Edward Perry, banker, railroad builder, and investor, was born on March 22, 1839, in Montréal, Québec, Canada. There he married Melanie Theotiste Brouiillet (1835–1915), another Montreal native, in the Notre Dame de Montreal in March 1859. The couple had eight sons and one daughter.  Five of these were daughter Melanie, and sons Adolphus Edward Perry (1867-1939), J. William "Will" Perry, Edward Joseph Perry (1860–1920), and H. T. V. Perry. Another son, Charles Ernest Perry, was born on March 5, 1874, and died on February 25, 1877. He is buried
in Oakwood Cemetery.

Another Denison resident in 1876-77 was Edward's son, attorney Joseph Perry, whose office was above Edward Perry's First National Bank. Joseph was an agent for the Denison Gas Light Company.  In 1876, Nellie Schutz, Gustine Straurent, and Antoine Anconnetti worked for Edward Perry. Joseph and William Perry both boarded with Mrs. J. R. Cook.

Edward's sister, Hannah Perry, married John Scullin (1836–1920) in 1859. They had five children and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. An experienced tracklayer, Scullin was contracted to build the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad from Leavenworth, Kansas, to Texas. Edward Perry was second in charge. After the road was completed in Kansas, Edward brought his family to Denison, Texas, while the road was constructing, as he was camping in the Indian Territory. The MK&T reached Denison on Christmas Eve of 1872.

The Perry family made Denison home for many years. By the time the 1876-77 City Directory came out, Scullin had returned to St. Louis. Both men had parallel avenues (streets running north and south) in Denison named for them.

Edward and Scullin founded the first bank in Denison, the First National Bank, located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Rusk Avenue. An advertisement in the Denison Daily News of April 5, 1874, listed Edward as the bank's cashier. The 1876-77 City Directory listed John Scullin as president, Edward Perry as vice president and acting cashier, William S. Lowe as teller, and William Perry as collector.

That same year, Edward was president of the North Texas Compress Company, at the corner of Sears Street and Lamar Avenue. It would be one of Denison's largest businesses.

Perry served as mayor of Denison in 1874-75. He built his first home at 300 North Houston Avenue. It was a commodious two-story house set on five acres and had a large cellar, cistern, wells, and stables. (He later built a duplicate for his family at 521 East Main Street.)

Edward Perry Home
300 North Houston Avenue.

Printed on front of photo: "First School of Sisters of St. Mary, 1876. The Old Perry Residence."
On back: "Perry Res: 101 W Gandy. Sister Eleanor, St. Xavier's Academy."
Collection of Grayson County Frontier Village.

In 1875, the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur purchased the Houston Avenue home from the Perrys, and, on January 24, 1876, it became the first location of St. Francis Xavier Academy, a girls' boarding and day school. In 1879 the sisters realized the need for larger quarters and built a substantial frame structure in the 300 block of Sears Street, near Rusk Avenue. After they had moved, the original Perry house burned in July 1880. Around 1885, Edward was a member of the American Horticultural Society, placing him in a local organization led by noted grape expert T. V. Munson.

The second house was a duplicate of the first, built after the first house was sold to the nuns.

This was a period when small railroads were being organized by Denison's early settlers. Scullin and Edward Perry were knowledgeable about such enterprises and led the way. Here are two examples of their efforts in this regard.

The Denison and Pacific Railway, according to the Handbook of Texas Online, was originally organized as several projects of Col. Robert S. Stevens, John Scullin, and Ben Munson. "It was chartered on April 24, 1878, to build from Denison to Belknap, Texas, about 150 miles. The capital was $1.5 million, and the business office was in Denison." Members of the first board of directors included Scullin and R. S. Stevens of St. Louis, Henry D. Mirick of Hamilton, Missouri, and R. C. Fister, Edward Perry, William H. Sanford, and Alexander W. Acheson of Denison. "In 1878-79, the company built 41.89 miles of track from Denison, the northern terminus, to Gainesville via Whitesboro. The line was abandoned in 1879, but on March 11, 1880, it was sold to the Denison and Southeastern Railway Company, which was renamed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Extension Railway Company on March 23, 1880. Subsequent consolidation made what was once the Denison and Pacific one of the earliest acquisitions of the Katy in its intrastate expansion program."

The Denison and Washita Valley Railway Company was chartered on January 8, 1886. In that year five miles of track was built in Texas from Warner Junction to Ray, and in 1895 two more miles of yard and side tracks were added. A second division of the company operated fifteen miles from Atoka to Coalgate, Indian Territory. An 1888 publication reported on the company's board: John Scullin, St. Louis, President; Ed. Perry, Vice-President; J. T. Munson, Treasurer; H. T. V. Perry, Secretary; Sam Hanna, J. B. McDougall, A. F. Platter, Sam Star, J. C. Feild, and A. R. Collins, board of directors. In 1895 the company owned one locomotive and 119 freight cars, and primarily served the coal mines in the Coalgate area. Edward Perry's son was prominent in this mining area. The railroad was owned by the Texas and Oklahoma Railroad Company, but was operated by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas until December 31, 1891. The Texas portion was then operated by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company of Texas until it was sold to that company on May 13, 1903.

Around 1888–90, according to the Sunday Gazetteer of January 9, 1927, Edward Perry built "four school buildings erected at the same time." The contract was awarded to Perry, "who had stepped from the cashiership of a local bank and entered a general contracting business." Each of the four buildings was located in one of the four wards. All four buildings were two stories, with four rooms on the first floor and four upstairs.

The 1891 City Directory listed four banks in Denison. Among these was the City Bank of Denison (presumably a branch of the Sherman City Bank), at 124 West Main. Edward Perry was listed as manager. In 1890, Patrick J. Brennan (1865–1925) moved from Montreal, Canada, to Denison to take the position of teller at the City Bank of Denison. As part of the established Irish community in Montreal, he must have had connections to Perry's family there. The City Bank officially consolidated with the National Bank of Denison on October 20, 1890, ushering in a new era in Denison banking.

Perry seems to have disengaged from banking at this point and devoted his attention to contracting. Thereafter, Edward Perry enhanced his reputation as a great builder who supplied the capital for many large enterprises in the Lone Star State. Edward died on December 29, 1918, in Medford, Jackson, Oregon. His wife Melanie died there in 1915.

Medford (Oregon) Mail Tribune
Monday, 30 December 1918
pg.4

EDWARD PERRY - Died, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. S. Melanie Herbert, 1013 South Oakdale avenue, Medford, Oregon.
Born in Montreal Canada, in 1839.
Survived by his sons, E. Joseph, Houston, Tex.; J. William, New York City; H.T. Victor and L. Claude, St. Louis, Mo.; A. Edward, Coalgate, Okla.; John, Kansas City, Mo.; Frank Medford, Oregon; and daughter, Mrs. S. Melanie Herbert; and thirteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at the Catholic church at 9 o'clock Tuesday morning, Dec. 31st, Rev. John Powers officiating.
Immediately after services the remains will be taken in charge by Weeks & Mcgowan, undertakers, to be prepared for removal to St. Louis, Mo., for burial, beside the remains of his late wife, in the family burial lot.  The remains will be accompanied to St. Louis by Mr. Frank Perry.