Philip Perry and Hellen Hubbard

St Dionis Backchurch

Philip Perry (b. 3 Oct 1710, bap. 22 Oct 1710 at St Mary Magdalene Woolwich, son of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming, married Hellen Hubbard at St Dionis Backchurch, on 20 Dec 1734 - the same church where Philip's sister, Elizabeth Perry married the following February. The record reads, "Philip Perry of the Parish of St Dunstan, Stepney in the County of Middlesex Batchelor & Hellen Hubbard of the same parish (Spinster) were married (by Licence) on Friday the 20th Day of December 1734." There are no clues as to why both couples chose to marry in this church.

Records suggest that the couple had three daughters:

1. Elizabeth Perry b. Friday, 7 Nov 1735, bap. 27 Nov 1735 (at 20 days old) at St Dunstan, Stepney. Elizabeth, daughter of Phil Perry of Pop[lar] & Hellen. She was buried on 20 Dec 1735. The record lists, "Elizabeth Perry of Pop[lar] to Poplar", indicating that she was more than likely buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).
2. Elizabeth Perry b. Saturday, 24 Jan 1736 (Julian) 1737 (Gregorian), bap. 22 Feb 1736 (Julian) 1737 (Gregorian) (at 29 days old) at St Dunstan, Stepney. The baptism record for this child also specifies, "Elizabeth, daughter of Phil Perry of Pop[lar] Shipwright & Hellen."
3. Susanna Perry b. Sunday, 8 Jul 1739, bap. 31 Jul 1739 (at 23 days old). "Susanna, daughter of Phil Perry of Pop[lar] Shipwright & Hellen."

Philip Perry died, aged 35, and was buried on 30 Mar 1746. In the parish registers of St Dunstan's, Stepney is the record of the burial of "Philip Perry of B.Wall at Poplar", indicating that he too was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church, built by the East India Company in 1654).

The only record of the birth of a Hellen Hubbard, around the relevant time, anywhere in the world - and it is with two LLs as it was upon marriage, as well as on the baptisms of all three of their daughters - is of a Hellen Hubbard b. 30 Jul 1701, bap. 3 Aug 1701 in Hardingham, Norfolk, the daughter of Robert and Mary Hubbard. (There no records whatsoever of a likely Helen Hubbard with the usual spelling with one L). It could be Hellen born in 1701, which would make her nine years older than Philip Perry, which is not unheard of. She would have been 33 when she married and, whilst late having children at that time, still of childbearing age. But, whilst it would seem reasonable, I cannot see a way to either confirm or refute this. There are no obvious records either as to when Hellen Perry died, although she must have died before 29 Apr 1775, because in a Codicil to the Will of her brother-in-law, Ephraim Reinhold Seehl, of that date, he states that she had died.

Captain William Layman RN and Elizabeth Perry

Photo © Nigel Brown (cc-by-sa/2.0)

HMS Victory, June 1987

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

William Layman (b. ~1765), then of the Parish of St George the Martyr, Southwark, Bachelor, married Elizabeth Perry (b. 15 Jan 1772, bap. 16 Jan 1772 at St Dunstan's, Stepney), of this Parish, Spinster, eldest surviving daughter of John Perry and Elizabeth Brown, by Licence, at St Dunstan's, Stepney on 8 Dec 1798. Witnesses were her father, John Perry, and her brother, Thomas Perry. (Elizabeth's father was John Perry, Shipbuilder of the Blackwall Yard, who built ships largely for the East India Company.)

William Layman by
Sir Thomas Lawrence

Confirming the above, in 1798, 1799 and 1800, the Surrey, England, Land Tax Records, 1780-1832, show that William Layman was paying ground rent to Countess Dowager Gower and Co, for a property in Rotherhithe (now within the London Borough of Southwark), an area known for its rich maritime history.

It would seem that the couple had at least one daughter, Mary Ann Layman, born around 1800. A reputed date of birth of 28 May 1801 has been suggested, but no primary source has been offered (nor found) to confirm this. Her burial record shows that she was buried on 13 June 1814, at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church), listed as Mary Ann Laman (sic) from Brompton (Chelsea), aged 14. 

Layman was a protégé of Lord Nelson, with whom he served in three ships. It's said that Layman entered the navy in 1782 on board the Portland [HMS Portland (1770)], served for four years (1782–6) in the Myrmidon, and a year and a half (1786–8) in the Amphion [HMS Amphion (1780)] in the West Indies. "In the end of 1796 he was for a few months in the Isis [HMS Isis (1774)] in the North Sea." (To have sight of the original ships' musters, etc., to confirm these, would require a visit to The National Archives.)

"He seems then to have gone into the merchant service, and was especially employed in the East India and China trade." This is confirmed in the UK, Registers of Employees of the East India Company and the India Office, 1746-1939, wherein, in 1797-1799, William Layman, Residence India, is named as the Commander of the ship Britannia [British Merchant merchantman 'Britannia' (1794)], which although privately owned made voyages for the East India Company. Layman appears to have made one voyage for the EIC as commander of this Britannia, from China in 1796, reaching The Downs (off the east Kent coast) on 9 Feb 1797.

In 1800, William Layman returned to the navy under the patronage of Lord St. Vincent. "He passed his examination on 5 June 1800, when, according to his certificate, which agrees with other indications, he was thirty-two years of age." [Source] [1] (Unfortunately, I haven't seen the certificate, which again would require a visit to The National Archives.) He served for a few weeks in the Royal George [HMS Royal George (1788)], St. Vincent's flagship, in the blockade of Brest, and was promoted to be lieutenant of the Formidable [HMS Formidable (1777)] with Captain Thornbrough (Admiral Sir Edward Thornbrough) on 12 Sept. In December, at Lord Nelson's wish, he was appointed to the San Josef [HMS San Josef], and in February 1801 to the St. George [HMS St George (1785)]. "Nelson took up the cause of William Layman, who had been with him as a Lt. at Copenhagen" Battle of Copenhagen (1801) [Source]. In the battle of Copenhagen Layman was lent to the Isis, in command of a party of men sent from the St. George. 

On the recommencement of hostilities, Lord Nelson nominated Mr. Layman to be lieutenant of the Victory - position he held between 4 April 1803 and 16 October 1803, dates which are confirmed in the Ship's Muster Record for Victory, but as an officer, it reads "Per Commission" in the column where, for other ranks, it would list their place of birth - in which ship he sailed with his Lordship for the Mediterranean in May, 1804. In the way out, the Victory retook the Ambuscade frigate, of which Mr. Layman was sent in charge; and on the passage to Gibraltar, captured a French ship and Dutch vessel.

