Perkins
The Perkins line has been traced back to the Norman
invasion of Britain. The first known ancestor is Pierre
DeMorlaix, born in Morlaix, Bretagne,
Normandy, France
in 1312. The line continues in England
from his son Pierre Pierkyn (son of Pierre). His son, Seneschal John Perkins Esquire,
anglicized the name to Perkins and received the coat of arms.
Quickly Jump To Descendants of John Perkins:
Jacob Perkins (1624-1699) Jacob
Perkins (1662-1705) John Perkins (born 1687) William
Perkins (born 1718)
Peter Perkins (born 1745) Peter
Perkins (1767-1848) Lyman Perkins (1803-1884) Ezra H.
Perkins (1831-1898)
Charles Luther Perkins
(born 1857) Catherine Irene Perkins (1897-1996)
John Perkins
A copy of his signature from court records
“The Family of John Perkins of Ipswich”,
George A. Perkins, M.D., 1889
was christened as a Puritan on 23 Dec 1583 in St. John The Baptist Church,
Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England.
Puritans were called Roundheads due to the shape of their haircuts. His parents, Henry and Elizabeth Sawbridge
already had two other children and soon gave John a total of eleven other
siblings.
No one can be sure of John’s motives for immigrating to
America. Some believe two local Separtist Puritan
parsons preaching in the Hillmorton area influenced him. John married Judith Elizabeth Gater,
daughter of Michael Gater and Elizabeth Isabel Bailey, on 9 Oct 1608 in Hillmorton, Warwickshire,
England. Judith was
born 19 Mar 1588 in
Hillmorton, Warwick, England
and was christened 19 Mar 1588/1589
in Newent, Gloucestershire, England. John, his wife Judith Gater and their
children (John, Elizabeth, Mary, Thomas, and Jacob) boarded the “Lyon,”
William Pierce master, in Bristol
on 1 Dec 1630. Anne, another daughter, died before the
family left England. Conditions of the trip were difficult.
"He
had a stormy passage hether and lost 1 of his saylors not farr from our shore
who in a tempest having helped to take in the spirit saile lost his hold as
hee comeigne downe and fell into the sea, where after long swimming hee was
drowned to great dolour of those in the shipp who beheld so lamentable a
spectable without being able to minister help to him. The sea was soe high and the shipp drove so
fast before the wind, though her sailes were taken down.”
The “Lyon” reached Long
Island with all aboard except the man (Way) who fell, although
he was kept in sight for nearly 15 minutes.
She arrived safely in Boston
even though “a great drift of ice” was encounter. To the people of Boston
who had survived the winter, the arrival of the “Lyon”
was a miracle.
"As
the winter came on, provisions are very scarce and the people necessitated to
feed on clams and mussels, and on ground nuts and acorns; and these got with
much difficulty in the winter. Upon which people became much tired and
discouraged; especially when they hear that the Governor himself has the last
batch of bread in the oven. And many are the fears of the people that Mr.
Pierce, who has been sent to Ireland for provisions, is either
cast away or taken by the pirates. A day was appointed February 6 to be a day
of fasting and prayer. But God, who likes to appear in the greatest straits,
works marvelously at this time; for on February 5, in came the ship LYON, Mr. William Pierce,
master, arriving at Nantasket laden with provisions. On board ship were John Perkins and
Roger Williams. Upon this joyful occasion, the day of the 6th was postponed
to the 22d and changed to a day of thanksgiving instead. This is possibly the
origin of Thanksgiving Day in America."
John and his family settled in Boston
for the next two years. Here, their
youngest daughter Lydia
was born. On 18 May 1631, John took his oath of freeman,
which admitted him to all the civil rights of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony. Church membership was required
of a freeman and only freemen were allowed to vote. Applicants for admission into the church
had to satisfy the elders and the entire congregation of
“the
work of grace upon their soules... that they are true beleevers(sic) and that
they finde their hearts drawn to beleeve in Christ Jesus"
according to Thomas Lechford. He moved from Boston
in 1633 to the town at Ipswich (Agawam),
founded on 17 Jan 1633 by
John Winthrop, Jr., the son of the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
"The
Court of Assistants order, that a plantation be commenced at Agawam, lest an enemy finding
it, should posses and take it from us.”
On 3 Apr 1634,
Governor Winthrop went to Agawam
to see his son and the new settlement.
Enough people were living there that on 4 Aug 1634, Agawam
was renamed Ipswich.
Borders were formally set.
"At
a meeting houlden in November it was consented and agreed unto the length of Ipswich should extend west ward
unto the buryinge place and Eastward unto a Cove of the River unto the plantings
ground of John Pirkings the Elder."
