The Perrill Family of Fayette County, Ohio

One of the men of Fayette county of a past generation who has long since gone to his reward is James Perrill, who lived the life of a farmer for many years in Jasper township. He was a man of kindly impulses and gentleness of heart and so lived as to under himself to a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He was scrupulously honest in all of his deal* ings and a man who was sincerely mourned by everyone who knew him. He performed many acts of charity, about which the public knew nothing, as he never let his many acts of kindness become known. He was always glad to succor those less fortunate than himself, yet in this, as in everything else, he was unostentatious. Such a man is a blessing to the community in which he lives, and thus did Mr. Perrill live and die.

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James Perrill was a very small child when his mother moved from Virginia to Ohio and located in Highland county. Here he received his education, which was very meager, owing to the limited educational advantages

Google to be found in his county, and when a very young lad began to work for himself. Several years before his marriage he bought his first piece of land in Jasper township, starting in as land owner in 1850. He gradually added to his land holdings until at the tune of his death he was the owner of fourteen hundred acres of fine land in the county and was one of its largest land owners. '

James Perrill was married in September, 1862, to Rebecca Chene worth, the daughter of Abraham and Jemina (Blackstone) Cheneworth. Mrs. Perr ill's family came from England and settled in Berkeley county, Virginia, Abraham Cheneworth being the son of Thomas and Mary Cheneworth. To Thomas and Mary Cheneworth were born twelve children, Martha, Sarah, Mary, John, Thomas, Arthur, Richard, William, Elijah, Ann, Hannah and Abraham. Abraham and Rebecca (Kerr) Cheneworth were the parents of fourteen children, Mrs. Martha Hackney, William, Jacob, Mrs. Anna Moore, John, Mrs. Susannah Turner, Mrs. Mary Hibbins, Noah, Mrs. Sarah Moore, Mrs. Hannah Blackstone, Abraham, Mrs. Rebecca Talbert, Joel and Gideon. Abraham and Jemina (Blackstone) Cheneworth were married in 1835, at the foot of Cooper's Mountain, in Ross county, Ohio, and reared a family of thirteen children: John, born in 1836; William, born in 1837; Anna, born in 1838; Rebecca, who is Mr. Perriirs wife, born in 1840; Elizabeth, deceased: Thomas B., bom March 28, 1844: Mary, born hi 1846; James; Sarah, born in 1851; Margaret; Gideon, born in 1853; Mrs. Susan Armsey, born in 1855, and Addie M.. born in 1857.

Mr. and Mrs. Perrill reared a family of seven children: Jesse (died in infancy), Jennie, James, John, Mary M.. Carrie and Gilbert. Jesse is the only one of the family who is deceased; Jennie married John B. Shoop, the assistant superintendent of the Chicago schools, and they have two sons, Arnold and Edwin; James married Naomi Henkle: John married Grace Burnett and has two children, Helen and Eugene; Carrie is the wife of C. W. Beard and has three sons, John P., Boyd and Charles N.; Gilbert married Anna Slagle and has two sons, James H. and Charles H.

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Google midst of his labors he was never too busy to lend a helping hand to anyone in distress. He was a man whom everyone trusted, and because of his high character and clean and wholesome life he left a name which will long be remembered by his friends, and acquaintances and always cherished by his family.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

John Perrill, former, Milledgeville, a son of Hugh Perrill, Avas born June 17, 1823, in Highland County, where he was reared till fourteen years of age, when he went with his grandparents to Pike County. Here he remained until he attained his majority.

He bought and drove stock from Ohio to Pennsylvania and New York markets, until twenty-nine years of age, when he came to Fayette County. Here, November 14, 1855, he was married to Miss Margaret J. Sparks, daughter of Elias M. Sparks. Eleven children are the result of this union, six sons and. five daughters. Two are deceased. Our subject's mother died in Highland County, in 1835; his father in Kentucky, about 1847.

Mr. Perrill has a farm of three hundred and forty acres, well improved, where he lives; and two hundred and fourteen acres one mile west. This property is the result of his industry and good management. He is a liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which faith he was reared, yet is not a member of any church. Is well and favorably known, and has a reputable family.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

The Perrill family was one of the earliest pioneer families of Fayette county, Ohio, and the various members of this family have taken a prominent part in the history of the county for more than a century. John Perrill, a substantial farmer of Jasper township, was born December 8, 1859, on the old Perrill farm and is a son of James and Rebecca (Chenoweth) Perrill. The reader is referred to the history of James Perrill found elsewhere in this volume for further information concerning the Perrill family.

John Perrill was educated in his home neighborhood and finished in the schools of Madison Mills. He remained at home until he was thirty-five years of age and then began farming for himself and now has a splendid farm of three Imndred acres on the Jasper road, where he raises all of the crops common to this section of the state.

Mr. Perrill was married in 1905, to Grace Burnett, the daughter of Jesse and Mary (Johnson) Burnett, and to this union two children have been born, Helen and Eugene. Mr. Perrill is a Republican in politics and has been one of the leaders of his party in local political matters. At the present time he is serving with credit upon the school board of his township.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JAMES T. PERRILL.

Among the farmers of Fayette county who believe in following twentieth-century methods in the conduct of their business, is James T. Perrill, of the vicinity of Union township. He comes of a splendid family, one that has always been strong for right living and industrious habits, for education and morality and for all that contributes to the well-being of the commonwealth. Such people are welcomed in any community, for they are empire builders and as such have pushed the frontier of civilization ever westward and onward, leaving the green, wide-reaching wilderness and the far-stretching plains populous with contented people and beautiful with green fields and thriving villages and cities.