Soon after, re-joining Lord Nelson off Toulon, he [Layman] was appointed, in October, by his Lordship, to the command of the Weazle [HMS Weazel (1799)]; in which vessel Captain Layman was immediately despatched to watch the enemy's cruisers, and protect the trade of the Straits, as well as keep open the conveyance of provisions from the coast of Barbary for the supply of the garrison of Gibraltar. In February, 1805, Lord Nelson wrote to Captain Layman, signifying his high approbation of the manner in which the service of the Gut had been executed, and hoping soon to be able to give him a better ship; but this commendation Captain Layman did not receive till after the Weazle had been unfortunately wrecked. [Source] (Weazle was wrecked on 1 March 1804 off Cabritta Point near Gibraltar with the loss of one man of her crew of 70.) [The service of the Gut of Gibraltar refers primarily to the pivotal naval engagements, particularly the First and Second Battles of Algeciras (July 1801) during the French Revolutionary Wars, where the Royal Navy used the strategic narrow strait to challenge French and Spanish fleets attempting to reinforce Egypt. It also signifies the ongoing strategic role of Gibraltar as a Royal Navy base, controlling the gateway between the Atlantic and Mediterranean for centuries, with regular naval patrols and operations ensuring shipping safety.]

Mainly in consequence of the representations of the merchants of Gibraltar, warmly backed up by Nelson, Layman was nevertheless promoted to the rank of commander on 8 May 1804, and appointed a few months later to the Raven sloop, British sloop 'Raven' (1804), in which he sailed on 21 Jan 1805, with despatches for Sir John Orde and Nelson. On the evening of the 28th he arrived at Orde's rendezvous off Cadiz, and, not seeing the squadron, lay to for the night, during which the ship was allowed to drift inside the Spanish squadron in the outer road of Cadiz. Layman's position thus became almost hopeless, and the next morning in trying to escape the ship was driven ashore near Fort Sta. Catalina. HMS Raven was wrecked in Cadiz Bay, on 30 Jan 1805. Raven was built at his father-in-law's yard (John Perry retired in 1803, a year before HMS Raven was ordered). The circumstances and details of the Court Martial, on 9 Mar 1805, are already covered at the Wikipedia pages for William Layman and HMS Raven and in the Royal Naval Biography of Layman, William compiled by John Marshall, so I won't repeat all of it, except to note that the court-martial minutes include a note by an Admiralty official that said, "Their Lordships are of the opinion that Captain Layman is not a fit person to be entrusted with the command of one of H.M.'s ships."

Would Layman have been at Trafalgar in the October, had he not been Court Martialled in the March? And if he had, would he have survived that battle? Is it probable that if Nelson had lived, he would have continued to defend his protégé and gained him further employment? We will never know.

It seems incongruous that one moment, Nelson is strongly commending an officer who appears to be highly competent, but who then, in the next moment, is shown to have acted with a lack of caution. Despite promoting him, Nelson too seems to have been of the opinion that Layman let his mouth run away with him and Nelson is even reported to have said that the worst thing that happened to Layman was that he learned to write. There was a huge volume of correspondence (longwinded and flowery, which may have simply been the style of the period) from Layman leading up to the commissioning of the Raven, then there were the constant 'ideas' he would send to the Admiralty after his Court Martial. If we add in the circumstances of his demise, I have to say (and I would stress that I'm no expert), but what I'm reading sounds like someone who today we would say was bipolar.

Among his copious output of writings was "the syllabus of a contemplated maritime history from the earliest times (including the building, plans and navigation of the ark, with notes on the weather experienced) to the termination of the second American War." And in his biography, is written: "Perhaps the syllabus may be considered as indicating even then an aberration of the intellect which caused him to 'terminate his existence' in 1826."

On 4 July 1810, William Layman was writing (to the Admiralty, with one of his 'ideas') from Haywood House (sic) near Cobham, Surrey (Heywood House - ACS International School Cobham). There is very little history of the house and nothing to indicate why Layman was there, although a Thomas Baker (1793–1871) was linked to Cobham with East India connections. Baker, became a captain of East India Company ships trading with India and China in the 1820s. He and his wife inherited the house called Owletts in Cobham in 1835. Baker doesn't seem to have any direct link to Heywood House, but he surely was the same Thomas Baker, Carpenter on HMS Raven.

On 22 Jan 1811, Layman wrote (regarding the loss of HMS Raven), from 9 Queens Buildings, Brompton (Chelsea). The location "9 Queens Buildings, Brompton" appears to refer to a historical address, as the entire road frontage known as "Queen's Buildings" was renumbered and renamed to Brompton Road, London SW3 (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) in 1864. 

Captain William Layman's house at
34 Hans Place, centre of picture.

From 1816 onwards, London, England, Land Tax Records, 1692-1932, show Captain William Layman paying ground rent to The Lords of the Manor in St Luke, Chelsea, Kensington and Chelsea, first as Sloane Street, then as 34, Hans Place (Hans Place is a garden square in the Knightsbridge district). It would be hard to find anywhere more 'fashionable'. Interestingly, 34 Hans Place is one of only a couple of houses of original construction left there (the six bed, six bath, Georgian townhouse last sold for £13,300,000 in 2023). Jane Austen's brother had lived at 23, Hans Place and the author had stayed there with him in 1814-15, while writing Emma. The Austens and the Laymans may have missed each other by a year, but as number 23 is one of the houses that was subsequently rebuilt, it is (unknowingly) William Layman's house that is used to show what Henry Austen's house would then have looked like.

The Times (May 27th 1826 page 3 column D) report of the coroner's inquest, held at The Swann Inn, Cheltenham, on 25 May 1826, into William Layman's death is reproduced in this thread (from 2006) at the forum, Admiral Lord Nelson & his Navy. That newspaper report details that Layman had killed himself on the previous Tuesday, which was 23 May 1826. He had been found in the bath, with his throat cut. Apparently, he had "undressed himself and had hung up his clothes in the greatest order." It confirms Layman's town residence as No.34 Hans Place, Sloane Street and that he had taken up residence at Woodland Cottage. The deceased is described as "about sixty years of age, a married man, without family." It seems he exhibited many strange behaviours in the lead up to his death. Not unsurprisingly, the Jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict of "Insanity". 

Captain William Layman RN (the full title listed on the burial record), with abode listed as Cheltenham, was buried at Leckhampton (described as "a desirable, leafy suburb south of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire"), presumably at St Peter's Church, on 29 May 1826, with his burial, curiously, officiated by John Portis, Rector of Little Leighs, Essex. It was fortunate that he was not declared a Felo de se and given a "shameful burial" (at night with no clergy and no mourners), so I suspect that his and particularly his widow's social status had some bearing. His age at death was given as 61, which sounds like someone knew, rather than a guessed rounding to 60. 

[1] It is immensely frustrating that none of the records I can access, and I'm not convinced that the ones at the National Archives at Kew would yield anything more, do not give any clues to Layman's origins. It was said that he is listed as having been 32 years old in 1800, which would calculate to a birth year of 1768, and that 'other indications' agree. Those other indications, I assume are other parts of his naval record. Here's what I think: the age on that 1800 certificate is most likely calculated from the age he said he was when he joined his first ship in 1782. If he had been born in 1768, that would have made him 14 then. In the 1870's, "Boys for the Navy must be over 15 and not above 16½ years of age ..." Prior to that, I know boys could join earlier, because I have a 2x great-grandfather who went to sea at 10, but maybe the upper limit existed earlier. If Layman was born in 1765, the birth year that calculates from his age at death, he would have been 17 in 1782, probably already too old to be taken on for training. He would be far from the first, nor the last, to massage his age to what he needed it be, so I'm more apt to believe that he will have lied about his age to the Navy. IF he was indeed born in 1765, there's a potential baptism of a William Layman, son of John Layman and Joan Salter, in Plymtree, Devon on 9 Apr 1765, but I would caution that I cannot see a way to definitively prove or disprove that being relevant.

