The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-13

from Pierre or Peter. Peters children
would be Peters kns, afterward Peter
kins. and finally Perkins, Perkings,
Parkins or Parkyns.
One of the early ancestors of the
family was Henry Perkins or Pierre
kins. He was high steward of the
estates of Hanley Castle, the fortfi-
cation which guarded the great chase
or forest of Malvern, on the River
Severn. England.
This famous castle was surrounded
by two meats, one of which still re-
mains. Not a vestige of the castle
stands to-day, though the foundations,
nine feet in thickness. were uncovered
few years ago.
Henry Perkins son, John, bold,
honest and reliable" was chosen by
Anne Neville as warden of Warwick
Castle when she inherited the great
estate. He was doubtless bailiff of
Malvern chase and seneschal of War
wick Castle at the same time.
At Ufton, about forty miles from
London, and near Reading, in the
parish church. are the tombs of many
of the Perkins family.
To quote from a letter. written a
few years ago by a member of the
family, who was looking up his an
cestors. THE whole chancel of the
church is paved with tombstones of
various Perkins, and the coat-of-arms
is much in evidence upon the mon
uments."
Ufton Court. a curious and pictur-
esque Elizabethan mansion, with built
by Richard Perkins in 1855. The dis
tinguishing features of the house are
its fifteen gables, its hall, some thirty
five feet long, and it's chapel and ora
tory. for the original Perkins were all
Roman Catholics. The house has a
| number of secret passages and hiding
places, and many queer little bed
rooms. One secret passage from the
| second story goes underground 1000
feet to a sequestered spot in the park.
The library has the arms of Richard
| Perkins on one side of the fireplace,
| and those of his wife, Lady Merwyn,
on the other, with the date 1885.
The place is still in excellent repair,
| and so large that it is occupied by
| three families, with plenty of room for
| all. About 100 years ago the garden
| was a beautiful place, with it's lakes,
| statues and terraces. over one of the
| terraces Sir Thomas Parkyns pitched
| a famous gypsy wrestler, who was so
| imprudent as to challenge him to a
bout. Sir Thomas wrote a book on
! wrestling, boxing and fencing, about
1927. His nom de plume was Luctator.
| John Perkins, the first settler in this
country, was born about 1880, in Glou-
cestershire, England. He brought his
wife and five children with him to
America. One of their fellow passen-
gers was the afterward famous divine,
Rev. Roger Williams. This was the
| winter of 1629-S0, when provisions were
so scarce in the Massachusetts Bay
| colony that clans, mussels, ground
| nuts and acorns were the staples of
diet. Upon which people grew
| much tired and discouraged especially
| when they heard that the Governor
| himself has his last batch of bread in
the oven, and many are the fears of
the people that Mr.. Pierce, who was
| sent to Ireland for provisions, is either
cast away or taken by the pirates"
Mr.. Pierce, it is a relief to know,
arrived in February, laden with pro-
| visions. He came in the ship Lyon,
and on board were the Perkins.
A day of thanksgiving was appointed
for Feb. g. This was probably the
beginning of the general custom of
| keeping Thanksgiving.
| affairs of the colony, and lived at Fps
witch. His will is still extant. Some
| of his land bordered a brook called by
the curious name Labor in Vain"
One of John Perkins daughters,
1 Mary by name, was one of those I'M
| fortunate people who, in the dark days
| of witchcraft, was among the accused.
| She was convicted, but by the efforts
/ of her friends her execution was de-
| Tox 40 dnIlCiOf1 TnaSSad and
she was discharged. The papers con-
nected with her trial may be seen on
| file in the clerks office at Salem. These
| papers show her to have been "a most
estimable, pious and good woman"
One of the granddaughter of John
| Perkins, the settler. or, rather, the
| great great granddaughter, several
times removed, is Emily Perkins, the
| wife of Rev. DR.. Edward Everett Hale
| of Boston.
| The Perkins served their country in
! colonial wars. the revolution, and war
| of 1912, Col. Isaac Perkins was in the
battalion of the Flying Camp" of 1875
/ He was known as flaming patriot.
| Capt. Benjamin Perkins was a
| soldier in the Revolutionary War.
| His commission as captain was signed
by Gen. Warren, May 10, 1775. He
| raised a company of seventy-nine men
1
of Bunker Hill. and was In the hottest
| of the fight. When forced to retreat
he threw away his wig, which he
| found too hot for him. and led his
men, single file. safely off the field.
He was stationed quite near Gen.
Warren when the latter fell.
Capt. Perkins details his own loss
as two men. six guns. seven bayo-
nets, two cartridge boxes, one drum,
one fife. one hat. one handkerchief"
| His wig he does not mention.
Another soldier OF the Revolution
was Capt. Abraham Perkins. He
was hfth in descent from John, the
settler. His fame. however, rests
upon his attachments as scholar. al
/ though he only had six months
schooling IN his boyhOod. This was
| under Master Sullivan, father Of Gen.
/ Sullivan, Of Revolutionary fame.
Abraham Perkins was generally
/ called Master Perkins" He was an
I imposing figure IN his three-eornered
/ bat. velvet breechsg and Glver-plated
I knee buckles.
] Bls scholars always ranged them