PERLEY, Ira, jurist, b. in Boxford, Essex co., Mass., 9 Nov., 1799 ; d. in Concord. N. H., 36 Feb., 1874. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1822, was a tutor there from 1823 till 1825, studied law at Hanover, N. H., and began practice there in 1827. He was treasurer of the college from 1830 till 1835. Mr. Perley was a member of the legisla- ture from Hanover in 1834, and from Concord in 1839 and 1870. He was an associate justice of the superior court from July, 1850, till Oct., 1852, and chief justice of the supreme judicial court from 1855 till 1859, and again from 1864 till 1869. After his resignation in 1869 he resumed the practice of the law as a consulting lawyer. His decisions as a judge were highly praised, and he was a profound scholar and a good linguist. He received the de- gree of LL. D. from Dartmouth in 1852.
PEROT, Thomas Morris, merchant, b. in
Philadelphia, 8 May, 1828. He is the grand-
son of EUiston Perot, a noted Philadelphia mer-
chant, and a descendant of Anthony Morris. He
early entered the retail drug business, subsequently
was graduated at the Philadelphia college of phar-
macy, and in 1850 established himself in business
as a wholesale druggist and manufacturing chem-
ist, in which he has acquired wealth ; but he is
more widely known for his philanthropic works.
Since 1861 he has been the president of the Mer-
cantile library company of Philadelphia, and un-
der his administration its library of 22,000 vol-
umes has grown to 160,000. Mr. Perot bore an active
part in founding the Woman's medical college in
Philadelphia, the first institution of the kind in
the world, and has been for many years its presi-
dent. Since his youth he has been connected with
various charitable institutions, and he is now in
the directorship of many such in Philadelphia.
He has been active in the struggle for reform in
municipal affairs, was one of the organizers of the
first Citizens' reform association, and became one
of the original members of the Committee of 100.
PERREAULT, Francis Joseph, Canadian
author, b. in Quebec, Canada, in 1750 ; d. there in
1844. Although he was the son of a wealthy con-
tractor, the scarcity of books in the country placed
many impediments in the way of his education,
but by his energy and perseverance he succeeded
in acquiring much practical and useful knowledge.
He rendered more service to Canada by his pen
than perhaps any of his contemporaries. He was
prothonotary of the district of Quebec up to the
close of his life. His principal works are " Le juge
de paix et oflScier de paroisse pour la province de
Quebec " (Quebec, 1805) ; " Dictionnaire portatif et
abrege des lois et regies du parlement provincial du
Bas-Canada " (1805) ; " Manuel des huissiers de la
cour du banc du roi du district de Quebec "
(1813) ; " Question et reponses sur le loi criminel
du Bas-Canada " (1814) ; " Moyens de conserver nos
institutions, nos langues et nos lois " ; " Extraits
des registres du conseil superieur et de la pre-
vote " (1824) ; " Traite d'agriculture adapte au cli-
mat du Canada " (1831) ; " Code sur a I'usage des
habitants tant anciens que nouveaux du Bas-Cana-
da " (1839) ; and " Histoire du Canada " (4 vols.).
PERREIN, Jean, French naturalist, b. near
Mont de Marsan in 1750 ; d. in New York in
October, 1805. He was the son of successful mer-
chants, and was destined for a commercial career,
but his preference was for science, and after the
death of his parents he travelled in northern Africa,
Arabia, Persia, and India, forming collections in
natural history. On his return he presented these
to the Academy of sciences of Bordeaux, and was
elected by that body an associate member. In 1794
he set out for North America, and visited the Hud-
son bay territory, the Rocky mountains, the prov-
inces of Quebec and Ontario, and all the New
England states. On his way to France he died
of malaria fever. His collections and manuscripts-
were sent to Paris and were utilized by Charles
Sonnini in his " Histoire naturelle des poissons et
des cetaces " (Paris, 1804), and for the great edi-
tion of Buffon's works (1798-1807, 127 vols.). Per-
rein's " Voyage chez les Indiens de I'Amerique du
Nord, avec un apergu des usages et du caractere de
ces peuples " (2 vols., Paris, 1809) is a very rare
and valuable work. His manuscripts in the Na-
tional library of Paris are often consulted by Eu-
ropean writers on North America.
PERRET, Jacqnes, French missionary, b. in
Flanders in 1595 ; d. in Sault Sainte Marie in
1674. He was a Jesuit, and, coming to Canada in
1642 as a missionary to the Algonquins, labored
afterward for nearly twenty years among the In-
dians on Kennebec river and the Chippewas. In
1671 he was attached to the Ottawa missions at.
Sault Sainte Marie, and died there, having alto-
gether labored thirty-two years as a missionary.
Among his papers, which are preserved in the
National library of Paris, have been found a dic-
tionary of the Algonquin language, a catechism, a
grammar, and several sermons in native dialects.
PERRIN, Abner Monroe, soldier, b. in Abbe-
ville county, S. C, in 1829 ; d. at Spottsylvania,
Va., 12 May, 1864. He was educated at Bethany
academy, S. C, and served in the Mexican war as
1st lieutenant in the 12th volunteers. On his re-
turn to South Carolina he studied and practised
law until 1861, when he entered the Confederate
army as captain of the 14th South Carolina volun-
teers, and was promoted colonel in April, 1863, and
brigadier-general in May, 1864, with the command
of an Alabama brigade
PERRIN, Eloi Philibert, French colonist, b.
in Pont-a-Mousson in 1674; d. at sea in 1713. He
made several voyages as supercargo to Acadia and
Nova Scotia, and during his visits to these coun-
tries made a valuable collection of plants, which
were utilized by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in
his classification of the American flora. He also-
naturalized in Europe several new specimens of
shrubs. Having obtained a land grant in Acadia,
he began in 1710 a settlement forty-two mile&
north of Port Royal, which he named Perrinet, but
it had only a short existence, as its founder was
lost at sea during a voyage to Dieppe for the pur-
pose of forming a com pan v to develop his estate.
PERRIN DU LAC, Francois Marie, French administrator, b. in Chaux-de-Fonds in 1766; d. in Rarabouillet, Seine-et-Oise, 22 July, 1824. He entered the colonial administration in 1789, and was attached to the treasury department of Santo Domingo, took part in the rebellion of Cape Francais, fought under Mauduit du Plessis {q. v.) in the royal volunteers named Les Pompons blancs, and acted as secretary to the government commissioner that presided over the debates of the colonial assembly of St. Marc. In 1791 he accompanied Palissot de Beauvais to the United States to demand the help of congress against the negro insurgents, and remained in the country after the return of Palissot to Santo Domingo. Having obtained, through the influence of his cousin, a member of
the convention, the erasure of his name from the list of emigrants, he recovered his former estate. The war between England and France preventing his immediate return to his country, he travelled
through the United States and explored the southern and western states, visiting Louisiana, Missis-