What we do know is that William Layman must have had some education to be able to read and write. Otherwise, he could have come from 'nowhere' and achieve this career in the Navy. I'm less likely to believe that John Perry would be happy to allow his eldest daughter to marry someone who did not come from some sort of a decent background, but what that was, if it was more than just his naval connections, we shall probably never know.

William Layman's Will, written on 24 April 1817, is short and to the point, it reads, "I give and bequeath unto my dear wife Elizabeth Layman the lease of my house at 34 Hans Place together with the furniture and all the other effects therein at the time of my [decease] and also all other [of] my personal property whatsoever in [unreadable] she shall survive me and I make my said wife Executrix of this my Will and Testament ..." It was proved at London on 23 Jun 1826 by the Oath of Elizabeth Layman Widow and Relict the sole executrix to whom administration was granted.

Elizabeth Layman, 64, abode Chelsea, reputedly died at 34 Hans Place, on 14 Jan 1837 - which was the day before her 65th birthday - she was buried on 20 Jan 1837, at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church), where her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were also buried.

There was never any doubt that this was Elizabeth Perry, daughter of John Perry, but this transcription of Elizabeth's will (as best I can, because a few words are indistinct), leaves absolutely no doubt as to who she was: 

"This is the last Will and Testament of me Elizabeth Layman of Hans Place in Middlesex Widow. I give the sum of eight thousand pounds that per Cout Consolidated Bank Annuities [2] bequeathed to me by the Will of my late Brother Philip or the Storks Funds and Securities on which the same are now or at the time of my [death/demise] may be invested unto my Sister Charlotte Bonney and Louisa Perry in equal shares and whereas under the Will of my late Brother John Perry I have a power of disposition after my [decease] by any writing under my hand over the sum of six thousand pounds Sterling or are the Storks Funds and Securities upon which the same may be invested. [Unreadable] of such power and in exercise thereof I do by the writing under my hand appoint the said sum of six thousand pounds or the said last mentioned Stork Funds and Securities after my decease unto between and amongst all and every [...] the children of my late Brother Thomas Perry who may be living at the time of my decease and in equal shares and whereas under a Deed of Covenant dated the fifth day of March One Thousand Eight Hundred and made between my late father John Perry of the one part and my late husband William Layman and myself of the other part I have a power of appointment by my last Will and Testament duly executed over our ???? of a sum of four thousand pounds Sterling (which said four thousand pounds now invested in the sum of eight thousand five hundred and ninety pounds seventeen shillings and eight pence there by Cout Consolidated Bank Annuities in favour of such of my brothers and sisters as shall be living at my decease. Now by virtue of last mentioned power and in exercise thereof I do by this my last Will and Testament duly executed by me ????? Direct and appoint the said ???? Of the said sum of four thousand pounds or the Storks Funds and Securities whereon the same is now invested unto and to be equally divided amongst my four brothers and sisters George, Mary Ann, Charles and Amelia in equal shares and as to my house in Hans Place in which I now dwell and all other of my Real and Personal Estate whatsoever and wherever and all other Real or Personal Estate over which I may have any power of disposition I give and bequeath and appoint the same subject to the payment of my debts and funeral and testamentary expenses unto my brother Richard Perry executor of this my Will and hereby revoke all former Wills by me at any time heretofore made …. Etc. The Will was proved at London on 30 Jan 1837 by the oath of Richard Perry Esquire the Brother … (Note that Elizabeth makes no distinction between her full and half siblings.)

By my calculations Elizabeth was leaving funds worth at least £18,000 (about £2.5M today), plus the leasehold property in Hans Place, plus whatever else we don't even have a number for. A very considerable fortune.

[2] I assume Cout means Coutts & Company. Consolidated Bank Annuities, or "Consols," were perpetual British government bonds issued by the Bank of England starting in 1751, consolidating various debts into one perpetual stock with a fixed interest rate (initially 3%) and no maturity date, providing a reliable, if varying in value, income stream until the UK government redeemed the last outstanding consols in 2015, though the concept historically symbolized national debt management.

Ephraim Reinhold Seehl and Sarah Perry

Photo © Glyn Baker (cc-by-sa/2.0)

St Andrew Undershaft

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

Ephraim Reinhold Seehl (b. ~1718 in Sweden) of Bromley St Leonard, Batchelor, aged upwards of twenty-seven years, Chemist, son of Captain Reinhold Seehl (apparently a German volunteer with the Swedish Army), married Sarah Perry (bap. 12 Mar 1721 at St Mary Magdalene Woolwich), of the Parish of St Dunstan's, Stepney, Spinster, aged upwards of twenty-two years, daughter of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming, at St Andrew Undershaft, City of London, (a rare example of a City church that survived both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz) by Licence, on 19 Nov 1745.

There is no evidence of any children being born to this couple.

Seehl was known as a manufacturer of Iron(II) sulfate (known since ancient times as copperas and as green vitriol) and was apparently leasing the Copperas Works from Sarah's brother, John Perry (and probably later from her nephew, John Perry). As we see here in An Account of the Hamlet of Poplar, in Middlesex, From "The Universal magazine" for June, 1795, "Not far from this dock, Mr. Perry has a copperas work, situate on the river Lea, near the Thames, in the parish of St. Leonard Bromley, and which, although not so large as his copperas works at Whitstable in Kent, and Walton-on-the-Naze, in Essex, is allowed to be the most complete work of the kind in England."

Ephraim Reinhold Seehl appears in various London directories from 1752, through until well after his death, listed as a chemist, or copperas merchant, to be found at Blackwall, or at one of the London Coffee Houses, such as the Bank Coffee House in Threadneedle Street. From 1765, he began to be listed at Blackwall and Baltic Coffee House, Sweeting's Alley (or Sweeting' Rents) and later, Cole's Coffee House, Ball Court, Cornhill, London.

The Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices' Indentures, 1710-1811, show that on 15 May 1749, Ephraim Reinhold Seehl of Blackwall, Middlesex, Copperas Maker, took as his apprentice one John Bridges Buckle. 

(As an aside, but this could have been the same chap previously apprenticed to Seehl, a John Bridges Buckle, Gent, was buried on 26 Apr 1756 at Saint Giles in the Fields, Holborn. The Proceedings of the Old Bailey dated 28 May 1756 explain the case where Buckle had been stabbed by a Mr Venables, who said in his defence, "I saw Mr Buckle upon my wife in the bed naked as I am to appear before God". Venables was found guilty of Manslaughter.)

