James Franklin Perry
Jones Creek, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(September 19, 1790 - September 13, 1853) A native of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, James Franklin Perry moved to Potosi, Missouri, in 1808. He joined the mercantile business of his relatives Samuel and John Perry, and became a partner in 1818. While living in Potosi, Perry met and married Emily Margaret Austin Bryan, a widow with four children. They were eventually the parents of six additional children. Emily's father, Moses Austin, and her brother, Stephen F. Austin, were pioneer leaders in the movement to colonize Texas. Upon the urging of Stephen F. Austin, James and Emily Perry and their family moved to texas in 1831. James Perry established a mercantile business in San Felipe and a farm on Chocolate Bayou. By 1832 the family moved to Peach Point Plantation on the Brazos River. James Franklin Perry was an active supporter of the Republic of Texas, serving at conventions and on the Committee of Safety. As executor of Stephen F. Austin's estate, his reports to the government concerning colonial affairs, maps, and land papers became important to the archives of Texas. Perry died of yellow fever while visiting Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1853 and is buried there. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Pennsylvania-born merchant who made his fortune in Missouri's frontier trade, James Franklin Perry married Emily Austin and, urged on by her brother Stephen F. Austin, moved his family to Texas in 1831. He built mercantile and farming interests and settled at Peach Point Plantation on the Brazos River. As an active supporter of the Republic of Texas and executor of Stephen F. Austin's estate, his careful stewardship of Austin's maps, land papers, and reports preserved records now central to the Texas archives.
Why it matters
Perry helped turn the Austin colonization dream into working farms, businesses, and institutions, and by safeguarding Stephen F. Austin's papers he protected the documentary foundation of early Texas history.
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Related people
- · James Franklin Perry
- · Emily Austin Perry
- · Stephen F. Austin
Related events
- · Anglo colonization of Texas
- · Founding of the Republic of Texas
Themes & tags
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