Hon. Sidney Perham first came to this town from Woodstock as Clerk of the Courts, to which position he was elected in 1859. But his ancestors were connected with the early settlement of the town, his grandfather, Lemuel Perham, Jr., being upon the Center lot on Paris Hill in 1791. Lemuel Perham, Jr., came to Paris from Upton, Mass., where his father had kept a public house for more than forty years, and where his grandfather, Benjamin Perham, also resided. Benjamin Perham was the son of John, of Chelmsford, Mass., and grandson of John the emigrant, who settled in Chelmsford in 1664, and that year married Sarah Shepley.

The father of Sidney Perham was Joel, who was born on the Center lot, now occupied by Col. C. H. Ripley, March 31, 1797, and whose wife, Sophronia Bisbee, was born at South Paris, April 1, 1801. When twelve years of age, Joel Perham moved with his father's family to Woodstock, where he after resided and where Sidney was born March 17, 1819. Sidney Perham was brought up on a farm, and, on becoming of age, he purchased the homestead of his father, where he continued to reside until his removal to Paris to fill the position as above stated. He was re-elected to the same position, but before the close of his second term he received the nomination of Member of Congress for the Second Maine Congressional District, and he was elected. He was re-elected twice to the same position, his service covering a large portion of the period of our civil war.

In 1871, he was elected Governor of Maine and was re-elected twice. While living in Woodstock he was elected a member of the Maine Legislature in 1855, and was chosen Speaker. He had previously been much in town office and was well versed in public affairs. After his third term as governor had expired, he was in private life until the appointment of Hon. Lot M. Morrill as Collector of the port of Portland, when, on his recommendation, Governor Perham was appointed Appraiser of Merchandise for the same port, which position he still holds. In all the public positions he has filled, he has enjoyed the fullest confidence of his fellow-citizens.

He early enlisted in the cause of temperance, and no citizen of the State has done more good, honest, square temperance work than he. He began to lecture on the subject when a minor, and there are few places in the State where his voice has not been heard. He has belonged to the leading temperance organizations in the State, and been at the head of two of them. He has been President of the Trustees of the Maine Industrial School for Girls since the School was founded, and has also served for several years as President of the Trustees of Westbrook Seminary. He married Almena J., daughter of Lazarus and Lucy (Cole) Hathaway of Paris, and has had five children, four of whom are living. He was President of the Directors of the Paris Hill Manufacturing Company, and has served as a Director of the Norway National Bank.
His attachment to his early vocation, that of agriculture, is still strong, and he has frequently been called upon to address the farmers at their annual festivals, which he has always been able to do to great acceptance. For several years, while engaged in farming in summer, he taught schools in winter, and always with marked success. His life has been busy and his occupations varied, but he is still vigorous, and, to all appearance, years of usefulness are yet before him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Perham