Perry Family History · Documentary research · 2026
The Perry Lands: A Family on the Lower Brazos
The old Texas maps show more than a collection of pioneers. They place Daniel Perry III, his brother James Perry, the Whiteheads, Mortons, Fitzgeralds, Fenns and Shipmans within an interrelated landscape of neighboring land grants, marriages, inheritance, and later property divisions.
Hubert L. Perry's historical map identifies Daniel Perry (no. 5), James Perry (no. 27), Edward P. Whitehead (no. 25), James Knight and Walter C. White (no. 23), David Fitzgerald (no. 4), William Morton (no. 21), Churchill Fulshear (no. 31), and Moses Shipman (no. 7). Hubert wrote that Edward P. Whitehead's quarter league adjoined James Perry's land. The exact genealogical connection between Edward and Daniel's wife Eliza J. Whitehead remains unproved.
James Perry's original December 1832 grant of one league on Davidson Creek—now identifiable as Burleson County Abstract 44, roughly 4,428 acres—appears in the original Mexican General Land Office grant packet, SC 13:29. Hubert identifies James as Daniel's brother; the grant proves the land transaction, while independent sibling proof remains a separate question.
Read Hubert’s complete original numbered key (p.118) ↗
From the Fitzgerald League to the Perry Place
Louisa Morton Perry's Fitzgerald-derived quarter-league interest arose through the Fitzgerald–Morton land exchange and the Morton family division of 1836. That portion was not identical to David Fitzgerald's entire original league. Daniel's separate 1866 will, 1869 gift deed, later heirs' partitions, and Jane Hogue Hamblen Perry's 1876 sale to John R. Fenn trace different portions and owners across generations.
The recorded 1869 deed conveyed 450 acres to Jane—overlapping the will's 400-acre provision, plus 50 more—not 900 acres. Daniel's 1866 will separately assigned a 1,000-acre Birch Creek tract to James Whitehead Perry and 500 adjoining acres to Laura Ann. A sworn 1907 affidavit also records James Whitehead Perry's 1874 Fort Bend conveyance to Lipman Dinkins. Read these parcels and transactions separately rather than adding them together.
Daniel also acquired separate Battle League tracts of 186 and 280 acres in 1837 and sold them in 1847 (Hubert, printed p.119). These transactions are distinct from the Morton inheritance and the Birch Creek headright.
How to read the colored maps: Highlights locate named surveys, historically associated households, inherited interests and documented later transactions. They do not assert that the entire highlighted league was ever Perry-owned, establish a current owner, or give legal access to the historic burial ground.
Still unresolved: Fort Bend Abstract 299 appears as James Perry in recent county exhibits and Charles Perry in an older dossier. Its original grantee and any connection to Daniel’s brother are not established. The original 1874 Book J:646 deed remains a specific image-retrieval target; the 1907 affidavit’s reference to it is corroboration, not a substitute for reading that deed.
Open the full-resolution five-sheet annotated atlas ↗
Sources: Hubert L. Perry, The Family Tree of Daniel Perry, 1704–1970, printed pp. 105–120, 143–146, archived scan; Fort Bend original deeds and probate packet; unmarked historical maps and print masters; annotated research atlas.