her younger sisters Alice and Martha, remained stubbornly single.
The situation changed when in January, 1911, Mary Ensign Hunter passed away. She was the wife of James C. Hunter, lifelong cashier of the American Exchange Bank owned by Hamilton Peyton. No doubt the James and Josephine already knew each other like family, having attended innumerable events together in the course of James’ close business ties to her father. By 1912, personal events such as an overnight group excursion to Island Lake north of Duluth were arranged for Josephine and James, and by July of 1913 they were married in her parents’ home. Josephine was age 44 and James was 51. Sisters Alice and Martha, on the other hand, never wed and lived together in Duluth for the rest of their lives.
James had two daughters from his first marriage, born in the latter half of the 1880’s. In 1905, after 25 years as cashier of the Peyton’s American Exchange Bank, he resigned his position to purchase iron mining interests on the Aitikokan iron range in Ontario. One year, he got involved in a labor dispute with his miners in Canada, and had his home in Duluth mysteriously go up in flames just before Christmas. He persevered on. He owned an iron mine known as “Tip Top” in Ontario, for which he and Josephine later named their family dog, nicknamed “Tippy”. In July, 1932, he travelled to New Jersey to visit his younger daughter Catherine and her family. Unfortunately he contracted pneumonia and made the trip back to Duluth in a coffin.
The Hunters and Peytons, even the unwed daughters, were sufficiently well off to be able to afford to hire household servants. My mother, freshly graduated from Duluth Central High School in 1933, took her first job working for Mrs. Hunter as a live-in maid. At her job interview, Mrs. Hunter asked my mother whether she could cook. My mother answered, yes, a little – upon which Mrs. Hunter asked that she poach her an egg. My mother replied that she had never poached an egg, whereupon Mrs. Hunter showed her how to do it. Mrs. Hunter was a good cook, from whom my mother learned many recipes that she later prepared for our family for the rest of her life. Included in this memorial is Mrs. Hunter’s favorite Christmas cookie recipe.
Thanksgiving was a major event in Mrs. Hunter’s and the Peyton’s households. It was celebrated with noon and evening meals served at different houses: one featuring turkey and the other a ham. The servants regularly served visiting members of the family and learned their traits. Staff who had known James C. Hunter from years before told my mother that he was a flirt with the maids. The one newspaper photo I found of James C. Hunter was at the American Institute of Mining Engineers meeting at the Mahoning open pit mine near Hibbing in September, 1904. He was in a group of some 100 dour-faced iron mine owners and investors, standing next to one of the few women in attendance, looking directly at her and smiling broadly - in my mind lent credence to the maids’ gossip. John Newton Peyton, on the other hand, was beloved for being a generous tipper, often giving each member of the staff a silver dollar at the conclusion of the meal. John could afford it – in 1931 at the age of 46 he became Minnesota’s banking commissioner and chairman of the Federal Reserve’s ninth district in Minneapolis.
Mrs. Hunter liked to rent a lake cabin in the summer and have staff accompany her on retreat. She enjoyed a wilderness experience. Once my mother accompanied her when stayed at cabins on Hungary Jack Lake northeast of the Gunflint Trail, and row-boated into adjoining West Bearskin Lake. My mother parted ways amicably with Mrs. Hunter in early 1940 to take an accounting job, but not before being recorded in the Hunter household in the 1940 US Census.
Josephine and her sisters Martha and Alice lived out full lives in Duluth. On April 26, 1959, the Duluth News-Tribune published an article titled “Peytons Help Develop Duluth” that featured current quotes and a photo of Martha and Alice. Josephine was mentioned by name in the article as well, and many of the family recollections certainly applied. Josephine lived to a greater age than all of her siblings and even her venerated father, passing away at the age of 95 in October of 1964.
============================================================
Mrs. Hunter’s Christmas Cookie recipe
350 degree oven
Cream together:
1 cup butter
1 ½ cup packed brown sugar
Then add 2 eggs and beat until fluffy
Mix together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
And then add to bowl and mix
Add 1 tsp vanilla and mix.
Prepare this fruit mixture
2 pounds cut up dates
2 pounds candied fruit (cherries or pineapple or such)
1 cup cut up walnuts or pecans or filberts
Mix in ½ cup flour to things don’t stick together so much
Then stir in fruit/nut mixture (dough will be thick)
Drop by tsp onto greased cookie sheet
Bake 10-12 minutes until golden, don’t overbake as they can burn easily
“No girl is really so typical of Duluth as Miss Josephine Peyton, and she is a Duluthian in every sense of the word. Strikingly pretty at all times, but at her very best when on the water, and having spent much time there is a splendid sailor. When the North Land was launched at Buffalo last year Miss Josephine christened her: a great honor wisely conferred and borne with grace. In point of feature and form, Miss Peyton is more an English girl. Her hair is light, fair complexion and she has the build of the women of Britain. Also fondness for outdoor exercise. In dress, though, she is rather Frenchy.”
