Daniel Perry, Fort Bend County, Texas

Marker is located on the east bound side of State Highway 6 at the intersection of Post Oak in Arcola, Texas.[2008]

Daniel Perry, an early area settler, was born in 1791 in Mississippi. He came to Texas in 1832 with his wife and two sons. He was widowed and in 1833 married Louisa Ann Morton. They had four children and lived on her inherited land on the David Fitzgerald league. Perry joined the Texas Army as a Captain and recruiter. He fought at the Battle of San Jacinto and then served in the Republic of Texas Navy. In 1837, Perry signed the petition for creation of Fort Bend County. After being widowed again, he married Jane Hamblen in 1851. He was a rancher, farmer and administrator of several estates. His cattle brand was 7P. Perry died in 1869 and was buried in the Duke Cemetery beside Louisa Ann and two of their children.

Daniel Perry, III. born in 1791, was the fourth child of Daniel Perry Jr. and Jane Perry. He lived on the Perry plantation in Adams county, Mississippi until after his marriage. He was married to Eliza J. Whitehead in Jefferson county by Adam Cloud on October 20, 1820. She was the oldest daughter of James Whitehead, having been born in Kentucky about 1802-03. She was about 17 of 18 years old when she married. When the 1820 U.S... Census was taken, Daniel and Eliza Perry were living with her father, James Whitehead. On March 29, 1820, Daniel Perry, III now called Jr. purchased from David Robertson, a fraction section 37, in Township 9 North, Range 2 East, containing 351 acres. It was located a couple miles northeast of Fayette in Jefferson county. Soon after, they made their home here. Their two sons Samuel and James Whitehead Perry were born here. Daniel and family lived here until they moved to Texas in 1831-32.

Daniel's oldest brother, James Perry, was born in 1784. In 1820 he was living in Jefferson county, Mississippi and had a son, Daniel Ripley Perry, about one year old and his wife age 16-25. In 1826, another son, Bryan Oliver H. was born, and they left Mississippi for Texas in 1829. In 1833, his daughter, Minerva Fulshear Perry was born in Texas. His wife was named Elizabeth in 1850 when he died.

Daniel's second oldest brother, Bryan Perry, was born about 1787. He came to Texas probably after 1836, but was here in 1840. He lived in Fort Bend county until his death in 1848.

Daniel's next oldest brother, Samuel Perry, was born in 1789. He married Elizabeth Downs on March 28, 1822 and died the same year.

Mary (Polly) Perry was the younger sister of Daniel. She married James Whitehead on July 16, 1818, in Adams county, Mississippi. It is believed that James was the son of William Whitehead of North Carolina. About 1818 James's first wife died leaving James with six children to raise. James and Mary remained near Greenville, Mississippi until 1825 when they sold out and probably moved back to Kentucky.

Jane Perry was the next youngest sister to Daniel. She was underage when she married Benjamin Fuller on February 14, 1817 in Adams county. Her father signed the consent for her.

Elizabeth Perry was Daniel's youngest sister, born in 1803. On January 26, 1826, she married George Washington Capron, a jeweler, from Kentucky. A son, J. Thomas, was born in Mississippi, about 1836. Elizabeth Jane, Magdaline A. and maybe more were born in the Republic of Texas. They lived in Houston in 1840. George W Capron was born about 1807 and died in 1858. Elizabeth Perry Capron died in 1868.

After the death of his father , Daniel Perry Sr., Judge J.B. Holmes of Jefferson county, Mississippi, appointed Daniel Perry Jr. Administrator of his fathers estate. It took until 1832 for Daniel to settle his fathers estate and sell out so he could come to Texas. Daniel , his wife Eliza J., and their two sons, Samuel and James Whitehead,arrived in Texas in June 1832 and went to live with his brother, James, until he could find a place on which he could make his home. As there were no more grants being issued he would have to buy. Sometime during this time his wife, Eliza, died. He met Louisa Ann Morton, also known as Louisiana Morton, Daughter of William Morton and on December 24, 1833, they were married by marriage bond. After Texas became a Republic the were remarried by Harris county officials on September 7, 1837, as recorded in Book A page 8. The original bond is written in the handwriting of Mr. Thomas Barnett.

Mary Morton, a sister of Louisa, married William Huff who was the county Clerk of Fort Bend county in the early years of the counties formation. He, thus, was Daniel Perry's brother in law.

F.M. Otis Fenn, the son of John R. and Rebecca, was born in 1860, and in later years was a respected lawyer in the Richmond area, and of coarse, knew Daniel Perry and his family very well, as they were neighbors. He was the person who, in 1939, pointed out the burial place of Daniel Perry to the historian L.W. Kemp, who wrote the book "Heroes of San Jacinto" [The book was published in 1939 so Kemp wasn't able to include Daniel in it]. John J. Fenn, the son of Otis, still lives on the place (1969) and can point out the cemetery near Duke Station in which Daniel Perry and members of his family are buried, as well as members of the Fenn family. Duke Station is located near Clear Lake and on the railroad line which runs between Richmond and Galveston. It is only a mile or two from Arcola.

Another of the early families with whom the Perry's were well aquatinted was the Vince family. It was at Allan Vince's place that the bridge was burned and destroyed which trapped the Mexican army. We find that Richard Vince was a close friend and neighbor of James Perry as was Robert Vince. Richard Vince married Mary Jane Perry on September 27,1837, as recorded in Harris county A-13. They were probably married much earlier than this.

