Perry

Studio shots, no. 215: William M. Perry.

 “To Mr. & Mrs. Clark From William M. Perry”

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lodge Street, Robert Perry, 28, public school teacher; wife Mary A., 26; and son William, 5 months.

In the 1920 census of Columbia, Richland County, Virginia: preacher Robert Terry [Perry], 38; wife Mary Ida, 35; and children William, 10, Robert, 9, Allice, 7, John Logan, 5, and Frank, 3.

In the 1930 census of Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia: at 519 Oak Street, Robert N. Perry, 48, Episcopal church clergyman; wife M. Ada, 46, church school teacher; children William M., 20, Robert N., 18, Alice L., 17, John L., 15, Frank H., 13, and Henry B., 10.

In the 1940 census of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama: at the Hillman Hotel, lodger William M. Perry, 30, public school teacher.

In 1940, William Montgomery Perry registered for the World War II draft in Bamberg County, South Carolina. Per his registration card, he was born 29 December 1909 in Wilson, North Carolina; lived at 519 North Oak Street, Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia; he worked for J.E. Blanton at Voorhees N.&I.School; and his contact was his father, Rev. Robert N. Perry, Thomasville, Georgia.

William Montgomery Perry died 12 April 1951 in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona. Per his death certificate, he was born 29 December 1909 in North Carolina to Robert N. Perry and Mary A. Jackson; was never married; worked as a high school instructor; was a World War II veteran; and was buried in Thomasville, Georgia. Major Henry B. Perry was informant.

Arizona Republic, 13 April 1951.

The application for William M. Perry’s military headstone notes that he was born 29 December 1909; died 12 April 1951; enlisted 13 February 1943; was discharged 16 April 1946; achieved the rank of first sergeant; and was buried in Magnolia Cemetery, Thomasville. Robert N. Perry, 519 North Oak Street, Thomasville, applied.

Military photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user ivan-gilkes.

The final resting place of Rev. John Perry and family.

I’ve written here of Rev. John W. Perry, the Episcopal rector who served both Tarboro’s Saint Luke and Wilson’s Saint Mark’s for more than a decade beginning in 1889. 

I was headed out of Tarboro back toward Wilson yesterday when a sign at the edge of a somewhat shabby cemetery caught my eye — it was Saint Luke’s graveyard. The cemetery was established in the 1890s and likely contains many more graves than its headstones would indicate. Rev. Perry, his wife Mary Pettipher Perry, and several of their children are among the burials. 

The Perry family plot lies in the shadow of this impressive light gray granite marker. 

Rev. John W. Perry 1850-1918 He served St. Luke’s Parish for 37 years with honor to his Maker and himself.

Mary Eliza Pettipher Wife of Rev. J.W. Perry 1854-1929 Our lives were enriched because she lived among us.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, March 2023.

Decorated soldier Fred Perry returns to work.

Wilson Daily Times, 3 June 1946.

Fred D. Perry was not a boy. In June of 1946, when he returned to Wilson after serving in Europe and North Africa, he was 28 years old.

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In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Mahailey Harris, 75; her sister Manda Perry, 73, widow; and grandson Fred Perry, 22, tobacco factory laborer.

In 1940, Fred Douglas Perry registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 17 October 1917 in Kenly, N.C.; lived at 107 South East Street, Wilson; his contact was grandmother Mandy Perry; and he worked for Heilig & Meyers Furniture Company, Barnes Street, Wilson.

On January 1947, Fred D. Perry, 29, of Wilson, son of George Perry and Victoria Edwards Barnes, married Louise Marshall, 30, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of Fred Davis Jr., Minnie J. Davis, and Marie Davis. 

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 702 East Nash Street, Fred Perry, 33, furniture repairman at local furniture store, and wife Louise, 36.

 

The obituary of Samuel Perry, Hackney Wagon employee.

Wilson Daily Times, 19 August 1945.

