USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. I > Part 68
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After this cruise he was ordered on ordnance
duty in Boston, March 19, 1869, and continued in that position until March, 1871, when he took the new steamer "Nantasket" on her trial trip to New York. January 19, 1871, he was appointed com- mander in the navy. In March, 1871, he was or- dered to cominand the "Relief," which carried stores from the United States to France, at that time suffering from famine resulting from the disorders of the Communists. After an absence of six months he returned to the Boston navy yard, but was soon after transferred to the position of lighthouse in- spector of the second district, and continued to reside in Boston, which had now become his home. In 1877 he was ordered to China to take command of the United States steamer "Ashuelot." He per- formed the routine duties of his station until Oc- tober, 1878, when he received orders to cruise as far south as Bangkok, and to visit various ports in Japan, China and the Philippines. While lying at Hong Kong, General Grant and party arrived on their trip around the world, and Captain Perkins was ordered to convey them from Hong Kong to Canton and back, which proved a very enjoyable voyage to all. After his return Captain Perkins gave up his command of the "Ashuelot" to Com- mander Johnson, who had been appointed to suc- ceed him and returned to the United States. In March, 1882, Captain Perkins received his appoint- ment as captain in the navy by regular promotion. In the year 1884-85 he made a year's cruise in command of Farragut's famous old "Hartford," then flagship of our Pacific squadron. This cruise included the Pacific ports of North and South America and Honolulu. He retired from service in 1891 as captain after forty years faithful service upon the active list of the United States Navy, and by special act of congress, in January, 1896, was honored with the rank. of commodore.
Lieutenant-Commander Perkins was married in 1870 to Anna Minot Weld, daughter of William F. Weld, of Boston, Massachusetts. Of this marriage there was one child, Isabel, who is now the wife of Lary Anderson, and lives at Brookline, Massachu- setts, and Washington, D. C. Commodore Perkins died at his home in Boston, October 29, 1899, and was buried in the cemetery at Forest Hills. A magnificent monument to the memory of Commo- dore Perkins was erected by his widow and daughter in the State House enclosure, facing State street, Concord, and presented to the state of New Hamp- shire with appropriate exercises, April 25, 1902. In the presence of many persons of official and social prominence, and more than ten thousand citizens, the statue, the work of Daniel C. French, of New York City, and unveiled by Mrs. Lary Anderson, escorted by her uncle, Mr. Hamilton Perkins, of Boston. In behalf of the donor, Rear Admiral - George E. Belknap, United States navy, presented the statue to the state of New Hampshire, which was accepted in behalf of the state by His Excellency Chester B. Jordan, governor of New Hampshire. Beneath the statue is the following inscription :
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS. COMMODORE UNITED STATES NAVY.
Born at Hopkinton, New Hampshire, October 20, 1835. Died in Boston, Massachusetts, Octo- ber 28, 1809. Entered the Navy as Midshipman, Octo- ber 1, 1851, and served his country with Honor Forty-eight years. Genial and lovable as a Man-Able and
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Resourceful as an Officer-Gallant and Inspiring as a Leader-His in- trepid conduct at the Passage of the Forts below New Orleans-His Heroism in the surrender of that City-His Skill and Daring on nota- ble occasions on the Mississippi River and in the Gulf of Mexico -- His achievements in Mobile Bay when as Commander of the Chicka- saw He compelled the surrender of the Tennessee won from the Navy unqualified admiration and from Admiral Farragut these words : "The Bravest Man That Ever Trod the Deck of a Ship." The inscription in front of the Statue : Forts Jackson and St. Philip, April 24, 1862.
Capture of the Gov. Moore and Three
Ships of the Montgomery Flotilla, Below New Orleans, April 25, 1862.
Capture of the Chalmette Batteries, April 25, 1862.
Surrender of New Orleans, April 25, 1862.
Skirmishes on the Mississippi River, July, 1862.
Port Hudson and Whitehall's Point, July, 1863. Capture of the Mary Sorley, August 5, 1864.
Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864.
Capture of the Tennessee,
August 5, 1864. Fort Powell, August 5, 1864. Fort Gaines, August 8, 1864. Fort Morgan, August 23, 1864.