This is the first entry in the Town Record, written in
Nov 1634. John Perkins holds the
distinction of being the first man whose name appears in Ipswich’s
records. His importance to the
community continued. In 1634, an order
was given to John.
“Whosoever
will have his lott entered into the records of the Towne shall bring unto the
officer in that behalf a certificate under the hands of Henry Short, John
Pirkins, Robbert Mussey, John Gadge or the greatest pt of them which shall
bee a warrant unto the officer in that beehalf to enter and record the
same."
The men
designated as lot layers were important as evidenced in that settlers were so
concerned with the bounds of land that the lot-layers measured the land to
tenths of inches. They had extraordinary powers with this position. No settler was allowed to sell their lot to
a newcomer without permission from the lot-layers. In addition to this major responsibility,
John was on the original board of government for Ipswich along with John Winthrop, Mr. Bradstreet,
Mr. Denison, Goodman Scott, John Gage and Mr. Wade. These were the original
"seven pillars" of the new community. He continued to hold several town offices
in Ipswich and served as a representative of them in
1636. John served as Deputy to General
Court for Ipswich, appointed on May 25, 1636. He
served on the Essex Grand Jury on December 28, 1641 and on other Grand Juries in 1648 and
1652.
As a husband
and father, John Perkins was largely engaged in agriculture. His property is recorded in Ipswich’s records.
“Given
and granted unto John Perkins the elder 40 acres of land, more or less,
bounded on the east by Mr. Robert Coles his land, on the south by a small
creek, on the west unto yet town side.
1635. Granted Jno. Perkins Sr.
3 acres of upland and 10 of meadow lying toward the head of Chebacco creek,
also a little island called More's point about 50 acres on the south side of
ye town river. Also 10 acres on part
whereof he hath built an house, having Wm Perkins on S.W. - Also 6 acres of
meadow and 6 upland joining to the former 10 acres, all 3 lying at east end
of town having Wm White's land on N.E. and a highway to Jeffries neck on
N.W. 1636. John Perkins Sr. was granted 40 acs of
meadow and upland at Chebacco, which he sold to Tomas Howlet 1636. 1639.
Granted to John Perkins 6 acres planting ground on South side
river."
The word, lot, for a piece of land was derived
from the Puritan practice of assigning land by lot to insure fairness. Meadow, in England,
meant grassland annually cut for hay, the colonists called this mowing ground
and called fertile land for crops, meadows.
His home on the corner of East Street
was on the way to Jeffrey’s Neck.
Today it is located today at 80 East Street,
and is only partially intact. The
floor and cellar are all that remains after the fire of 1668 when Jacob
Perkins, his son and our ancestor, owned the home. However, John Perkins’s silver-headed
walking cane is displayed in the Whipple House in Ipswich. Among his other possessions, John owned a Geneva
(or Breeches) Bible, printed in London
in 1599.
John died on September
26, 1654 at the age of 64 in Ipswich, Essex
County, Massachusetts. His will
survives to this day. His estate property
was officially inventoried and remains as an example of the belongings a
typical man of the period possessed. Judith died later on 26 Sep 1654 in Ipswich,
Essex County, Massachusetts.
Jacob Perkins
A copy of his
signature as foreman of a jury of inquest
“The Family of John
Perkins of Ipswich”, George A. Perkins, M.D., 1889
was christened 12 Sep 1624
in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England. He sailed to America
and moved to Ipswich with his father, mother and
siblings in 1631 as discussed in John Perkins’s biography.
Jacob bought his father’s house built on the south side
of Jabaque (Ipswich) river near the falls, half of his
farm called the Island (half of Sagamore Hill). Jacob not only worked as a farmer, but made
income from buying and selling land.
Sometime around 1648, Jacob married Elizabeth Lovell Whipple. Elizabeth
died on 12 Feb 1685. Soon thereafter, he married the widow
Damaris Robinson. At the time of his
marriage, he made a promise to support her during her life. On 20
Mar 1693, Jacob gave all his property in his possession to his
sons.
Extract
from deed given to sons Matthew and Jacob.
“
I, Sargt. Jacob Perkins, sen. Having grown old & decrepid and not able to
manage my farm, I give the other portions of my land to my two sons, Jacob
and Mathew, provided they support me & my now wife, with whom I made an
agreement when we were married,”
After his father’s and mother’s death, Jacob came into
possession of the family homestead.
