Philo Beebe Perry, 1840 Winsted, Litchfield County, CT – 1874 Navasota, Grimes County, TX

 

Philo Beebe Perry was born in Winsted, Litchfield County, Connecticut on 7 Apr 1840.  He was the third child of eight children born to Robert Perry and Christiana Beebe.  He died in his home on 10 Jun 1874 in Navasota, Grimes County, Texas.

 

Philo married Mary Elizabeth Norton in Grimes County, Texas on 15 Jun 1863.  Mary Elizabeth Norton was born on 9 Apr 1844 in Bedford, Bedford County, Tennessee, and died 16 Jan 1872 in Navasota, Grimes County, Texas.  To this union were born three children, all in Grimes County, Texas, USA;  Benjamin Frederick Perry, born 27 Jan 1865, died 5 Mar 1866 in Grimes County, Texas;  William Douglass Perry, born 9 Feb 1867; died 13 Jun 1867 in Grimes County, Texas; and Mary Grace Perry, born 22 Jan 1871, died 27 Jun 1912, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.

 

Philo is first found in Grimes County, Texas in the 1860 U.S. Census living in Anderson working as a salesman.  The 1870 U.S. Census shows that Philo is living with his wife Mary Elizabeth Norton, and Mary’s mother, Martha Williams Norton, in Navasota, Grimes County, Texas. He is a clerk in a store.

 

Civil War

Philo Perry was a Private in Company “C” 5th Regiment of Texas Infantry Volunteer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  He enlisted 11 Jul 1861 in Centerville, Texas, by Capt D M Whaley for the period of the war. He is described as being age 18, with blue eyes, light hair, with a fair complexion, and 5’8”; being born in Litchfield, Connecticut, and employed as a merchant.

 

As a Private in Capt J. J. McBride’s Co “C.” 5th Texas Infantry, Hood’s Brigade, Philo Perry was wounded in the 2nd Battle Of Manassas (Second Bull Run) in the side and back. 

On 6 Oct 1862 he was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital No. 5, Richmond, Virginia.

 

By virtue of Special Orders No. 237 Par IV from District Head Quarters “on account of” having Certificate of Disability for service in the Field, Philo Perry was detailed as Clerk in the Commissary Department at Hempstead, Texas.  From there he was transferred to duty in General Hospital, Columbia, Texas, as Acting Hospital Steward.

 

19 Jan 1865, Special Orders, on certificate of disability from the Examining Board, Perry is detailed for 90 days as clerk, and reports to Lt. Robt S. Reid at Anderson, Texas for duty.

 

Sources: "A Genealogy of Benjamin Cleveland, a Great-Grandson of Moses Cleveland of Woburn, Mass. and a Native of Canterbury, Windham, Conn.”, Horace Gillette Cleveland, Chicago, 1879; Galveston News, Tuesday, June 16, 1874; Grimes County marriage license; 1860 U.S. Census, Anderson, Grimes County, Texas;  1870 U.S. Census, Navasota, Grimes County, Texas; and NARA, The National Archives, Papers of and Relating to Military and Civilian Personnel, compiled 1874 - 1899, documenting the period 1861 - 1865.

 

Written by Maurene Waterman-Bencal [email protected]