Christopher Raymond Perry Christopher Raymond Perry ( December 4 , 1761 – June 1 , 1818 ) was an officer in the United States Navy . He was the father of Oliver Hazard Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry . Biography . Early life . He was born in Newport , Rhode Island , the son of The Hon . Freeman Perry and his wife Mercy Hazard Christopher ' s father , Freeman , was a physician and surgeon . In 1780 , he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Washington County , Rhode Island , which position he held until 1791 . He was the great - grandson of Edward Perry from the county of Devon , England who settled in Sandwich , Massachusetts around 1650 and his wife Mary Freeman . Through his mother ' s side he was an 7th generation descendant of Captain Richard Raymond , ( 1602 – 1692 ) , and his wife , Julia ( or Judith ) . He was born probably in Essex County , England in 1602 and arrived in Salem , Massachusetts about 1629 , possibly with a contingent led by the Rev . Francis Higginson . The first actual date given for Richard is on August 6 , 1629 when he is on the list of the 30 founding members of the First Church ( Congregational ) of Salem . He was about 27 years old . He was later a founder of Norwich , Connecticut , and an " honored fore - father of Saybrook " . His mother was also a descendant of Gov . Thomas Prence ( 1599 - March 29 , 1673 ) a co - founder of Eastham , Massachusetts , a political leader in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies , and governor of Plymouth ; and a descendant of " Mayflower " passengers , both of whom were signers of the Mayflower Compact , Elder William Brewster , ( c . 1567 - April 10 , 1644 ) , the Pilgrim colonist leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and George Soule , ( 1593 – 1679 ) , through his grandmother Susannah Barber Perry ( 1697 – 1755 ) . Marriage and family . Perry married Sarah Wallace Alexander on August 2 , 1784 in South Kingstown , Rhode Island . She was born about 1768 in County Down , Ireland and died December 4 , 1830 in New London , Connecticut . She was a descendant of William Wallace , the Scottish knight and landowner who is known for leading a resistance during the Wars of Scottish Independence and is today remembered as a patriot and national hero . Their five sons were all naval officers . Of their three daughters , Jane Tweedy Perry married surgeon , later United States Congressman , William Butler , Jr . and Anna Marie Perry married George Washington Rodgers . Sarah Wallace Perry never married . Career . Christopher Perry enlisted in the militia during the American Revolution , then served on a privateer . He was captured twice , and met his wife when he was a prisoner in Ireland . In 1799 , he was appointed a captain in the U . S . Navy . Perry built and commanded the frigate " General Greene " , on which his son Oliver Perry served as a midshipman . He saw considerable action during the Quasi War with France and was retired from the Navy by the Peace Establishment Act of April 3 , 1801 . He was buried in the Belmont - Perry plot in the Island Cemetery in Newport , Rhode Island . Descendants . Captain Christopher Raymond Perry ' s descendants number in the thousands today . Some of his notable descendants include :