Judge Perry’s ancestors first settled in Massachusetts, his grandfather, Daniel Perry, having removed when a young man from Rehoboth, in that state, to Woodstock, where he became the owner of a valuable farm and the breeder of choice stock, which he shipped to the West Indies.
He married Judith Hunt, of Rehoboth, whose children were John, Otis, Daniel, Judith, Sally and Nancy. Otis, of this number, was a native of West Woodstock, where, with the exception of a brief period in Greenfield, he engaged in the varied pursuits of miller and farmer. He married Polly, daughter of Chester Carpenter, of the same town. Two of their children died in youth. A daughter, Mary W., first married to Chester A. Paine and now the wife of Waldo Phillips, and a son, Oliver H., are the survivors. The latter was born July 7th, 1821, in Greenfield, Mass., and removed at the age of two years, with his parents, to Woodstock. The district school and an academy at Wilbraham, Mass., afforded the opportunity for a common English education, after which he began work on the farm, and with the exception of two years spent as clerk, continued thus occupied until 1854. His father, in 1844, on retiring from active labor, gave him a deed of the homestead farm, in consideration of the filial care bestowed upon his parents in their declining years. In 1854 Judge Perry sold the property and removed to New York city, where he embarked in the flour and feed business, and was for eleven years a member of the firm of Phillips & Perry. In 1865, having purchased his present home, he settled again in Woodstock, where he has since been largely identified with local affairs.
Judge Perry in early days was an avowed abolitionist, and has always voted either the whig or republican ticket. He was at the beginning of his political career elected a justice of the peace, and in 1854 represented his town in the Connecticut house of representatives. He again served as justice, and in 1880 was made judge of probate for the district of Woodstock, which office he now fills. He is a director of the Putnam Savings Bank, treasurer of the Woodstock Creamery Corporation, and was one of the committee to purchase land and erect the buildings of the Woodstock Agricultural Association, of which he was for two years president and treasurer. His ability and judgment make his services invaluable in the settlement of estates and in kindred offices of trust. His religious belief is that of the Second Adventist church, with which he worships. Judge Perry was married September 24th, 1844, to Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Deacon Laban Underwood, of West Woodstock.