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In the 1900 census of Mosley Hall township, Lenoir County: farmer Rufus Perry, 50; wife Jennettia, 47; and children Thomas, 21, Daisy, 17, Kate, 15, Sam, 14, Lam, 12, James, 9, Walter, 8, Fannie, 6, and Theresa, 3.

On 21 January 1907, Samuel Perry, 21, of Wilson, son of Rufus and J. Perry, married Annie Whitley, 18, of Wilson, daughter of Amos and Caroline Whitley, at Amos Whitley’s in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of James Farmer, Ethel Whitley and Nettie Barnes.

In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Tillmans Road, farmer Samuel Perry, 25; wife Annie, 23; and sons David, 2, and Rufus, 8 months.

Samuel Perry registered for the World War I draft in Wilson in 1918.

In the 1930 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Highway 91, in a house owned and valued at $1500, retail store porter Samuel Perry, 44; wife Annie, 38, cook; children Samuel, 19, wagon factory laborer, and Nettie, 17; and boarder George Jones, 18, wagon factory laborer. 

In the 1940 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: at 1317 Nash Street, owned and valued at $1300, Samuel Perry, 55, wheelwright at wagon factory; wife Annie, 50; children Nettie, 27, tobacco factory stemmer, James, 18, photo studio developer, and Louise, 15; granddaughter Mona, 2; and lodger Walter Joyner, 17, shoe black at shoe repair company. [For whom did James Perry develop film?]

Samuel Perry died 5 August 1945 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 5 August 1884 in Lagrange, N.C., to Ruffus Perry and Jennett Lettins; was married to Annie Perry; lived at 1317 East Nash Street; and worked as a laborer for Hackney Body. Thomas Perry of Lagrange was informant. 

Annie Perry died 1 January 1954 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 10 May 1889 in Wilson to Amos Whitley and Caroline Harris; was a widow; and lived at 1317 East Nash Street. Nettie Perry Lucas was informant.

Studio shots, no. 174: Rev. Robert N. Perry.

As pointed out by a descendant, an early 1900’s photograph of early leaders of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church misidentified its rector, the Rev. Robert N. Perry. Charlotte, N.C., native Perry, who served in Wilson from 1905 to 1919, is depicted in the portrait above. He was married to Mary Ada Jackson Perry, and their children William M., Robert Nathaniel II, Alice L., John L., and Frank Hargrave Perry were born in Wilson.

Patrick M. Valentine’s The Episcopalians of Wilson County: A History of St. Timothy’s and St. Mark’s Churches in Wilson, North Carolina 1856-1995, provides a detailed account of Rev. Perry’s tenure, including this opening summary: “… Perry ‘found things some what neglected and the congregation scattered but hopeful. The work began to take on new life and enthusiasm was created for anything [that] might be suggested.’ During his fourteen years in Wilson, Perry married thirty-four parishioners, baptized forty-three, presented thirty-three for confirmation, and buried eight. Membership rose rapidly from eighteen in 1906 to twenty-five in 1907, thirty-three in 1909, forty-seven in 1917, and sixty-seven the very next year. The congregation remained at that level during the rest of his tenure.”

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lodge Street, Robert Perry, 28, public school teacher; wife Mary A., 26; and son William, 5 months. [“Public school”? Was Rev. Perry actually a teacher at Saint Mark’s private elementary school?]

Robert Nathaniel Perry registered for the World War I draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 6 December 1881; lived at 315 South Street, Wilson; was minister of the Colored Episcopal Church; and his nearest relative was wife Mary Ada Perry.

During Rev. Perry’s tenure, Saint Mark’s church and school were located at the corner of South and Lodge Streets. 315 South Street was the school’s address, as well, and suggests that its building did double-duty as a parsonage.

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user ivan_gilkes.

Saint Mark’s confirmation class (and new interior.)

This brief article about a confirmation class at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church offers lovely details of the provenance of the church’s furnishings.

Wilson Daily Times, 13 November 1948.

  • Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Johnson — Father Johnson served as rector at Saint Mark’s from 1943 to 1957 and supply priest from 1957 to 1964. His wife was Anna Burgess Johnson.
  • Rev. Robert N. Perry — Father Perry was rector from 1905 to 1919.