The six pages of the Will of Ephraim Reinhold Seehl of the Parish of Bromley St Leonards in the County of Middlesex Chemist and Copperas Maker, which was originally drafted in 1757, has been one of the most difficult to read because of the quality of the squashed up handwriting. Nevertheless, he mentions therein, his loving wife Sarah; his brothers-in-law John Perry and John Brown; his sisters-in-law Elizabeth Brown, wife of John Brown; Susanna Gilbert, Widow; and Mrs [unreadable] Perry, Widow (certain this is Hellen Perry, widow of Philip Perry); as well as his niece Sarah Brown eldest daughter of the said John Brown; and Kitty Brown youngest daughter of John Brown (Kitty is either my misreading of the handwriting, a pet name for their youngest daughter, Helen, or a child I've not found records for). Seehl left most of his property to his 'dearly beloved wife Sarah' and appointed Sarah as sole Executrix. He seemed to make some changes to the Will in 1769, but added a Codicil, dated 29 Apr 1775, in which he began, "That as my two brothers-in-law and Mrs [unreadable] Perry are since the making of this Will dead ..." and changes the beneficiaries: in place of John Brown, is Kitty Brown and in place of Mrs [unreadable] Perry, was her daughter Susanna Taylor. Also mentioned is Mrs Sarah Clark. And, "... to my nephew John Perry and also to my niece Elizabeth Perry his wife ... as had given and bequeathed before in the Will to their fathers John Perry and John Brown". The Will also mentions his nephew Joseph Hankey (who was married to John Perry Sr's daughter, Ann); the Copyhold property in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex and the Copyhold estate in Bromley St Leonard. The Will was proved on 12 Sep 1783.

Ephraim Reinhold Seehl of Bromley was buried at Poplar, undoubtedly at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church) much used by the Perry family, on 6 Sep 1783, according to the Parish Register of St Dunstan's, Stepney.

Sarah Seehl died on 28 Apr 1804. The Commercial Chronicle of 1 May 1804 (Tuesday) reported "On Saturday last, at Limehouse, Mrs Sarah Seehl, relict of Ephraim Seehl, Esq." Sarah Seehl was buried on 4 Jun 1804 (?). The Parish Register of St Dunstan's, Stepney lists the burial of, "Sarah Seehl of Poplar at Poplar", which I assume to be once again at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church) - in her Will, Sarah stated her wish to be buried in the vault with her late husband - although there's also a record in the Parish Register of All Saints Church, Poplar on the same date of the burial of Sarah Seehl (86). 

Probate was granted on the Will (with three Codicils the last dated 3 Jun 1802) - which runs to 15 handwritten pages - of Sarah Seehl of Church Row, Limehouse, Widow, to the surviving Executor, John Perry, on 20 Jun 1804.

How am I related? Sarah Perry's niece married my 1st cousin 7x removed.

Elnathan Ayres and Elizabeth Perry

St Mary Matfelon's footprint, Whitechapel
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff - geograph.org.uk/p/1278357

Elnathan Ayres (b. 17 Jul 1752) Bachelor, son of Elnathan Ayres and Martha Travally, married Elizabeth Perry (b. 28 Aug 1749) Spinster, daughter of John Perry and Ann Watlington, at St Mary's, Whitechapel (St Mary Matfelon), Whitechapel High Street, on 3 Oct 1771. Witnesses were William Dalton and Sarah Dalton; Esther Travally (Elnathan's aunt or cousin) and Ann Perry. 

(Sarah Dalton (née Travally) and her sister Elizabeth Travally, who was my 5x great-grandmother, were Elnathan Ayres' first cousins, daughters of Winnall Travally and Elizabeth Benbow. Winnall Travally, my 6th great-grandfather, thus was Elnathan's uncle; his mother's brother. As both Elnathan and his father were shipwrights and since the Daltons later lived in a house built by John Perry (shipbuilder), the founder of the Blackwall Yard, which built ships for the East India Company, I was certain Elizabeth Perry was related - she was John Perry's youngest sister. Elnathan Ayres was my 1st cousin seven times removed, as our nearest common ancestors were Thomas Travally and Rachel Winnall - his grandparents and my 7x great-grandparents.)

Elnathan Ayres had at least eight children with Elizabeth Perry:

1. Elnathan Boulton Ayres b. Saturday, 5 Dec 1772, son of Elnathan, Shipwright of Queen Street and Elizabeth, bap. 30 Dec 1772 at St Anne, Limehouse (at 25 days old). Elnathan Ayres of Queen St, aged 2 years, 6 months, was buried at St Anne, Limehouse on 4 Jun 1775
2. Elizabeth Ayres b. ~Jul 1774. Elizabeth Ayres of Queen Street was buried at St Anne, Limehouse on 21 May 1775, aged 10 months.
3. Elizabeth Ayres b. Friday, 25 Sep 1778, bap. 18 Oct 1778 (at 23 days old), as Betsey Ayres daughter of Elnathan Ayres (Shipwright, Ropemakers Fields) & Eliz, at St Anne's Limehouse 
4. Martha Travally Ayres bap. 8 Oct 1780 at St Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol
5. George Ayres bap. 31 Mar 1782 at St Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol
6. Charlotte Ayres bap. 9 Jun 1784 at St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe
7. Sage Boulton Ayres bap. 2 Jun 1786 at St Mary's, Rotherhithe
8. Martha Ayres b. Sunday, 4 Sep 1796, bap. 9 Oct 1796 at St Dunstan's, Stepney (baptism specifies that she was 35 days old)

For the last child in 1796 to be also named Martha, it's clear that Martha Travally Ayres born in 1780 must have died (not found record) and makes sense of the order the children are later listed on Elnathan Ayres' will.

Eldest son and daughter Sage, were given the middle name Boulton, which had to be significant. Richard Boulton was one of four partners - all retired sea captains who had worked for the East India Company and were members of London's shipping community - who had owned the Blackwall Yard (The Ownership of Blackwall Yard, 1724–79). Boulton, was a London merchant and an important figure in the East India Company, of which he was a director from 1718 to 1736 and on the Committee for Shipping from 1723 until 1726. He was a member of the Honourable Company of Shipwrights. During the 1720s Elizabeth's grandfather, Philip Perry, worked as manager for John Kirby and was later employed in a similar capacity by Collett and Boulton. (Blackwall Yard: Development, to c.1819). And her brother, John Perry, purchased the yard from Boulton, Gosfreight and partners. 

Elnathan Ayres was listed among European inhabitants in Bengal, excluding those in the service of the East India Company or the Crown 1805.

The will of Elnathan Ayres is a real eyebrow-raiser and probably creates more mysteries than questions it answers, but its highlights include:

In the Name of God: Amen: I Elnathan Ayres, Ship Wright of the Town of Calcutta Bengal being in bodily Health, and of sound and disposing memory; and considering the Evil, Dangers and other Uncertainties of this transitory life, do (for avoiding Controversies after my Decease) make, publish and declare this My last Will and Testament, in manner following:- that is to say, first I recommend my Soul to God, who gave it; and my body I commit to the Earth, or Sea, as it shall please God to order; and for and concerning all my Worldly Estate, I give bequeath and dispose thereof as followeth; that is to say; First I Will, that all my just Debts and funeral Charges be paid and discharged by my Executors hereinafter named and Secondly that my House and all my Effects be turned into ready money as soon as conveniently may be and Disposed in the manner following, Viz, I leave and bequeath to my son James Ayres, born in Calcutta the Sum of Sicca Rupees [1] three thousand five hundred to be laid out by my Executors, at Interest on good Security, for his Education (which is not to be under the charge of his mother), the principal not to be given to him untill (sic) he becomes of Age the remainder of my property I leave to my Wife Elizabeth Ayres of the parish of St Mary's Rotherhiethe (sic) London and in case of her Death to be equally Divided between my four children in England, Viz: George Ayres, Charlotte Ayres, Sage Ayres and Martha Ayres, of the parish Aforesaid and to my Oldest Daughter Elizabeth Ayres, I only leave one Rupee and in case of the Death of my son James born in this country before he becomes of age, then the property left him to go to my Children in England, to be equally Divided as above, and I do hereby nominate and appoint James Horsburgh and George Watson of the Town of Calcutta to be Guardians of my Son James and Executors of this my last Will and Testament ... dated 7 Jul 1808.

