Stephen Henry Perry was born on August 12, 1795, in Chester, Windsor, Vermont, USA. His parents are Daniel Perry and Sallie Whitmore. The Perry family came from England during King Charles I's reign.
Stephen fell in love and married Rhoby Edwards on Apr. 12, 1816, in Sherburne, Rutland, Vermont, USA. Her family, too, had settled several generations before. They were the proud parents of seven children.
Members of the Methodist church, they converted to The Church of Latter-Day Saints during the 1830's. Stephen was baptized in 1834. He suffered from "the fits" for years, but during his confirmation, he was blessed that he would be released from this ailment. He never had it again.
Stephen and Rhoby moved their family to Nauvoo, Illinois, about 1843. They owned three lots in town. He was a member of the City Council in 1844 and was arrested with Joseph Smith in June, but released shortly thereafter.
In the fall of 1846, the Perry home and most of their belongings were destroyed by fire. They found refuge on the riverbank. On the second day, Stephen was able to kill a deer. Alonzo, their youngest, also found a French coin that day, and they were able to buy some cornmeal. They managed to get a wagon and team and provisions and headed for Winter Quarters. They lived in various settlements along the way including Farmington, Iowa; Mount Pisgah, Iowa; and Winter Quarters (Kanesville/Council Bluffs), Iowa. At each of these places they planted and then harvested crops to help the pioneers as they came West along the trail.
While in Winter Quarters, Rhoby and Sally Sylvia took ill. Sally died, and Stephen and Rhoby were left with her daughter, Mary Carter. They raised her to adulthood.
Their family did not leave Winter Quarters the first year with Brigham Young. When Pres. Young returned, he found the people impoverished. Birds, beasts and Indians had destroyed their crops. The Indians had also stolen and killed cattle and run off some of the horses. Twenty wagon loads of food were brought in to feed them through the winter. The next spring, they all left for Utah.
Stephen and Rhoby's family journeyed to Utah in June, 1850, with the James Pace Wagon Company. Well, most of them. William Howard had gone to California in 1849 to join "the gold rush," Sally had died in Mount Pisgah. Susan and Josiah's families had already left.There were 100 wagons in their company. The first part of their journey was the hardest. Cholera broke out in the company. Three or four died, but the Perry's were spared from sorrow at this time. They arrived in Salt Lake City on September 20, 1850. Immediately, they went north and settled in Bingham's Fort, which is just north of Ogden. Then they went to Lynn, which is now Five Points in Ogden, Utah (2nd South). They were among the first settlers of Slaterville, Utah. He was called as the Second Counselor of the Bishopric here.
After Rhoby passed away in 1865, Stephen was very sad and lonely. All of the children were living their own lives, and he missed memories of yonder years. So, he left Utah and went back to Kanesville, Iowa. There he remarried and joined the RLDS Church. He passed away peacefully on December 29, 1886, and is buried in the Galland's Grove Cemetery.