(VII) Susan George, second daughter and third child of Hamilton Eliot and Clara Bartlett (George) Perkins, of Hopkinton and Concord, New Hampshire, was born in Contoocook, New Hamp- shire, November 18, 1838. The spacious old mansion, which was her birthplace and early home, still stands near the river in the village of Contoocook, which is part of the township of Hopkinton. When Miss Perkins was six years of age her father moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they lived for two years; but with this exception the house near the river continued to be the family home till 1856, when Judge Perkins moved to Concord, New Hamp- shire. Miss Perkins obtained her early education at Maria Eastman's private school in Concord, at the Hopkinton Academy, and at the Convent in Georgetown, D. C., where she remained two years. She early manifested musical ability, and she had constant training from the age of six years, an unusual opportunity for that period. A member of a large and hospitable family, Miss Perkins's earlier years were much given to social visiting and entertaining in Concord, Boston, and other places. But as time went by, her intellectual gifts and exe- cutive ability found more scope. She was able, by good management and wise handling of her affairs, to provide a competence for herself before she received the inheritance with which she has done so much public good in her later years.
A brilliant talker, an elegant letter-writer, with
a voice of unusual charm, Miss Perkins was always the life of any social circle of which she was a member. She was skillful in arranging tableaux and amateur theatricals, and. many are the church affairs and charitable entertainments which she has brought to a successful issue. She has an extensive acquaintance with the best literature and a know- ledge of the world; these acquirements with her keen wit, clear judgment and incisive utterance make her always an interesting companion. In 1886, after the death of her father, she bought her present home at the corner of North Main and Chapel streets in Concord. She has constantly enlarged and improved the buildings and adorned the grounds till the place is now one of the most attractive in town. Her tulip-beds in the spring are a delight to the eye.
Upon the death of her brother, Commodore George Hamilton Perkins, Miss Perkins found her resources greately increased, and it was then that the qualities of her brain and heart became more fully manifest. The judicious apportionment of her fortune has given full scope to her organizing mind and to the practical and ideal elements of her na- ture. Her private benefactions are numberless, and her public gifts have been so many that she may in truth be called the Helen Gould of this region. One of her earliest gifts was of two scholarships of three thousand dollars each-one to Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont ; one to
Phillips Academy at Exeter, New Hampshire. These scholarships were in memory of her father, who was educated at these institutions. In 1902 she built the Roger Eliot Foster Memorial and gave it as a parish house to St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord. This and other gifts to that church amount to about thirty thousand dollars. In 1904 she built, at a cost of about eight thousand dollars, the beautiful granite, mortuary chapel at Blossom Hill cemetery, and gave it to the city as a memorial to her mother, Clara B. Perkins. In 1906 she built a gymnasium for St. Mary's School in Concord, of which insti- tution she is one of the trustees, and on which she has expended many thousand dollars. During the last few years Miss Perkins has given away about fifty thousand dollars for philanthropic purposes of which this brief recital conveys but an inadequate idea. She is intensely public-spirited, and devoted to the town where most of her life has been spent. Although somewhat handicapped by ill-health and averse to holding outside offices, she is active in furthering the best interests of Concord, and never fails to respond to any plan for civic betterment. She is a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society.
Miss Perkins became a communicant of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in early youth; she has always been loyal to that faith, though her wide outlook upon life and her far-reaching sympathies have not been confined by ecclesiastical bounds. In build- ing the parish house Miss Perkins was actuated by a desire not only to benefit the church, but by a wish to perpetuate the memory of a beloved nephew, whose education she had superintended, and to whose welfare she was devoted. Roger Eliot Foster, youngest son and child of Judge William Lawrence and Harriet Morton (Perkins) Foster, was born in Concord, New Hampshire, September 12, 1867. He died in the same city March 26, 1900. A youth of many accomplishments and singular personal charm, he was cut off in the prime of young man- hood just when the brightest prospects seemed open- ing before him.
In 1903 and 1904 Miss Perkins made an ex-
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tended tour of Europe, remaining abroad for four- teen months. On this trip she was accompanied by two devoted attendants, James and Mary Powers, who have long formed a part of her household. After her return she reopened her house, and in her pleasant home, surrounded by a large circle of friends, she passes busy days planning for the good of others. Had her abilities been concentrated in any one channel or devoted to her own personal advancement, she might have won a name for her- self. As it is she has lived a life of service for others, and her brilliant gifts have been consecrated to helping the world.
(VII) Roger Eliot, fourth child of Hamilton E. and Clara B. (George) Perkins, was born May 24, 1841, and died February 6, 1867. He graduated from the high schools of Concord, and then studied medicine in the office of Dr. Gage, of Concord. He afterward took a course in medicine, and graduated from the medical department of Harvard Uni- ersity, and started to practice in St. Louis, Missouri. He was there for a short time, and died at the threshold of a bright career as a practitioner.