James T. Perrill, known as one of the most thorough and painstaking farmers of this section, living on his homestead of two hundred acres located about three and one-half miles from Washington C. H., first saw the light of day on November 27, 1866. He was born on the old Perrill home in Jasper township, this county, the son of James and Rebecca (Chenoweth) Perrill. James,- father of the subject, was born near Cynthiana in Pike county, his father having been a native of Virginia. He was a farmer throughout his life and came to this county when a boy of twelve years.

Previous to that, his father died and was buried in Pike county. Upon coming to this county, James Perrill settled in Jasper township, where he became known as one of the successful and influential citizens. He passed the remainder of his life there and is buried near his old home. The subject is one of a family of seven children, being the fourth child in order of birth. The oldest child of. the family died in earliest infancy; the second child is Mrs. Jennie Shoup, whose husband is assistant superintendent of the Chicago (Illinois) schools and a man very prominent in educational circles, being assistant to Mrs. Ella Flagg Young, Chicago's famous woman superintendent. The third child of the family is May, then comes John, whose wife was Grace Burnett. Carrie married Charles Beard, who is a farmer near Oaktown, Indiana, in the fertile Wabash valley. Gilbert, the youngest of the family, married Anna Slagle.

When a youth, the subject received an excellent education. He first attended the schools of Jasper township, near the Perrill home, later attending the Mallow school and received the higher grades at Waverly, this state. He was interested in the work a'bout the home farm from the time of his early boyhood and received from his father careful training in all that goes to make a successful farmer. When twenty-two years of age he decided tion agriculture as his life vocation and at that time began working for himself. His first venture along this line was the renting of a certain tract of land, which he farmer for some time with good results. He some time later purchased his present farm and has made that his home for the past twenty-five years. He is an excellent farmer, meeting with excellent results in his crops and finding the raising of live stock a lucrative side line.

On March 2y, 1889, Mr. Perrill was united in marriage with Nona Henkle, daughter of Curran and Caroline Henkle. Mr. and Mrs. Perrill have been blessed with three children, the eldest of whom is their daughter Ruth, who is the wife of John W. Shoup, and the mother of one daughter, Naomi Marion, who is a graduate of high school. Virgil, eldest son of the subject, received his elementary education in the schools of this locality, later attending the Chicago Western University at Chicago, Illinois, being graduated from that institution of learning with the class of 1910. Williard H., the youngest of the family, is in school.

Mr. Perrill is at present serving Union township as trustee, but as a rule does not desire public office for himself, being more interested in seeing others with such ambitions reach the goal for which they aspire. Mr. Perriirs fraternal affiliation is with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

Google and he feels a keen interest in all that pertains to the well-being of that society. In every avenue of life's activities Mr. Perrill has performed Fiis part to the best of his ability, believing that what was worth doing at all was worthy of his best efforts, the result being that he has won and retains to a notable degree the sincere respect and confidence of all who know him. He has a vast field of acquaintances, among whom are many loyal, stanch and devoted friends and wherever he goes he receives a hearty welcome. Because of his genuine worth and interest in the community, he is specifically entitled to mention in a work of this character.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

There are three means of measuring the magnitude of the farmer's income: the area of land under cultivation, the amount of working capital employed and the productive labor the farm furnishes. These three factors are not independent of each other. In general, the larger the area of productive land the greater the working capital and the amount of productive labor, but this is not always the case. Data are not available for determining the independent influence of these three means of measuring the magnitude of the farming business, but much data has been collected by the United States government to show that each is closely correlated with profit. A most interesting study has been recently issued by the Department of Agriculture in regard to the farmer's profits. A detailed study of two hundred and seventy-three farms in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa revealed the fact that

Google average profits are as follows: For farms averaging thirty-seven acres the profit was $416: seventy-two acres averaged $848; and increasing averages up to six hundred and twenty-three acres with a profit of $6,182. Whether Fayette county measures up to these averages the historian does not know, but if all the farmers of the county were as successful as Louis Perrill, there would be no question but that they were fully up to the average.

Louis Perrill, the son of John and Margaret J. (Sparks) Perrill, was born November 10, 1862, in Jasper township, in this county. His father Avas a native of Ross county, Ohio, and came to Fayette county when a young man. He married after settling in this county and reared a family of eleven children, nine of whom are still living: George, Mrs. Ivy Acton, Louis, Mrs. Rebecca Custus, Edward L., Mrs. Laura M. Jones, Mrs. Margaret Glass, C. H., Frank and two infants who died in infancy. The mother of these eleven children was the daughter of Elias and (Hall)

Sparks. John Perrill, the father of Louis, was one of three children, the other two being James and Mrs. Mary Brown.

Louis Perrill was educated in the schools of Jasper township and early in life began to assist with the work on the home farm. He spent all of his summer vacations on the farm and in this way had a good practical knowledge of all.phases of agricultural life by the time he had reached his majority. At the age of twenty-six he moved to his present farm of two hundred and forty-seven acres, which, with the farm of one hundred and thirty acres since acquired, makes him one of the largest land owners of his township. He divides his attention between farming and stock raising and has met with a success commensurate with his efforts.

Mr. Perrill was married February 9, 1898, to Lucy Johnson, the daughter of SolcMnon and Mary (Creamer) Johnson. To this marriage there has been born one son, Wallace C. Mr. Perrill and his wife are loyal members of the Methodist Protestant church and are actively engaged in the work of their church. Mr. Perrill is superintendent of the Sabbath school and one of the class leaders of his denomination.

Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. Politically, he has always been identified with the Republican party and has been active in political matters in his county. He has served as trustee of Jefferson township to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens and at the present time is filling the important office of county commissioner, being elected to that position in the fall of 1 91 2 by a handsome majority and re-elected in the fall of 1914 for a second term by one thousand majority.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.