Jesse P. Perham
In Memory Of
Jesse P. Perham
Native of Connecticut
Died of Yellow Fever
Aug. 20, 1867
In Corpus Christi, Where
He Came to Serve His
Fellow Men As Pastor
Erected by
Perham Chapter No. 91 R.A.M.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales
1. Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1867
2. Obituary
The death of Rev. J.P. Perham, of yellow fever, at Corpus Christi, is one of the saddest calamities which has befallen that place. Mr. Perham, was a man of decided ability, and beyond all question was one of the most powerful and eloquent speakers in Western, Texas. And it may with propriety be questioned whether he had a superior anywhere. He possessed a most expansive intellect, and when taken all in all, was about the best specimen of a self-made man on the continent. We have listened to many public men, but never have we been more entertained than when listening to the voice of Rev. J. P. Perham. With the exception of Stephen A. Douglas we regarded Mr. Perham as fully a match for any public speaker we ever listened to. As evidence of Mr. Perham's forensic power, we quote the statement of Senator Danl. E. Watrous, of Alabama, brother to Judge John C. Watrous. Senator Watrous said that, "he regarded Mr. Perham as the most captivating speaker to whom he had ever listened." But Mr. Perham's power was not felt so much when he was in the pulpit, as when he addressed mass meetings. Mr. Perham was from one of the New England States. He first settled in Alabama, where he was when the subject of internal improvement, and especially that of railroading, was mooted in that State. On those questions Mr. Perham took the stump. Wherever he went, wherever he was advertised to speak, which was always in favor of improvement, the whole people turned out to hear him. On even dry improvement questions, he raised a furore, never before witnessed in Alabama. The ablest men of that State listened to him, and were enraptured by his simple, his profound, his really irresistible eloquence. But as we said Mr. Perham was not in his element, when in the pulpit. When there he was cramped, and his remarkable powers narrowed to prescribed limits. His soul was in the cause of religion and it appeared to us that he preached from duty. But even in that capacity he was among the most entertaining of his profession. Mr. Perham, whilst in Alabama, engaged successfully in boring artesian wells; and when the State of Texas appropriated lands to aid in boring Artesian wells between the Nueces and Rio Grande, Mr. Perham came to Texas and vigorously undertook the work. But in this undertaking he failed entirely. He soon discovered that the expense of boring wells between the Nueces and Rio Grande would be several times greater than the value of lands donated. He abandoned the project after sinking a well near King's ranch several hundred feet deep. From that time he has resided in the vicinity of Corpus Christi; lecturing and preaching occasionally. During the war Mr. Perham delivered several very able and stirring addresses to the people, and clearly foreshadowed the consequences of a failure on the part of the South to maintain the position assumed. From the first he said slavery was doomed. "If," he once said, "the South does not immediately free her slaves, and use them for war purposes, the North will overcome her, and will abolish slavery, and turn the slaves against their masters. In any event negro slavery would be destroyed." Such were the prophetic words of Mr. Perham during the first year of the wonderful struggle. Mr. Perham's light, so to speak, had ever been under a bushel. This may be accounted for in various ways. He was not ambitious of distinction. He was a preacher, and therefore not the admiration of the voting rabble. He was a Northern man, and of course was not pushed forward by the Southerners. He was not a rich man, and had neither money, nor the ambition to spend it, for political aggrandizement and notoriety. He was pressed into running for the legislature once, but with all his great talents, failed often of an election, was beaten by a consolidated Mexican vote. When yellow fever broke out in Corpus Christi, over a month since, he was chosen President of the Howard Association. He was a man of splendid physical development, in the very prime of life, though a little past middle age. He labored day and night in the epidemic, and finally fell a victim to the terrible scourge. In this hasty notice, we have omitted to state that Mr. Perham was about the happiest man we ever knew. He was a perfect fund of merriment, wit and humour. Without the least condescension, he could come down to the plebeian standard of jocularity; and he took great pleasure in demonstrating that he could joke with the jovial, without soiling his clerical robes. Peace to his ashes.
Source: Daily Ranchero, Brownsville, Texas, September 1, 1867, Maltby & Kinney, Editors, Publishers, and Proprietors.
Transcription by: Rebecca Jones