Edmund Perry (politician)
Edmund Perry | |
|---|---|
| President of theNew Jersey Senate | |
| In office 1861–1862 | |
| Preceded by | Charles L. C. Gifford |
| Succeeded by | Joseph T. Crowell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 4, 1825 Basking Ridge, New Jersey,U.S. |
| Died | November 2, 1878(aged 53) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Flemington, New Jersey,U.S. |
Edmund Perry(October 4, 1825 – November 2, 1878) was an American politician and newspaper publisher. He served as President of theNew Jersey Senatefrom 1861 to 1862.
Biography
[edit]Perry was born in theBasking Ridgesection ofBernards Township, New Jerseyin 1825, the sixth son of Samuel Perry. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1848. He began a legal practice atNew Hamptonbefore moving toFlemington.In Flemington, he became editor and publisher ofThe Hunterdon County Democrat,a weekly newspaper. He gave up ownership and editorship ofThe Democratin 1854.[1]
In 1859, Perry was elected to theNew Jersey Senate,representingHunterdon Countyas aDemocrat.[1]At the beginning of the 1861 legislative session, theRepublican Partyheld a one-seat advantage in the Senate, but after the defection ofBurlington Countysenator Thomas L. Norcross, Democrats won control and Perry was named Senate President.[2]
As Senate President, Perry officially receivedAbraham Lincolnwhen he passed throughTrentonon February 21, 1861, en route toWashington, D.C.for his first inauguration.[1]He introduced Lincoln with a short speech before Lincoln gave his remarks.[3]When theCivil Warbegan in April 1861, Perry expressed the state's support for the war effort: "Our duty is clear. New Jersey has never failed or faltered in her constitutional obligations; she will not do so now."[4]Perry served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee for two years. In 1866, he was appointed judge of theNew Jersey Court of Common Pleas.[1]
Perry married Elizabeth A. White and had two sons, Samuel Edmund Perry (1849–1914) and John Belmont Perry (1854–1912), both lawyers, and one daughter, Florence Elizabeth Perry (1861–1924).[1][5]He died in 1878 at the age of 53 and was buried atMount Pleasant CemeteryinNewark.
References
[edit]- ^abcdeSnell, James P. (1881).History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties.pp. 212–3.
- ^Knapp, Charles Merriam (1924).New Jersey Politics During the Period of the Civil War and Reconstruction.p. 45.
- ^Journal of the Seventeenth Senate of the State of New Jersey.1861. p. 266.
- ^Gillette, William (1995).Jersey Blue: Civil War Politics in New Jersey, 1854-1865.p. 139.
- ^Whitehead, John (1897).The Judicial and Civil History of New Jersey, Part II (Biographical Register).pp. 475–6.
External links
[edit]
- 1825 births
- 1878 deaths
- Democratic Party New Jersey state senators
- Presidents of the New Jersey Senate
- People from Bernards Township, New Jersey
- People from Flemington, New Jersey
- Politicians from Somerset County, New Jersey
- Politicians from Hunterdon County, New Jersey
- 19th-century American lawyers
- 19th-century American legislators
- 19th-century New Jersey politicians
- 19th-century American newspaper editors
- 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)