| Identifier |
SC2016.045 |
| Creator(s) |
Perry, Wilder |
| Acquisition |
Acquired by Dr. Beatriz Hardy (Dean of SU Libraries and Instructional Resources) in 2016 |
| Language(s) |
English |
| Use |
Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use." |
| Preferred Citation |
"Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland." |
| Attribution |
Finding aid written by Kendal Koehler, May 22, 2018. Edited by Nicole Brumback. |
| Related Materials |
Mathematics and Penmanship Journals (1823 – 1835) Frank Ryder's School Journals (1897 – 1898) School Teacher and Farm Journal (Genesee County, New York) (1864 – 1886) Diary of Charles Mathews (1854 – 1884) |
| Separated Materials |
See Nabb Center Staff |
Biographical History Wilder Washington Perry was born on November 24, 1848 in Lincolnville, Maine. Wilder was the son of James Perry (1819 – 1891) and Sybil Sherman Perry (1818-1902). James was a storeowner in Camden, Maine. In a short biography published about Wilder in The Republican Journal, it was claimed that the Perrys descended from John Perry of London, England and his mother’s family descended from a man named William Brewster on the Mayflower. Wilder had seven siblings; Cora Isabel Perry Berry (1845 – 1928), James Osmond Perry (1846 – 1872), Leila Perry Williams (1851 - 1927), Frank Winslow Perry (1854 – 1931), Annie Porter Perry Winslow (1856 – unknown), Nellie Perry Prescott (1858 – unknown), and Grace Darling Perry Baker (1861 – 1921).
Wilder graduated from Waterville Classical Institute in 1868 and from Colby College in 1872. At Colby, Perry was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. After graduation he worked as a clerk in his father’s store.
In 1872, the governor of Maine, Governor Sidney Perham, appointed Wilder as the representative of Main to the World’s Fair at Vienna Washington where he spent three months, writing as a newspaper correspondent. In January 1874, Perry bought the Camden Herald and operated as it’s editor and publisher for nearly a decade.
On October 31, 1876, Wilder married Mary Bell Ladd Sherman Perry (1853 -1933). Mary was the daughter of Ignatious Sherman (1798 – 1870) and Elethea Graffam Sherman (1811 – 1892). Wilder and Mary had nine children together; Doctor Sherman Perry (1878 – 1942), Howard Perry (1879 – 1903), Florence Perry Hahn (1881 – 1958), David Perry (1883 – 1897), Paul Perry (1884 – 1886), Mildred Perry Carleton (1886 – 1937), James Perry (1888 – 1920), George Waterhouse Perry (1891 – 1976), and Jonas Gleason Perry (1894 – 1966).
Wilder became a real estate and insurance agent and formed the Perry and Packard Company.
Perry, a supporter of prohibition, became active in politics. He attended the National Convention of the Greenback Party in Toledo, Ohio. Wilder became the State chairman of the Prohibition party and worked as the editor of the Portland Herald.
Perry returned to Camden for the years to serve as the superintendent of schools before ultimately becoming a traveling salesman for the publishers of Houghton, Mifflin &Co. in Boston. He retired in 1918.
In February 1920, Wilder’s son, Reverend James Perry, was killed while on a relief mission delivering food and supplies in what is now Turkey. It is believed that they were mistaken for French soldiers.
Wilder served as Deacon for the Camden Baptist Church for over 30 years.
Wilder Washington Perry died on December 5, 1934 at the age of 86. He was buried in Mount View Cemetery in Camden, Maine.
