PERKINS FAMILY HISTORY (part 1 )

HUGH PERKINS STORY

My fascination with the life of Hugh Perkins began when I learned that the township I live in, in central Wisconsin, was originally named Perkins.  The township was created in 1874.  Hugh, an early settler, had been involved in a local murder in this township in the 1880’s.  In 1876 the township name was changed from Perkins to Sherwood Forest, then shortened to Sherwood in 1900.  Sherwood is located in the southeastern corner of Clark County in central Wisconsin.

Hugh Perkins was born July 27, 1843, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Daniel Chapman Perkins and Margaret (Corbit) Perkins.  Mr. Daniel Perkins was born in Chittenden County, Vermont, and Mrs. Margaret Perkins immigrated from Scotland or Ireland.  They were married in 1831 and moved to Wisconsin in 1836.  The 1850 Federal Census lists the Perkins family living in Marquette County, Wisconsin, Indian Sands Township.  In 1860 Chapman (as he was often called) and Margaret, along with their children Jane, Hugh, Martha, Sedate, and Della, were living in Waushara County, WI, Town of Leon.  They were a farm family with real estate valued at $1,000.  In 1870, Chapman and Margaret were still living in the Town of Leon with their younger children and Hugh was no longer with them.

Hugh served out his term in the Civil War as a Private with Company I, of the 7^th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.  The 7^th Wisconsin, dubbed  “Huckleberries”, was ordered into Camp Randall during the last week of August 1861.  They joined forces in battle with the 2^nd and the 6^th Wisconsin Infantry, the 19^th Indiana, the 24^th Michigan and Battery B of the 4^th U.S. Artillery, later nicknamed the famous Iron Brigade.  The 7^th Wisconsin fought at Antietam, Gettysburg, and many other battles.  Perkins was discharged as a Private on July 21^st, 1865.  He served 3 years 11 months with the same infantry until the close of the war.   It is not known if Hugh Perkins suffered injuries or disease during his service, but he did apply for a pension many years after his discharge.

The 1875 Wisconsin State Census lists two Perkins men as “Heads of Families” for the Perkins (Sherwood) Township in Clark County, WI, and Hugh was one of them.  He had a wife named Matilda and two daughters at this time.

Mr. Perkins operated a sawmill in Sections 27 and or 26 and resided in Section 26 with his family.  He obviously must have had a hand in the town’s creation in 1874 giving it his surname.  Only two years later, in August of 1876, a petition was presented to the Clark County Board signed by citizens of the Town of Perkins “praying” that the town’s name be changed to Sherwood Forest.  The petition was granted.  It is not known why the name was changed.  The story is that Elizabeth LaFlesh, wife of resident lumberman Thomas J. LaFlesh, suggested the name as the area reminded her of her homeland in England.

Farming was the occupation of Hugh Perkins, as it was for most of the early settlers here.  On the 1879 Personal Property Assessment Roll for School District #2, Town of Sherwood Forest, he owned four neat* cattle, two sheep and one swine, with a total value of $72.00.  (This was an average amount of livestock owned by farmers in the township.)  Also listed on this assessment were Minor S. Perkins (believed to be Hugh’s younger brother) and D. C. Perkins (believed to be Hugh’s father).  Interesting accounts of each of these men will be told at the conclusion of this article.

In June of 1880, Hugh and his wife, Matilda, sold 1 acre of land from Section 26 for $5.00 to School District #2 in Sherwood Forest Township.  This one room country school built on this property was known as Dewhurst and operated until the spring of 1945.  The school building was then sold, moved, and used for a residence.

The 1880 Federal Census for Sherwood Forest Township, Clark County, lists Hugh Perkins as a 37-year-old farmer with his wife Matilda, age 27.  Their children were Clara, 8, Alice, 6, and Maggie, aged 2.

On a Saturday morning, May 31, 1884, an incident occurred in Sherwood Forest that would change the course of Hugh Perkins’ life forever.  At Hugh’s steam sawmill, a neighbor who was employed there named Isaac Meddaugh, came with his brother Robert to load up a wagon with lumber.  When Isaac went into the mill to fetch Hugh to measure the load, Hugh told him to get out and that he didn’t want to get into another argument.  At the same time Hugh pulled a revolver and shot Isaac in the chest, also firing another shot at Robert but missing him.  Isaac fell to the ground and died within ten or fifteen minutes.  Apparently Hugh and Isaac got into a verbal disagreement the previous day about some neighborhood gossip.  The talk was that Isaac had hired a neighbor boy to watch Perkins.  It is thought that Hugh had a fancy for Isaac’s wife or vice versa.  Isaac’s wife, Jane, and two small children survived him.  Later, Jane Meddaugh married Isaac’s brother Mark.  In her later years she went to live in the Bancroft area with her son John, from her marriage with Isaac.  Jane is buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery in Bancroft, WI.

Hugh gave himself up to the Town Constable, C. S. Stockwell, not long after the incident.  Stockwell brought him in to Neillsville, Wis., to the Clark County Jail.  Perkins was charged with murder, but claimed self-defense.  He was to be incarcerated until the next circuit court date the following December.  Several months later, in November of 1884 on Election Day in Neillsville, the town was bustling with excitement.  Three prisoners took advantage of the distraction and broke free from the jail after clubbing the turnkey*.  Hugh Perkins was among the escapees, the others being a fellow named Martin and George Morrison.  Martin was being held for murder also, while Morrison was being held for horse stealing.  Here is the description given for Perkins in the local newspaper –“about 40 years old, about 5 feet and 8 inches tall, light complexion, black hair and blue eyes.”

