 Edward Perry 1839 - 1918 Edward
Perry, banker, railroad builder, and investor, was born on March 22,
1839, in Montral, Qubec, Canada. There he married Melanie Theotiste
Brouiillet (1835–1915), another Montreal native, in the Notre Dame de
Montreal in March 1859.
Edward's sister, Hannah Perry, married John Scullin (1836–1920) in 1859. They had five children and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. An experienced tracklayer, Scullin was contracted to build the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad from Leavenworth, Kansas, to Texas. Edward Perry was second in charge. After the road was completed in Kansas, Edward brought his family to Denison, Texas, while the road was constructing, as he was camping in the Indian Territory. The MK&T reached Denison on Christmas Eve of 1872. The Perry family made Denison home for many years. By the time the 1876-77 City Directory came out, Scullin had returned to St. Louis. Both men had parallel avenues (streets running north and south) in Denison named for them. Edward and Scullin founded the first bank in Denison, the First National Bank, located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Rusk Avenue. An advertisement in the Denison Daily News of April 5, 1874, listed Edward as the bank's cashier. The 1876-77 City Directory listed John Scullin as president, Edward Perry as vice president and acting cashier, William S. Lowe as teller, and William Perry as collector. That same year, Edward was president of the North Texas Compress Company, at the corner of Sears Street and Lamar Avenue. It would be one of Denison's largest businesses.  Perry served as mayor of Denison in 1874-75. He built his first home at 300 North Houston Avenue. It was a commodious two-story house set on five acres and had a large cellar, cistern, wells, and stables.  Edward Perry Home 300 North Houston Avenue Printed on front of photo: "First School of Sisters of St. Mary, 1876. The Old Perry Residence." On back: "Perry Res: 101 W Gandy. Sister Eleanor, St. Xavier's Academy." Collection of Grayson County Frontier Village. In 1875, the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur purchased the Houston Avenue home from the Perrys, and, on January 24, 1876,
it became the first location of St. Francis Xavier Academy, a girls' boarding and day school. In 1879 the sisters realized the need for larger quarters and built a substantial frame structure in the 300 block of Sears Street, near Rusk Avenue. After they had moved, the original Perry house burned in July 1880.  Edward Perry Home The second house was built after the first house was sold to the nuns. It was a duplicate of the first. This
was a period when small railroads were being organized by Denison's
early settlers. Scullin and Edward Perry were knowledgeable about such
enterprises and led the way. Here are two examples of their efforts in
this regard.
The Denison and Pacific Railway, according to the Handbook of Texas Online, was originally organized as several projects of Col. Robert S. Stevens, John Scullin, and Ben Munson. "It was chartered on April 24, 1878, to build from Denison to Belknap, Texas, about 150 miles. The capital was $1.5 million, and the business office was in Denison." Members of the first board of directors included Scullin and R. S. Stevens of St. Louis, Henry D. Mirick of Hamilton, Missouri, and R. C. Fister, Edward Perry, William H. Sanford, and Alexander W. Acheson of Denison. "In 1878-79, the company built 41.89 miles of track from Denison, the northern terminus, to Gainesville via Whitesboro. The line was abandoned in 1879, but on March 11, 1880, it was sold to the Denison and Southeastern Railway Company, which was renamed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Extension Railway Company on March 23, 1880. Subsequent consolidation made what was once the Denison and Pacific one of the earliest acquisitions of the Katy in its intrastate expansion program." The Denison and Washita Valley Railway Company was chartered on January 8, 1886. In that year five miles of track was built in Texas from Warner Junction to Ray, and in 1895 two more miles of yard and side tracks were added. A second division of the company operated fifteen miles from Atoka to Coalgate, Indian Territory. An 1888 publication reported on the company's board: John Scullin, St. Louis, President; Ed. Perry, Vice-President; J. T. Munson, Treasurer; H. T. V. Perry, Secretary; Sam Hanna, J. B. McDougall, A. F. Platter, Sam Star, J. C. Feild, and A. R. Collins, board of directors. In 1895 the company owned one locomotive and 119 freight cars, and primarily served the coal mines in the Coalgate area. Edward Perry's son was prominent in this mining area. The railroad was owned by the Texas and Oklahoma Railroad Company, but was operated by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas until December 31, 1891. The Texas portion was then operated by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company of Texas until it was sold to that company on May 13, 1903. Around 1888–90, according to the Sunday Gazetteer of January 9, 1927, Edward Perry built "four school buildings erected at the same time." The