Perry Migration
Ohio to California

Since I started work on this page, I've heard from several Perry cousins whose existence was previously unknown to me. I learn something new every day from the many Perry researchers in our very extended family. Your comments are welcome!

In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, there was a great migration from East to West in the United States. People packed up and moved, especially to California, hoping to find better jobs, better climate, better land, or just some adventure. The migrants sometimes moved as whole family groups but sometimes, one or two family members would make the trek first, get settled, then help the relatives who had stayed in the East to come join them.

The Perry family seems to fall into both categories. Some came individually, while others came as an entire family group. Over a period of more than a half century, many of the descendants of John and Mary Ann (Smith) Perry left their homes in Ohio and went to California. Some of these moves West may have been in response to earlier moves by other family members and some may not. This page will attempt to chronicle the times and details of this Perry migration.

First of all, the following children, and their descendants, don't seem to have come to California, so I'll just mention their names before continuing on to the ones who did go West:

Of those who did travel to "the Golden State", I'll list them in their order of arrival and give some details:

So there you have it. Maybe somebody can fill in some of the blanks or correct my errors. While a lot of this study is based on official public documents, I never put 100% faith in any one source. A lot of what you've just read is my own guesswork. We can't be sure that there was any cause and effect relationship between one family moving to CA and another following them. There were a lot of people moving West from all over the U. S. A. in those days!


1 For more information on the Perry family's coming to California in about 1900, please read:
This page was last updated 3 Oct 2012.