From the will, I'm reading that Elnathan Ayres was acknowledging a - clearly illegitimate - child he fathered in India with someone other than his wife. Even without the details of his estate, we had to know he was wealthy enough to do so. There is a transcript of the baptism record of James Ayres, son of Elnathan Ayres, born on 3 Feb 1809 and baptised on 26 Feb 1809, in Bengal, India. The record doesn't say who the mother was. The Will must have been drawn up as soon as Elnathan knew she was carrying the child. Alas, there's also a transcript of a burial record for James Ayres described as "Poor Boy From Free School", Race: White (if one were to speculate, I'd bet his mother was a western woman and more than likely someone else's wife, hence Ayres was taking responsibility for the child's upbringing), on 1 Dec 1812 at Fort William, West Bengal, India. Sadly, I'm sure this was the same child.

[1] Sicca Rupee - a rupee issued in Bengal before 1836 weighing more than the rupee of the British East India Company.

One wonders what eldest daughter Elizabeth had done to deserve the indignity of being left only 1 Rupee!

Elnathan Ayres was buried on 25 Apr 1812, in Fort William, West Bengal, India. On the original record of 'Burials at Calcutta Fort William in Bengal A.D. 1812', it reads: "Mr E Ayres Ship Builder at Sulkea Shot Himself." One assumes this was not accidentally. Was it because of the scandal and shame of his indiscretion, or was there some other reason? I'm sure we'll never know.

(Sulkea (now Salkia), is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal, opposite Calcutta (now Kolkata). It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, the westernmost distributary of the Ganges. Sulkea, originally a place where salt was brought and stored in warehouses, was one in a long list of shipyard locations on the Hooghly River in the early 19th century. The area was of truly global significance, enduring for centuries. Because of the rich textiles like muslin and silk, it attracted merchants, missionaries, mercenaries, statesmen, labourers and others from Europe and beyond, making it a mini 'Europe on the Hooghly'!)

His Executors presented his will before the Honourable Sir Henry Russell Knight Chief Justice at the Supreme Court in Fort William on 29 Apr 1812. The Executors produced an immensely detailed inventory of his possessions, dated 9 May 1812, right down to teaspoons and six pairs of cotton stockings and even 'a bag with salt'. It also showed that Elnathan Ayres' estate totalled £8282 3s 6d (well over a million pounds now), of which almost £5,000 was to be paid to the Ayres Family in England. Clearly he was no ordinary shipwright. Probate was granted in England on 2 Apr 1816.

It appears Elizabeth Ayres (née Perry) died, age listed as 61, and was buried on 6 Feb 1815 at St Anne, Limehouse, so probate followed her death.

Even with this detail, I'm sure there's a much bigger story yet to uncover.

Philip Gilbert and Susanna Perry

View of St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich. Drawing by unknown artist, 1799.

Philip Gilbert of the Parish of Woolwich in the County of Kent, Widower & Susanna Perry (b. 1 Mar 1715 in Woolwich), daughter of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming, of Poplar in the Parish of St Dunstan Stepney in the County of Middlesex, Spinster, were married, by Licence, at St Dionis Backchurch in the City of London [the same church were her brother Philip Perry and sister Elizabeth Perry had also married] on 11 Aug 1743.

Philip and Susanna Gilbert had four children:

1. Philip Gilbert b. 18 Jun 1744, bap. 5 Jul 1744 at St Mary, Woolwich
2. Susanna Gilbert bap. 16 Aug 1745 at St Mary's Church, Chatham, Kent
3. Elizabeth Gilbert bap. 2 Jun 1748 at St Mary's, Chatham. Elizabeth Gilbert, an Infant, buried at St Mary's, Chatham on 8 Jul 1748.
4. Ann Gilbert bap. 11 Sep 1751 at St Mary's, Chatham

On 13 May 1743, Philip Gilbert of Woolwich, Kent, Shipwright, took as an apprentice Will, son of Will Reed. And on 7 Mar 1744, Phillip Gilbert of Chatham, Kent, Shipwright, took apprentice, Rich, son of Henry Everall.

No ordinary shipwright, Phillip Gilbert, held the position of Assistant Master Shipwright at three major Royal Navy dockyards. Having been appointed Master Caulker at Woolwich Dockyard in 1730, he was appointed Assistant Master Shipwright at Woolwich in 1732; in 1740, he was appointed Assistant Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard, then again appointed Assistant Master Shipwright at Woolwich Dockyard. Finally, from 1744 until his death in 1751, he was Assistant Master Shipwright at Chatham Dockyard.

As stated on the marriage record, Philip Gilbert was a Widower when he married Susanna Perry. Philip Gilbert previously married Margaret Watkins at St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham on 5 Aug 1725. It appears that this couple had two daughters: Catherine Gilbert b. 30 Nov 1726, bap. 15 Dec 1726 at All Hallows-by-the-Tower and Sarah Gilbert bap. 17 Aug 1731 at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich. Both baptisms list the parents as Philip and Margaret. However, "Margaret wife of Mr Phillip Gilbert Assistant [Ship]Builder at Woolwich" was buried at Saint Nicholas, Deptford on 13 Aug 1739.

Philip Gilbert was buried at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich on 29 Sep 1751.

The Will of Philip Gilbert of Woolwich had been drawn up in 1736, before the death of his first wife. In it he had left one pound one shilling to his brother Samuel Gilbert. The remainder of his possessions he left to his then 'loving wife Margaret Gilbert' and after her decease 'to my children born of her body to be equally divided between the then surviving children'. He had also appointed Margaret executor. Susanna's brother, John Perry and her brother-in-law, John Brown, appeared on her behalf and accordingly Administration of the Will was granted to Susanna Gilbert, Widow on 7 Oct 1751.

In her own Will, drafted on 16 Nov 1774, Susana Gilbert Widow and Solo Administrator of Philip Gilbert late of Chatham in the County of Kent Assistant [Ship]Builder at His Majesty's Yard there, left a Silver Tankard to her son Philip Gilbert; she also left bequests to her grandson, John Gilbert; her daughter Susanna Nuttall (including a pair of silver salts and salt spoons, a diamond ring that belonged to her late father, Philip Perry and another diamond ring from her late brother, John Perry); and to her daughter Ann Gilbert. She also left 'South Sea Annuities' to her nephew John Perry of Blackwall Esquire. She appointed her nephew John Perry and her sister Sarah Seehl as joint executors. Witnesses to her Will were E Brown (her sister Elizabeth, or Elizabeth's namesake daughter) and Joseph Hankey (who was married to her niece, Ann Perry, daughter of her late brother John).

