William L. Perkins was born on October 17, 1832 in Ohio. In 1856 he moved to Omaha, Nebraska and the following year formed a partnership with David L. Shafer to supply beef to the Omaha Indians. In 1858 Perkins moved on to Denver, Colorado, where he engaged in mining until 1862 when the gold rush to Montana Territory began. Perkins and Shafer lived in the Virginia City area until after the Civil War when they both established ranches in Gallatin County. Perkins married Mary Elizabeth Stone on March 15, 1866 and in 1868 the couple moved to Bozeman where Perkins got a contract to supply beef to the Fort Ellis garrison. He also founded a lumber business, continued to dabble in mining, and also worked as a real estate agent. Elected to the territorial legislature in 1878, Perkins also served as a police magistrate in Bozeman and was commonly referred to as "Judge Perkins." He died on September 5, 1892.
From the guide to the William L. Perkins Ledger, 1870-1882, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)