contract was awarded to Perry, "who had stepped from the cashiership of a local bank and entered a general contracting business." Each of the four buildings was located in one of the four wards. All four buildings were two stories, with four rooms on the first floor and four upstairs. The 1891 City Directory listed four banks in Denison. Among these was the City Bank of Denison (presumably a branch of the Sherman City Bank), at 124 West Main. Edward Perry was listed as manager. In 1890, Patrick J. Brennan (1865–1925) moved from Montreal, Canada, to Denison to take the position of teller at the City Bank of Denison. As part of the established Irish community in Montreal, he must have had connections to Perry's family there. The City Bank officially consolidated with the National Bank of Denison on October 20, 1890, ushering in a new era in Denison banking. Perry seems to have disengaged from banking at this point and devoted his attention to contracting. Thereafter, Edward Perry enhanced his reputation as a great builder who supplied the capital for many large enterprises in the Lone Star State. Edward died on December 29, 1918, in Medford, Jackson, Oregon. His wife Melanie died there in 1915.  Edward Joseph Perry 1860 - 1920 Edward
Joseph Perry, who for a quarter of a century or more figured as one of
the sterling citizens of Houston, and whose life there was one of many
sided experience, bringing him in touch with many phases of industrial
and commercial activity, took a constructive interest in the public
affairs of and was a factor in the development of the city. Mr. Perry
was of that type of business man inevitably destined to become an
outstanding figure in any community wherein he finds himself, and with
strong characteristics of initiative, combined with the asset of
integrity and keen insight into business policies, the movements he
launched during his lifetime were successful to a marked degree.
Whether as a manufacturer, a broker, an undertaker, a civic worker, or
a private citizen, Mr. Perry ranks as a citizen of the highest type,
and his activities as an integral part of the life of Houston have left
their imprint on the community.
Born the thirty-first of March, 1860, at Leavenworth, Kansas, where his father, Edward Perry, banker, railroad builder and capitalist, was at that time supervising the construction of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway, Mr. Perry spent his early boyhood in that place, and in Denison, Texas, to which city the family removed after the road was completed in Kansas. His mother was Miss Melamie Brouilette, a native of Montreal, before her marriage, as was also Edward Perry. The elder Mr. Perry made Denison his home for many years, and after the completion of the Katy road founded the first bank in that city. He was a great builder and supplied the capital for many large enterprises in the Lone Star State. The subject of this sketch was educated in Montreal, Canada, in the Catholic schools of that place, and after finishing his education there returned to Denison and entered his father’s bank, later going into the wholesale commission business there. Still later he sold his commission business and engaged in the manufacture of press brick until November, 1894, at which time he disposed of his interests in Denison and came to Houston. His first interest in Houston was the mercantile brokerage business, wherein he amassed quite a small fortune. He later bought an interest in the Wall and Stabe Undertaking Company, still later buying the entire business, and taking complete charge of the management of the firm. He put this business on a high plane, developing it along the highest lines, and at the time of his death was still actively interested in it. Mr. Perry was married to Miss Louise Scott, the twenty-third of April, 1890. Mrs. Perry was the daughter of Dr. John O. Scott, a native of Kentucky and Ellen Melvin, a native of Marion, Alabama, who came to Sherman in 1876 and was a prominent physician and surgeon there until his death in 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Perry had a family of four children, Ellen, Melamie, Edward Joseph, Vice-President and Manager of the Wall and Stabe Undertaking Company and his father’s estate, and John S. Perry. Mr. Perry died the twenty-fourth of May, 1920, at his home in Houston. He was a member of the Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus and various civic organizations. He was an enthusiastic supporter of civic activities, finding a happy satisfaction in watching the progress of his city along the highest lines of civic development. In the business world his outstanding attribute, aside from his integrity and natural endowments, was a spirit of co-operation, practically and intelligently applied that marked his association with his fellows. He was the exponent of all that was best in modern business, and his place in the commercial life of his city will long remain unfilled. Source : New Encyclopedia of Texas,Compiled and Edited by Ellis A. Davis and Edwin H.Grobe; Published by Texas Development Bureau; Dallas. Texas, ca. 1926  Biography Index Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |