What fascinates me about doing genealogy is trying to tease out what “really happened.” What really happened, of course, is lost, filtered, and in many cases impossible to determine. That doesn’t stop me.

O. H. Perry is one example of the difficulty of finding the “truth.” Oliver H. Perry is believed to be the third son of James Samuel Perry and was born in Johnsburgh, New York. Oliver never knew his birth father, as James Samuel (who went by Samuel when in NY), left the family and the state in about 1852. The family story is that Samuel disappeared on a trip to Boston and everyone assumed he died. Based on DNA evidence (linking my dad to siblings of James Samuel), James was very much alive and fathered 10 more children with two other women, 6 of whom survived until adulthood.

The story that Oliver told about his family and his life is a little different. The Wymorean newspaper published a special story and a mini biography/promotional piece on Oliver in 1892 and 1909. (The mini biography reads as though it was taken from a local history of Gage County, Nebraska). OH Perry came to Wymore in 1888 (Weekly Wymorean, Feb 27, 1909). He left for a time to go to Boulder, Colorado and Beatrice Nebraska. While there is no written evidence of his time in Boulder, there are newspaper advertisements in Beatrice for Perry’s studio. As is usual for newspapers of the day, the articles are primarily puff pieces stating “there are few homes in this city [Wymore] that do not contain samples of his excellent work” (Weekly Wymorean, Feb 27, 1909 p. 3) and he is “fast gaining a reputation as an artist with exceptional skill.” (Weekly Wymorean, June 25, 1892, p. 1).

The 1892 front page article provides a biography of Oliver that seems to be designed to increase his stature as a photographic artist. According to the article, likely provided by Oliver himself, he was born in Johnsburgh NY. The article also states that he is a direct descendant of “Comodore [sic] Perry of historic fame.” (A sidebar here – as can be imagined, many male Perrys were named after Oliver Hazard Perry. While it appears that Commodore Perry and OH Perry were descended from the same Ezra Perry of Sandwich MA, OH was not a direct descendent from the Commodore himself). In addition to connecting himself to the very famous Oliver Hazard Perry, OH also establishes himself in a long line of photographers. The article states that “his father Samuel Perry [was] one of the early Daguerreotype artists.” There is no record of James Samuel Perry ever holding a camera. If he did take photos, I would love to see them. OH also states that his father died when he was young. OH has his mother remarrying when he was 13, or in 1866. According to the US Census in 1860, Mary Perry and Robert Cornell were already married. The article suggests that OH left home soon after his mother remarried, launching himself “on the world’s stormy sea.” According to US and NY State Censuses, Oliver was at home until 1875. According to the paper, OH received an education at the Albany Business College and graduated in 1875, just in time for an economic crash. It is possible that he attended school in Albany and returned home in the summers, when the censuses were taken.

O.H. then states he lived in Ballston Spa working for a photographer and then at the Wildey Studio in Skaneatles, NY. This would fit with the 1880 US Census that has him living with Wildey and his family. O.H. moved to Michigan in 1882 and took courses in pastels, portrait painting, and oils. O.H. moved to Nebraska for the business opportunities, and worked in numerous towns in Nebraska and even Kansas (his father was living in southeastern Kansas at the time, in Girard. There is no indication they ever ran into each other).

It appears O.H. put his fine art training to use in tandem with his photography work, as his advertisements tout his abilities in portrait painting as well as photography. O.H. also traveled quite a bit. As a member of the Photographer’s Association of America he attended the 1913 convention in Kansas City. At a convention in Omaha in 1892, O.H. received an honorable mention for his work (Weekly Wymorean, June 25, 1892, p. 1).

O.H. appears to have visited Arizona a number of times. The July 13, 1913, Weekly Wymorean states that O.H. just returned from a “flying trip” to Phoenix Arizona (p. 8). It is possible that O.H. Perry hopped a ride with some pilot heading down to the southwest, or it could be that the term flying simply meant the trip was a fast one. In 1914, there is an Oliver H Perry, photographer born in NY, listed in the voter records for Prescott Arizona, which is approximately 36 miles from Jerome, where Oliver died. In the June 15,1912 (Phoenix) Arizona Republic there is an news item that a photographer by the name of Brennan attempted suicide due to a failed attempt to rebuy his Jerome photography business from “Mr. Perry” (p. 1). I think it is reasonable to believe that O.H. Perry spent time in Arizona from at least 1912 until he died in Jerome in 1922.

Why Arizona? I think Oliver’s early life provides some clues. According to the 1892 Weekly Wymorean, Oliver spent “the season of 1881” (likely the summer) in the Adirondack mountains to recover from “a close application to his business” and “the use of injurious chemicals” to develop photos. In other words, Oliver’s trade made him sick. Arizona, especially the area around Prescott, was popular for asthmatics and other people with respiratory issues, including tuberculosis (https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/road-trips/2020/05/11/arizona-tuberculosis-history-sunnyslope-sanatoriums-doc-holliday/3101543001/).

A helpful resource on O.H. Perry and other early photographers is the website http://cabinetcardphotographers.blogspot.com . The page on O.H. Perry has a mostly-accurate timeline and some great photos.