(VII) Hamilton, seventh child of Hamilton E. and Clara B. (George) Perkins, was born July 23, 1847, and at the age of fourteen was appointed to the United States Naval Academy, from which he graduated four years later as a midshipman. He served in the navy until 1885, when he resigned, having attained the rank of lieutenant. He was then appointed freight agent of the Boston & Albany railroad, which place he filled till the road became a part of the Vanderbilt system. He married Eliza- beth B. Bliss, daughter of William Bliss, president of the Boston & Albany railroad. He lives in Boston.
(VII) Frank, youngest child of Hamilton E. and Clara B. (George) Perkins, was born April 13, 1849, and died June 26, 1866. He attended the high school of Concord and the business college, and started upon a business career. Shortly afterward he was taken sick, and died after a brief illness, at the age of eighteen years.
(Third Family.)
PERKINS
The line herein traced belongs to New Hampshire from the beginning of permanent settlements within the
present state. It has furnished to New Hampshire many worthy and useful citizens and is still ably represented in the state (another line of simul- taneous arrival follows ).
(I) Abraham Perkins, the founder of this line, was found in New England almost simultane- ously with William Perkins of Ipswich and Tops- field, Massachusetts. Abraham Perkins was born about 1613, and was admitted freeman at Hampton, Massachusetts (now New Hampshire), May 13, 1640. In the preceding January he received from the town a grant of eighty acres of land, and in 1646 he was the possessor of three shares in the commons. He seems to have been 'a man of intelli- gence and business capacity, and he was often em- ployed to transact both public and private affairs in the town. His handwriting, as preserved, re- sembles more nearly the modern writing than most of the ancient manuscripts. He was town marshal in 1654. He seems to have remained, through life, where he first settled, and died suddenly August 31, 1683, aged seventy years. His wife Mary sur- vived him more than twenty-two years and died May 29, 1706, at the age of eighty-eight years. Their children were: Mary, Abraham, Luke, Humphrey (died young), Timothy (died young), James, Jonathan, David, Abigail, Timothy, Sarah
and Humphrey. It has been claimed that his eldest son was the first white child born in Hampton. There was one other who was baptized carlier but it is not certain whether or not he was born there.
Isaac Perkins is supposed to have been a brother of Abraham, but nothing in the records appears to verify it. Both appear about the same time in Hampton, and the house lots assigned to them adjoined each other, each containing five acres. Isaac's house was nearly on the site of the present Baptist parsonage, and he lived there for more than ten years. In June, 1652, he purchased of Rev. Timothy Dalton, for fifty pounds, a farm lying next to the Salisbury line, in what is now Seabrook, and he removed thither soon after. He died in November, 1685. His wife's name was Susannah, and their children were: Lydia, Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca, Daniel, Caleb, Benjamin, Susannah, Anna, Mary, Ebenezer and Joseph.
(II) Caleb, third son and fifth child of Isaac and Susannah Perkins, resided in Hampton. He was married, April 24, 1677, to Bethiah, daughter of Thomas and Ann (Knapp) Philbrick and grand- daughter of Thomas Philbrick, the pioneer of the family in New England. She was born December 15, 1654. Their children were : Rhoda, Benjamin and Anna.
(III) Benjamin, only son of Caleb and Bethiah (Philbrick) Perkins, was born May 11, 1680, and re- sided in Hampton Falls. He was married March I, 1710, to Lydia McCrease and their children were: Joseph, Lydia, Jonathan and Abigail.
(IV) Joseph, eldest child of Benjamin and Lydia (McCrease) Perkins, was born May 5, 1712, and resided in Hampton Falls. He was married October 31, 1734, to Elizabeth Dow. Their chil- dren were: David, Lydia, Daniel, Sarah, Benjamin and Hannah.
(V) David, eldest child of Joseph and Eliza- beth (Dow) Perkins, was born October 1, 1735, in Hampton Falls, and settled in Epping, New Hampshire, where he lived for a time. He signed the association test there in 1776. Soon after the Revolution he settled in Windsor, New Hampshire, and cleared land on which he built a cabin. His wife was Mehitabel Swett.
(VI) James, son of David and Mehitabel (Swett) Perkins, was seven years of age when his parents settled in Windsor. There he grew up and was married to Hannah Preston, daughter of David Preston of Windsor. They were the parents of five children : Julienne, the first, become the wife of Robert Kelso of New Boston (see Kelso) ; Franklin, married a Coolidge of Hillsboro; Mahala, became the wife of Oliver Swett, and resided in Antrim; James W., the subject of the following paragraph; Simon, married Jane Gibson, and resided in Hillsboro.
