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Resources : PERKINS FAMILY BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES BY STATE INDIANA |
Perkins Research Indiana Biographical Sketches
DR. ELAM E. PERKINS , one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Tippecanoe County, Indiana engaged in the practice of his profession at La Fayette, Indiana is a native of London, England, born April 13, 1826, a son of Chester and Asenath (Moulson) Perkins. His father was a soldier in the English army until coming to America in the latter part of 1834. He landed with his family at Hoboken, New Jersey, after an ocean voyage of six months. He then took up 600 acres of land in the Holland Land Purchase, now in Wyoming County, New York, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1875, his widow surviving him two years. Dr. Perkins, the subject of this sketch, was reared from infancy in New York State, where he remained until attaining his twenty-third year. He began the study of medicine before reaching his majority, and was with a preceptor four years and eight months, after which he attended the medical department of the Philadelphia University, from which he graduated in the spring of 1849. He engaged in the practice of medicine in Washington, D. C , residing at Fairfax Court-House until 1858, when he went to Europe. He entered the English Navy May 18, 1861, as a physician and surgeon, having; taken a course of lectures and graduated at Kings College, Cambridge. During his term of service his ship was cruising in the Oceans and different parts of the globe protecting commerce. November 15, 1862, he landed at Montreal, Canada, where he was transferred to the Sixty-third Infantry, and made a force march to London, Canada West, and rode to several detachments of his regiment , posted at different forts. He was ordered back to England in 1864, remaining with the Sixty-third Infantry in that country, until the winter of 1868-'69. He again returned to America, and was at Washington, D. C , on business with the British legation and consul for some time, then went to Kansas and by stage from Olathe, that State, through, the Indian Nation, and back again to the line of the Leavens worth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad. In April , 1870, he built the second house in Princeton, Franklin County, Kansas, remaining there until the following winter, when he went to Kansas City, and there opened an infirmary which he conducted until June , 1877. He then left Kansas City for St. Louis, MO coming thence to La Fayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. In the winter of 1874, the doctor attended the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati , Ohio, receiving a diploma from this institution. During his residence at La Fayette he has built up a large and lucrative practice. He makes a specialty of the treatment of cancer and kindred ailments, and lung troubles, in the treatment of which he has met with good success. The doctor is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Tuscan Lodge, No. 143, Lagro, Indiana. He also became a member of York Lodge, Batavia, New York. Mrs. Perkins was formerly Miss FLORA YOUNK. She was born in La Fayette, Indiana, her father, William Younk, being among the early settlers of this county. Her parents are yet residents of La Fayette where they have made their home for many years. Source: Biographical record and portrait album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each; a condensed history of the state of Indiana; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent citizens in Tippecanoe County... The Lewis Publishing Co., 1888. ERASTUS A. PERKINS, farmer, sec. 15; P. O., Elkhart, Indiana; was born in Lower Canada Oct. 8, 1818. His parents were David and Judah *(Judith (Blanchard) Perkins, the former a native of Vermont, and the latter of New Hampshire. In 1833 the subject of this sketch went to Vermont, and in 1852 came to this county. He was married Nov. 24, 1842, to NANCY A. WADLEY *(Wadleigh), by whom he had 5 children; of these only 1 is living, Emma G. Perkins. She is a graduate of Oberlin (O.) College; she is also a telegraph operator, and operated on the L. S, & M. S. railroad for about two years, and on the Grand Trunk railroad for six months. Some time ago she spent two years in California. Mr. Perkins is a farmer by occupation; he owns a farm of 124 acres one-half of a mile south of Elkhart, worth $110 per acre.
Source:
Compiled local and family histories
from Allen County Public Library. History of Elkhart County, Indiana :
together with sketches of the cities, villages and townships, educational,
religious, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent
persons, and biographies of representative citizens. HOWARD B. PERKINS, through a native of Steuben Co., IN, Mr. Perkins for a number of years has been regarded as one of the wealthy and substantial farmer citizens of Springfield Township, LaGrange Co., IN, his home being on rural route No. 2. He was born in Salem Township of Steuben Co., IN, Oct. 18th, 1867, a son of Job and Sarah (Landers) Perkins. His father was a native of Milford Township, LaGrange Co., IN, son of Enoch Perkins, one of the early settlers there. The children of Enoch and Adaline Perkins were: Stewart Perkins, Job Perkins, Enoch Perkins, Sarah Mariah Perkins and Elizabeth Perkins. Sarah (Landers) Perkins, mother of Howard B. Perkins, was born in Ohio Jan. 28th, 1846. Her father, Joseph Landers was born in Pennsylvania and died in Ohio. In 1849, when she was three years of age, Mrs. Perkins was brought by her mother, Mrs. Catherine Landers, to Steuben Co., IN, her mother buying eighty acres of land. They had traveled by team and wagon from Ohio to Indiana. Later Mrs. Catherine Landers sold her first farm, and she died at Applemanburg,IN in 1901, at the age of ninety-three. Mrs. Landers was born in Ohio. In the Landers family were seven children: Joseph Landers, William Landers, Mary Ann Landers, Betsey Landers, Rebecca Landers, Sophia Landers and Sarah Landers, only the last two now living. Job and Sarah (Landers) Perkins were married in Salem Township, of Steuben Co., IN, and for several years he operated the Landers farm. In 1870 he bought a place in Jackson Township, moved there, but had only a few years in which to improve his farm, since he was overtaken by death Feb. 1st, 1878. In 1861, at Kendallville, he had enlisted in Company G of the Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry, and saw much of the hardest service of the war, being in all the battles of his regiment, including Shiloh, Stone River and Chickamauga. Job and Sarah Perkins had two children: Howard B. Perkins and Catherine Adaline Perkins. Catherine Adaline Perkins was born July 7th, 1869, and her first husband was Albert Johnson, and she is now the wife of Henry Ford, living at Hammond, Indiana. Mrs. Sarah Perkins lives with her daughter at Hammond, Indiana. Howard B. Perkins attended the public schools of Jackson Township, Steuben Co., IN. He moved to Springfield Township of LaGrange Co., IN with his mother and sister in 1884, locating at Applemanburg, IN. He worked as a farm hand for William Dunbar and later for Mrs. William Laurent Dryer, mother of his wife. He also followed the carpenter's trade for some time. May 25th, 1898, Mr. Perkins married MARY AURELA DRYER, who was born in Milford Township, LaGrange Co., IN Oct. 25th, 1870. The record of her parents is told in later paragraphs. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins after their marriage lived in the village of South Milford and he bought a house and lot in Applemanburg, IN where he now lives, moving into that new home Nov. 25th, 1898. He also bought 111 acres, a part of the old Mallow farm. He subsequently sold two acres of this as the site of a school building. In 1901 Mr. Perkins bought seventy acres from G.F. Hall and in 1912 acquired forty acres more from Fred Seaburn. At the present time he has altogether 220 acres, constituting a generous capital and facilities for his work as a general farmer and stock raiser. In 1903 he built on his farm a fine barn 36 by 72 feet. Mr. Perkins is a republican, a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at South Milford, and has been affiliated with that order since he was twenty-one years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have five children: Harold B. Perkins was born April 30th, 1899, is a graduate of the Springfield Township High School, finished the course of the LaGrange High School in 1918, and from Oct. 10th, 1918 until Dec. 19th, 1918, was a member of the Students Army Training Corps at Purdue University. He is now a government employee with the Bureau of Forestry. Gerald D. Perkins, the second of the family, was born Aug. 5th, 1900, and was a sophomore in the Springfield Township High School when he died Feb. 3rd, 1916. The third is Laurent Roger Perkins, born Mary 24th, 1902, a graduate of the township High School and of the LaGrange High School with the class of 1919. The fourth of the family, a son, died soon after his birth in 1908. The youngest is Mary Beth Perkins, born March 5th, 1909. Mrs. Perkins was educated in the schools of Milford Township, studied music at the Tri-State College at Angola, and later had the advantage of foreign instructors in the College of Music at Fort Wayne, IN. Her parents were William Laurent and Lodema (Taylor) Dryer. Her father was born in Greene Co., NY, Dec. 1st, 1831, and died in LaGrange Co., IN, in 1884. Her mother was born in Milford Township of LaGrange Co., IN, April 20th, 1841, and died at South Milford in 1907. Mrs. Dryer in 1893 left the home farm and lived in South Milford until her death. Her second husband, George Gunn, survives her and lives in