The family home was occupied until August 7, 1668 when it was destroyed through the
carelessness of a servant girl, Mehetable Brooks. For this act, Mehetable was
imprisoned. According to the maid’s
testimony, "she [Mehetable] stood upon the oven to see if any hogs were
in the corn. Standing there she
knocked the ashes out of her pipe upon the thatch roof. When she looked back, she saw smoke and
gave the alarm to Abraham Perkins wife.”
The foundation and cellar survived the fire and Jacob built another
house on its foundation. The new
house was struck by lightning on a Sunday,
18 May 1671 while many people were gathered there to repeat the
sermon.
"while
many people were gathered there to repeat the sermon, when he and many others
were struck down, and had his waistcoat pierced with many small holes, like
goose‑shot, and was beaten down as if he had been dead for the
present."
Again, Jacob
rebuilt his home that remained in the Perkins family until Abigail Perkins
(Nabby's Point named for her) gave it to her nephew Michael Gould in 1848 who
sold it. The well near his home is
still called "Jacob's well.”
His civic responsibilities included serving in the
local courts. Jacob sat on juries of
“Tryal” in 1655, 1657, 1662, 1665, 1671, and 1691. In 1659, 1675, 1681, 1691-1692 he served on
a grand jury. In 1647, Jacob and his
brothers John and Thomas gave deposition in the case of John Tuttle vs.
Robert Elwell et al. He was foreman of a jury of inquest held upon the body
of a girl who was found drowned. On 16 Mar 1660, Jacob took the
Freeman’s Oath, giving him rights as a citizen of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony. In August 1666, Jacob was appointed as a surveyor. He served as a “Tythingman” voter in 1679. In addition, he performed other community
service. In 1687, William Hodgkins Sr,
Jacob Perkins and Matthew Perkins built 20 feet of wharf in the Cove, Ipswich.
Jacob has his own dealings with the court system. At one time, he himself came into trouble
with the law and Serjent Perkins was ordered to carry 40 turfs to the fort,
for being drunk. Most importantly in
1692, Jacob was closely involved with the witch
trial of his sister Mary.
In 1664, the King Charles II sent commissioners to America
to see how the Charter was being maintained.
The commissioners arrived in July 1664 and were not popular. After they left, the colonists did not
agree with their findings and sent a petition to the King to tell their side
of the story. 72 Ipswich
men signed the petition, including John Jr. and Jacob Perkins.
Jacob was appointed “Sergeant” of the Ipswich
military company in 1664. Afterward,
until his death, Jacob retained the title of sergeant, or as he wrote it,
"Sargent Jacob Perkins, se.,"
On 23 Mar 1685,
as a wedding gift to his sons, Jacob gave property to his sons Jacob and
Matt. Matt received a house with 3/4
acre of land on East Street
in Ipswich
“within
ye gate that the huz leads to Jeffrey's Neck, & 2 acres of planting land
in ye field called Mannings Neck bounded by son Jacob and by the other land
of his father. Also 1/2 of 2 division
lots at Plumb island with other land to make up 1/4 of the giver's land at
his decease, and Matt's widow to have the use of it as long as she shall be
his widow, etc. Witnessed by Abraham
& Jacob Jr. Mar 23, 1685 ack'd Sep 9,
1687
vii:148. “
This house remains standing in Ipswich
today. Also, he gave Jacob Perkins,
“Tertius
in consideration of his marriage to a daughter of John Sparks, 3/4 of an acre
out of his homestead for his son to set his hous, 2 acres in Mannings Neck
next to Matt's land, 1/2 of 2 lots at Plumb Island, etc”
On 20 Mar 1693,
Jacob gave his remaining property to his sons Matthew and Jacob, with the
stipulation that they take care of him and Demaris until the end of their
days.
“I,
Sargt. Jacob Perkins, sen. Having
grown old & decrepid and not able to manage my farm, I give the other
portions of my land to my two sons, Jacob and Mathew, provided they support
me & my now wife, with whom I made an agreement when we were
married,"
Jacob Perkins died in Ipswich 27 Jan 1700 at the age of 76. The estate, valued at 15 pounds, was
admitted to probate on 5 Feb 1700. After Jacob’s death, Demaris Robinson
Perkins returned to Boston and
died in 1716.
Jacob Perkins
was born 3 Aug
1662 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. On 27
Dec 1684, Jacob married Elizabeth Sparks, the daughter of John and Mary [Roper] Sparks. Together they had three children: Jacob, John, and Elizabeth. It is believed Elizabeth
might have died while giving birth to a fourth child on 10 Apr 1692.