(VII) James Warren, second son and fourth child of James and Hannah ( Preston) Perkins, was born November 1, 1821, in Windsor, and died October 8. 1899, in Antrim. In early life he was a follower of the sea, and covered nearly all of the globe in his travels. He made his home in Windsor until 1862, and was active in the conduct of town affairs, holding various offices, and was a repre- sentative to the general court before the civil war. In 1862 he purchased a farm in Antrim, now occu- pied by his son, and there continued to reside until his death. He was a deacon of the Presbyterian Church in Antrim. He was married to Mary Jane Somes of Haverhill, Massachusetts, who was born April 8, 1828, in Edgecomb, Maine. She died Au- gust 21, 1851, in Windsor, and Mr. Perkins subse-
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quently married Aurilla W. Stacy of Stoddard, New Hampshire, who was born October 1, 1829, and died March 5, 1895, in Antrim.
(VIII) James Elroe, only child of James W. and Aurilla W. (Stacy) Perkins, was born Sep- tember 23, 1858, in Windsor, and was but four years of age when he removed to Antrim with his parents. He received his education in the public schools of that town, and was early compelled by the failing health of his father to take charge of the home farm. This is a large farm, and under his management has been greatly improved and supplied with new and modern buildings. Mr. Perkins is an exten- sive dealer and trader in lumber and cattle, and continually maintains upon his farm a large stock of neat animals. He is interested in the progress of the state and nation, and has taken an active part in the conduct of town affairs. He has served as selectman, and for many years as a member of the school board, and is now deputy sheriff of Hills- boro county for Antrim. He has been connected with many well known law cases in New Hampshire. In political sentiment he is a Republican. His acquaintance is wide and his pleasant and genial manners have made a host of friends for him. He was married December 20, 18SI, at Harris- ville, New Hampshire, to Mary M. Stoddard, who was born in Nelson, New Hampshire, October 14, 1861, daughter of Prentiss W. and Mary A. (At- wood) Stoddard, of Nelson, New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins were the parents of three chil- dren. The eldest, Lester Ellsworth, was born March 30, 1834, and attended the high school of Antrim. On account of failing health he was obliged to leave school and spend much of his time in Florida, from which he received much benefit. He resides at home and assists his father in the care of the farm and his business. Arthur Dean, horn Febru- ary 20, 1886, was a robust boy, but was seized with appendicitis, and died June 17, 1894. Archie Dean was born November 7, 1894, and is now a student at school.
(Fourth Family.)
Within a few months after the set-
PERKINS tlement of Hampton, New Hamp- shire, two brothers (according to tradition), Abraham and Isaac Perkins, joined the community and were assigned adjoining house lots of five acres each.
(I) The house of Isaac Perkins was located near the site of the present Baptist parsonage in Hampton, and he resided there more than ten years. In June, 1652, he purchased from Rev. Timothy Dalton, for fifty pounds, a farm adjoining the Salis- bury line, now in Seabrook. There he died in November, 1685. His wife's name was Susannah, and their children were: Lydia, Isaac, Jacob, Re- becca, Daniel, Caleb, Benjamin, Susannah. Hannah, Mary, Ebenezer and Joseph.
(II) Caleb, third son and fifth child of Isaac and Susanna Perkins, lived in Hampton, and was married April 24, 1677, to Bethia, daughter of Thomas and Ann ( Knapp) Philbrick, of Hampton. She was born September II. 1651, and was the mother of Rhoda, Benjamin and Ann Perkins.
(III) Benjamin, only son of Caleb and Bethia (Philbrick) Perkins, was born May 11, 1680, in Ilampton, and resided at Hampton Falls. He was married March 1, 1710, to Lydia McCrease, and they were the parents of: Joseph, Lydia, Daniel, Mary, Jonathan and Abigail.
(IV) Joseph, eldest child of Benjamin and Lydia (McCrease) Perkins, was born May 5, 1712, in Hampton Falls and passed his life there. He was
marricd October 31, 1734, to Elizabeth Dow, prob- ably a daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Weare) Dow. Their children were: David, Lydia, Daniel, Sarah, Benjamin and Hannah.
(V) Benjamin (2), third son and fifth child of Joseph and Elizabeth (Dow) Perkins, was born October 17, 1746, in Hampton Falls, and settled in Wakefield, this state, where he was probably a farmer. No record of his marriage appears in New Hampshire, but the record of his children's births appearing in Wakefield, show her name to be Abigail. Their children were: Benjamin, John, William, David, Josiah, Joseph, Caleb, Bradbury and Ruth. (VI) John, second son and child of Benjamin (2) and Abigail, Perkins, was born April 26, 1767, in Wakefield, and located in New Durham, New Hampshire, where his life was passed. The maiden surname of his wife was Kenniston.