the old home at South Milford at the age of eighty years. William Laurent Dryer was a son of Darius and Clarissa (Rogers) Dryer, of English descent, the former a native of Massachusetts. Darius Dryer came to Milford Township with his family in 1837, and was identified with the pioneers of that locality. He died in Feb., 1861. His wife was a native of the state of New York. At the age of nineteen, William L. Dryer stated to learn the wagon making trade, and afterward served an apprenticeship as a carpenter, an occupation he followed for some years. In 1857 he bought a farm in Milford Township of 120 acres, and so ordered his affairs that at the time of his death he was one of the wealthy farmers of the township. He and his wife were married Dec., 23rd, 1858. Of their five children the oldest died in infancy, Laura Dryer, Morton W. Dryer and Lura Dryer are all deceased. The only survivor is Mrs. Mary A. Perkins. Mrs. Perkins maternal grandparents were Thestor and Nancy (Blair) Taylor, the former a native of New York and the latter of Vermont. Thestor Taylor entered land in Milford Township in 1836, and two years later bought his family to LaGrange Co., IN. William L. Dryer was a staunch republican and held the offices of path master and school director for a number of terms. His youngest brother, Zenas B. Dryer, enlisted in 1861 in the Twenty-first Indiana Infantry and sleeps in a soldier's grave at New Orleans. He was with Sherman on his march to the sea. Source: History of Northeast Indiana - 1920 CLYDE PERKINS, a great deal of business enterprise has been supplied by members of the Perkins family in Milford Township. The present generation is represented by four Perkins brothers, owners of the Stroh Grain Company at Stroh, and individually successful farmers. One of them is Clyde Perkins, whose home is in section 23 of Milford Township. On this farm he was born July 24th, 1876, a son of Samuel and Emma (Mains) Perkins. His father was born in Pennsylvania Aug.24th, 1838, a son of Jacob and Sarah (Phelps) Perkins. Jacob Perkins came to LaGrange Co., IN about 1830, settling in Milford township, and was the third permanent resident of that locality. He is entered land from the Government, and in a clearing in the midst of the woods built his double log house. He was killed in the Wert sawmill. He was a whig and republican. Samuel Perkins grew up on the home farm, and after his marriage located in Wayne township of Noble Co. IN, but six years later traded his property there for the farm now owned by his son, Clyde Perkins. He was a republican, and his wife was a member of the Methodist Church. They had five sons, Jada D. Perkins, a well known farmer and business man of LaGrange Co., IN; Miles E. Perkins, who died when two years of age; Samuel M. Perkins, a farmer a mile west of Stroh, IN; Clyde Perkins; and Roy Perkins, who is a cashier of the Bank of Stroh, IN. Clyde Perkins grew up on his fathers farm and finished his education in the Tri-State Normal College at Angola. April 5th, 1905, he married GRACE SKELLY. She was born in Steuben Co., IN and is a graduate of the common schools. They have four children: Dorothy Perkins, Donald Perkins, Mildred Perkins and Ralph Perkins. Mr. Perkins is a republican. For eight and a half term he taught school in Milford Township, and since then he has been applying his efforts successfully to farming and stock raising. He is a breeder of registered Percheron horses, having about seventeen head of horses, with a stallion sired by Carnot. He also handles Shorthorn cattle, his herd being headed by Gloster Lad, a pure Scotch bull. Mr. Perkins is also a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Stroh, IN. Source: History of Northeast Indiana - 1920 Also...
While researching the below book, it was stated in the book that a Jacob
Perkins of PA and Sarah (Phipps (Phelps?) of OHIO were married and they
had a child. Source: Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical (1882) by F.A. Battey & Co. Also...
ROY PERKINS, cashier of the Farmers
State Bank of Stroh, IN, has been identified with that institution two
years, and is one of the leading business men of LaGrange Co., IN. He
represents a family well known for their enterprise and good citizenship
in Northeast Indiana. He was born on a farm in Milford Township, Aug.
26th, 1881, a son of Samuel and Emma (Mains) Perkins. Some
additional facts regarding his father and the early history of the family
will be found on other pages. Samuel Perkins and wife, who spent their
last years on a farm in section 23 of Milford Township, were active in the
Methodist Church, and he was a republican. They were the parents of five
sons and the four still living are J.D. Perkins, of Milford;
M.S. Perkins of Milford; Clyde Perkins, of Milford; and Roy
Perkins. The Perkins brothers have a number of individual interests
and are also associates in the ownership of the Stroh Grain Company, and
for five years were engaged in drainage contracting. Roy Perkins grew up
on the home farm in Milford Township and graduated from the South Milford
High School and spent three years in the State Normal. He is well known
for his splendid work as a teacher. For thirteen years he was engaged in
schoolroom work, and during that time was superintendent of the South
Milford school five years and principal of the Stroh school four years.
The Farmers State Bank of Stroh was organized Nov. 6th, 1915. Its officers
are: H.B. Lewis, President; S.A. Stout, vice President; Roy Perkins,
cashier, while the Board of Directors consist of H.B. Lewis; S.A. Stout,
Roy Perkins, M.S. Perkins, J.D. Perkins, J.B. Goodsell. The bank is
capitalized at $25,000. Nov. 28th, 1905, Mr. Perkins married
OPAL LOVETT. She is a graduate of the
South Milford High School. They have four children, named Marjorie
Perkins, Katherine Perkins, Dale Perkins and George
Perkins. Mr. Perkins is a past member and charter member of Philo
Lodge No.672, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is also a past grand
of the Odd Fellows. His wife is both a Rebekah and a member of the Eastern
Star. Politically he is affiliated with the republican party.
Also.... Source: History of Northeast Indiana - 1920 JAMES N. PERKINS, cashier of the National Bank, Rising Sun, IN, was born in Boone Co., KY, in 1849. His parents, James and Mildred (Calvert) Perkins were natives of the same county, and are now residents of Rising Sun, Ind. Mr. Perkins passed the early part of his life in his native county. He came to Rising Sun, Ind. at the age of nineteen years, and began clerking in a dry good's store, in which vocation he was chiefly employed till 1872, when he was given the position which he still holds as cashier of the Rising Sun Bank. He is said to have been the youngest cashier in the State of Indiana at the time of his assuming the duties of his position, being then twenty-three years old. Mr. Perkins was married, in 1872, to HARRIET SPENCER, of Rising Sun, daughter of John W. Spencer. Her father was the first mayor of Rising Sun, and her mother afterward officiated as postmistress. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have five children: Alice Perkins, Hugh Perkins, Joshua Perkins, Harold Perkins and James Perkins. Mr. Perkins long term of service in the employ of the Bank is the best evidence we can cite as to his sterling integrity as an official, and his character as a citizen. Source: History of Dearborn, Ohio and Switzerland Counties, Indiana - From their earliest settlement - Chicago: Weakley, Harraman & Co., Publishers (1885)
JOSEPH PERKINS was born in Putnam Co.,
Ind., May 23rd, 1840, and is a son of Caleb and Orpha Perkins,
both natives of Delaware. Caleb Perkins is a son of Joseph Perkins, who
settled in Delaware many years ago, and there died. He was twice
married, the father of eighteen children, and lived to be ninety years
old. Caleb Perkins was born Aug. 19th,
1809, and married in Delaware, one ORPHA LLOYD,
born in 1812. In 1836, he removed to Clermont Co., Ohio, and two years
later, to Putnam Co., Ind., where he now lives. He is the father of eight
children - Infant daughter (deceased), Emeline Perkins, Joseph
Perkins, Susan Perkins, Edmund Perkins, Harriet
Perkins, Orpha Perkins and Margaret Perkins. Source: Counties of Warren, Benton, Jasper and Newton, Indiana - Historical and Biographical - Chicago: F. A. Battey & CO., Publishers (1883) GEORGE PERKINS, is a native of Putnam Co., Ind., having been born Sept. 16th, 1843. His parents were William and Maria Perkins, who were natives of Delaware, and moved to Putnam Co., IN, in the long ago, where they are now living. Their family comprises nine children - Mary A. Perkins, Ira Perkins, George Perkins, Wesley Perkins, Lydia Perkins, Hannah Perkins, William Perkins, Elem Perkins and Oren Perkins. It was on Jan. 10th, 1867, that George Perkins was wedded to ELIZABETH SLAVENS, who was likewise born in Putnam Co., Ind., on Sept. 12th, 1846, a daughter of Hiram and Nancy Slavens, both natives of Kentucky. In Feb., 1867, Mr. Perkins moved to this county, and settled on the farm he now occupies. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are the parents of three children - Martha I. Perkins, William H. Perkins and Orville H. Perkins. Mr. Perkins is an excellent Citizen. Source: Counties of Warren, Benton, Jasper and Newton, Indiana - Historical and Biographical - Chicago: F. A. Battey & CO., Publishers (1883) Also... IRA PERKINS is a native of Putnam Co., Ind., and was born Aug. 10th, 1841. His parents were William and Maria Perkins, who were natives of Delaware. William Perkins was born May 20th, 1815, and Mrs. Perkins, Feb. 4th, 1815. They were married in Delaware, and thence moved to Putnam Co., Ind., where they now reside. They family was composted of nine children; Mary A. Perkins, Ira Perkins, George Perkins, Wesley Perkins, Lydia Perkins, Hannah Perkins, William Perkins, Elem Perkins and Oren Perkins. Our subject, Ira Perkins, enlisted July 18th, 1862, in the Eighteenth Indiana Artillery, and was discharged July 2nd, 1865, at Indianapolis. After returning to Putnam Co., IN, he married April 19th, 1866, Miss SARAH A. GIBSON, and the same year moved to this county, where they purchased and settled on the identical farm on which he now lives. Mrs. Perkins died Sept. 4th, 1877. On the 16th of May, 1878, he was married to EMMA M. LOYER, from which alliance sprang a family of six children; Dora B. Perkins, Mary J. Perkins, Marie E. Perkins, Carrie A. Perkins, Samuel Perkins (deceased) and Emery Perkins. Source: Counties of Warren, Benton, Jasper and Newton, Indiana - Historical and Biographical - Chicago: F. A. Battey & CO., Publishers (1883) GEORGE W. PERKINS, farmer, P.O. Spartansburg, born in this county March 10th, 1841, is the son of Nathaniel and Mary (Roberts) Perkins, the former born in North Carolina Sept. 29th, 1810, and the latter in Ohio April 8th, 1820. The subject of this sketch was married Dec.31st, 1863, to JOSEPHINE AUSTIN, who was born in Butler Co., Ohio. She is the daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Chana) Austin. Mr. Perkins enlisted March 2nd, 1864, in Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Indiana Infantry. He was engaged in numerous battles, among which may be mentioned, Columbia, Franklin and Nashville, of Tennessee; he was mustered out of service Sept. 16th, 1865, and has since been engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have been blessed with five children, viz.: George E. Perkins, born May 1st, 1864; Ulysses G. Perkins, Oct. 7th, 1866; Sarah J. Perkins, Aug. 29th, 1869; Mary L. Perkins, March 5th, 1871, and Emma G. Perkins, born Jan. 7th, 1873. Mr. Perkins is a sterling gentleman, and is highly respected by all who know him. Source: History of Randolph County, Indiana with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers : to which are appended maps of its several townships (1882) E.W. PERKINS, New Richmond, IN, was born Dec. 4th, 1831, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His parents, William and Lydia (Fitts) Perkins, were natives of New England, and died in Massachusetts when their son E. W. Perkins was about two years of age. They boy spent his years from two to sixteen with his grandmother Fitts. He then traveled in the jewelry business in the interest of his cousin. In 1850, in company with his brother, Mr. Perkins started for California, but taking sick on the way he remained in Indiana. He hired by the month in Tippecanoe Co., IN for some years. In 1856 he was married to MARGARET KINCAID, daughter of William and Deborah (Kendall) Kincaid. Mrs. Perkins was born in 1832, in Coal Creek township, Montgomery Co., IN, whither her parents had come in a very early day. After marriage Mr. Perkins rented land for fifteen years in Tippecanoe County. About 1871 he bought twenty acres in Coal Creek township, to which he has since added forty acres. In politics Mr. Perkins is a staunch republican, and has held a minor office. During the civil war he offered himself to his county, but was rejected on account of ill health. He is a Mason, having joined Linden Lodge, and then aided in the organization of Romney Lodge, to which he now belongs. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have two children; Frank M. Perkins and Mattie E. Perkins. Their home is well supplied with papers, proving theirs to be a reading family. Source: History of Montgomery County, Together with
Historic Notes on the Wabash Valley: JOHN PERKINS, a prominent citizen and leading general agriculturist, is a life-time resident of Madison Co., IN, and born Oct. 17th, 1838, has long been identified with the history, upward growth and progressive interest of Anderson Township, his present locality. His parents, George and Agnes (Allen) Perkins, were widely known and highly respected for their upright lives and genuine kindliness. The father was a native of Knox Co., Ohio and had been reared and educated in his home state. A man of ability and enterprise, he determined to try his fortune in the newer filed of Indiana, and removing hither with his wife and family, settled in Adams Township, Madison Co., IN, and remained there for a number of years. Later the family made their home in Anderson Township. Locating in the woods, the first care of the father was to erect a log cabin, in which, together with his wife and children, he found a comfortable shelter for many changing seasons. He afterward built a more commodious log house, and in the year 1856 constructed a substantial brick residence upon the old homestead. During the Civil War, the father removed to Illinois, and resided there a short time, then returned to Indiana and again made his home in Madison County. George Perkins finally went again to Illinois and settled once more in Clark County, where he died in Sept., 1889. A man of fine natural ability and excellent attainments, he had acquired many friends in his journey through life, and was mourned as a public loss when he entered into rest. A genuine pioneer, he had shared cheerfully in hardships and privations, and aided in the development of the great west. The union of the parents was blessed by the birth of twelve sons and daughters, of whom there are now surviving: Matilda Perkins, Jane Perkins, Lucinda Perkins, Susan Perkins, John Perkins, William B. Perkins, Henry Perkins and Frank Perkins. A public-spirited man, interested in both local and national issues, the father was also a devout Christian and a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject, reared to manhood in Madison County, IN, has been a life-long farmer, and was only a boy when he self-reliantly began the battle of life. He received his education in the primitive school of the home district, and when he could be spared, attended the little log schoolhouse, a landmark of the past. Upon May 29th, 1856, John Perkins and Miss CATHERINE HICKS were united in marriage. The estimable wife of our subject was born April 16th, 1835, and was the daughter of Samuel and Sophia (Shafer) Hicks. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were both natives of Pennsylvania, and spent the early part of their married life in the Quaker State. When Mrs. Perkins was about one year old, her parents removed to Ohio, and three years subsequently made their home in Adams Township, Madison Co., IN, settling in the dense woods, their dwelling a humble log cabin, where not long after the beloved father died, mourned by all who knew him. Of the intelligent family who once clustered about the fireside of Mr. and Mrs. Hicks, the following are yet surviving: Catherine (Mrs. Perkins), John, Samuel and Angeline. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have welcomed to their hearts and home ten sons and daughters, of whom nine are living: Eliza Perkins, the wife of George Hartzell; Sylvester Perkins; Alonzo Perkins; Oliver C. Perkins; Matilda Perkins; Nora Perkins, wife of Zacharia Clevenger; Dellie Perkins and Cora M Perkins. These brothers and sisters, who have enjoyed good education advantages, worthily occupy positions of usefulness, and are universally respected. Out subject has brought his farm of eighty acres up to high cultivation and well improved the homestead with excellent and commodious buildings. Mrs. Perkins, a true helpmate, has ably aided her husband in his life work, and together they share prosperity. The old log cabin where they passed many happy years has given place to a modern residence, commodious and convenient. Tranquilly entering the evening of their age, our subject and his devoted wife may with pleasure recall the early years in which with energy, ambition and enterprise, they won their upward way to assured success. Source: Portrait and biographical record of Madison and Hamilton counties, Indiana (1893) ABRAHAM PERKINS, farmer, was born in Daviess County, Ind., August 31, 1842, and was the seventh of ten children born to Alfred and Rebecca (Ellison) Perkins, who were born in the "Blue-grass State," and came to Indiana during its very early settlement. Here they married and lived the remainder of their lives, following the independent lives of farmers. They became quite well to do, and were influential citizens of the county. Our subject had limited educational advantages, and at the age of fourteen began working about as a farm hand. July 3, 1861, when he was nearly nineteen years old, he enlisted in Company Ir Twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteers, and was mustered out in October, 1864. He was slightly wounded in each arm, but was never off duty a day while in the service. After his return from the army he began farming in Knox County, continuing until 1869, when he purchased the land he now lives upon (120 acres). August 9, 1866, he was united in marriage to AMANDA McDONALD, born in the county March 6, 1844, daughter of Francis and Asenath McDonald, early settlers of the county. The wife is a member of the Christian Church, and Mr. Perkins is a warm Republican in politics, and is one of the successful and enterprising farmers of the county. Source: History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana. Goodspeed Publishing Company. 1886-1891 Also... ELISHA PERKINS, farmer, was born in Daviess County, Ind., December 22, 1833, and is one of a family of seven sons and four daughters of Alfred and Rebecca (Ellis) Perkins, who were of English and Irish descent, born in Kentucky in 1808 and 1811, and died in 1880 and 1870 respectively. The father came to Indiana in his youth where he farmed, owning 120 acres of land. Our subject received a somewhat limited education in the subscription schools, owing to the shortness of the terms and the scarcity of schoolhouses. He resided with his parents until eighteen years of age, and after leaving home hired out as a day laborer on a farm. He went to the "Sunny South," and chopped wood in Mississippi, and August 29, 1858, married BRIDGET LAVELLE, born in Indiana February, 14, 1838. Her parents were John and Mary Lavelle. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have no children of their own, but have reared these two children: Theodore S. Johnson, whom they took at the age of three years and who is now nineteen years old, and Effie Heady, who was five years old on coming to them and is now eight. Mr. Perkins farmed in Daviess County some time after marriage, but in 1863 came to Knox County, and two years later purchased seventy acres of land in Vigo Township, where he has since made his home. He is a Republican and cast his first vote for Millard Fillmore. He is an excellent citizen and a member of the Christian Church, and his wife of the Baptist Church. Source: History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana. Goodspeed Publishing Company. 1886-1891 Also... ALBERT PERKINS, (deceased) was a son of Alfred and Rebecca (Ellis) Perkins, and was born in Daviess County, Ind., in 1828. The parents were natives of Kentucky, where they married and lived until their removal to this county. The mother's death occurred in 1873, and the father's some years later. Subject received poor educational advantages, but on reaching manhood he began reading and traveling, thereby becoming a well informed man. In 1851 he took a trip across the desert of America to California, and after about three years returned and purchased 160 acres of land, and began tilling the soil. By his industry he increased his farm to 230 acres, and furnished it with good buildings. In 1856 he married HANNAH L. HONEY, daughter of James and Mary (Waller) Honey, born in 1829. Her parents were natives of Kentucky. The father died in 1847, but the mother lived several years afterward. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins became the parents of eight children: Peter T. Perkins, Mary E. Perkins, Sarah J. Perkins, Ulysses G. Perkins, James Perkins, Millard Perkins, George W. Perkins and Albert M. Perkins. Mr. Perkins was a stanch Republican, and cast his first vote for Scott. The last nine years of his life was a period of constant suffering. He died in 1883, after a useful and well spent life. His widow and her two sons, Ulysses and James, have since taken charge of the farm. Source: History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana. Goodspeed Publishing Company. 1886-1891 JOHN W. PERKINS, hardware merchant at Montgomery, Ind., was born in the county where he now resides, in 1830. His educational advantages were limited, and he assisted his father on the farm until twenty years of age, when he married KITTIE M. DICKERSON, born in 1832, daughter of Zadok and Elizabeth (Cole) Dickerson. To Mr. and Mrs. Perkins ten children were born: Joseph P. Perkins, Martha E. Perkins, Mary L. Perkins, Zadok Perkins, John W. Perkins, Isaac D. Perkins, David M. Perkins, Robert Perkins, Lizzie Perkins and Abram C. Perkins. In 1854 Mr. Perkins purchased his first eighty acres of land, and after farming it several years sold out and rented land until 1874, when he purchased the farm pre-empted by his grandfather, where he resided until 1882. He then moved to Montgomery and engaged in the hotel business for one year. Since that time he has been proprietor of the "Perkins Hardware Store." He has prospered in his business enterprises, and now owns a good store, dwelling house and three lots. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E, Twenty-seventh Indiana Infantry, and foxight bravely for the Union until he was honorably discharged in 1863. His parents, John and Eleanor (Jones) Perkins, were born in Bourbon County, Ky., the father in 1790 and the mother in 1796. They came to Daviess County, Ind., when it was an almost unbroken wilderness. Here the father farmed in summer and operated a distillery in winter. His death occurred in 1872 and the mother's in 1871. Source: History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana.
Goodspeed Publishing Company. 1886-1891 ORAN PERKINS, farmer, Columbia Township, is a native of Fayette County, Ind., born December 25, 1845, the eldest of ten children born to William and Mary A. (Klum) Perkins, of this township: Oran Perkins, Milton R. Perkins, Amanda Perkins, Luella C. Perkins, Narcissa C. Perkins, Jennie B. Perkins, George Perkins, Jacob E. Perkins, Mary K. Perkins, Gracie E. Perkins. Our subject was married in this county, May 3, 1868, to AGNES E. BLAKE, who was born in this county June 11, 1847. To this union were born ten children: Lizzie E. Perkins, Mary R. Perkins, Harry L. Perkins, Lewis E. Perkins, Edna K. Perkins, William R. Perkins, Fred B. Perkins, Jennie B. Perkins, Frank Perkins, and one that died in infancy. After marriage Mr. Perkins settled in this township, where he has since resided. In 1870 he moved on his present farm, comprising 107 acres of land. Source: History of Fayette Co., IN; Warner Beers & Company; 1885 BENJAMIN ROBERT PERKINS was born in London, Eng., Dec. 25,1832, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wotharn) Perkins, the former a wholesale tin and Japan-ware manufacturer during his life-time, employing some 600 hands at times; he is now dead, but his sons, James W. Perkins and Richard W. Perkins, still carry on the business, under the firm name of " B. Perkins & Sons." The subject of this sketch obtained his education in what was called " the city of London school," where he finished the prescribed course; afterward he was for two years a member of the literary and scientific institution on Aldersgate street, London, E. C.; at 17 he was "articled "to Wm. Smith, gas engineer of Snow Hill, London, to learn the business; completed his articles at 21, and at the suggestion of his father, visited this country, expecting to remain only one year, but it resulted in his becoming a citizen of this Republic. On his first arrival he settled in New York city, where ho was employed by Samuel Downs as a gas-meter manufacturer, afterward by the American Meter Company of Philadelphia; was subsequently sent out as their foreman to manage their branch works in Cincinnati, where he remained three years. During this time, in 1856, he married MARY M. WESTWOOD, daughter of John C. Westwood, then engineer of the Cincinnati Gas Company; during this year he was assistant inspector for that company. In 1857 he returned on a visit to London, which was extended" to a ten-years' residence, during which, until 1861, he assisted his father in his business; he then opened an establishment on his own account, in gas engineering, fitting up a large portion of the famous Crystal Palace at Kensington, which had been iised in the Great Exposition of 1862; in company with K. S. Parry, he assisted in fitting up that celebrated vessel, the " Great Eastern," with furniture, stores, etc., and sailed on the same when she made her trial trip. He was afterward engaged in the shipyard of his wife's uncle; at this place were built the largest class of iron-clad vessels, among them the " Resistance " and " Warrior." In 1866 he returned to the United States and took a position with the Springfield, IL Gas Company, which he resigned two years afterward and accepted a similar position at Peoria, IL.; in 1870 he left the latter place and until 1875 superintended the gas works at Franklin and Columbus, Ind.; he then came to South Bend, where he has been connected with the gas works to the present time; he is now superintendent. Mr. Perkins has now a family of 6 children. Source: History of St. Joseph Co., Indiana p. 938 JACOB PERKINS: To attain a worthy citizenship by a life that is always honored and respected even from childhood deserves more than mere mention. It is no easy task to resist the many temptations of youth and plant a character in the minds and hearts of associates that will remain an unstained figure for all time. One may take his place in public life through a sheer vigorous stroke of public policy, and even remain in the hearts of friends and neighbors, but to take the same position by dint of the practice of an upright life and without a craving for exaltation and popularity, is worthy of the highest praise and commendation. The late Jacob Perkins, one of the sturdy pioneer business men of Lebanon, who was well known throughout Boone county for many years, was a man respected and honored, not because of the vigorous training of any special talents, but because of his daily life, which was above criticism. Strong and forceful in his relations with his fellow men, he not only made his present felt, but also gained the good will of both his associates and the general public, ever retaining his reputation among men for integrity and high character, no matter how trying the circumstances, and never losing that dignity which is the true birthright of the model gentleman. Consequently Mr. Perkins influence for good in the up-building of Lebanon and vicinity was of no little factor, and it still continues, although the material man has been engulfed in "the inevitable hour," which awaits all that is mortal, and he will long be sadly missed from the various circles in which he moved. Mr. Perkins was born in Rush county, Indiana, December 22, 1816. He was a son of Jehu and Elizabeth Perkins, and grew to manhood and received his education in his native community. In 1838 the family came to Boone county and settled in the woods, clearing and developing a farm by industry and perseverance. Our subject began life as a farmer, which he continued until 1853 when he moved to Lebanon and opened a tavern, which he operated about ten years, his hotel being popular with the traveling public. He then resumed farming, which he followed the rest of his life. Jacob Perkins was married about 1832 to ELIZA McILWAINE, who was born August 1st, 1816, who proved a worthy helpmate in every respect and shared the trials of pioneer life and here aided to rear their family and passed to her reward several years prior to her husband's death. Jacob Perkins was first a Whig, later a Douglas Democrat in politics. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Sons of Temperance and was a member of the Baptist church. The death of Mr. Perkins occurred in 1881. Source: History of Boone Co., Indiana with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families - 1914 - A. W. Bowen. *NOTE OF INTEREST* - IRA S. PERKINS was appointed administrator June 15th, 1836 of the estate of Jehu Perkins (deceased). Jehu Perkins was the owner of a general store according to the inventory of his estate. L. C. Perkins, C. S. Perkins and Jacob Perkins purchased items at the sale of personal property, May term, 1851. Source: Rush Co., IN - Probate Records JEHU PERKINS, pioneer of this county, was born where he now resides, June 26th, 1821, son of Jehu and Elizabeth (Sailors) Perkins, and is of English descent. His father was born in North Carolina, and died in Rush County, Indiana in 1836. In early childhood he removed with his parents to the Indiana Territory, and as early as 1810 settled in Franklin county, Indiana, and later removed to Fayette, IN, where they remained until 1821, when they came to Rush county, Indiana, and settled where the subject of this sketch now resides. In 1820, Jehu Perkins, Sr., entered Section 27, in what is now Noble Township, and on this site the first mills, horse and water-power, were erected. On this farm was the first tavern, distillery and store, and Jehu Perkins Sr., was the first merchant. He, truely, was one of the Hoosier pioneers. The mother of our subject was born in South Carolina in 1783, and died in Rush county, IN, in 1847. Our subject is the seventeenth in a family of twenty-one children, five of whom are now living. In 1838, he began life for himself, and now owns the old Perkins homestead. His marriage occurred September 20th, 1838, to Miss MARY LINES, who was born in Franklin County, Indiana, August 24th, 1819. They have five children, viz: James C. Perkins, born 1842; Sarah E. Perkins, born 1843; Charles Henry Perkins, born 1847; Mary E. Perkins, born 1850; and Lottie A. Perkins, born 1855. Politically, Mr. Perkins is a Republican, and Mrs. Perkins is a member of the Methodist Church. For sixty-six years Mr. Perkins has been a resident of Noble Township, IN. He is familiarly known as "Boss" Perkins, and is the oldest born resident of the county. Source: (1888) A. J. PERKINS, a native son of Rush
county, Indiana where his entire life has been passed, and one of the
representative citizens of the vicinity, a worthy scion of one of our
sterling pioneer families, who is now engaged in the general mercantile
business at New Salem, Ind., was born in Noble township, this county, on
March 30, 1881, and is a son of Henry and Sarah (McComas) Perkins,
the former also a native of Rush county, and the latter born in Hancock
county, Indiana. Henry Perkins was the son of Jehu and Pollie (Lyons
/Lines)
Perkins, who became settlers in Rush county in an early day. Henry
Perkins was reared to manhood in Noble township and on attaining mature
years he took up the vocation of farming, which he followed throughout his
active life. Of the five children who blessed the union of himself and wife,
four are now living, namely: Dean Fore Perkins, Charles Perkins,
A. J. Perkins and James Perkins. A. J. Perkins received a good
practical education in the public schools of Noble township and after
leaving school devoted his efforts to teaming until 1906, when he obtained
employment as a clerk in a general store at Orange. At the end of a year he
engaged in business for himself at that place, continuing it for four years.
Then, selling this store, in 1911, Mr. Perkins moved to New Salem and bought
the A. P. Wellman general store. In February, 1912, Mr. Perkins enlarged the
scope of the business by adding a hardware and implement department, in
which he has put a large and well selected stock of both shelf and heavy
hardware and allied lines. Every department of his store receives the same
careful attention and, because of his strict adherence to the highest
standards of business ethics in his relations with the buying public, Mr.
Perkins enjoys a large and constantly growing trade as well as the
confidence and esteem of the people generally. Mr. Perkins was married to
CLARA MEDD, the daughter of Frank and
Elizabeth Medd, and they have one child, Carl Perkins. Mr. and Mrs.
Perkins are earnest members of the Methodist Protestant church, and in
politics Mr. Perkins gives his support to the Republican party. Genial in
manner and generous in disposition, Mr. Perkins is deservedly popular in the
circles in which he moves. SAMUEL ELLIOTT PERKINS , was born in Brattleborough, Vermont, December 6, 1811, being the second son of John Trumbull and Catherine (Willard) Perkins. His parents were both natives of Hartford, Connecticut, and were temporarily residing in Brattleborough, where his father was pursuing the study of law with Judge Samuel Elliot. Before he was five years old his father had died, and his mother removed with her children to Conway, Massachusetts, where she also died soon afterwards. Before this, however, his mother being unable to support her family, Elliot was adopted by William Baker, a respectable farmer of Conway, with whom he lived and labored until twenty-one years of age. During this time, by the aid of three months' annual schooling in the free schools of the state in winter, and by devoting evenings and rainy days to books, he secured to himself a good English education, and began the study of Latin and Greek. After he attained his majority, he pursued his studies in different schools, working mornings, evenings, and Saturdays to pay his board, and teaching occasionally a quarter in vacation to provide means for tuition and clothing. The last years of this course of study was spent at the Yates County Academy, New York, then under the presidency of Seymour B. Gookins, Esq., a brother of the late Judage Gookins, of Terre Haute, Indiana. Having obtained a fair classical education, he commenced the study of law, in Penn Yan, the county seat of Yates County, in the office of Thomas J. Nevins, Esq., and afterwards, as a fellow-student of Judge Brinkerhoff, late of the Supreme Bench of Ohio, studying in the office of Henry Wells, Esq., since one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of New York. In the fall of 1836 he came along, on foot, from Buffalo, New York, to Richmond, Indiana, a stranger in a strange land, not being acquainted with a single individual in the state. His original intention had been to locate in Indianapolis, but on reaching Richmond he found the roads impassable, from the recent heavy storms, it being necessary to carry even the mails on horseback. Finding it impossible to proceed further, and desiring to lose no time in qualifying himself for practice, he inquired for a lawyer's office, and was referred to Judge J. W. Borden, then a practicing attorney in Richmond, and now Criminal Judge of Allen County. He spent the winter in his office, doing work for his board. In the sprint of 1837, after a satisfactory examination before Hon. Andrew Kennedy, a committee appointed by the court for that purpose, he was admitted to the bar, at Centerville, Wayne County, Indiana. He immediately opened an office in Richmond, and soon obtained a large and lucrative practice, coming in contact with such eminent lawyers as Caleb B. Smith, Samuel W. Parker, Charles H. Test, James Perry, Jacob B. Julian, J. S. Newman, and others. The Jeffersonian, a weekly paper, had been established in 1837 by a Democratic club, with Mr. Perkins as editor. In 1838 the Jeffersonian was sold to Lynde Elliot, who conducted it about a year, and failed. he had mortgaged the press to Daniel Reed, of Fort Wayne, for more then its value. Mr. Reed visited Richmond after Elliott's failure, for the purpose of moving the press to Fort Wayne. Unwilling that Democracy of the place should be without an organ, Mr. Perkins came forward and paid off the mortgage, took the press, recommenced the publication of the Jeffersonian, and continued it through the campaign of 1840. In 1843 he was one of the electors who cast the vote of the state for Mr. Polk. In the winter of 1844, and again in 1845, he was nominated by Governor Whitcomb, a cautious man and a good judge of character, to a seat on the Supreme Bench, but was not confirmed either time. On the adjournment of the Legislature, quite unexpectedly to himself, he received from the Governor the appointment, for one year, to the office for which he had been nominated. He was then thirty-four years of age, and had been at the bar and a resident of the state but nine years. With much reluctance he accepted the appointment, having to risk the re-election of Governor Whitcomb for a re-nominated to the Senate of the following year. He was, however, re-elected, and Judge Perkins, having served on the bench one year, was re-nominated, and confirmed by the Senate, receiving a two-thirds vote, seven Whig Senators voting for him. In 1852, and again in 1858, he was elected, under the new Constitution, by the vote of the people to the same position, and was therefore on the Supreme Bench nineteen consecutive years. When, in the stress of political disaster in 1864, he left that court, he did not therefore