John Jasiel Perry (August 2, 1811 – May 2, 1897) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Born in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

, Perry moved with his parents to Hebron (now

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

), Maine, in 1812. He attended the common schools and Maine Wesleyan Seminary. During one of his school terms in Hebron his teacher was future President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

. He became deputy sheriff of Oxford County and served as member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

in 1840, 1842, 1843, and 1872. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1844, commencing practice in Oxford. He served as member of the

Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

in 1846 and 1847 and as clerk of the Maine House of Representatives in 1854. Perry was elected as an

Opposition Party In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of a city, region, state, coun ...

candidate to the 34th Congress (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1856. He was then elected as a Republican to the

36th Congress The 36th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859, ...

(March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1860. He served as member of the

Peace Conference of 1861 The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of 131 leading American politicians in February 1861, at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the American Civil War. The conference's purpose was to avoid, if possible, the secession of ...

, which was held in an effort to prevent the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was editor of the Oxford Democrat from 1860 to 1875 and extensively connected with newspapers, both in and out of the state, as correspondent. He served as member of the state executive council in 1866 and 1867. He moved to

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, in 1875 and engaged in the practice of his profession until his death in that city on May 2, 1897. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, John Jasiel 1811 births 1897 deaths Politicians from Portsmouth, New Hampshire Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Republican Party Maine state senators People from Oxford, Maine Maine sheriffs Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Portland, Maine) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature