zra served in the Militia, as a Lieutenant,
and was a constable of Sandwich. Will: "I leave and
bequeathe to my well beloved son Samuel... 2 stiers of two, and
one heifer of four years and a mare coult; one bed and furniture...
gune and sword and bandaleers and one iron pot." Deborah,
Ezra, and Sarah did not fare so well, receiving one shilling each.
His descendents include Douglas MacArthur, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and Mrs. Teddy Roosevelt. [PERRY.TXT]
Death date and marriage data from Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Birth date from perry.dec. Death place and date from Damvelt. Served as lieutenant in the militia and was a constable of Sandwich. Will: "I leave and bequeath to my well beloved son Samuel... two stiers of two, and one heifer of four years and a mare colt; one bed and furniture... gun and sword and bandaleers and one iron pot." Deborah, Ezra, and Sarah each received on shilling. Descendants include Douglas MacArthur, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Mrs. Teddy Roosevelt. Brownson, NEHGR 115:86. The very first recorded notice of Ezra Perry in America is found in the records of Sandwich where, at a meeting 6 mo7 1644 "divers persons engaged freely to pay in goods and merchantable corn" toward the repair of their meeting house. Ezra Perry pledge 9s for the project. After this first appearance, nothing more is found until his marriage to Elizabeth Burge, 12 Feb 1651 (i.e., 23 Apr 1652). Ezra Perry did not appear in 1658 on a list of Sandwich land owners. In most printed accounts which refer to early Perry inhabitants of Sandwich, it is claimed that Ezra had the following siblings: Margaret Perry (who married 18 Jul 1651, as he second wife, Edmond Freeman); Hanna Perry (who married 24 Jun 1652 Henry Dillingham); Edward Perry (who married about 1653 Mary Freeman, daughter or step-daughter of Lt. Gov. Edmond Freeman); Deborah Perry (who married 9 May 1654 Robert Harper). However, two points are of note in this regard: (1) Edmond Freeman’s will names "my son Edward Perry" but does not mention a daughter named Mary. Ferris (Dawes-Gates Ancestry) concluded that Edward Perry was himself Freeman’s step-son and that Freeman’s wife Elizabeth had been a "widow Perry." However, if this were so, one wonders why the other young Perrys were not named also in Freeman’s will. (2) Edward Perry was a prominent member of the Sandwich Society of Friends, as were Hannah Perry Dillingham and Deborah Perry Harper; yet neither Ezra Perry nor Margaret Perry Freeman seem to have identified themselves with the Quakers. Brownson, NEHGR 115:87> Lt. Perry received 4 shillings pay 4 Apr 1657 for service in the militia. Yet he seems not to have played a prominent role in the public life of the community. The fact that he married the daughter of one of its chief men and that his eldest son married a daughter of the powerful Governor Prence, attests to his standing, however. Brownson: NEHGR 115:88> 7 June 1659, Ezra was allowed by the Court to be executor of the estate of Sarah Perry, "there being no other (although she hath many friends in the Country) that claimeth any interest to the estate, having put in securities into the Court to be accountable for the estate in case it shall be required by any that hath better title thereto..." Most printed accounts appear to base their claim that Ezra Perry and his "brother, Edward Perry the Quaker, were sons of the widow Sarah Perry of Devonshire, England" on this statement. But the wording of the record makes it clear that neither Ezra nor any of the other Perrys in Sandwich were closely related by blood to the deceased widow Sarah. There is, however, an implication that Ezra Perry had some claim on the estate (perhaps for himself, possible on behalf of others also), perhaps based on right to a dower residue of the estate of a step-mother. It could be argued that the Perry family group came to Sandwich with a widowed step mother in order to live under the protection of some of the pioneer Sandwich families to whom the widow’s husband and/or these minor children may have been closely related. Such a suggestion is, however, sheer conjecture. Brownson, NEHGR 115:88. A deed from the Sachem Quachatasett to John Alden (27 Jul 1661) mentions a tract of land "on that side of Manomet River next unto Sandwich: the bounds of which is from the lands of Ezra Perry..." But Ezra Perry was then still resident on his father-in-law’s tract which the latter, Thomas Burgess, obtained "from Plymouth Court in consideration for this public service in 1652." On 10 Jul 1663, Burgess conveyed half his Manomet holding to Perry; one quarter to his son, Joseph Burgess, and the remaining quarter to Lt. Josiah Standish of Sandwich. On 29 May 1665, Ezra Perrry agreed to assist in building a new Sandwich meeting house; on 25 Jun 1666, the Court granted Ezra a small quantity of land in the Neck (about 30 acres); on 3 Jul 1667 it granted him an additional 20 acres "being in the purchase of Mr. Edmond Freeman and not suitable for anyone besides, being there is not meadow on it." On 5 Jun 1671, Ezra and Edward Perry were both appointed to represent Sandwich on a committee "to view the damage done to the Indians by the horses and hogges of the English." Ezra Perry served 3 Jun 1674 on the Grand Enquest and again 5 Jun 1677, yet his name does not appear in a 1675 list of Sandwich men who "have just right to the privileges of the town," though Edward’s name does. But in 1677 the names of Ezra Perry, Sr., and Ezra Perry, Jr., are among those "added to a list of townsmen." Ezra was appointed constable 3 Jun 1679. In his will of 4 Apr 1684, Thomas Burgess gave "to my son Ezra Perry... two lots I bought of Edmond Freeman Jr;" directs that if a son, Joseph Burgess, prefers not to accept certain land under testator’s conditions, then it too was maked Ezra and Joseph co-executors. Ezra conveyed lands by deeds of his sons, probably as each reached his majority, and each child a "marriage portion" of furniture and livestock. This is made clear by terms under which the three unmarried children received their shares of moveables while the absence of mention of any real property in either will or in proves that the lands had been disposed of by deeds during the testator’s life [Transcript of will in toto: NEHGR 115:89-90]. Ezra died the day he will. Inventory of his estate shows goods worth £78.8s, no real estate. [BINGHAM.GED]
BIRTH: 1625, , Devonshire, England
DEATH: 1689, Monument, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts
Mother: Mrs. Sarah PERRY
Family 1: Elizabeth BURGESS
MARRIAGE: 12 FEB 1652/1653, Sandwich, Barnstable Co.,
Massachusetts [Crandall
homepage]
Also have birth as ABT. 1627 at Sandwich, Barnstable, MA [Burgess homepage]
