San
Joaquin County
Biographies
HENRY PERRIN
The story of the progress and
success of Henry Perrin, a prosperous viticulturist living in Lodi, San Joaquin
County, California, who has continuously resided in that district for the past
twenty years, is interesting and shows what may be accomplished by close
application to business, industry and well directed intelligence. He was born in the Province of Quebec,
Canada, on March 12, 1864, and was there reared and educated. When he reached the age of thirteen years,
the spirit of adventure had so taken a hold on him that he went to that wild,
unsettled country of North Dakota, where there were few white men and many
Indians. He took up a squatter’s right
to a piece of land and was compelled to file his claim to the land twice, as
the first time he was not of age. Upon
receiving his title to the land, he set about improving it, planting it to
grain and from time to time adding to his holding until he had acquired 440
acres of fine prairie land; and when he disposed of it, his ranch was among the
best improved in the state. Mr. Perrin’s
first visit to California was in 1902; he traveled all over the state looking
for a location that suited him and the last place he visited was Lodi, which
proved to be the place he was looking for.
He returned to Idaho where he had resided for two years, and with his
family settled in Lodi. Later his
brother Jules came to Lodi and they entered into partnership for the purpose of
manufacturing cement blocks for building purposes, under the firm name of
Perrin Bros., continuing the business until 1919 when our subject sold his
interest to his brother and retired from active business cares. The Perrin Bros. manufactured the Miracle
concrete building blocks, which have become so useful for building purposes;
the many buildings and residences throughout the city and county testify to the
durability and stableness of the cement building block. Following are some of the buildings erected
by them, the building of the Lodi Canning Company, the Tokay City garage,
Buchanan’s Sanitarium, the Ford garage, Lodi Hardware Company’s block; they
also erected the hotel at Ione, a garage at Sonora, a store building at
Groveland, a store building at Tracy, a garage at Madera, several blocks in
Stockton and a business block in Galt, the Forest Lake school house, a garage
at Clements, and a residence on the Curry ranch.
For the past sixteen years, Mr.
Perrin has devoted his time and attention to the growing of grapes in the Lodi
district and has bought and sold a number of fine vineyards. At the present time his holdings consist of
two vineyards, one of forty acres on the Walnut Grove Road and the other thirty
acres on the Brack tract, a twenty-acre vineyard located near Youngstown, for
which he paid $900 per acre and has refused $2000 per acre; and thirty acres on
the Terminus Road.
The marriage of Mr. Perrin on April
19, 1891, in Dunseith, North Dakota, united him with Miss Mary Cota, a native of Massachusetts; and they are the parents
of twelve children: Dena is the wife of
A. Bilbeau, Louis married Miss Mary Bround, Joseph H. married Miss Philomine
Soucie, Lillian is Mrs. Fred Round, Mae is the wife
of Henry Pleau, Lloyd married Miss Lillian
Waters. The others are: Anna, Josephine, Walter, Laura, Elton and
Lucretia. Louis, Lloyd, Joseph and Mr. Pleau, son-in-law, have charge of the vineyards. Fraternally he is a member of the Eagles,
Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Neighbors. Mr. Perrin’s success has come entirely
through his own efforts and he has ever maintained a keen interest in
everything that pertains to the general welfare.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1263. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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