despair or retire, there was no impatient complaint or repining. He entered at once into the practice of his profession. In 1857 he accepted the appointment of professor of law in the North-western Christian University, which position he retained several years. In 1870, 1871, and 1872 he was professor of law at Indiana State University, at Bloomington. He felt much pride and gratification in the marked success of so many of his students. Among the number were Hon. Charles L. Holstein, Judge Daniel Howe, Judge John A. Holman, Senator A. C. Harris, Hon. John A. Finch, Hon. John S. Duncan, of Indianapolis; Senator I. H. Fowler, of Owen; Judge C. N. Pollard, of Howard; Senator George W. Grubbs, of Morgan; and Judge John A. Cornahan, of Lafayette. In addition to his immense labor as one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and professor of law, he prepared in the 1858 the "Indiana Digest," a book containing eight hundred and seventy pages, and requiring, in its writing, arrangement, and compilation for the press, a great amount of labor, involving the deepest research into the statutes of the state and the decisions of the Supreme Court. This work has received the approbation of the members of the Indiana bar, as a work of great merit and utility. In 1859 he also produced the "Indiana Practice", a work of about the same number of pages and no less important, and requiring as much labor in its preparation, as the Digest. In 1868 he undertook the editorship of the Herald, formerly and since the Sentinel, the Democratic state organ. in August, 1872, he was appointed by Governor Baker, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Rand, to a seat on the Superior Bench of Marion County- a nisi prius and inferior tribunal, one of the great labor and responsibility and discharged its duties with all diligence and fidelity. He was subsequently elected to the same office in 1874 without opposition. Nor was there ever a just act of popular gratitude and recognition than when the people of the state, in 1876, almost without action upon his part, took him from this place and returned him to a higher station in the courts of the commonwealth, which he had formerly so long adorned with his presence. To his studious application, which supplemented the natural qualities of his mind, much was due for the reputation of the Indiana Supreme Bench in the days when it was honored for its wisdom. He helped to give it the name it had in the days of Blackford and Dewey, his first associates in the court, and not the smallest part of the loss occasioned by his death is, that it deprives the bench of the quality it needs most and has least. Shortly after Judge Perkins's appointment to the Supreme Bench, he became a resident of Indianapolis, where he continued to reside until the time of his death. He took a lively interest in the development of the material interests of his adopted city, and during his long residence there assisted with his means and influence in many enterprises looking toward the prosperity of Indianapolis. As he was familiar with adversity in his early days, and often experienced all that was bitter in poverty, his heart continually prompted him to acts of benevolence towards the unfortunate of his neighborhood. It was a mystery to many how he could apply himself professionally with such unremitting diligence, and at the same time take such a lively interest in every thing looking toward the prosperity of Indianapolis; but the fact is he knew no rest; he was indefatigable; he never tired when there was any thing to be done. His life was an unceasing round of labors which he never neglected, and which he pursued with a devoted industry from which more robust constitutions might have recoiled. On political subjects the Judge was a pertinent and forcible writer, and when his pen engaged in miscellany its productions possessed a truthful brevity, perspicuity, and beauty which ranked them among the best literary productions of the day. His eulogy on the late Governor Ashbel P. Willard, delivered in the Senate chamber during the November term, 1860, of the United States District Court, does ample justice to the character and memory of that distinguished man; and the sentiments that pervade the entire address bear testimony to the soundness of the head and goodness of the heart from which they emanated. The pith and fiber of his mental faculties are not by any thing better attested than by the very evident growth and progress of his judicial style. His mind was of that finest material which does not dull with age or become stale with usage. He improved steadily and constantly to the very last. His last opinions are his best. There is in these a manifest terseness, a cautious, careful trimming and lopping off of all superfluousness; the core only, the very kernel of the point to be decided, is presented. But for this tacit acknowledgement of a fault in his earlier writings he is not to be upbraided, but is to be commended, rather, for the moral courage necessary in the avowal and avoidance of such fault. The first, and not the least, quality in a Judge is thorough integrity of purpose and action. In this great qualification he was faultless. in a long and diversified course of public life no charge was made against him of corruption or oppression, or even of discourtesy or unkindness. In his intercourse, whether with his colleagues of the bench and bar, or with the people at large, no stain was ever found upon the ermine which he wore. Too much praise can hardly be bestowed upon the firmness with which he maintained his political integrity. In early life an ardent friend and supporter of the principles of Jackson and Jefferson, he remained faithful in his adherence to them to the end. There were many notable examples in his day of political apostasy; there were many of his contemporaries who, yielding to what was called the force of circumstances, or the course of events did"Crook the pregnant hinges of the keen, That thrift might follow fawning." But he was not of the number. At the grand assizes of the future, posterity will award to the late chief justice of Indiana the white gloves of purity, in token of a lengthened term of public service in which justice was administered without fear, without favor, and without reproach. Judge Perkins died of paralysis of the brain, at his residence on West New York Street, Indianapolis, at midnight, December 17, 1879, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He died full of years and honors. It will seldom fall to the lot of a single individual, in these feverish and changeful times, to fill a position of such high honor and trust in our state such a length of time. As is customary on the death of a member of the profession, a bar meeting was called, and, after appropriate remarks, the following memorial was reported by Governor Baker, as chairman of a special committee: "Again, in the history of the state, death has entered the Supreme Court, and made vacant a seat upon its bench. The chief justice is dead. We meet to do suitable honor to the name and memory, and mourn the death, of Judge Perkins. His eminent success is an encouragement, his death an admonition. Endowed with strong and active faculties, he pursued the purposes of his life with fortitude and determination, and at the close of his career he stood among the distinguished of a profession in which distinction must be merited to be achieved. He was successful in life, and attained exalted position, and enjoyed the admiration and approval of his countrymen, not only because of his excellent natural endowments, but also because his faculties were cultivated and developed by diligent labor, and beautified by extensive and useful learning, and also because his motives were pure and his conduct upright. In this we have a lesson and an encouragement. The people gave him high honor, and made it as enduring as the laws and the records of the state. His name is forever interwoven in our judicial history. So long as society shall remain organized under the government of law, will the student of laws consult his opinions and decisions. Through coming generations will his labor and learning influence both the legislator and the judge. He was an able and faithful judge, and brought honor in our profession. We will cherish his memory. In his death we are admonished that no earthy distinction can defeat or postpone the inevitable hour." "The paths of glory lead but to the grave" "To his family and kindred we extend our sympathy". Judge Perkins was married, in 1838, to AMANDA J. PYLE, daughter of Joseph Pyle, a prominent citizen of Richmond, Indiana. By this marriage there were ten children, only one of whom survives, Samuel E. Perkins, junior, now practicing attorney in Indianapolis, Indiana. He had also six grandsons; four, the children of his daughter, who married Hon. Oscar B. Hord; and two, the children of his son, who married Sue E. Hatch, one of whom continues the name. Source: A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana: Western Biographical Publishing Co. - Cincinnati, OH - Vol. 2 - 1880
and...
SAMUEL E.
PERKINS was born at Brattleborough, VT. , December 6, 1811. He removed
with his father to Conway, Mass., where he resided until 1834. He removed
to Penn Yan, Yates Co., N. Y. , and studied law with Henry Welles, now or
lately a judge of the supreme court of that state, and removed to
Richmond, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1837. He was
subsequently appointed prosecuting attorney by the governor of the state.
In 1844, he was a candidate for presidential elector on the Democratic
electoral ticket . In January, 1846, he was appointed by Gov. Whitehead
judge of the supreme court ; was reappointed, and held the office until
January, 1865.
