Edward Martineau Perine facts for kids
Edward Martineau Perine (born July 31, 1809 – died June 5, 1905) was an important merchant and plantation owner in Cahaba, Alabama. He was born in Southfield, Staten Island, New York. Edward Perine moved to Cahaba in the early 1830s.
He became a very successful businessman. People liked him a lot. A writer named Anna M. Gayle Fry called him "a merchant prince" and a "Northern gentleman" who was "universally beloved." After the American Civil War, his business was ruined, and he lost almost everything.
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Edward Perine's Businesses
Edward Perine started his first business in 1832. He partnered with Thomas Moreng and Richard Conner Crocheron in a company called Thomas Moreng and Company. Their store was in Cahaba, across from Bell's Hotel.
After Moreng passed away in 1835, the business changed. It became Perine and Crocheron. Later, in 1850, Perine bought out Crocheron's share. He then sold his store in 1853 to Samuel M. Hill and John R. Sommerville.
But Perine didn't stay out of business for long! In 1856, he partnered with Sommerville in a new company, E. M. Perine and Company. This partnership ended in 1858. By 1860, Perine was in business again, this time with a partner named Hunter.
Family Life
Edward Perine was married twice. His first wife was Mary Eliza Snow (1816–1838) from Providence, Rhode Island. They married on September 13, 1836. Sadly, Mary Eliza died in Cahaba in 1838 after giving birth to their only child, Mary Eliza Perine (born 1838).
His daughter, Mary Eliza Perine Tucker, later wrote about how much she loved and admired her father. She said he was everything to her, like a mother, father, sister, and brother.
Perine's second marriage was to Frances E. "Fannie" Hunter (1825 - 1910). She was from Sparta, Alabama. They married on August 6, 1846. Edward and Fannie had four daughters:
- Sarah Hunter "Sally" Perine (1848-1864)
- Addra A. Perine (1849-1905)
- Frances Hunter "Fannie" Perine (1852-1855)
- Anna Hunter Perine (born 1858)
The Perine Mansion
In 1856, Edward Perine bought a brick factory building in Cahaba. He hired an architect named John G. Snediker to turn it into a huge, fancy home. The new mansion had two stories and twenty-six rooms!
The first floor had two large living rooms, a dining room, a sitting room, and a library. The second floor had bedrooms and nurseries for the children. There was also a separate part of the house with a kitchen, laundry room, and servants' quarters.
Special Features of the Mansion
The Perine Mansion had some amazing features for its time. Outside, there was a greenhouse for plants and areas for growing grapes. It also had a special well called an artesian well. This well was thought to be the deepest in the world back then, at 900 feet deep.
Water from this well flowed into a large basin and then through channels in the grounds. Water was also pumped into the mansion through pipes. This made the Perine Mansion the first home in Alabama to have a type of air conditioning!
Later Life and Death
Edward Martineau Perine passed away on June 5, 1892. He was buried at the Presbyterian Cemetery in Pleasant Hill, Alabama. His wife, Frances E. "Fannie" Hunter Perine, died later on April 4, 1910, and was buried next to him.
Images for kids
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Perine Mansion Ruins.