(VII) David Kenniston, son of John Perkins, was born in New Durham in 1797. He resided in his native town and in Middleton until 1829, when he went to Whitefield, settling in the eastern part of that town. In 1839 he removed to Manchester, where followed the stone-mason's trade until his death, which occurred December 4, 1862. He mar- ried Margaret Runnels, who was a real daughter of the Revolution. The Runnels family came originally from Ayrshire, Scotland. John Runnels settled in Dover, New Hampshire, in 1718. His son Abraham, who is referred to in the records as a brave Scotch patriot, served as a soldier in the Continental army, as did also his five sons. One of the latter was the father of Mrs. Margaret Perkins. Her mother was before marriage Margaret Randall, daughter of Elder Benjamin Randall, known as the patriarch of the Free Will Baptist denomination. David K. and Margaret (Runnels) Perkins were the parents of nine children, namely: Nathaniel, Samuel K., Mary Ann (became Mrs. James Eastman and is no longer living), Mannasseh H., Nathan R., William Dana, Joan (Mrs. Moses Drew), David and another child who died in infancy.
(VIII) William Dana, fifth son and sixth child of David K. and Margaret (Runnels) Perkins, was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. When a young man he went to California, where he became promi- nently identified with public affairs, serving as state librarian and as railroad land agent. He was also interested in mines. His death occurred in Cali- fornia. He married Elizabeth Cram, and besides William D. Perkins, who will be again referred to, they were the parents of Dana and William.
(IX) William Dana (2), son of William D. and Elizabeth (Cram) Perkins, was born in Cornish, September 26, 1850. He attended school in his native town and began life as a farmer, but later entered the railway service, in which he remained some three years. He was subsequently for a few years en- ployed as a machinist in Lancaster, and after re- linquishing that occupation he resumed farming in Jefferson. He is quite active in civic affairs, being at the present time second selectman, and in politics he acts with the Democratic party. Mr. Perkins married Miss Elizabeth Holmes, daughter of Amasa and Eliza (Moore) Holmes. They had four chil- dren, namely : Alice, Austin, Florence and Carl. His wife died and he was again married.
(VI) Timothy Perkins was probably a descend- ant of the Hampton family, but defective records make it impossible to trace him. The record of his birth appears in the town of Jackson. He was married October 9, 1792, at Conway, to Mary ( Polly) Gentleman. Their children were: John Y., Lemuel, George, Paul, Silas, Abbie, Betsy, Mary and Lydia.
I. B. Perkins
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(VII) John Y., eldest child of Timothy and Mary (Gentleman) Perkins, was born December 9, 1793, in the town of Jackson, Carroll county, New Hamp- shire, and resided for a time in Jefferson, Coos county, where some of his children were born. He was an early settler of the town of Stark, where he died November 9, 1873. He married Nancy Potter, of Concord, New Hampshire. They had eleven children, five boys and six girls, as follows: Gentle- man, Richard, Samuel, John W., Martin Van Buren, Mary Jane, Martha, Alice, Susan, Sarah and Rhody.
(VIII) Richard, son of John Y. and Nancy (Potter) Perkins, was born in Jackson, in 1824, and died April 26, 1869. About 1835 he went with his parents to Berlin, where he learned the millwright trade, and was employed by the Winslow Company, now the Berlin Mills Company, for fourteen years. He was a quiet industrious citizen, and a regu- lar attendant at the Methodist Episcopal Churchi. He married Lavina Blake, who died in April, 1869, daughter of Israel and Mary (Blake) Blake, They had six children: Elliott, went west May, 1876; Addie, married Ira S. Hawkins; Dora, married Thomas Wentworth; Lizzie, married Richard Went- worth; James B., who is mentioned below; Sadic, married Edward LeClair.
(IX) James Buchanan, fifth child and second son of Richard and Lavina (Blake) Perkins, was born in Berlin, June 6, 1857. He was educated in the public schools. He engaged at various occupations until he went to learn the trade of a carpenter. In 1880 he became millwright for the Berlin Mills Company, and master mechanic and builder in 1887, since which time he has superintended the construction of all the company's building and has not lost a single hour from his employment in all that time. He was made a Mason in the Gorham Lodge in 1878. He is one of the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Berlin, and was master mechanic and chairman of the building committee at the time of the building of the church. He married, December 15, 1888, at Berlin, New Hampshire, Roxana F. Coffin, who was born in Berlin, 1852, daughter of Lowell and Sarah M. (Fuller) Coffin, of Boston, Massachusetts. Five children have been born to them: Inez M., Stella G. (deceased), infant (de- ceased), Robert G. and Lillian E.
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