William H. Perrine, an honored resident of Brushy Mound
township and an early settler of Macoupin County, was born in New Jersey,
August 12, 1835. He is a son of Ezekiel and Lydia (Thompson) Perrine, and a
grandson of Henry Perrine, a French Huguenot who fled from France to the
United States because of religious persecution and settled in New Jersey. He
was a farmer by calling and followed agricultural pursuits throughout his
entire life.
Ezekiel Perrine, father of our subject, was also a
farmer by occupation and a prominent man of his day. He farmed in New Jersey
until 1846, then moved to Indiana where he lived during the succeeding five
years. He then sold his farm and moved to Greene County, Illinois, where he
lived one season. Upon coming to Macoupin County, Illinois, in 1852, he
purchased a tract of 170 acres of farm land in Brushy Mound township, upon
which he lived for some years. He then sold this property and moved to
Montgomery County, Illinois, where he bought a farm of 270 acres and
followed farming there for 10 or 12 years, after which he made his home in
Girard until his death in 1895. He was a very influential man and was known
for his strict integrity and upright character. He was a Whig in politics,
until the organization of the Republican party, with which he was thereafter
affiliated. He married Lydia Thompson, and their union was blessed by the
birth of the following children: Zelphia; Mary A.; Susan; Eliza; Georgiana;
William H.; Enoch; Charles; Washington; and Ezekiel. Mrs. Perrine was of the
Presbyterian faith and was an active church worker. Her death occurred in
1853.
William H. Perrine was about 16 years of age when he came to
Macoupin County, Illinois, and here he attended the common schools of Brushy
Mound township. His education in the schools was very limited, but by
contact with the world it became extended and practical. He took to
agricultural pursuits at an early age, and began by working at the meagre
salary of $10 per month. He worked hard and lived frugally and year by year
his financial condition became better until he came to be considered one of
the substantial men of his community and of the county. He has some 700
acres of land, two-thirds of which he cultivates and the remainder he
devotes to pasture. He raises a yearly average of 150 head of cattle and 150
hogs, and is said to have never sold a bushel of grain or a ton of hay,
feeding it to his own stock. He is a man of ability, foresight and good
judgment, and the success which has come to him is due solely to his many
years of steady industry and capable management of his affairs.
In
1857 Mr. Perrine was united in marriage with Sarah J. Anderson, a daughter
of Silas Anderson, and the following children were born to them: Ellen;
Anna; Ada; Frank; William; and John. Politically, Mr. Perrine was a
Republican for some 30 years, but is now a Democrat, having supported Grover
Cleveland and, later, William Jennings Bryan for the presidency.
Extracted 2018 May 05 by Norma Hass from Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Macoupin County, Illinois, published in 1904, pages 98-100.
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