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Will of David Perkins of Oneida Co., NY
IN THE MATTER OF PROVING THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT of David Perkins

To Joseph S. Avery, Esq. Surrogate of the County of Oneida: The petition of Elmira A. Perkins, widow and signature?. Last Will and Testament of David Perkins, by Joel S. Perkins, late of the town of Whitestown, NY in the county of Oneida, aforesaid, which respectfully showeth, that the said David Perkins died on or about the 25 day of August, 1875 at the time of Whitestown, NY in the County of Oneida, aforesaid, which was the place of his residence at the time of his death; that the instrument now presented and shown to your petitioner purporting to be the last will and testament of the said deceased, and bearing the date upon the 14 day of August 1875, your petitioner verily believes to be such last will and testament, that the said instrument purporting to be such last will and testament relates to both real and personal estate, that the same has been in possession of petitioner since it was executed and who has kept the same in his possession, from and after the time he so received the same as aforesaid until this day and until he delivered the same to the Surrogate of the county of Oneida for Probate. And your petitioner further shows that the deceased left a widow, Elmira A. Perkins, of Whitestown, NY two sons; Joel S. Perkins, Haddonfield, N. J. and Jenckes D. Perkins of Chicago, Ill. [See Below]. Two daughters, Lovina P. Billington, wife of James H. Billington of Haddonfield, N. J.,  Nancy P. Munson of Philadelphia, PA. All of full agreement and who are all and the only heirs at law and next of kin of said deceased. Your petitioner therefore prays that said will may be admitted at Probate forthwith without the issuing of a citation and without any further notice according to the forms of the statutes of the State of New York, in such case made and provided. And your petitioner as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.

Dated the 31st day of August, 1875.

Elmira A. Perkins,  J. S. Perkins
Source: Posting by Mary Batemen <http://oneida.nygenweb.net/wills/willp.html>

 

JENCKES DAVID PERKINS
Jenckes David Perkins, an old and noted rail road builder and train-master, was born in Oriskany, Oneida County, N. Y., February 17. 1823. and though advanced in years, bears himself with the vitality of middle age. His parents, David and Elmira (Stacy) Perkins, were among the pioneer settlers of Oneida County, and there their children were reared and educated. Jenckes D. Perkins acquired his education in the Oriskany village schools, and began what has since proved a very successful business career by driving piles for the old Erie Railroad, along the Susquehanna River in 1841. The following year he began an apprenticeship at bridge building and railroad carpentering and joining. For a time he was with Rogers Brothers, State Carpenters, but finished his trade with his father as millwright and joiner. In 1845 he was in the employ of the State of New York, and in 1846 began work for the old Syracuse & Utica Railroad, of which John Wilkinson was President. In 1851 the company gave him a vacation and sent him to Chicago. Here he was solicited by John Turner, the President of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company, to enter the service of that road. Mr. Perkins did not feel at liberty to do this without first obtaining the consent of Mr. Wilkinson, as he felt under obligation to him for many favors. The agreement was made that if the Syracuse & Utica should call for him, he would return, as Mr. Wilkinson pronounced him the best man on the road. Mr. Perkins entered the service of the new railroad in 1851, and at once demonstrated his value in laying, at Fox River switch, the first T-rails ever put down west of the Lakes. These were laid at the junction of the old Fox River and the Galena & Chicago Union Railroads, two miles east of Elgin. Mr. Perkins prepared the patterns for forging the tools, as none were to be found in the country, and the rails themselves had to be imported from England, there being no rolling mills in the United States at that time. The proposition to substitute the T-rail for the strap rail then in use on the Galena Road, met with much opposition among the directors on account of its greater cost, the opposition being led by Walter Newberry, then a large stockholder. At a meeting of the Directors held in a little frame depot building at the corner of Canal and Kinzie Streets, where the road began, the river not having been bridges at that time, President Turner urged the change, while the opposition of Mr. Newberry and others vanished, as a not uncommon accident at the time happened to a train just coming in with freight from Elgin. Right in front of the depot a strap-rail sprang, and, forming a snake-head, penetrating the floor of the caboose passed up through the roof. The train men pried the lower end of the rail loose, and tied a red flag to the upper end as a signal of danger to the directors. This practical illustration of the beauties of the strap-rail was sufficient, and the change was ordered. Mr. Perkins took charge of a gang of men and, as soon as the first cargo of rails arrived, began the reconstruction of the road at Elgin, and another great step forward was taken in the history of Chicago. For two years he had charge of the reconstruction of the road, and was then put in charge of the docks and tracks inside of Chicago. Later still he was made station master at the little frame stations on the West Side; and, when the company built a pontoon bridge at Kinzie Street he was put in charge of it. The depot was moved about its present site and all the trains ran over the bridge. In 1854 he was transferred to the West Side Lumber District as Freight Agent and train-master for West Chicago. In 1864 he was made train-master at the Wells Street depot. His first vacation was had in 1861, when he had a respite of two weeks after a term of ten years of continuous and unremitting activity for the Company. Mr. Perkins has been in the employ of the same railroad system, though all its varying fortunes and transformations to the present time; and it is a source of just pride to him, and of commendation from the officials of the company, that, during all these years, until his honorable retirement with pay by President Hughitt, after the World's fair, he has never omitted preparing, signing and submitting his monthly pay-roll for all the men under him. When the new depot at Wells Street was thrown open to the public, Mr. Perkins took charge of all the trains entering it, then being Superintendent of the Passenger Service from the depot. After the Worlds Fair, he was retired from active service with a splendid record and full pay, but continues to give his department the benefit of his long experience. Mr. Perkins is a life-long Mason, belonging to Cleveland Lodge, No. 211, A. F. & A. M. He was married, April 22, 1844, at Oriskany, N. Y., to Miss Phoebe Jane Wiggins, by whom he has two children; William Francis Perkins, who is an engineer on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, having his home in Chicago, and a daughter, Martha Maria Perkins. Mr. Perkins has a host of friends who love him for his excellent qualities of heart and brain, and who hope that he may be spared for years to come, as promised by his athletic frame and energetic manhood.

 
Source: HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS v. 2 pages 972-973

 

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