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Perley Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: mss-123

Scope and Content Note

The Perley Family Papers consist of deeds to land owned in Northern Vermont as well as correspondence and financial records in the form of receipts belonging to Anson Perley. Records pertaining Anson Perley's Estate and Legal documents are also present.

Dates

  • 1790-1908

Creator

Access:

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Manuscripts.

Biographical / Historical

Anson Perley was born in Berlin, Vermont in 1799. His parents, John Perley (1763-1830) (a Revolutionary War soldier in his teens) and Sarah Merrill (1764-1827) were married in 1782 and moved from Massachusetts to Berlin, Vermont in 1791. In 1806, they moved to Enosburg, Vermont. A large farming family, Anson was one of 15 children (though 3 did not survive childhood). His siblings were Ruth, David, Sarah, Mehitable, John, Nathan, Hezekiah, Jesse, Jerry, Loren, Edward, William, Cynthia, and Sophia. In adulthood, Anson continued to operate the farm that was established by his father, living with siblings Ruth, Sarah, Mehitable, Hezekiah (who was also engaged in farming work until he declined in health), and Cynthia in the family home. A fire in 1856 was reported, revealing that Anson owned retail properties including a chair shop and a grist mill (St. Albans Weekly Messenger, 1856 March 13).

In 1829, Anson married Edith "Eda" Emerson (1810-1889). She was the sister of his brother Jesse's wife Eliza. Their parents were Samuel and Rebecca Webster Emerson. Eda and Anson had 10 children: John Edson (or Ed) (1830-1885), Rebecca Webster (1832-1896), Isaiah Russell (1835-1892, a Civil War cavalry Sargeant, married Elizabeth Hubbel), Eliza Sophia (1838-1880, later Boque), Emma (1840-1906, later Marvin), Anna Emerson (b. 1843, later Shattuck), Anson Wilberforce (or Wilber) (1846-1924, married Ida Ranslow and remained on the family farm), Edmond Sayles (1848-1849), Heber Samuel (1850-1924, married Lizzie Centerbar Woodward) and Van Edmond (1853-1932, married Anna Lydia Skinner aka Brewer). A family tree is available.

Eda and Anson were active members of the local Episcopal church in Enosburg, Vermont. He died in 1879. News of his death included a tribute calling him "one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens in town" (St. Albans Advertiser, 1879 April 22). Eda died in 1889.

Extent

0.2 Linear feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Perley Family Papers consist of deeds to land owned in Northern Vermont as well as correspondence and financial records in the form of receipts belonging to Anson Perley. Records pertaining Anson Perley's Estate and Legal documents are also present.

Physical Location

Library Research Annex; contact uvmsc@uvm.edu for access.

Related Materials

Distant relative Moses Parmelee Perley (given the nuber 470, see Bibliography) and his son James Kent Perley are represented in the J. B. Kendall Company Records, also at University of Vermont Libraries.

Two grandsons of Anson and Eda, Allen Brewer Perley and Arthur Eugene Perley attended the University of Vermont. Distant relatve James Kent Perley also attended the University of Vermont. Records pertaining to these individuals can be found in the Alumni Papers (RG 75) within the University of Vermont Archives.

Bibliography

  • Perley, Martin Van Buren. History and Genealogy of the Perley Family. Salem, Massachusetts, 1906. Accessible via archive.org.

General

In the Perley family genealogy, the names of previous Perley family members and their assigned numbers are summarized as the heading of each individual's entry. Anson's father, John, is given the number 164, his siblings numbers between 319 and 325, and Anson himself is 323.

Correction to the Perley family genealogy (see Bibliography): the statement (on page 483) that Jesse and Anson were twins is proven incorrect by the statements (on page 285) that Jesse and Jerry were twins born on April 24, 1798. Anson was not a twin as he was born on May 31, 1799.

Title
Perley Family Papers
Status
Completed
Date
2003
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the University of Vermont Libraries, Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Silver Special Collections Library
48 University Place, Room B201
Burlington Vermont 05405 U.S.A. US
(802) 656-2138
(802) 656-4038 (Fax)