Early the next year, on 5 Jan
1693, Jacob married a second time to Sarah Treadwell. It was with Sarah that Jacob had his last
five children: Elisha, Sarah, Mary, Hannah,
and Judith.
Jacob worked as a weaver and a farmer along side his
brother Matthew. His name appears
frequently in records of land purchases and sales. They carried on the family farmstead when
their father became unable to work.
In 1668, after a fire destroyed his father’s house,
Jacob built another house not far from the site of the first. It remained standing until 1885 when it was
in such poor condition it had to be taken down. The two-story house had two large rooms on
and a bedroom on the bottom floor, and a bedroom on the second floor. It had a chimney in the middle and a
“lean-to” on the rear of the house.
The frame was oak and the floor timbers were 14” square. Near the front door was a well that has to
this day been remembered as “Jacob’s Well,”
although it is hard to see.
Jacob, like his father and grandfather, served his
community well. He took the Freeman’s
oath in 1677. In Oct 1692, when
Governor Phipps put an end to the witch trials and the Court of Oyer and
Terminer, he convened a grand jury in Jan 1693. Jacob served on this jury. 56 cases were presented to the grand
jury. 26 cases became indictments, but
only 3 cases were found guilty as the defendants had confessed. The three were sentenced to die, but the
Governor commuted their sentences.
These were the last cases involving the witch trials.
In October 1692, a new governor Phipps was appointed,
he put an end to the Court of Oyer and Terminer (the court which tried
witches) that had been doing the sentencing.
The governor convened a grand jury that met in January 1693. On this
grand jury was Jacob Perkins, Jr. Of the 56 presented, true
bills(indictments) were handed down against 26 and of these only 3 were found
guilty who had confessed. They were sentenced to die, but the Governor
commuted their sentences. This was the end of the trials.
Jacob died on 12
Nov 1705 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He left a will which made his widow Sarah
the executrix.
John Perkins
was born 21
Sep 1687 in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
After he grew up, John moved to Norwich,
Connecticut. There he married Sarah Bailey, daughter of
Thomas and Rachel [Dodge] Bailey on 26
Aug 1711. Sarah was born
in Groton, New
London, Connecticut. They had
three children: John, William, and
Jacob. The older research on Perkins
genealogy ends when a child moves out of Massachusetts. Hopefully, we will provide some new
insights into the remaining generations’ life stories while our research
continues.
William Perkins
was born 13
Aug 1718. William married Mary Dart, daughter of Richard and
Elizabeth [Strickland] Dart, on 26
Mar 1740 in the First Congregational Church, New
London, Connecticut. We have found evidence of two children,
William and Peter.
Peter Perkins
was born 14
Oct 1745 in Connecticut. On 18
Apr 1765 he married Hannah Webster in the First Congregational
Church, Lebanon, New London County, Connecticut. We have found the names of four
children: Peter, Samuel, William, and
Mary. Peter, senior, died in Lyme, Grafton
County, New Hampshire.
Peter Perkins
was born 7
March 1767 in Lyme, Grafton County,
New Hampshire. Little is known about Peter other than he
married Anna Ames, daughter of David and Irene [Waldon] Ames. It is believed that Peter, Anna and their
children moved to Canada
about the time of the War of 1812. New
Englanders who remained loyal to England founded Potton Township in Brome
County in Quebec, Canada and many other townships in the area. Many Perkins moved to Quebec
and today there is a Vale Perkins in Potton
Township named for its founding
families.
Peter and Mary raised seven children: David, Martha, Roxy, Lyman, Lucy, Lewis and
Irena. Peter died at age 81 in Potton Township, Richelieu
(currently Brome) County, Quebec
on 8 May 1848 and Anna
died on 17 Feb 1850,
still in Quebec.
Lyman Perkins
was born 17
June 1803 in Lyme, Grafton County,
New Hampshire. At age 21, Lyman married Elizabeth
Holbrook, daughter of Nathaniel and Lucy [Pike] Holbrook, on 12 Aug 1824. Their wedding either took place in Potton, Brome
County, Quebec, Canada
or in Troy, Orleans
County, Vermont. Lyman’s family is found in the 1825
Canadian Census in Potton Township,
Richelieu County, Quebec
with 1 head of household under 25, one female under 6, and one female age
14-44. In all, Lyman and Elizabeth had
Susan, Almira, Lyman, Ezra, Lucy, Caroline, Cynthia, Olivia, Martha, Zelora,
and Jared.
In 1855, Lyman and many members of his family moved to Wisconsin
and by 1859 settled in Carlton, Kewaunee
County, Wisconsin. He is listed on page 406 on the county’s
1860’s census. On the 1870 census he
is listed with Elizabeth living
with Jared and his family on page 375a-b.