Rev. John W. Perry, Episcopal priest.

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Educated at Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, John W. Perry was a deacon when appointed in 1882 to serve Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in Tarboro. Perry was ordained a priest in 1887 and two years later was assigned to lead the congregation at Saint Mark’s in Wilson in addition to Saint Luke’s. He shared these posts for the next twelve years.

See Rev. Dr. Brooks Graebner, “Historically Black Episcopalian Congregations in the Diocese of North Carolina: 1865-1959” (2018), for more on Rev. Perry.

916 Atlantic Street.

The one-hundred-fifteenth in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1922; 1 story; shotgun with gable returns; hip-roofed porch.”

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Strayhorn Farris (c; Lollie) lab h 916 Atlantic

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 916 Atlantic, rented at $8/month, cook Samuel Perry, 29; wife Sarah, 25; and children Devon, 5, Waldensia, 3, and Heron, 9 months.

In 1940, Samuel Perry Jr. registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 22 August 1910 in Wilson; resided at 916 Atlantic; his contact was wife Sarah Perry; and he worked for W.D. Hackney, 109 Gold Street, Wilson.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Perry Saml (c; Sarah; 4) cook h 916 Atlantic

Photograph by Lisa Y. Henderson, July 2019.

309 North Reid Street.

The one hundred-second in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, this building is: “ca. 1930; 1 story; bungalow with hip roof and engaged porch that extends around north side.”

In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Baines Roscoe carp h Reid cor Carolina [This is the location of 309.]

In 1918, Henry Roscoe Bain registered for the World War I draft. Per his registration card, he was born 5 September 1877; resided on Reid Street, Wilson; farmed for M.H. Lam; and his nearest relative was Minnie Baines.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Reid Street, carpenter Roscoe H. Bains, 43; wife Minnie, 44; and children Charlie, 18, and Hattie, 16.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on 309 Reid Street, carpenter Rosco Baines, 52; wife Minnie, 52; and Charley, 28, auto mechanic.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 309 Reid Street, owned and valued at $2800, Roscoe Baines, 62; wife Minnie, 62; widowed daughter Hattie Perry, 36, tobacco factory hanger; and widower Charlie Baines, 38, plasterer.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Baines H Roscoe (c; Minnie) carp h309 N Reid

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Baines H Roscoe (c; Minnie) carp h309 N Reid

Wilson Daily Times, 20 May 1960.

Minnie Baines died 5 December 1963 at Mercy Hospital. Per her death certificate, she was born November 1877 in Wilson County to George Barnes and Annie [last name unknown]; resided at 309 North Reid Street; and was a widow. Informant was Hattie Evans, 309 N. Vick.

Wilson Daily Times, 29 May 1968.

Photograph by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2019.

The building of a new Episcopal church.

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Wilson Advance, 6 December 1888.

“On April 23, 1888, the minister at St. Luke’s in Tarboro formally took over the work at Grace Mission as a part-time missionary to Wilson. John William Perry was a graduate of St. Augustine’s and had been consecrated a priest by Bishop Lyman on April 7, 1887. He had been doing ‘most valuable work’ as rector at St. Luke’s since 1881. According to his own account, ‘when I took charge of this work [at Wilson] I found a few communicants and no Sunday School in operation and no particular place to worship in. When we could not rent a place to hold the services in, a room was used of a private family.

“Reverend Perry soon started a fund-raising campaign. Partly as a result, by October 1887, the diocese — with St. Timothy’s [a white congregation] ‘giving the greater portion of the purchase price’ — had obtained possession of a lot on the corner north of Lodge Street running 65 feet and running south on the west side of South Street for 153 feet ‘for the Colored Congregation … to build thereon an Episcopal Church for their use and benefit.'”

— Patrick M. Valentine, The Episcopalians of Wilson County: A History of St. Timothy’s and St. Mark’s Churches in Wilson, North Carolina 1856-1995 (1996).

Location of the new church building, as shown in the 1893 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C.