Person:Edward Perry (4)

Edward came to Plymouth Colony, settling in Sandwich, where he was a prominent Quaker; was a grandjuryman in 1653; surveyor of highways, 1657, 1668, 1674 and recorder of deeds in 1674. source: via internet Erland Russell

There is no evidence for the existence of Edmond Perry of Devonshire. The father(s) of Edward and Ezra Perry are unknown. Edward Perry was the great great grandfather of the two famous commodores of the U.S. Navy, Oliver Hazzard Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry.

The Plymouth Colony court records contain this entry: 7 June 1659 - "Ezra Perry is allowed by the Court to be Executor of the Estate of Sarah Perry, there being noe other (although she hath many friends in the Country), that claimeth interest to the estate ..." Lydia B. (Phinney) Brownson and Maclean W. McLean published an article on Ezra Perry in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (115:86). Brownson and McLean wrote, "the wording of the record (quoted above) makes it quite clear that neither Ezra nor any of the other Perrys in Sandwich were closely related by blood to the deceased widow Sarah Perry. There is, however, an implication that Ezra Perry had some claim on the estate (perhaps for himself, possibly on behalf of others also). It would be consistent if Ezra's claim had been based on tight to a dower residue of the estate of a step-mother." Brownson and McLean suggest that further research in England is needed to determine the parents of Ezra and the other Perrys in Sandwich.

Y-chromosome DNA testing of descendants of Ezra Perry and Edward Perry show that these two men do share a recent common ancestor. Ezra and Edward could have been cousins of some degree and that would be in keeping with the language of the Plymouth court records.

The Parish Registers of Petworth (Sussex), 1559-1902, (FHL film 0918253), record the marriage of Edward Perry, son of Thomas Perry, on 10 Oct 1624 to Sara Rader. Further research on this marriage is needed before we can say that this Edward and Sara are related to the Perrys of Sandwich, MA. But the marriage in Sussex, near where the Edmund Freeman lived and had his children baptized may explain the close relationship between the Perrys and Freemans in Sandwich, MA. Also the widow Sarah Perry's estate was settled in Sandwich in 1659 with Ezra Perry being appointed administrator. The Petworth parish registers also record the baptism of Edward Perry, son of Thomas, on 13 Apr 1596; the baptism of a son of Edward, Nycho Perry, in 1625; and the burial of Edward Perry, gentleman, on 28 July 1630. On the basis of these entries in the Petworth records, Henry J. Perry (The Second Boat, 5:1:18, May 1984), suggested that Edward and Sarah (Rader) Perry may have been an uncle and aunt of the Perrys in Sandwich. Presumably they were orphaned children of a brother of Edward and were taken in by Edward and Sarah or by Sarah. After Edward's death, they came to New England with Sarah. Again this is speculation based on limited information.

But Edward Perry of Sandwich, MA, has not been found in the records of Devonshire from which he allegedly originated.--Bill Wright 11:13, 25 November 2008 (EST)