David L. Perry, Jr.

Submitted by Elizabeth Burns, Aug 2002

Douglas

Arizona, The Youngest State, S.J. Clark Publishing Co., 1913

David L. Perry Jr, a well known businessman of Douglas, identified with the firm of Saunders and Perry and with various representative business interests, is a man who by his own determined labor, enterprise and unfaltering resolution has worked his way upward from a position of poverty to one of responsibility and importance. He was born in Illinois in 1868, a son of David L. and Harriet (Andrews) Perry, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Ohio. They went as pioneers to Illinois and there the father engaged in business until his death. His wife has also passed away. In their family were five children: Lucy, the wife of Dr. H.H. Bascom of Illinois; Ida, who lives in Hinsdale, that state; Charles S. of Montana; David L. of this review; and Everett H., in the hotel business in Chariton, Iowa.

David L. Perry was reared in Illinois and acquired his education in the public schools of that state, attending until he was thirteen years of age. At that time he went to Kansas to make his home with his uncle on a ranch and he there lived for eight years, aiding in extensive agricultural pursuits. His marriage occurred there in 1886 and four years afterward he went to Albuquerque, New Mexico where he became identified with railroad work between that city and Williams Arizona. At the end of four years he removed to Winslow, Arizona but after two years identification with railroading there he returned to Albuquerque and worked for a time as a stationary engineer in connection with the electric light plant. He afterward became interested in the laundry business, building what is now known as the Imperial Steam Laundry and this enterprise he conducted for one year, disposing of it at the end of that time and resuming his engineering work. He worked in the mines at Bland, New Mexico and rose to the position of superintendent, a capacity in which he was acting when the mines were shut down and practically all business suspended.

Mr. Perry came to Douglas in 1900 when there were only a few scattered residences here and he was obliged to sleep for the first night on the floor of a barber shop. He obtained a position as clerk in a general merchandise store and held it for one year, later for eight months he dug ore pits near the smelter and then severed his connection with that company to become engineer for the Douglas improvement Company, winning rapid advancement to the position of chief engineer. This he resigned in 1904 and formed a partnership with Mr. Seaman under the firm name of Seaman and Perry they started in the hardware business on a very small scale. Their patronage grew rapidly and the business steadily expanded, becoming one of the largest of its kind in the city. In April 1914 Mr. Perry disposed of his interest to Mr. Seamon and removed to near Phoenix where he bought a ranch and remained until September 1914, when he returned to Douglas and in October following formed a partnership with Doc Saunders in the only exclusive paint and wall paper business in the city. He and his former partner, Mr. Seamon organized the Crystal Ice Company and Mr. Perry served as its president until they sold out in 1909 to the Douglas Improvement Company.

Mr. Perry was married March 19, 1886 to Miss Emma R. Rogers, a native of Canada and a daughter of Jonathan H. and Mary A. Rogers. In this family were four children: Annie S. who lives in Watertown South Dakota; Emma R. now Mrs. Perry; Jacob S., deceased and Elwood T. who is interested in mining in Globe Arizona.

Mr. and Mrs. Perry are the parents of four children: Lynn, Dee N., Olive H. and Elwood E. all attending the Douglas schools.

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