Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-01-19
a CORNER IN ANCESTORS.
The Perry Family-Tlie Name Means
'Son of Harry"
(New Orleans Times Democrat.)

some man named Harry. Harry, be
1t known, Is the old and proper form
Of Henry, and comes from the old
Teutonic name, Heimdall, meaning
home ruler. The Welsh way of say
Ing son Of" was ZAP" and SO the
son of Harry was cap Harry" which
was later contracted into Parry,
which in Its turn swung around into
Perry. AS surname Perry was not
fixed until the sixteenth century,
when 1T seems to have been establish
ed on the west coast Of Wales in the
rugged, picturesque counties of Car
narven and Cardigan. 1t Is said, how
ever, that there was a Perry IN the
bodyguard of King Edward I, who,
1t will be remembered, lived in the
thirteenth century, and who built the
famous castle Of Carnarven.
But in spite of their Welsh origin,
1T seems that all, or very nearly all,
the American Perrys came to this
country from England.
Perhaps the best known family Of
Perrys in this country-owing to the
popularity Of the brilliant Commo-
dore oliver Hazard Perry-is of Qua
ker origin and was founded in this
country by Edward Perry, vino came
from Devonshire, England, and set
tied in Sandwich, Mass. He was one
Of the most prominent members Of
the Society Of Friends In New Eng
land, and was proud to boast of hav-
Ing larger fines imposed upon him for
various manifestations Of his social
ed heresy, than any other man in the
colony. He married Mary Freeman
III 1861, the daughter OF the Vive
Governor, and had nine children. In
the inventory Of Edwards estate, val
ued at about $3.50, found in his will,
there Is reference, among his other
possessions, to two men slaves. Be-
sides these and numerous cattle he
mentions twelve silver spoons, three
looms, cooper's tools and warming
pan.
Edwards eldest son, Samuel, who
was born In Sandwich, Mass, in
1864, and who married Mary Tucker
removed to Kingston, Rhode Island.
Samuel'S son James received from
his father the old homestead and an
estate OF a hundred and forty-siX
acres. He was, like his father and
grandfather, a firm upholder Of the
Friends faith. He married Alice
Easton, and their grandson was
Christopher Raymond, who at the
time of the revolution enlisted In the
Kingston Reds, and served In the pa
triot army, and then on a privateer.
Christopher r. Perry was taken
prisoner by the British, and lay for
three months in a prison ship. Luck
lily. he escaped, and undaunted by his
experiences, enlisted In another priv
ateer, the Trumbull, which was cap
tured and kept at Newry, Ireland. It
was during his confinement at Newry
that he first saw Sarah Alexander,
whose beauty and strength of char
acter SO charmed him that he decided
to marry her. Apparently Miss AL
exander returned the young patriots
feelings, for she came to America at
about the time he returned to his
native country, and married him.
This Sarah Alexander Perry had
reason to be one of the proudest
mothers that ever lived, in this coun-
try or any other, for not only was
her eldest son the brave Oliver Haz-
ard, but her other four sons, Ray
mond H., Matthew Calbreath, who
concluded the treaty with Japan
which opened it to American COM
merce, James Alexander and Ma
thaniel Hazard, were all officers in
the United States navy. Her two
daughters, Sarah and Jane, married
naval officers. 1t Is said that after
the victory Of Lake Erie the farmers
Of Rhode Island called it "NIrs. Per-
rvs victory"
Among other illustricus members
Of this branch Of the family Is Thos.
oelSeahl TeffE, grandson or Ol1Ver,
who was editor Of the North Ameri-
can Review from 1872 to 1874, and
whose mother was great-grand-
daughter Of Benjamin Franklin
These Perrys early intcrmarried with
t. e Hazards, and the names Hazard
and Perry are associated not only in
the name Of the great Oliver, but In
tho names Of the Belmonts to-day
1t was August Belmont who married