In 18—, he removed to Indianapolis. About the year 1859, he was elected
Professor of Law in the North-western University at Indianapolis, which
office he held about six years. In the autumn of 1870, he was chosen
Professor of Law in the State University at Bloomington. He married, in
Richmond, AMANDA J. PYLE, daughter of Joseph Pyle. They had nine children,
only two of whom are living: Amanda Perkins, who married Oscar B. Hord; and
Samuel
E. Perkins , now a partner in law. Judge Perkins
married a second wife, Mrs. LAVINIA M. WIGGINS, a sister of his former
wife, by whom he had a daughter, Alma Rosa Perkins, now living. Source: History of Wayne County, Indiana from its first settlement to the present time: with numerous biographical and family sketches; embellished with upwards of fifty portraits of citizens and views of buildings.. and... JUDGE SAMUEL E. PERKINS, is one of the names most suggestive of the honorable traditions and achievements of the Indiana bar, to which the services of three generations have been given. First in time, and because of his position as a justice of the Supreme Court perhaps most widely known, was Judge Samuel E. Perkins, whose life bulked large in the affairs of Indiana during the middle decades of the last century. He was born at Brattleboro, Vermont, December 6th, 1811, the second son of John Trumbull and Catherine (Willard) Perkins, both of whom were natives of Hartford, Connecticut. His father was also a lawyer, but had little opportunity to influence the mind of his son, who was only five years old when the father died. Thereafter until he was twenty-one, Judge Perkins lived on the farm of William Baker near Conway, Massachusetts. The liberal education of his mature life was the result of studies largely self-directed and from schooling the expenses of which he had paid by teaching and other employment. He read law in the office of Thomas J. Nevius at Penn Yan, New York, and in 1836, at the age of twenty-five, started west from buffalo on foot to seek a location. Eighty years ago there were few spots in the Middle West which had outgrown the spirit and habits of pioneer days. It was in one of the thriftier towns of Indiana, Richmond, that Judge Perkins made his first location. The winter following he did office work for his board, and in the spring of 1837, after examination, was admitted to the bar. While his entrance into the profession as into this state was attended by modest circumstances, his sterling abilities soon manifested themselves and his practice was as large and important as most any of his contemporaries enjoyed. Incidentally he became interested in journalism, and at one time was editor and publisher of the Jeffersonian. By appointment of Governor Whitcomb he became prosecuting attorney of the Sixth Judicial District in 1843. In 1844 he was one of the electors who cast the vote of Indiana for James K. Polk. In 1844 and again in 1845 he was appointed by Governor Whitcomb to a seat on the Supreme bench of Indiana. Neither appointment was confirmed, but during adjournment of the Legislature he was once more appointed, and served without confirmation one year. He was extremely young for such honors and responsibilities, being only thirty-four when he went on the bench. After a year he was re- nominated for the bench, and the senate confirmed him by a two-thirds vote. Under the new constitution the office of supreme judge became elective, and he was chosen by popular ballot in 1852 and in 1858. Altogether his services to the Supreme Court of Indiana covered nineteen vital and progressive years in the state's life. He retired from the bench in 1864. In the meantime, in 1857, he had become professor of law in Northwestern Christian University, now Butler College, and from 1870 to 1872 held a similar office in the Indiana State University at Bloomington. As a contributor to legal literature he prepared "Indiana Digest" in 1858. In 1868 he turned from private practice to assume the heavy and taxing responsibilities of editing the Indianapolis Herald, formerly and afterwards the Sentinel. In 1872 Governor Baker appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Superior bench in Marion county, and in 1874 he was elected to this office without opposition. Then in 1876, at the age of sixty-five, he was again elected a judge of the Supreme Court, and he was a member of that court when he was called to the Great Assize on December 17th, 1879. His fellow justices prepared an appreciation and estimate of his work and character which is found in the Sixty-eighth Indiana Reports. All that was said of him was well deserved. He was a great lawyer, a great jurist and a great man. Judge Perkins married in 1888, AMANDA J. PYLE, daughter of Joseph Pyle, of Richmond, Indiana. Then children were born to them. The oldest son, Samuel E. Perkins II, was born at Richmond, IN, September 2nd, 1846. The year following his birth his parents moved to Indianapolis in order that his father might attend to his duties as Supreme judge. In the capital city he spent his boyhood and youth, finishing his schooling in Northwestern Christian University, now Butler College. Under his father he guided his mind in its first acquisition of legal knowledge, and subsequently was a student in the law school founded by Judge Perkins and Hon. Joseph E. McDonald. He and his father, during the few years when the latter was not on the bench, were actively associated in practice, but upon the death of Judge Perkins, his son sought no further opportunities to build up his clientage and found his time well taken up by managing the various property interests he had acquired. He was more widely known as a counselor than as a court practitioner. He had a thorough knowledge of the law and was wise in its application. Perhaps his chief characteristics were his industry and his love of home. He was universally respected for his upright life and for the general good he did in the community. He had a well rounded and useful life, though he did not attain the age of three score and ten. He died April 8th, 1915. On July 11th, 1877, he married SUSAN ELIZABETH HATCH. She is still living in Indianapolis, IN and her marked literary talents have brought her much esteem in literary circles. She is the mother of two sons, Samuel E. Perkins III, and Volney Perkins. The latter died in 1900, while a student at Purdue University. Samuel E. Perkins III, whose secure position in the Indianapolis, IN bar serves to connect the present with the older generation, distinguished by his grandfather, was born at Indianapolis, IN, May 8th, 1878. After attending private and grade schools in Indianapolis, he entered Wabash College, from which he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1900. The Indiana Law School gave him his LL.B degree in 1902, and since that year he has been steadily winning the honors of his chosen profession. On September 11th, 1901, he married MARY F. MILFORD at Crawfordsville, IN. They have two children, a daughter Susan L. Perkins, fifteen years of age, and the son aged ten bears the name Samuel E. Perkins IV and represents the fourth generation of this honored name and family in Indiana.
