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Mrs Charles B Perry, aka Frances McNair


Charles B Perry | Wauwatosa, WI | Husband to Frances de Lancy McNair Perry

Finding Frances...

Yesterday I shared that I came across Frances de Lancy McNair's name for the first time, and it was a surprise because I had not seen earlier documentation, and she is not buried in the family plot at Greenwood Cemetery 
However...
Today I discovered that indeed Frances de Lancy McNair is daughter to Miles M. and Elizabeth R. Melendy McNair!

Frances is not buried in the family plot, as she lays in eternal rest at the Wauwatosa Cemetery, northeast of Brodhead.

Frances was born in 1862, and went on to marry a notable politician ...Charles B. Perry. 

After studying for a year at Yale, Charles finished his law degree at the University of Wisconsin. Charles was Wauwatosa city attorney for a decade, served as mayor of the village of Wauwatosa until 1916, and served as speaker of the state legislature for multiple years. 

Frances and Charles had six children, and at the time of Charle's death in 1940, he was survived by three of them: C. Stanley Perry, assistant corporation counsel of Milwaukee county, Eugene M. Perry, a Milwaukee insurance man, and their daughter, Marion.

Frances passed away fourteen years earlier than Charles, in 1926.

Much ado About Charles...

As in many cases of history, there is far more information available on Charles, as he was a prominent attorney and Wisconsin legislator. I have only found a bit about Frances for now, but here is an initial treasure trove about Charles.


Daughters of the American Revolution...

I did find Frances listed in the 1904 Daughters of the American Revolution's (DAR) Directory of Chapters, Officers and Members. 

A bit about the DAR: 
"DAR chapters treasured their Real Daughters. Several chapters, without direction from a state society or the National Society, created 'pensions' for Real Daughters living in poverty. In some cases these pensions were a Real Daughter’s only source of income. Upon hearing this disturbing news, many officers and members of the National Society also took up the cause of supporting these overlooked women and began petitioning the United States government to provide pensions for Real Daughters. At the Ninth Continental Congress in 1900, Corresponding Secretary General Kate Kearney Henry read the names of seven Real Daughters who were to receive U.S. pensions, but questioned 'why the rest are not entitled to the same bounty at the hands of this Government.' While many DAR members continued their efforts to persuade government officials to secure more pensions for Real Daughters, there was never a comprehensive federal ruling. But the DAR persisted in collecting money for its own contributions. During her final report at Congress in 1901, Mrs. Henry again broached the subject of pensions..."

Frances & Charles' Historic Home...

Frances and Charles ultimately built their own historic home at 7208 Milwaukee Avenue in Wauwatosa in 1910 (14 years after Sunnyside was built). Their home is a Queen Anne, balloon frame structural system, with a clapboard  exterior. 

An Abbreviated Timeline for Frances de Lancy McNair Perry...

1862 ... birth of Frances McNair
1887 ... marriage to Charles B. Perry
1904 ... listed in the Daughters of the American Revolution Directory
1910 ... Elizabeth R. McNair (Frances' mother) passed away at Frances' residence (more coming on this)
1926 ... death of Frances McNair Perry

Frances' Introduction...

And this is an initial introduction to Frances :)

...looking forward to finding more about her, her family, and interesting aspects of her life during the turn of the century.

Sources 


*as Lap of Legends documents ongoing research, please utilize the post "tags" for the most recent and accurate information 

 
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