George S. Perry Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1263-1264 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	GEORGE S. PERRY was born in Berkshire, England, on the 12th of 
January, 1853, and is a son of William and Charlotte (Hobbs) Perry, the 
father dying in Cleveland, Ohio, in April, 1880, aged about sixty years, 
and the mother at Mitchell, South Dakota, on December 24, 1889, aged 
seventy-three years, six months and thirteen days. The subject received 
his early educational training in his native land, and was twelve years 
of age at the time of his parents' emigration to America. The family 
located in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and here Mr. Perry soon gave 
distinctive evidence of his predilection for mechanical pursuits, since 
when he was but fourteen years of age he was not only acting as engineer 
in a manufacturing establishment, but also had the general charge of the 
factory during the illness of the owner. At the age of seventeen he 
secured a position as fireman on the Cleveland & Wheeling Railroad, and 
two and one-half years later had been promoted to the position of 
engineer. He thus continued in the service of the road noted for another 
year and then entered the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 
Company, with headquarters in the city of Pittsburg. He remained with 
this company until the great strike of 1877, at which time he entered 
the employ of the Canada Southern. When the Vanderbilts secured control 
of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, in 1879, Mr. Perry was 
assigned an engine and operated the same in connection with the building 
of the road westward from Glencoe, Minnesota, to Ortonville, South 
Dakota, his conductors at the time being Andrew W. Glenn and Charles 
Dean, with whom he has ever since been associated in the same relative 
capacity, their official alliance, if so it may be termed, having thus 
continued for nearly a quarter of a century. They continued with the 
extension of the road to Bristol, and reached Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 
I88I. Mr. Perry also worked on construction to Ashton and Ellendale and 
was then given the passenger run to Milbank. In June, 1883, he was the 
driver of the engine on the construction of the track southward to 
Woonsocket, where the extension from the south was met. He was given the 
first passenger run on this branch, between Aberdeen and Mitchell, and 
for twenty-one years he has continued to thus traverse this branch. In 
thirty years of service Mr. Perry has never had a serious wreck and has 
never personally been injured in any accident. He has confined his 
attention exclusively to the demands placed upon him as an engineer, 
taking pride in his work, knowing its responsibilities and realizing 
that it is worthy of his best efforts. He is a veteran and trusted 
employe of the company and has the high regard of all who know him. He 
is identified with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and also with 
the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the Knights Templar 
degrees, being a member of the various bodies of the order in Aberdeen, 
where he has a pleasant home and is well and favorably known. He is a 
staunch Republican in politics. 

	At Saint Thomas, Ontario, Canada, on the 6th of July, 1878, Mr. 
Perry was united in marriage to Miss Leila Whitcomb, daughter of S. W. 
Whitcomb, who was for many years an engineer on the New York Central 
Railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have five children, namely: George W., 
Cora, Dean, Floyd N. and Leila M. The first named was educated in the 
Goldie College, Wilmington, Delaware.