Hugh was able to maintain his freedom for almost four years.  In October of 1888 he was apprehended at Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and returned to the Clark County Jail in Neillsville by Sheriff Dwyer.  The reason for Hugh’s capture was that a year previous to this he had applied for a Civil War pension.  The pension application gave his whereabouts and led detectives onto his trail.  With Hugh’s return, all the escapees from Neillsville that day in 1884 had been recaptured.  The other two men were already serving their time at the Waupun State Prison in Wisconsin.  

On January 30, 1889, Hugh, while awaiting trial, was released under a bail of $6,000.  It is unclear how Hugh could have raised this sum of cash.  (Circuit court was held twice per year, generally June and December.)

Shortly before the trial finally occurred in June of 1889, both a captain and a lieutenant of Hugh’s old company were interviewed at Neillsville concerning the case.  On June 22, 1889, Perkins was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree.  Within one week Hugh was granted a new trial on grounds that one of the jurors, prior to the trial, had expressed his opinion.  The juror stated that he felt Hugh was guilty and that he wished to be on the jury.   This allowed Hugh to continue to remain at large until a new trial came up at the next regular term of circuit court in December of 1889.

Mention was made in a local newspaper that in September of 1889; Perkins killed a black bear and brought it to town. (Perhaps to sell the meat.)  It was a small bear weighing a little over 100 pounds.

In December when Circuit Court reoccurred, Hugh was retried and his charge was reduced from manslaughter in the first degree to manslaughter in the second degree.  A motion for a new trial was overruled, but a leave was granted to renew the motion at any time.  He was sentenced to five years in  the state prison where he was taken and locked up for about one year.  During this year the case was taken to the Supreme Court on appeal and the conviction was reversed with a third trial ordered on grounds of error in the ruling of the court on the admission of certain testimony.  Hugh was released on bail from the state prison and on June 12, 1891, he became a free man.  The judge recommended a nolle prosequi.  The prosecution was discontinued because it was felt that the law as interpreted by the Supreme Court would not uphold a conviction.  The Neillsville Republican Press editor at the time felt that Mr. Perkins year of imprisonment, agony of awaiting trials, and fear of being caught during his four years as a fugitive were probably sufficient punishment to fit the crime committed.  The entire expense to Clark County during the duration of Hugh’s case was estimated to be greater than $3,500.  

The date at which Hugh left Clark County, Wisconsin is unclear.  It is also unknown what became of his wife, Matilda, and four daughters.  (A fourth daughter was born between the 1880 Census and the time that the murder occurred in 1884.)

Perkins ended up many miles from home, perhaps to make a new start in life.  Records show he was residing in Osceola County, Florida, at St. Cloud, with a wife named Josephine in 1924.  In March of 1924, according to the G.A.R. roster, Hugh joined the L. Mitchell Post in St. Cloud.  In the voter registration book for District #4 of St. Cloud, in October of 1924, Hugh was listed as 82 years old and retired.   His wife, Josephine, was 65 years old at this time.

Hugh Perkins died at St. Cloud, Florida on April 27, 1930.  He was 86 years old and was survived by his wife Josephine (Josie).  The whereabouts of the children from his former marriage at the time of his death are unknown.  Hugh was buried in Section A, Lot 54, Block A, at the Mt. Peace Cemetery in St. Cloud, Florida.  A veteran’s stone marks his gravesite today, which reads, “HUGH C. PERKINS – CO.I – 7 WIS. INF”.  A true mystery remains in that Hugh Perkins also has a gravestone in Sherwood Township Cemetery in Clark County, Wisconsin.  It simply reads, “HUGH PERKINS – PVT. 7 WIS. INF.” and appears to be a veteran type stone.  Next to it, directly ahead of the stone, is a similar flat stone inscribed,  “UNKNOWN U.S. SOLDIER”.  The stones seem to be of the same vintage and no one in the township as of yet can recall the story of why these stones were placed there.  My theory will be given in the Daniel Chapman Perkins story to follow.  

In conclusion it appears that Hugh’s life, in its latter stages, wasn’t so out of the ordinary.  He was an active member of the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) Post in St. Cloud for several years prior to his death.  His wife, Josephine, submitted a “Card of Thanks” to the St. Cloud Tribune following Hugh’s death.  She thanked everyone for the beautiful flowers, the singers, the G.A.R. boys, the W.R.C. and the Daughters for attending the funeral.  Mrs., Josephine Perkins was still listed in the 1939-40 St. Cloud, Florida, City Directory.  It is not known when she died.  

*neat- (as in cattle) – pertaining to cattle, such as oxen or cows, distinguishing them from horses, sheep, and goats.

*turnkey – a warder or jailer of a prison.

JUST A DREAM

In my bed I’m asleep and awake and asleep

And envision myself as a child all alone

Trying to find my way down the street

Afraid and so far away from my home.

Under a stairway outside a brick house

Lays a cat sound asleep on the sand.

He jolts as he wakes and meows out at me

And I reach for him with my right hand.

He comes to my side with his tail in the air

Smells my coat, rubs his face against mine.

I stroke his neck and the top of his head

And he flops down in the sunshine.

I’m alone, all alone in my dream as I sleep

And the sun sets and leaves me in darkness

Just me by myself in my dream in the dark

'Til I wake in my bed feeling helpless.

Once again I’m awake then asleep then awake

And I dream of that cat in the street

He is there with his tail and his purr and his eyes

But he scats and we ne’er again meet.

Me and the cat, me all alone

Me in my bed, awake then asleep

Time to get up and forget about my dream

Time to return to the real world again.