Zachariah Perrin Esq. (1748 - 1838)

Born 18 Mar 1748 in Hebron, Tolland, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Talcott) Perrin — married 1781 in Connecticut

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Roger Hatch [send private message]

Biography

Am. Rev. War Vet. - 8th company of the 12th militia of Conn. In February or March of 1789, Zachariah brought his family to Berlin from Hebron Connecticut. He travelled up the Connecticut River with two teams of oxen to the junction of the White River, thence up along the White River. In Brookfield, they changed from wheels to runners and traveled for the remainder of the trip along a blazed trail to Berlin. They found the log cabin which he had been built the previous summer had a collapsed roof from three to four feet of snow that fell during the winter. The land that comprised what became Zachariah Perrins farm was located on the southeast corner of the intersection of the present East Road and Scott Hill Road. The original cabin was located a few hundred yards south of this intersection on the east side of East Road. Zachariah built his permanent farm buildings near the southeast corner of what became the intersection of the two roads and the house although greatly altered is still standing. Some of the 1300 acres of land in the East Road School District that was owned by Zachariah has continued to be owned by Perrins. Zachariah's son, Porter, the first boy born in Berlin, built the large house located at the intersection of Scott Hill Road and Airport Road in 1815. The house quite possibly is the oldest original Berlin house with little modification that is still standing. It was occupied by Perrins until 1920 and it was soon after purchased by the Dodge family. Zachariah had 9 children, the first four were born in Connecticut and the last 5 in Berlin. The oldest child was Mary. Four mounths after she died in 1798, another daughter was born and named Mary. The story goes that the second Mary was ashamed of having been born a log cabin and that she and a sister went up one night and burned the cabin to the ground. The second Mary married Julius Dewey and their son, George Dewey, became Admiral Dewey the hero of Manilla Bay. The second oldest child coming from Connecticut was Betsey who married James Hobart, the first minister of the Berlin Congregational Church. He remained the minister for over 30 years. One of their descendants was Ira Hobart Evans who was awarded a Congregational Medal of Honor for service in the Civil War. The only descendent of Zachariah in Berlin that still has a Perrin name is Henry who still lives in Perrin territory along Scott Hill Road.

Zachariah Perrin was, through his daughter Mary, the grandfather of Admiral Dewey, the hero of Manila Bay.

Sources

• Berlin[VT] Historical society, Minutes of 9/27/2011 meeting, http://www.berlinvt.org/Berlin%20Historical%20Society%20Minutes%20of%20September%2027,%202011.pdf

THE HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY. IN THE VERMONT HISTORICAL GAZETTEER: INCLUDING A COUNTY CHAPTER, AND THE LOCAL HISTORIES OF THE TOWNS OF MONTPELIER — CAPITAL OF THE STATE, EAST MONTPELIER, Barre, Berlin, Cabot, Calais, Fayston, Marshficld, Middlesex, Moretown, Northfield, Plainfield, Roxbiiry, Waitsfield, Warren, Waterbury, Woodbury and Worcester, BY NATIVE AND RESIDENT HISTORIANS. COLLATED AND PUBLISHED BY ABBY MARIA HEMENWAY. MONTPELIER, VT : VERMONT WATCHMAN AND STATE JOURNAL PRESS. 1882.