Raymond Henry Jones Perry Papers

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Raymond Henry Jones Perry Papers
Date range:	1836-1959
Creator:	Perry, Raymond Henry Jones, 1836-1902
Extent:	1.75 linear feet (5 boxes)
Abstract:	This collection contains the papers of Raymond Henry Jones Perry. Perry was born in Bristol, Rhode Island in 1836 to parents James DeWolf Perry and Julia Sophia Jones. As an adult Perry had an active career as a farmer, soldier, and perhaps most importantly as U.S. commercial attaché in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic during the debate over U.S. annexation of the country.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 4

Scope & content

The papers of Raymond Perry have been divided into four series: those dealing with Raymond Perry's life in the Military, those involving his personal life, and those concerning his position as U.S. Commercial Agent to Santa Domingo during the Ulysses S. Grant Administration. The final series contains copies and transcriptions of information within the first three series, as well as some other research materials.

Series I, Military, 1861-1869, contains various commissions, assignments to and releases from various duties, letters from Major General Phil Sheridan, and a diary relating the accounts of killings of freed African-Americans by white men in Texas.

Series II, Personal, 1814-1908, contains family correspondence, letters of character reference and documents relating to the settlement of his estate in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Series III, Santa Domingo, 1863-1899, contains copies (and some originals) of letters from Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, and M.M.Gautier, Minister of Foreign Relations, as well as other documents related to Perry's position as U.S. Commercial Agent to Santa Domingo during the attempted annexation to the United States as a territory.

Series IV, Research Materials, 1867-1959, contains copies and transcriptions of documents in Series I-III. It also contains miscellaneous research notes and photocopies from books, some of which are in the Rhode Island collection.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into four series as follows:

• 1. Military
• 2. Personal
• 3. Santa Domingo
• 4. Research Materials

Biographical note

Raymond Henry Jones Perry was born on October 2, 1836, son of James DeWolf Perry and Julia Sophia Jones. Up until 1861 he spent many years farming the family property in Bristol, Rhode Island.

He led a very active life in the military, serving from 1858 to 1870 in various capacities under various men. In 1858 he was an officer at sea, making several voyages to China and California. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in the army and in 1865 became an officer in command of Artillery and Cavalry. After the Civil War he served with Major General Phil Sheridan in New Orleans, Texas and Mexico. In 1866 he was appointed Chief of Police of Galveston, Texas. In the next two years he was Chief of Indian and Mexican scouts in Mexico, Texas and Kansas under General Sheridan.

In 1869 Perry was appointed Consul and U.S. Commercial Agent in Santa Domingo. His duties were to act as U.S. representative between President Baez of Santa Domingo and President Grant of the United States in the signing of the Treaty of Annexation of the Island of Santa Domingo and in leasing the Samana Bay or a U.S. Naval Station.

Perry was somewhat hot-headed and reactionary. His words to President Grant in 1869 are exemplary of his character and outlook: "When you have any rough work to do that requires nerve and activity and a man that will do his duty regardless of anything or anybody, I can do it and am ready anytime to undertake it." He was an honest man who felt obliged to perform his duty for his country without personal gain.

It was because of his brazen character that some questioned the appropriateness of his appointment to such a delicate post. And it was due, in large part, to his extreme honesty of character that the treaty for the annexation of Santa Domingo was not signed. Characteristic of the Grant Administration in general, the annexation attempt was deeply involved in corruption on the part of many of the principals. Perry, finding this out, revealed the facts to the U.S. Senate, which was split over annexation, because of racist attitudes toward the black population in Santa Domingo.

Efforts to silence Perry included an attempted extradition to Texas on false charges and, this failing, an attempted kidnapping. This corruption, along with the confinement in Santa Domingo of Davis Hatch (an agent of a salt mining company who opposed annexation) led the Senate to oppose ratification, 28-28, with 16 abstentions. A written account of the historical details on the annexation and Perry's involvement in it appears in Hamilton Fish : The Inner History of the Grant Administration, by Allan Nevins (E664 F52 N44).

After his termination as U.S. Commercial Agent, Perry was commissioned as Brigadier General of the Fifth Brigade of the Rhode Island Militia on March 23, 1871, which commission he resigned on June 13, 1871. He then retired to Rhode Island to farm and raise animals until his death in 1902.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Raymond Henry Jones Perry Papers, Mss. Gr. 4, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	No acquistions information is available.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by David C. Maslyn.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Hailie D. Posey 2009 July 01, updated by Erin C. Mullen on 2013 March 13, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 14
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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Inventory