Macoupin County
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Biography - WILLIAM H. PERRINE

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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