The parish records of St Dunstan Stepney state that Susanna Gilbert of Poplar at 'Do' (Ditto, the same), was buried on 22 Jul 1777, presumably with her parents and siblings at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).

John Brown and Elizabeth Perry

St Dionis Backchurch

John Brown (b. ~1710) married Elizabeth Perry (bap. 27 Mar 1714 in Woolwich, Kent), eldest daughter of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming, at the church of St Dionis Backchurch, located in the heart of the City of London on 13 Feb 1734 (Julian) 1735 (Gregorian). The record reads, "John Brown of the Parish of St Dunstan Stepney in the County of Middlesex Batchelor & Elizabeth Perry of the same parish Spinster were married (by Licence) on Thursday the 13th day of Feb 1734/5."

The records of five children can be attributed to this couple:

1. Sarah Brown b. Friday, 11 Jan 1740, bap. 5 Feb 1740 (at 25 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. Sarah, daughter of John Brown of Poplar Brewer & Elizabeth
2. Elizabeth Brown b. Wednesday, 3 Jul 1745, bap. 11 Jul 1745 (at 8 days old). In the records of St Dunstan's, Stepney, it says 'Elizabeth, daughter of John Brown of Poplar Brewer & Elizabeth at Poplar'. Being baptised 'at Poplar' may have been at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).
3. Susanna Brown b. Tuesday, 21 Apr 1747, bap. 19 May 1747 (at 28 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. Susanna, daughter of John Brown of Poplar Brewer & Elizabeth.
4. John Ephraim Brown b. Wednesday, 14 Feb 1750, bap. 5 Mar 1750 (at 19 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. John Ephraim, son of John Brown of Poplar Brewer & Elizabeth.
5. Helen Brown b. Saturday, 12 May 1753, bap. 6 Jun 1753 (at 25 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. Helen, daughter of John Brown Poplar Brewer & Elizabeth.

The baptisms all list their father as John Brown of Poplar, Brewer. Additional evidence that these are the children of this family: Sarah was the name of Elizabeth's aunt and sister; Elizabeth is obviously her own and her mother's name; Susanna was another of Elizabeth's sisters; John, clearly for his father, but Ephraim after his uncle, Ephraim Seehl, married to his mother's sister, Sarah; and Helen was the widow of Elizabeth's brother, Philip Perry.

John Brown had died before 29 Apr 1775, because a Codicil to the Will of his brother-in-law, Ephraim Reinhold Seehl, of that date stated he had died. Beyond this, Brown is not the easiest name to research. Without further clues, it isn't possible to determine which of many records are relevant. 

Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming

Photo © John Salmon (cc-by-sa/2.0)

St Mary, Church Road, Little Ilford - Chancel

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

Mr Philip Perry (b. ~1678) married Elizabeth Flemming (purportedly b. ~1685) at St Mary the Virgin, Little Ilford, Essex, on 6 Feb 1706.

Philip and Elizabeth Perry had eight children:

1. Thomas Perry b. 7 Dec 1708, bap. 14 Dec 1708
2. Philip Perry b. 3 Oct 1710, bap. 22 Oct 1710
3. John Perry b. 13 Dec 1712, bap. 1 Jan 1713 (Gregorian)
4. Elizabeth Perry b. 27 Feb 1714, bap. 27 Mar 1715
5. Susanna Perry b. 1 Mar 1715, bap. 27 Mar 1715
6. Fleming Perry b. 4 Jan 1717, bap. 12 Jan 1717. Fleming, son of Mr Philip Perry, buried 21 Oct 1720 at St Margaret's, Barking
7. Sarah Perry b. 27 May 1719, bap. 14 Jun 1719. Sarah, daughter of Mr Philip Perry, buried 26 May 1720 at St Margaret's, Barking
8. Sarah Perry bap. 12 Mar 1720 (Julian) 1721 (Gregorian). Sadly, the church official had stopped putting in the actual birth dates.

All of the baptisms were at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich. Elizabeth and Susanna, baptised together in 1715 (Gregorian), were presumably born in different years, but the record doesn't show which. Elizabeth is listed first on the baptism, as well as later in her father's Will, so I'm assuming she was the older of the two. St Margaret's Church, Barking a.k.a. the Church of St Margaret of Antioch is where Captain Jonathan Collett, to whom Philip Perry left a bequest, was baptised and later buried. Susanna Perry would seem to have been named after Collett's wife, Susanna Hill (whom he had married at Saint Helen Bishopsgate, City of London on 6 Jul 1706).

The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard (PDF) by Henry Green and Robert Wigram (published 1881), claim that in 1708: "About this time the manager of Sir Henry Johnson's Yard was a certain Philip Perry, whose history and introduction to Blackwall has been given as follows. In or about the year 1690, Philip Perry was a carpenter on board of one of His Majesty's ships. During a severe storm the vessel was in much danger of foundering from a bad leak, but in consequence of Philip Perry's skill and ingenuity the ship was saved and brought safely back to port. The Commissioners of the Admiralty, to mark their appreciation of his service, gave him an important post at Plymouth Dockyard, whence he was transferred to Deptford, where he greatly increased his reputation. This position he is said to have relinquished to superintend Sir Henry Johnson's business at Blackwall."

Ship's carpenters went on voyages to make running repairs, so I suspect there may be some truth in the story, but it bears all the hallmarks of family making it sound more dramatic than reality. If we were to be really pedantic, the reigning monarchs in 1690 were William III and Mary II, who ascended the throne after the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, so a reference in 1690 should have been to one of 'Their Majesties' Ships'. It seems more likely this event was after the death of Mary II in 1694, and before the accession of Queen Anne in 1702. Of course this could all just be a completely romanticised family myth. And Green & Wigram's chronology is decidedly suspect.

The earliest reports confirm that Perry's career began in Plymouth and this, I feel, helps make a case for him originally being from that area. Both British History Online and Three Decks think he was born in 1678 (the latter will have got the information from the former). If so, there's a potential baptism of Philip Perry, son of John Perry (and reputedly grandson of Philip Perry) in 1679, in Maker, Cornwall (just across the Tamar from Plymouth), which several people have accepted and I agree that, circumstantially, this looks incredibly reasonable, but may be unlikely to be absolutely proven.

"Perry, a working shipwright, was employed in the Naval Yard at Plymouth during the first years of the eighteenth century.", according to British History Online. He was then posted to Kinsale in 1702, where he was appointed Master Shipwright and there are references to substantiate him being in Kinsale from Mar 1702 until Jun 1705. He'd been sent to Ireland with other shipwrights for the purpose of 'their taking shipping there' at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession. Records listed at The National Archives (not downloadable) also confirm these postings: on 18 Mar 1702 "Plymouth Officers on behalf of Philip Perry, Shipwright. A testimonial of the good service of Phillip Perry." Then on 25 Sep 1702 "Philip Perry, Shipwright, Kindsale, Petitioner. He asks to be registered at Kinsale as a skilled man and to receive a higher level of pay." And "Kinsale Officers for Philip Perry, Shipwright, provide a Testimonial on behalf of Phillip Perry, Shipwright."

Then on 6 Aug 1705, "Philip Perry, Sheerness. Regarding his service in Kinsale where he acted as Foreman and assisted in repairs to masts and boats. Requests an allowance to take into consideration his 13 years service, including two spells in Kinsale." And on 17 Aug 1705 "Philip Perry, Sheerness. Further request for acting foreman pay for his time at Kinsale."

The other question that arises is, where and when did he meet Elizabeth? He'd only been in the London area for eight months when they married, but could he have known her longer? Could she have been from Plymouth? It seems that I'm not the first person to suggest this, but no evidence was offered.

A view of the Thames and Woolwich Dockyard in 1698, prepared for King William III.
The church of St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich is on the mound to the left.

The church where all of their children were baptised, St Mary Magdalene Woolwich, is right next to Woolwich Dockyard, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich, "where many ships were built from the early 16th century". It's some distance (~4 miles) from Deptford Dockyard, the nearest church to which is St. Nicholas, on Deptford Green, so surely attending the church in Woolwich suggested Philip Perry was employed at Woolwich? And indeed, confirmation is in a record listed at The National Archives (not digitised so not downloadable), dated 1708, "Folio 396: Philip Perry. Petition for employment as Boatbuilder at Deptford Yard. Places mentioned: Kinsale, Woolwich. People mentioned: Mr. Stacey, Mr. Philips, Commissioner Wright."

Mr. Stacey was Richard Stacey, English shipbuilder and ship designer. In 1695, Stacey was Master Boat Builder at Plymouth Dockyard; "In 1698 he transferred briefly to Kinsale (until Apr 1705). He then worked for a few months at Sheerness Dockyard in 1705 before being appointed Master Shipwright at Woolwich Dockyard in November 1705." From 1709 until 1715, Richard Stacey was Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard and this is the only time Perry doesn't go with him. Then in 1715, Stacy was Appointed Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard. Stacey, being around 15 years older than Perry could have been his master (with whom Perry served his apprenticeship), or Perry was a highly trusted employee, but they must have known each other, because Perry generally went wherever Stacey went. Did Philip Perry work at Deptford perhaps with Stacey after 1715?

The Master Shipwrights House at Deptford, "... was rebuilt in 1708 for master shipwright Joseph Allin who, dissatisfied with his existing house, persuaded the Navy Board to invest in a remodelling. However, Allin overspent on the house and, amidst rumours of corruption, he was dismissed in 1715." [Source]. That's when Richard Stacey was appointed Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard, a position he held until 1742, so he will have lived and worked in this magnificent house for 27 years. British History Online, also tells us that, "In the mid-1730s, when it was rumoured that Philip Perry was about to desert Blackwall for Deptford, he was described as 'the Great Builder'." You can quite imagine this rumour being taken seriously. Philip Perry must have visited there during that time and may have worked there too. And Philip Perry's son-in-law, Philip Gilbert, certainly must have done so, as he was briefly Assistant Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard in 1740.

Inside The Master Shipwright’s House

"During the 1720s he [Perry] worked as manager for John Kirby and was later employed in a similar capacity by Collett and Boulton." (As an aside, but nevertheless important to note, Philip Perry's granddaughter, Elizabeth Perry and her husband (my cousin) Elnathan Ayres, gave the middle name Boulton to two of their children.) The baptisms in Woolwich suggest the Perrys were still there until around 1720/1, which confirms the statement, "there is no evidence of his being at Blackwall before 1722". By 1722 Perry was living in Blackwall Yard, where he occupied the mansion house 'and garden adjacent with the garden and terrace walk on the east side of the same'. This mansion house was probably the new house erected, between 1677 and 1679, when Johnson (Sir Henry Johnson) paid two builders, John Rogers and Thomas Marchant, for 'the Alterations of the new house and Repairing the ould'. When the new house was built, Richard Gibbs was paid £26 4s 10d for 'painters work' of a highly decorative nature about the property. One room was painted 'olive wood and tortell shell' (sic) and murals depicted battles and ships built at the yard. The new house was probably the detached house to the east of the wet dock which can be seen in Francis Holman's mid-eighteenth-century painting of the yard (below) and which survived into the 1840s. [Source]

Francis Holman (1729-1784) - Blackwall Yard from the Thames

In the parish registers of St Dunstan's, Stepney is the record of the burial of Elizabeth Perry on 21 Apr 1734. I'm certain this is Mrs Philip Perry, because it says "Elizabeth Perry of B'Wall to Poplar", indicating that she was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church) built by the East India Company in 1654, where her husband, sons and grandson were also later buried.

In his Will, drafted on 20 Jun 1741, "Philip Perry the Elder of Blackwall in the Parish of Stepney in the County of Middlesex Shipwright" ... directed, "My body I commit to this earth to be decently buried by walking burial in as frugal a manner as conveniently may be at the discretion and management of my sons Philip Perry and John Perry and my Son-in-Law John Brown (whom I herein make Executors ...)" A walking burial, I assume, is his coffin taken in procession on foot, without hiring expensive carriages. Philip left £120 to Abraham Cropp Esq., "by borrowing securities to him for my late son Thomas Perry deceased". (Thus Thomas must have died before 1741, but I've not found when or where). He made bequests to his said son Philip Perry the Younger; his son John Perry; Son-in-Law John Brown; Captain Jonathan Collett; Captain Richard Gosfreight (Collett and Gosfreight were the principal ship's husbands for whom he'd built many ships); his sister Sarah Price, Widow; Philip Littlepage* (grandson of my said sister Sarah Price ten pounds to put him out apprentice); George Case the Clerk of Blackwall Yard; and his three daughters Elizabeth Brown, Susanna Perry & Sarah Perry. Philip Perry makes no mention of his wife in his Will, suggesting she pre-deceased him, adding circumstantial confirmation to the above. There are various stipulations as to how his estate should be divided among his children, depending upon what the total amounted to and it's obvious he was pretty well off.

*(Philip Littlepage bap. 3 Jul 1734, was the son of Sam Littlepage of Poplar, Gent, and Sarah Price, who married on 7 Feb 1728 at St John At Hackney, but I've been unable to find a marriage of a Sarah Perry to anyone named Price.)

The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard (PDF) claims that John Perry and his brother, Philip Perry, became Yard Managers at Blackwall when their father, "Philip Perry, died on the 26 Sep 1732, at the age of sixty-one years, and was buried near the first Sir Henry Johnson, in the ground adjoining the East India Company's, or Poplar, Chapel, as it was now called. After his death the business was carried on by his son, who, as we learn from local records, had become by this time a person of considerable influence in the neighbourhood." Philip Perry died in 1742, not 1732 (although I suspect he retired in 1732, as John Perry was managing the yard from then), and this is probably just a 'typo', but it's also not the first time details in Wigram & Green's account just don't add up and, at best, have probably been wrongly remembered.

Philip Perry died on 26 Sep 1742 and was buried on 2 Oct 1742. The parish records of St Dunstans, Stepney lists, "Philip Perry of Blackwall at Poplar", indicating he too was buried at Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church).

