The Perkins of Perkins Corner
							rewrite by Ted Brassard
							22 March 1997

Introduction: 					
	This text is a rewrite of an article I wrote ten  years ago for the "Genealogist" a
publication of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society. Since that time I have accumulated
quite a lot more information concerning the individuals in the article and, in addition,  I
felt it was a good item for my web page in the hope of finding out more information from
other genealogists who might read it.
	A large portion of the material in this paper would not even exist without the help of
William Tufts of Gloucester,Ontario who I consider to be one of the excellent genealogists and 
new historians of this era. I will always be grateful for his help, his shrewd, insightful mind, 
and his keen memory for facts.
	I have also left off the last portion of the article concerning Isaac Perkins and Mary Jane
Buchanan and their descendants and might write that up at a later date if I conclude there is
enough interest in my web page.

Perkins Corner:
	On the west side of Carleton County, New Brunswick, close to the banks of Big Presque
Isle Stream and about midway to the Saint John River and the Maine border lies the small
town of Centreville formerly known as  Perkins Corner. I do not know the truth of the matter,
but it is said by some the town was founded by settlers from Kent County and from Maugers-
ville in Sunbury. 
	There, at Perkins Corner, by the side of the Florenceville road and across from the school,
in 1985, I found the cemetery of the United Baptiste Church.  And, it was  here, in that quiet
place among the gravestones, I found the last resting places of a particular branch of the
Perkins family. 
	The most notable of these, from my point of view, was an obelisk upon whose face was
carved:
		"The praise of him who sleeps in earth,
		  The pleasant memory of his worth,
		  The hope to meet when life is past,
		  Shall cheer the sorrowing heart at last."
		  
	For this was the burial stone of Isaac Perkins and his wife, Mary Jane Buchanan who
were my mother's ancestors. Because of this, the monument had special significance to me
when I visited the cemetery so many  years ago. It still plays an important role in my memory
as I continue the search for answers concerning my branch of the Perkins family lines.

The Enigma of Richard Perkins: 
	Isaac, who was born in 1822 and died on the 2nd day of May in 1885 at the age of 66 years,
was most likely the son of Richard Perkins and his wife, Catherine DeLong. I have written
extensively about Catherine's ancestors and  her New Amsterdam forbears, but Richard's 
ancestors still lie in mystery after all these years.
	Without any doubt Richard was born in New Brunswick as we shall see later from a land
petition that he filed. We are also certain that his father was a United Empire Loyalist, but we
have no proof as to who among the many men with the surname of Perkins was his father.
However, after 20 years of research we have narrowed down the possibilities to one individual.
In attempting to decide who was Richard's father, there was a number of men to choose from,
all of them Loyalists and heads of families. The most well known and perhaps the best one
documented is Azariah Perkins whose progeny are so numerous. Serious studies of records
concerning him showed early on that my Richard was not one of his sons. The others: Edward, 
Andrew, George, Isaac, James, and Robert were all distinct possibilities at the time.
	It is still credible as some researchers have claimed, that Andrew, Isaac, James, and 
Azariah were all related, and that possibly Isaac was the son of Azariah. After many years of
research, and through the process of elimination it is with a high degree of certainty that
Isaac was the father of Richard. But no proof of any kind has yet been found to substantiate
this. An ideal situation would be to find a record of birth for Richard with Isaac listed as his
father and we might also find his mother's name listed. She also remains unknown.
	Isaac was a member of the Westchester Loyalists and he originated from Westchester 
County, New York. He came to New Brunswick with the Spring fleet with his wife and four 
children, three of whom were over ten years of age, and one who was under ten  years. This
information also adds a little more to our knowledge, since now we know that Richard had at
least four siblings. At this time we have no idea of who they were, nor do we know their sex.
We are now hunting for Isaac's marriage record and possibly the records of baptism of the 
children born in Westchester County. The hunt goes on.

The Family of Richard Perkins
	The census records of 1851, 1861, and 1871 point to Richard as the father of Catherine, 
John, and Charles. In Richard's petition of 25 April 1827 he stated: 
	"The petition of Richard Perkins, a Britsh subject, born in this Province, where he has
always resided, aged 33 years, is married and has six sons and a daughter. . . 
	That your petitioner never received any land from the Crown and is desirous of obtaining
a grant of vacant and improved Crown land situated on both sides of Studholmes Mill Stream
and number 37 in Micheau's survey.
	Your petitioner has occupied said land upwards of twenty three years in which he has a
house, barn, and nearly 50 acres of cleared land."
				(signed) Richard Perkins
				