Despite the lavish praise showered by the local society press, Josephine, like her younger sisters Alice and Martha, remained stubbornly single.
The situation changed when in January, 1911, Mary Ensign Hunter passed away. She was the wife of James C. Hunter, lifelong cashier of the American Exchange Bank owned by Hamilton Peyton. No doubt the James and Josephine already knew each other like family, having attended innumerable events together in the course of James’ close business ties to her father. By 1912, personal events such as an overnight group excursion to Island Lake north of Duluth were arranged for Josephine and James, and by July of 1913 they were married in her parents’ home. Josephine was age 44 and James was 51. Sisters Alice and Martha, on the other hand, never wed and lived together in Duluth for the rest of their lives.
James had two daughters from his first marriage, born in the latter half of the 1880’s. In 1905, after 25 years as cashier of the Peyton’s American Exchange Bank, he resigned his position to purchase iron mining interests on the Aitikokan iron range in Ontario. One year, he got involved in a labor dispute with his miners in Canada, and had his home in Duluth mysteriously go up in flames just before Christmas. He persevered on. He owned an iron mine known as “Tip Top” in Ontario, for which he and Josephine later named their family dog, nicknamed “Tippy”. In July, 1932, he travelled to New Jersey to visit his younger daughter Catherine and her family. Unfortunately he contracted pneumonia and made the trip back to Duluth in a coffin.
The Hunters and Peytons, even the unwed daughters, were sufficiently well off to be able to afford to hire household servants. My mother, freshly graduated from Duluth Central High School in 1933, took her first job working for Mrs. Hunter as a live-in maid. At her job interview, Mrs. Hunter asked my mother whether she could cook. My mother answered, yes, a little – upon which Mrs. Hunter asked that she poach her an egg. My mother replied that she had never poached an egg, whereupon Mrs. Hunter showed her how to do it. Mrs. Hunter was a good cook, from whom my mother learned many recipes that she later prepared for our family for the rest of her life. Included in this memorial is Mrs. Hunter’s favorite Christmas cookie recipe.
Thanksgiving was a major event in Mrs. Hunter’s and the Peyton’s households. It was celebrated with noon and evening meals served at different houses: one featuring turkey and the other a ham. The servants regularly served visiting members of the family and learned their traits. Staff who had known James C. Hunter from years before told my mother that he was a flirt with the maids. The one newspaper photo I found of James C. Hunter was at the American Institute of Mining Engineers meeting at the Mahoning open pit mine near Hibbing in September, 1904. He was in a group of some 100 dour-faced iron mine owners and investors, standing next to one of the few women in attendance, looking directly at her and smiling broadly - in my mind lent credence to the maids’ gossip. John Newton Peyton, on the other hand, was beloved for being a generous tipper, often giving each member of the staff a silver dollar at the conclusion of the meal. John could afford it – in 1931 at the age of 46 he became Minnesota’s banking commissioner and chairman of the Federal Reserve’s ninth district in Minneapolis.
Mrs. Hunter liked to rent a lake cabin in the summer and have staff accompany her on retreat. She enjoyed a wilderness experience. Once my mother accompanied her when stayed at cabins on Hungary Jack Lake northeast of the Gunflint Trail, and row-boated into adjoining West Bearskin Lake. My mother parted ways amicably with Mrs. Hunter in early 1940 to take an accounting job, but not before being recorded in the Hunter household in the 1940 US Census.
Josephine and her sisters Martha and Alice lived out full lives in Duluth. On April 26, 1959, the Duluth News-Tribune published an article titled “Peytons Help Develop Duluth” that featured current quotes and a photo of Martha and Alice. Josephine was mentioned by name in the article as well, and many of the family recollections certainly applied. Josephine lived to a greater age than all of her siblings and even her venerated father, passing away at the age of 95 in October of 1964.
============================================================
Mrs. Hunter’s Christmas Cookie recipe
350 degree oven
Cream together:
1 cup butter
1 ½ cup packed brown sugar
Then add 2 eggs and beat until fluffy
Mix together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
And then add to bowl and mix
Add 1 tsp vanilla and mix.
Prepare this fruit mixture
2 pounds cut up dates
2 pounds candied fruit (cherries or pineapple or such)
1 cup cut up walnuts or pecans or filberts
Mix in ½ cup flour to things don’t stick together so much
Then stir in fruit/nut mixture (dough will be thick)
Drop by tsp onto greased cookie sheet
Bake 10-12 minutes until golden, don’t overbake as they can burn easily
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