Daniel Perry arrived in the colony about the time that considerable agitation was beginning among the colonists. This dissatisfaction by the people was caused mostly by the Mexican Government's stricter laws imposed to stem the flow of Angelo-Americans into Texas. A law had been enacted in 1830 which would allow no more Angelo-Americans into Texas except to fill existing contracts. By November of 1831, all the contracts were filled, and there was no way for new settlers to receive lands free except to get a grant directly from the Mexican government. As Mexicans and Europeans were indifferent to settling in Texas, there were hardly any settlers to come to Texas until May 1, 1834, when Stephen F. Austin, by his great influence, got the Mexican Government to repeal the law. The stream of immigrants began to come to Texas again. This continued until a decree of the Texas Provisional Government stopped all locating of lands in November of 1835. So we can see that Daniel Perry arrived in Texas just at the time that there were no more grants available.

On the day the Alamo fell, Daniel Perry entered the army of Texas as a captain and began to recruit a company of volunteers. These man were mostly from the Fort Bend area. On March 11, 1836, Captain Daniel Perry's company was combined with that of Captain William S. Fisher. In Comptrollers Service Record number 1191 of John F. Stancell, it states that he was a member of Captain Daniel Perry's Company. Also, in Military Service Record number 579, it is recorded that Joseph H. Slack was in Captain Daniel Perry's company until it was combined with Captain Fisher's. Comptrollers Service Record number 1594 states that Captain Daniel Perry served in the Texas Army from March 6, 1836 until June 7, 1836. He served in Captain Fisher's Company from March 11, 1836 until June 7, 1836. He fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, although his name was not on the first official rolls.

Little is written of the Republic of Texas Navy during it's struggle to obtain its independence. We find the Steamboat Laura of the Texas Navy as well as the William Robbins, a schooner, helped to keep Mexican ships from bringing supplies to the Mexican troops. In 1840, Texas had four ships in its Navy; The steamboat Laura, the schooner William Robbins, which was renamed the Liberty, the cutter Independence and the schooner San Felipe. The Texas State Archives have the following records in its files.

Republic of Texas Mr. Danl Perry "gunner" Balance due for service in the Navy. According to returns on file in the Auditors office. $338.64 Dec. 2, 1844 Charles Mason-Auditor. Approved Washington, 12 Dec, 1844 M. Hamilton, Acting Sec. of War.

After the war, Daniel took up where he had left off. He continued to improve the quarter league of land in the David Fitzgerald league which his wife had inherited from her father. He also acquired other lands.

Daniel was the administrator of the William P. Morton estate, the Philo Fairchild estate and the James Rodden probate for Margaret Rodden.

Daniel Perry's wife Louisiana, Died between 1843 and 1849. His mother in law, Nancy Morton, lived with them after her husband died. So after Louisiana died she continued to care for the children. The widespread cholera epidemic of the late 1840's and early fifties took many lives. Daniel lost his children, Daniel Jr. and Mary in 1852. It was stated at the time that quinine was used almost continually.

Harris county marriage records show the marriage of Daniel Perry to Mrs. Jane Hogue Hamblen on March 8, 1851 B-285. She owned some property, mostly land and livestock so they recorded the brand 7P in Fort Bend county on February 28,1854. Mrs Jane Hamlin had three children by the previous marriage(s). W.P. Hamblen, M.A. Sabin and Sarah S .Hogue. Mary A. Sabin died about 1898 and only her son, L. Sherwood Sabin, survived her.

After Daniel Perry married Jane H. Hamblin in 1851, his two sons, William M. and James W., decided to move to the Headright league on Birch Creek. It was not long after this that James W. met Sarah Ann Courtney, daughter of Johathan and sister of Elias W. Courtney. On June 8, 1857, they were married and made their home on Birch Creek. Their first child, Frank Perry, was born in late 1858, but he only lived a few years, dying during the Civil War.

When the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railroad was completed in 1853 from Houston to the Stafford plantation or Stafford Point [or Stafford after 1884] Daniel Perry and his family did most of their business in Houston but lived at Duke.

As early as September 30, 1861, there were ten regiments of Texas Confederate troops. Daniel R. Perry enlisted in Richmond, Texas, on March 26, 1862, as a corporal. His cousin William M. Perry, enlisted at the same time, and both were enlisted in Captain Thomas W. Mitchell's Company 2nd Regiment Carter's Brigade Texas Mounted Volunteers. William Perry was 27 years old when he enlisted. The Rolls of Prisoners of War, Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois shows he was captured at Arkansas Post, Fort Hindeman, Arkansas, on January 11, 1863. He died at Camp Butler on February 26, 1863.

The war was lost, and all fighting ceased in 1865.On June 19, 1865 General Gordon arrived in Galveston and acting for the President ordered all slaves freed. This was the beginning of five years from 1865 to 1870, when policies of the state government were dictated from Washington. Most of the Texans who returned home found they were broke.

After the Civil War, Daniel Perry fount that of his large family, he had one son, James W. and a daughter Laura Ann, left. During the years he had lost his first wife, Eliza J, his oldest son, Samuel, his second wife Louisiana, and three children by her, William M., Daniel and Mary.

During the Civil War, Daniel Perry, his wife and daughter, Laura Ann, moved to Houston as Daniel was unable to run the plantation himself. At this time he was approaching seventy five years of age. In Houston his daughter Laura Ann met and later married Charles C. Bryant. Daniel died in Houston on November 9, 1869, and made his last train ride back to Stafford on the railroad and was buried in the small community of Duke.

During the hurricane of 1900 his house was destroyed and lumber was scattered all over.