The Perry family of Dublin, Laois (formerly Queen's County) and Kilkenny
Back to the Perry Family
There are further branches of the Irish Perrys in Dublin, Laois (formerly Queen's County) and Kilkenny. This family are well-known as violin makers. A branch of the Laois Perrys emigrated to America and there is speculation that this family is related to the Kilboy Perrys. We hope that DNA testing will prove or disprove this theory.
Thomas Perry was born sometime around 1745-50 and in 1766 he married Elizabeth Smyth. His name in the parish register is said to be de Pierray, which supports the theory put forward by several historians that he was of French Huguenot origin. He is said to have been related to the well-known French violin maker Claude Pierray. His father, also Thomas, opened a shop in Dublin in 1741 and died there in 1771 according to an obituary in the Faulkners Journal, which gives his surname as Pierrie. This Perry family are certainly connected to the Perry family of Laois. A James Perry of Ballymulroony, Laois is mentioned in deeds with Thomas Perry the younger. William Wilkinson, Perry's partner and son-in-law came from Cappakeel, the townland adjoining Ballymulroony. Historians have said that the first Perry of this line was Jacques Periez of Kilkenny. A James Perry was making violins in Kilkenny in the 1790s. We also know that one of the Laois Perrys, John Perry went to Canada and that one of his children was given the middle name Wilkinson. Thomas Perry the younger only had daughters: Elizabeth (Wilkinson), Margaret (Mahon), Sarah (White) and Anne (Murphy). In his will he does not name any sons so it is more likely that if we descend from this family at all, we come from another branch. So far, all we have are a few disjointed notes and theories and all of the above information has come from secondary sources. It is hoped that further research in Ireland will put a few more branches to this tree. |
Thanks to Andrew Fairfax for sharing his notes on the violin making Perrys with me. His book The British Violin: 400 Years of Violin Making in the British Isles written with Tim Baker and John Dilworth is available from the British Violin Making Association website
The most well-known member of this family is Thomas Perry of Dublin, whose violins sell today for thousands of pounds.We don't know a lot about this family yet as they are a new discovery to us. However, what we do know is set out below.