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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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Henry A.
Perrin It
is hard for the present generation to properly appreciate the brave deeds of the
boys in blue, who sacrificed so much on the altar of patriotism during the
sixties, but as years go by the immensity of their deeds will be realized to a
fuller extent and each veteran will be accorded full measure of credit and
praise. Henry A. Perrin, well known
citizen of Monroe, Fairview Township, Jasper County, is one of this band of
patriots and a man who is esteemed not only because of his unselfish deeds in
behalf of his country, but also for his exemplary home life. Mr. Perrin was
born April 11, 1844, in Clinton County, Ohio, and he is the son of Conrad and
Elizabeth Ann (West) Perrin, natives of Ohio.
The father, who devoted his life to carpentering, came to Iowa in 1856
and settled in Van Buren County, having made the long journey principally by
steamboat and partly by rail to Keokuk and from there by stage to Keosauqua,
thence to Polk County in 1858, where he settled on a farm which his sons
operated. Here the family remained until 1862, when they moved-to Marion County
where they lived until the fall of 1865, in which period they came to Monroe,
Jasper County, where they have since remained.
The home was broken up after the death of the mother, the father having
moved to Adams County where he made his home with a son until his death, at the
advanced age of ninety years. He
was born in 1816. He was a stanch
Whig, later a Republican. His family consisted of twelve children, of whom six
are living, namely: Ellen is the widow of Eber Parish, of Knoxville, Iowa; Henry
A., of this review; Elias H. lives in Prescott, Iowa; Mary Baker is the widow of
Eugene Baker, of Deer Lodge, Montana; Samuel T. lives in Columbia, South Dakota;
Clayborn L. lives in Des Moines. Four
died when children, and Jane died when twenty-two years of age and Margaret when
twenty years old. When
Henry A. Perrin was seventeen years old he enlisted in August 1861, in Company
B, Tenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His
regiment was sent to St. Louis and later to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where the
winter was spent; in the spring of 1862 they were sent to Yazoo, Mississippi,
and from there to Helena, Arkansas. Mr.
Perrin took part in a number of engagements and saw considerable hard service.
Among the battles in which he participated were Iuka and Corinth, the
siege and fall of Vicksburg, and the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
Later he was transferred to the Fourth Veteran Reserve at Rock Island on
account of a severe rupture, and on September 6, 1864, he was mustered out of
service at Milwaukee. Soon
afterward he returned to Monroe, Jasper County, and took up carpenter work,
which he had learned under his father, and this has been his occupation all the
years of his active life, and being a very skilled and conscientious workman he
was always in great demand. On April 2, 1871, Mr. Perrin was united in
marriage with Emma Labar, daughter of Silas and Sarah Labar, of Pennsylvania,
both of whom died in that state. Five
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Perrin, namely: Winnie married J. W.
Burke, of Kellogg, Iowa; Harry J., Elmer G., Clarence and Nellie G„ all live
in the village of Monroe. Mr. Perrin is a member of Shelledy Post No.
84, Grand Army of the Republic, of Monroe, of which he has twice been commander.
He is a member of the Baptist Church of Monroe.
He has always taken much interest in local affairs and in 1897 he was
appointed postmaster of Monroe and he proved to be such an able and efficient
public servant that he has held this position ever since, his son, H. J., being
his assistant and his daughter, Nellie G., is clerk, in the same.
The son, H. J. Perrin, is a young man of much business ability and is
well known and much liked. He
has spent his life in Monroe. He is
a member of Fairview Lodge No. 194, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Monroe,
also of Jasper Lodge No. 168, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Monroe, of
which he is past grand; he is also a member of Monroe Encampment No. 60,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past chief patriarch and at
present fills the office of scribe; he is also affiliated with Eureka Rebekah
Lodge No. 52, and Camp No. 7806, Modern Woodmen of America.
He is a member of the Baptist Church. The Perrins have always been regarded as among the leading families in the southern part of Jasper County and they have done much for the general development of the same. The Past and Present
of Jasper County, Iowa, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-in-Chief, 1912, B. F.
Bowden & Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. |
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