John Jasiel PERRY, Congress, ME (1811-1897)

PERRY, John Jasiel, a Representative from Maine; born in Portsmouth, N.H., August 2, 1811; moved with his parents to Hebron (now Oxford), Maine, in 1812; attended the common schools and Maine Wesleyan Seminary; deputy sheriff of Oxford County; member of the state house of representatives in 1840, 1842, 1843, and 1872; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1844 and commenced practice in Oxford; member of the state senate in 1846 and 1847; clerk of the state house of representatives in 1854; elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1857); was not a candidate for renomination in 1856; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1859-March 3, 1861); was not a candidate for renomination in 1860; member of the peace convention in 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; editor of the Oxford Democrat from 1860 to 1875 and extensively connected with newspapers, both in and out of the state, as correspondent; member of the state executive council in 1866 and 1867; moved to Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, in 1875 and engaged in the practice of his profession until his death in that city on May 2, 1897; interment in Evergreen Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present