Perkins, John, 1819-1885

John Perkins, cotton planter and lawyer of Somerset Plantation, Ashwood, La., was appointed judge of the Circuit Court for Madison Parish in 1851; served as Democratic representative from Louisiana in the U.S. Congress, 1853-1855; represented Madison Parish in the permanent Confederate Congress at Richmond, Va., 1862-1865; and emigrated to Mexico in 1865 where he worked as a colonization agent. In 1866, Perkins moved to Paris and thereafter travelled extensively in Europe and in Canada before returning to the United States in 1878.

John Perkins (1819-1885), a Louisiana planter and lawyer, was born in Natchez, Mississippi, 1 July 1819. His parents were Mary Bynum Perkins and John Perkins, Sr. (fl. 1819-1867). Perkins was educated by private tutors and graduated from Yale College in 1840 and Harvard Law School in 1842. Admitted to the bar in 1843, he practiced law in New Orleans for four years. He relinquished his law practice to become a cotton planter. He resided at Somerset Plantation, Ashwood, Louisiana. He apparently owned a cottage at White Sulphur Springs in Virginia.

Active in local politics, Perkins was appointed judge of the Circuit Court for Madison Parish in 1851. Perkins served as Democratic representative from Louisiana to the United States Congress in 1853-1855. As chairman of the state secession convention in 1861, Perkins wrote Louisiana's secession ordinance. In the provisional Confederate Congress, Perkins served on the Printing and Foreign Affairs Committees and assisted in drafting the Constitution. He also represented Madison Parish in the permanent Confederate Congress at Richmond in 1862-1865. He generally supported the administration, and served on the Foreign Affairs, Rules, Ways and Means, and Commerce Committees.

In 1865, Perkins migrated to Mexico, where he was made colonization agent. In 1866 he moved to Paris and thereafter travelled extensively in Europe and in Canada. He returned to the United States in 1878. Perkins died in Baltimore, Maryland, 28 November 1885.