John Perry and Ann Watlington

Entrance to St Giles' Church, Reading
Bill Nicholls (cc-by-sa/2.0) geograph.org.uk/p/3278759

John Perry (b. 13 Dec 1712), son of Philip Perry and Elizabeth Flemming, married Ann Watlington (bap. 26 Apr 1716 at St Giles, Reading), daughter of Samuel Watlington and Ann Monke, at St Giles, Reading on 2 Jun 1737.

There are records for the following children of John and Ann Perry:

1. Philip Perry b. Monday, 18 Dec 1738, bap. 23 Dec 1738 (at 5 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard lists Philip's birth year as 1739, but I don't see this as an inconsistency, as it was probably calculated from age. Philip Perry, eldest son of the late Mr. Perry, died (unmarried) at the age of thirty-seven, in 1776 (purportedly on 5 Jul 1776) and buried on 10 Jul 1776, at St Dunstan's, Stepney
2. Ann Perry b. Friday, 16 May 1740, bap. 6 Jun 1740 (at 21 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney
3. John Perry b. Sunday, 12 Sep 1742, bap. 14 Oct 1742 (at 32 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. Reputedly died on 23 Nov 1742
4. John Perry b. Tuesday, 4 Jan 1743, bap. 25 Jan 1743 at St Dunstan's, Stepney (at 21 Days Old). This clearly doesn't agree with the birth date of 6 Apr 1743 on John's burial in 1810. Could this discrepancy be confusion from the change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar? *
5. Thomas Perry b. Tuesday, 2 Apr 1745, bap. 23 Apr 1745 (at 21 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. 
6. Samuel Perry b. Wednesday, 6 May 1747, bap. 2 Jun 1747 (at 27 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney.
7. Elizabeth Perry b. Monday, 15 Aug 1748, bap. 8 Sep 1748 (at 24 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney. (This child must have died as an infant: there is a potential burial on 3 Dec 1748 in Whitechapel)
8. Elizabeth Perry b. Monday, 28 Aug 1749, bap. 15 Sep 1749 (at 18 days old) at St Dunstan's, Stepney.

All baptisms list the parents as John Perry, Shipwright, and Ann of Poplar.

* At first there appears not to be enough time between John b. 1742 and John b. 1743 for them to have been of the same mother, however, the second John - the only one of these births falling in the first part of the year - was born in 1743 to him, but 1744 in our modern (Gregorian) calendar. The year difference before 1752 is due to the use of the Julian calendar, where the year began on March 25th, not January 1st. Thus entries between January 1st and March 24th of a given year would be one year behind our calendar. 

Ann Perry is reputed to have died on 6 Aug 1752 in Reading, Berkshire.

John Perry married Catherine Gibson on 3 Dec 1754 at St Dunstan-in-the-West. The marriage record reads: "John Perry of Blackwall in the Parish of Saint Dunstan Stepney Widower in the County of Middlesex and Catherine Gibson of this Parish Spinster were Married in this Church by Licence this Third day of December, in the year One Thousand and seven hundred fifty four, by leave of the Vicar by me John Gibson Clerk." The Reverend John Gibson, was Catherine's elder brother. Witnesses were Bartholomew Gibson and William Gibson, her other two brothers. Catherine Gibson (bap. 11 May 1720 at St Paul's, Covent Garden) was the daughter of John Gibson and Dorcas Shower (m. 4 Sep 1716 at St John the Baptist, Pinner.)

John Gibson senior was until about 1720 a jeweller in Bow Street. In 1718 he inherited property at Bury Pond Hill in Pinner from an aunt, Elizabeth Darden, and in 1720 his wife inherited Islips Manor Farm in Northolt, and property at Pinner Hill. She was Dorcas, only daughter and heiress of William Shower, and, through him, of her uncle, Sir Bartholemew Shower, recorder of London. [Source] "one of the most vilified and despised Tories of his generation."

Mrs Catherine Perry was buried on 20 Dec 1766 on St John the Baptist, Pinner, Harrow, Middlesex. The Will of Katherine Perry formerly Gibson states that she was the wife of Mr John Perry of Blackwall, Shipwright. It mentions her house at Pinner: she left "the house, called the White House and all the land surrounding the house to my husband, John Perry, together with the furniture that is mine." The rest of my fortune that my father John Gibson left me and all that has been left me or given to me by other friends Mr Perry has given me the Liberty to Dispose of it at my Death ..." These included bequeaths to her brothers William Gibson, Barth[olemew] Gibson and John Gibson and to her sisters Elizabeth Gibson and Dorcas Gibson. 

The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard (PDF) says, ''John Perry died [listed in various locations as on 20 Jan 1771] at Blackwall, and was buried with his wife and father in the grounds of Poplar Chapel (St Matthias Old Church)." His grandson, Mr. Richard Perry, writes of this:—"My grandfather was of a very religious turn, and was supposed by the family to have passed away while engaged in his devotions ('Beatus ille!'). He had retired to his chamber one evening for that purpose, and was found dead upon the floor; the candle had fallen from his hand, and had providentially become extinguished." Mr. Perry left two sons and several daughters. His eldest son Philip died shortly afterwards, and his second son John succeeded him in business. By his will, dated 1772, "Mr. John Perry, of Blackwall, shipbuilder, left the interest of £200 to be given half-yearly in bread to the poor of the hamlet."

Probate was granted on 1 Feb 1771. In his will John Perry of Walthamstow in the County of Essex Esq, indeed states that "it is my will and desire to be buried in my vault in Poplar Church Yard." John Perry left his eldest son "Philip Perry the sum of five thousand pounds part of my four percent consolidated bank annuities and the five thousand pounds part of my three percent consolidated bank annuities to and for his own use which sums I direct shall be transferred within two months after my decease in the names of my two sons Philip and John Perry and of my sister Sarah Seehl wife of Mr Ephraim Rinhold Seehl." He left his share of the partnership trade of a shipwright in the Great Yard at Blackwall to his son John. He also gave John his share of the capital stock in the trade of Ropemaker. To his daughter Ann Hankey (wife of Joseph Hankey), "I give to my said daughter Ann my best Tea Equipage at Walthamstow ... the Carved Rosewood Table and the set of China Tea Chest Spoons and Cannisters belonging to the same and the Silver Tea Kettle Lamp ... used therewith and also the large case of silver spoons." The Will lists his three sisters Sarah Seehl, Susanna Gilbert and Elizabeth Brown.

The statement that "Mr. Perry left two sons and several daughters" suggests that Thomas and Samuel had predeceased him, or didn't count if they weren't involved in the shipbuilding business, however I've not found evidence to confirm either way. They were certainly not mentioned in their father's will, but I have seen suggestions (not yet researched them) that either one or both lived to be adults. The Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard also suggests his wife (presumably Ann) was buried at Poplar Chapel, but I can find no record substantiating this. And "several daughters" would also suggest there were more than the two I've found records for, but only Ann was mentioned by name in his will. There have been numerous inconsistencies and, given that Wigram & Green published the Chronicles of the Blackwall Yard in 1881, over 100 years and at least three generations of Perry's had passed, that, whilst I have more faith in their account of the shipbuilding (there'll be ledgers and other records for those), it looks like most of the family information is half right when it comes to the males directly involved in the business and decidedly shaky for all the rest and should not be relied upon.