In 1880, Lyman and Elizabeth are still listed on the Kewaunee
County census.
Lyman died in Carlton,
Kewaunee County
on 9 Jan 1884. His obituary, which appeared in the Kewaunee Enterprise on 11 Jan 1884, is quoted below.
“At the home of his
daughter, Mrs. L. Woodard, on Wednesday morning Jan 9 1884 Mr. Lyman Perkins in the 82nd year of his age. The
subject of the above notice was born in the town of Lime(Sic), New Hampshire, June 17, 1802. His aged wife also survives him. Up to a week
before his death, deceased was enjoying good health and was able to attend to
his chores about the house and he was confined to his bed only four days when
death overtook him. The funeral takes
place from the M.E. church in Carlton next Sunday forenoon . . .
“The funeral of Mr.
Lyman Perkins which took place in Carlton last Sunday was one of the largest
ever witnessed in that town.”
Elizabeth
died on 29 Jan 1895. Her obituary reads:
“Perkins died in
Appleton, Wis., Jan.29 1895 Mrs. Elizabeth Perkins, aged 89 the deceased was
born in Alburgh, Vt Oct 24, 1805 and moved to Potton Can with her parents
when seventeen years of age. At the
age of nineteen she was married to Lyman Perkins. They brought up a family of eleven. They
came to Three(SIC) River, Wis., in 1855 and in 1859 were among the early pioneers
of Carlton, where the deceased's husband was laid to rest
eleven years ago. She had been a
worthy member of the Methodist church in Carlton.”
Ezra H. Perkins
was born in Potton
Township, Brome County, Quebec, Canada,
on 26 December 1831. Ezra was the fourth child of Lyman and
Elizabeth Perkins. Ezra married
Katherine Hodgkins on 3 July 1853,
probably in Potton, but possibly in Vermont.
Potton is on the border with Vermont and families often married on
either side of the border. Ezra moved
into Wisconsin, possibly
following Lyman. He is found on the
1870 and 1880 Kewaunee County census.
Ezra worked as a farmer in Carlton, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. Ezra and Katherine had four children: Charles, Harvey, Danere (spelling uncertain
– read from census data), and Eva.
Ezra died at the age of 66 on 10
April 1898 in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.
Charles Luther Perkins
was born in Wisconsin
in April 1857. Charles first married
Mary Elizabeth Bach, daughter of Theresia, in Kewaunee
County, Wisconsin, on 25 May 1878. While living in Kewaunee County, Charles
worked as a farmer. Charles and Mary
had only one child: Stella. Mary died on 13 Oct 1880 and is buried in
Forest View Cemetery, Carlton, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.
On 17 Sep 1885, Charles married Alvina Weseley,
daughter of Mathias and Barbara Weseley, in Kewaunee
County, Wisconsin. Alvina was born in April 1864. Research is difficult on her line as there
have been many spellings of their last name.
The Weseley (Vesele or Wesseley) family immigrated from Bohemia (today
it is the Czech Republic). According
to the 1900 census, Alvina could not read, write, or speak in English.
Charles and Alvina had twelve
children: Walter, Willard, Arthur,
Harry, Carry, Ezra, Catherine, Emma, Clara, Roy,
Walter, and Charles. Although it is
uncertain when they moved to Mount Pleasant, Racine County, Wisconsin, we do
know that they were living in Mount Pleasant by 1897 and Charles worked as an
ice peddler according to the 1900 census.
Catherine Irene Perkins
was the seventh of the twelve children that Charles and
Alvina had. She was born in Mount Pleasant, Racine
County, Wisconsin, on 3 November 1897.
She married John Pagel on 17
November 1917 but divorced him on 7 October 1919 in the Circuit Court of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. This marriage had no issue.
Catherine then married William John Bahr (see Bahr) in Racine, Wisconsin,
on 24 October 1925. Bill and Katie had three children but one
did not survive infancy. Catherine
worked for many years in the shoe industry.
During World War II, Catherine became one of the many “Rosie the
Riveters” working in a weapons factory.
As Catherine became older, she spent half of the year
with one son in Racine or Florida
and the other half of the year with her other son in California.
It was during her time in California
that she passed away. Her son had taken most of his house's formal dining
room and built a downstairs bedroom for his mother to eliminate her need to
climb the stairs in his house. Catherine died at age 98 on 16 June 1996 in Fountain
Valley, California. She is
buried with her loving husband at the West Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Racine,
Wisconsin.
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