	As can be seen, there is obviously a wealth of information in this petition and when
combined with the census records and other data we can then form several conclusions.
	First, his age of 33  years enforces the census of 1851 to show he was born in 1794. 
Second, since he was born in New Brunswick, his father had to be one of the early settlers 
and we  know Isaac appeared in a petition as early as 1785. Third, his father had settled on this 
particular property about 1804, but had not received a grant for the property. Lastly, seven 
children had been produced from this marriage by 1827 and assuming an average of two
years between births, he would have been married about the age of 19  years or in the year
1813.
	Therefore, Richard is most likely the same person who married Catherine DeLong in the
parish of Sussex, Kings County on the 6th of December in the  year 1813. To enforce the
probability of his early marriage to Catherine we find in the census of 1861 that one John
 Clarke is listed as his son-in-law in the same household.  John's wife, Catherine, listed with an 
age of 46 years, would have been born about two years after the marriage of Richard and his
wife Catherine Delong.
	Yet the reader should keep in mind we have not been able to answer positively two
very important questions. Was the Richard Perkins who petitioned for land in 1827 the same
man who was listed in the census of 1851 for Carleton County? Was he also the same person
who married Catherine at Sussex? I believe with very little doubt that he was and my writing
continues on the basis that this assumption is correct.
	We have established a daughter, Catherine and must try to figure out who the sons were.
The first two are fairly simple to determine, but one of the sons, born after 1827, cannot be
considered as one of the six mentioned in the petition. This is Charles, born in 1830, and
shown as the head of the household in the census of 1861 was his father, Richard Perkins.
Charles and his wife, Darcas (I have lost her maiden name!), were married on 18/7/1850.
	John, the other son, and the first to reduce our  unknown six without much trouble, is
listed in the same  household with his father, Richard, in the census of 1871.  John had 
married Francis Sharp at Woodstock on 8/7/1847.
	 The problem of finding the remaining five sons, causes us to once again lean on
supposition and speculation. It is very possible and more than likely that the sons are those
listed in the census records for Carleton County. Various land grants tend to support this
idea. In 1844 Isaac and David Perkins both petitioned for 100 acres of land in Andover-
Carleton. Earlier in 1840, Joel, a possible brother, asked for 100 acres in the same area and
David purchased 100 acres nearby for two shillings and six pence per acre.
	This last mentioned person may possibly have been the husband of Sarah, she being 
listed in the census of 1851 in Richard's household as a daughter-in-law and a widow. If this
is so, David would have died between 1844 and 1851.
	One other family head, residing in Woodstock in 1851, was Aaron Perkins, probably named
after Catherine's father, Aaron DeLong, just as the son, Isaac, more than likely was named
for Richard's father.
	Now we can illustrate the following possible family group:
		Richard Perkins-=-father, b. 1794; m. 6/12/1813 at Sussex; 
			Parents: Isaac Perkins and mother unknown
		Catherine DeLong-=-mother, b. 29/10/1789, d. before 1861
			Parents: Aaron DeLong and Mary Kierstede
			Children: 
		1. Catherine b. 5/6/1815
		2. Aaron b. 1817/18
		3. David b. ?
		4. Unknown
		5. Isaac b. 1822
		6. John b. 1824
		7. Joel b. 1827
		8. Charles 1830

	It is doubtful, but not impossible, that Richard was closely related to Richard Perkins Jr.
who made a petition in Sussex, Kings County on 24 June 1839 or that he was the Richard who
recieved a land grant of 400 acres in Kings County (Book #9, Grant 2409). But let us turn from
these unanswered questions and look at the offspring of his marriage to Catherine.
	Catherine, the first child, married to John Clarke, is buried at Centreville. She died on 
29/12/1901 and her husband, John, was born on 14/11/1809 and died 20/9/1889. In the census
of 1861 they had the following children: Aaron 22, Susan 16, Hiram 14, and Miles 4. Also listed
in this family group was a grandson of Richard, Charles, whose parents are still unknown.
	Next in line may have been  Aaron, who died 17/7/1900, and his wife, Esther
(maiden name unknown), who died 4 September 1890 at the age of 73 years and ten months. 
Thus, she was born in 1816. They had seven sons and three daughters indicated by census 
records-- Elizabeth, Elbridge, Randolph, Richard, Elisha, Aaron, Shadrack, Helena, John, 
Lorenzo, and Lila.
	David, the one we assumed was the husband of the widow, Sarah, may have died before the
1851 census.  According to this census, Sarah was born about 1819. In 1851 she had three
children with her: Charles A. 11 (possibly the Charles A. who petitioned for land in Carleton
County in 1866), Catherine 8, and Richard 5.
	There then follows an unknown son of which we know nothing at all so far.
	Isaac, my direct ancestor we have discussed previously. He married Mary Jane Buchanan
in Jacksontown on 8/8/1850. She was the daughter of James Buchanan and Elizabeth Dwyer.
	Next is John whose marriage to Francis Sharp in 1847, had, according to the census of
1871, brought into the world: James H. 22, Richard Howard 20, John F. 18, Charles M. 16, 
Harriet 14, Blanche 11, and Frances 9.  John died early at the age of 54 in 1878, but his wife,
Frances, lived to the age of 85 and died in 1913.
	Joel and his wife Barbara Adelaide (once again I am missing a maiden name!), were
married about 1850.  By the census of 1861 they had: Mary A. 11, Victoria 9, Elizabeth 7,
Frances 5, Henry A. 3, and John C. 1.
	As to Charles, the last born son and married to a woman named Darcus, and who was
listed in the 1851 census for Simonds parish of Carleton County, I have no further 
information. At that time he was 21 years of age, she was 16.
	Anyone having any knowledge concerning the individuals, events, or places mentioned
in this paper would be doing me a great favor by contacting me. 

Theodore Brassard
10 So. Summer St., Nottingham, NH  03290
Tele: (603) 679-8957
Researching: Brassard/Brossard/Harold/Pilote/Perkins/DeLong/Anneke Jans,
Simons/Weiser/Frolich/Rapp/Kierstede and many others.
E Mail: tbrass@nh.ultranet.com
My Web Page: http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~tbrass/