On the 11th of February, 1858, Mr. Young married Miss Margaret McNaught, daughter of Mr. John McNaught, of Brantford.
Mr. Perry's name is not widely known to the present generation of Canadians; to such of them, at least, as reside beyond the limits of the district in which the busiest years of his life were passed. Students of our history are familiar with the most salient passages in his public life, and regard his memory with respect, for he was a genuine man, who did good service to the cause of constitutional government. A few of his old colleagues are still among us, and can remember his vigorous, earnest eloquence when any conspicuous occasion called it forth. For the general public, however, nothing of him survives except his name. This partial oblivion is one of the "revenges" wrought by "the whirligig of time." From forty to fifty years ago there was no name better known throughout the whole of Upper Canada; and, in Reform constituencies, there was no name more potent wherewith to conjure during an election campaign. Peter Perry was closely identified with the original formation of the Reform Party in Upper Canada, and for more than a quarter of a century he continued to be one of its foremost members. During the last ten or twelve years of his life he was to some extent overshadowed by the figure of Robert Baldwin, whose lofty character, unselfish aims, and high social position combined to place him on a sort of pedestal. But Peter Perry continued to the very last to be an important factor in the ranks of his Party. He was a man of extreme opinions, and was never slow to express them. The exigencies of the times were favourable to strong beliefs. The politician who halted between two opinions in those days was tolerably certain to share the fate of the old man in the fable, who in trying to please everybody succeeded in pleasing nobody. Peter Perry stood in no danger of such a doom. He made a good many enemies by his plain speaking, but he was likewise rich in friends, and could generally hold his own with the best. He was implicitly trusted by his own Party, and was always ready to fight its battles, whether within the walls of Parliament or without.
He was a native Upper Canadian, and was born at Ernestown, about fifteen miles from Kingston, in the year 1793, during the early part of Governor Simcoe's Administration. His father, Robert Perry, was a U. E. Loyalist, who came over from the State of New York a few years before this time, and settled near the foot of the Bay of Quinté. Robert Perry was a farmer, well known in that district for his enterprise, public spirit, and devotion to his principles. He died just before the consummation of the Union of the Provinces. His son was brought up to farming pursuits, and early had to struggle with the many difficulties which beset the path of the founders of Upper Canada. The only means of tuition for boys in the rural districts in those days were the public schools, and throughout his life the subject of this sketch laboured under the disadvantages inseparable from an imperfect educational training. He grew up to manhood with little knowledge derived from books, and continued to devote himself to agricultural pursuits until he had reached middle life. When he was only twenty-one years of age he married Miss Mary Ham, the daughter of a U. E. Loyalist of that neighbourhood. This lady, by whom he had a numerous family, is still living, and has reached the advanced age of eighty-five years. Mr. John Ham Perry, who long held the position of Registrar of the county of Ontario, is one of the fruits of this marriage.