Source: (1919) Volume 1 FRANKLIN L. PERKINS, deceased, was born in Brown County, Ohio, April 21, 1836, a son of Francis G. Perkins, who was a native of the State of New York. The subject of this sketch came to Indiana in 1855, settling at Pleasant Hill, Montgomery County, where he engaged in farming. He was married March 4, 1857, to Miss EMILY J. WEBB, a daughter of Reuben T. Webb, of Corwin Station, Randolph Township, this county. To them were born three children, named Anna M. Perkins, James W. Perkins and Mary J. Perkins. James Perkins married Almeda Bailey, and has one child named Frank L. Perkins. They reside near Morocco, in Newton County, Indiana. Mary J . Perkins is the wife of Henry Hooper, of Randolph Township, and has two children—Carrie Hooper and Frank Thompson Hooper. Mr. Perkins enlisted in the war of the Rebellion, in Company A Sixty-third Indiana Infantry, and died in the service of his country November 13, 1863. His remains were brought home and interred in the Romney cemetery. He was a devoted Christian and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Perkins subsequently married John Brunton, who has been a resident of Tippecanoe County since his sixteenth year. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brunton, named Ida M. Brunton and Bertha E. B. Brunton. Ida Brunton is the wife of William Wilgus, of Chicago, Illinois, and has one child named Mary E. Wilgus. Source: Biographical record and portrait album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each; a condensed history of the state of Indiana; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent citizens in Tippecanoe County... P. J. PERKINS (Pardon J.) was born in the mountains of Warren county, N. Y., near Lake George, April 13, 1824. His parents were Newman and Elizabeth (Tanner) Perkins, natives of Rhode Island, who came to Lenawee county, Mich., in 1815. P. J. was reared on a farm in New York; he worked in an ax manufactory in the village of Cohoes, near Troy, for five years; there he was married, in 1848, to Miss ELIZABETH SKIFF, by whom he has 2 children, Charles (Charley) Perkins and Edward Perkins; he removed to Kane county, Ill. in 1854, and to this county in 1871; he became interested with his brother, P. C. Perkins, in the manufacture of axes in Mishawaka, in 1869, and in 1871 they began the manufacture of the Perkins windmills in the same place. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are members of the Presbyterian Church. There are eight brothers in the Perkins family, all of whom united with the Church before arriving at the age of 16 years. Source: History of St. Joseph County, Indiana : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons and biographies of representative citizens : history of Indiana, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, aborigines, French, English and American conquests, and a general review of its civil, political and military history ****************************************** Perkins Windmill and Ax Company.—This establishment manufactures edge tools, pumps, and water tanks; but its principal business is the manufacture of the Perkins windmill, which was invented and patented by P. C. Perkins in 1869. In 1873 there was a joint company formed for its manufacture. They are doing a large business. ********************************* The Perkins Solid Wheel wooden windmills, patented in 1869 and manufactured until after WWI, are of the most attractive of all American windmills. They have a beautiful and graceful design that is coupled with probably the most intricately painted ornamentation placed on any widely distributed windmill. Although not common today, they may be found scattered about the plains and prairies of the Midwest where they were made. The founder of the Perkins windmill enterprise was Palmer C. Perkins. He was born at Bolton in Warren County, New York, in 1824. There he learned black smithing and ax making from S.L. Judd, a local craftsman. In 1846 he moved to Cohoes, New York, where he worked in an ax factory. He then moved to Waterford, New York; Rochester, New York, Clayton, Michigan, and finally Mishawaka, Indiana. In each place he engaged in the manufacture of axes. It was in Mishawaka that Palmer C. Perkins first started experimenting with windmills, inventing and patenting his Perkins mill in 1869. From that time on his future lay with wind power. Initially he made both windmills and axes. Soon the windmill became such an important part of his business that the axes were forgotten. Palmer C. Perkins first made his Perkins Solid Wheel wooden windmills under his own name, but in 1872 his twin brother, Pardon J. Perkins, joined him at Mishawaka as his partner. In 1873, the two men formed a stock company under the name of the Perkins Windmill & Ax Company. This entity lasted until about 1891, by which time the manufacture of axes was abandoned and the firm became the Perkins Windmill Company. The enterprise continued to operated under this name until about 1915, when it became the Perkins Windmill & Engine Company. It then changed to become the Perkins Corporation about 1920, moving from Mishawaka to South Bend about 1925, after which time its windmill production ceased. Palmer C. Perkins, the founder of the company, in his later years became almost as well known as a raiser of blooded horses as he was a windmill maker. It was after a business trip to Texas and a visit to his large horse ranch in Kansas that he died from a heart attack at his home in Mishawaka in 1896. The Perkins wooden mill has a number of interesting characteristics. Woodwork on the mill is very striking in both design and ornamentation. The wheel and vane were painted with three coats of white paint at the factory, while the arms were painted blue. Then the tips of the blades were trimmed in red, while the vane was decorated with red, black, and yellow, as the maker noted, "giving it a handsome and striking appearance." In the early 1890's, Perkins Solid Wheel mills were made in 10', 12', 14', 18', 20', 22', and 24' sizes. By 1900, the 24' size had been deleted from the line, and by 1910, the 22' mill had disappeared from the market. By the end of the Perkins mill production in 1915, only the 10', 12', 14', 16', and 18' diameters were available. Governing on the Perkins wooden windmill is quite interesting. The wheel is placed slightly to one side so that in increasing wind it tends to turn away from the wind. As the wheel inclines away from the wind, the end of the vane assembly pivots upward through the action of the governor linkage. When the wind subsides the weight of the vane causes the wheel again to face the wind. A plunger brake on the outer extremity of the wheel hub engages whenever the mill governs out of the wind or when it is turned off from the ground. The brake ring on the wheel hub constitutes prominent identifying characteristic of the mill. The Perkins Solid Wheel windmills were the most attractive of all American mills. It was their reliability combined with this beauty which made the Perkins the mill selected in the 1890's to provide water both at the Forest Hill summer home near Columbus, Ohio, and the Tarrytown-on-Hudson estate belonging to John D. Rockefeller. At the former location a 14' Perkins Solid Wheel mill was mounted atop a 80' decorative wooden tank tower pumping water to a thirty thousand gallon tank that supplied water to the estate. Today the exceedingly handsome Perkins mills are no longer such a common sight as they once were, but they remain to be seen in smaller numbers, both restored and un-restored. The Midwest provided probably the best hunting grounds for them. C. A. PERKINS (Charles A. ) was born in Cohoes, N.Y., Dec. 20th, 1852, and is the eldest of two children of P. J. (Pardon J. ) and Elizabeth (Skiff) Perkins, and is of English extraction. His parents are natives of New York. When he was two years old, they moved to Kane County, Ill, living there until he was sixteen; then moved to Mishawaka, Ind., where his mother died in 1881, his father still living there. When he was twenty-one years of age, he began live for himself, and in 1877 came to Grant township, Newton Co., Ind., settling four and a half miles southeast of Goodland. Now he has 155 acres of well improved land. He was married, Jan., 20th, 1877, to NELLIE HUTCHINSON, daughter of John and Jane Hutchinson. Two children have been born to them - Inez M. Perkins and Ernest J. Perkins (deceased). Mr. Perkins is a Republican in politics, and cast his first Presidential vote for Hayes; is also a strong temperance man. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church. He has a common school education, is a good citizen, and a prominent young farmer. Source: Counties of Warren, Benton, Jasper and Newton - Indiana - Historical and Biographical - Chicago: F.A. Battey & CO., Publishers - 1883. J. WALLACE PERKINS is a native of Delaware county, Indiana, born in the city of Muncie on the 8th day of October, 1846, the son of William H. and Susan (Russey) Perkins. The father was a native of Kentucky and located in Muncie when it was but a mere village and started the first tailoring establishment in the place. He followed his trade in Muncie continuosly until February, 1855, when he moved to Vandalia, Cass Co., Michigan, thence two years later to the city of Niles, Berrien Co., Michigan, where he resided until his death in 1875. William H. Perkins displayed commendable energy in his chosen calling and his death was the result of over exertion and exhaustion brought on by the sickness of his wife, who for a number of weeks had required his constant attention. He was the first man to introduce the sewing machine into Indiana, and the one he operated in Muncie cost him the sum of $250. He died at the age of sixty-three; his widow still survives, having reached the good old age of seventy-five years, and at this time resides with her youngest daughter in the town of Carthage, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins reared a family of three sons and three daughters, namely; Harvey W. Perkins, Mary A. Perkins, John S. Perkins, J. Wallace Perkins, Martha J. Perkins and Minnie E. Perkins. Of the above sons, Harvey W. Perkins and John S. Perkins served in the late war as members of Michigan regiments.
J. W. Perkins spent the first nine years of his life in
Muncie, IN, and in 1855 was taken by his parents to Michigan, in which
state he received his educational training, attending the common schools
until his fourteenth year. On quitting school he entered a printing office
in St. Joseph, Michigan, where he worked for six months for $12.50 and
board, and then secured a position in an office at Niles, MI, where he was
employed for about a half of years at $30 and board. He remained at Niles
until 1858, and for one year thereafter worked in a job office at
Indianapolis, thence came to Muncie, IN, where for six months he held a
position in the office of the Muncie Times. Returning to Indianapolis at
the end of that period, he followed his trade in that city until, in
partnership with William Chandler, he became associate publisher of the
Muncie Telegraph, with which paper he was identified for about eighteen
months. On the suspension of the Telegraph, Mr. Perkins again accepted a
position on the Times, with which he remained until 1877, when he accepted
a place in the government printing office at Washington, D. C., where he
remained for a limited period. Returning to Muncie, IN, he again engaged
with the Times, and in 1880, started a job office, which he has since
successfully conducted, and with judicious management has made one of the
leading printing establishments of the city. Mr. Perkins is a practical
printer, thoroughly familar with all the details of the trade, and his
office is equipped with all the modern improvements and latest appliances,
and its reputation for first class work is second to no other printing
house in eastern Indiana. Source: A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind. : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana. A.W. Bowen & Co. (1894) NEWTON "UTE" PERKINS, being a cripple, made school teaching (Pleasant Runn, Rush Co., IN) a profession from 1823 to 1827. He had a fair education for those early times, but when the demands of the country began to call for some higher requirements, "Uncle Ute", as he was universally called, retired from the list of pedagogues and engaged again in his old business of basket making, in which he was one of the most proficient in the county. Source: (1888) MARY E. PERKINS, daughter of Ira S. and Charlotte (Randall) Perkins was born Aug. 13th, 1843 in Rush Co., IN. She married John C. Humes. Her father was born in Franklin county, Indiana in 1810, and her mother in New Jersey, in 1809, and now resides with her children in this township. Source: (1888)
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