History is oft said to be what historians have the vision to find, shape and memorialize so that we may better understand and learn from our past. And in many ways, the history of Lewis County is as much about our historians as it is about our history:  the Houghs; Byron Bowen; Art Einhorn; George Davis; the Van Arnums; Louis Mihalyi; George Cataldo…and on and on.

One who certainly belongs in that discussion is Dr. Jerry Perrin, the long-time curator and office manager of the Lewis County Historical Society. We must first confess, however, that writing anything about Jerry in this fashion is nothing we ever wanted to do: certainly not during a pandemic when friends and colleagues cannot get together to talk or grieve; and frankly, as a piece in memoriam, not ever.

Sadly, however, during Christmas week in the waning days of the godawful year that was 2020, the Historical Society lost an irreplaceable colleague and friend, and the County lost a fine historian, when Jerry passed away. Hopefully he’s at peace, but here at the Historical Society, even long afterwards, we remain heartbroken.

For those of you who had the pleasure of getting to know Jerry over the years, you will understand the depth of this loss. In many ways, Jerry had been the life blood of our Society for much of the past two decades, our heart and soul, and at times the very glue that held us all together.

He was a gentle spirit, a friendly voice, a tireless volunteer, a gifted historian, a thoughtful and curious mind, a driving force behind the restoration of Greystone (the General Walter Martin House), and a lover of historic buildings and cemeteries and glassware and flatware and coins and old books…my goodness, he had a list of interests that seemed endlessly to grow.

So too is it worth a moment to speak about the intersection between Jerry the person and Jerry the historian; for Jerry actually came to history later in life. Many do not know this about him – and he did not often talk about it – but he was a gifted chemical engineer in his early years. He came out of Edwards in St. Lawrence County, where he graduated valedictorian. He would then go on to Syracuse University, where he graduated, magna cum laude, as the top student in chemical engineering. Following that, he got both a masters and then a PhD in chemical engineering, which turned him into “Dr.” Jerry Perrin. He would then go on to work in high-tech industrial development, where he was a highly-regarded member of many academic and professional organizations, filed for and held multiple patents in his own name, and published a number of scholarly articles.

Jerry spent a good bit of his life on the east coast outside Boston and the west coast in Seattle, but at some point, his interests turned to what he would call “old stuff.” He returned to northern New York, ultimately settling in Talcottville, buying the historic 200-year old Munn family house, opening an antiques business and, much to the community’s good fortune, volunteering at the Lewis County Historical Society. And what a volunteer he was.

His tireless dedication over the years would lead to service as both an officer and director of the Society, the chair at one time or another of most every committee we have, and ultimately the Society’s curator and office manager. And when periodically we would float the idea of making him “Executive Director,” he would turn it down as too lofty a title. Did we mention his humble nature and humility?

While you would think his hands were full within the walls of the our Society, he would also join and become an active member of both the Martinsburg Historical Society and the Lyons Falls History Association; he was historian for the town of Leyden; he served on the board of the Talcottville cemetery; he would regularly liaise with other historians, societies and museums around the County, sharing information and trying to be of help as he did; he was deeply involved in the North Country’s tri-county historians association, both attending and sponsoring events; he was an active member of the Professional Historians of New York State; he worked with any number of people to get historic places in Lewis County listed on the National Register; and when the Historical Society itself went through a tough patch a decade or so ago and much of its leadership disappeared, it’s fair to say that the Society might not have survived without Jerry’s presence and perseverance to hold everything together.

Some knew, but most did not, of the illnesses that followed his leukemia diagnosis a couple of years ago, graft vs host disease and myasthenia gravis. But while it certainly slowed him down, it did not diminish his interest in trying to help anyone looking for information or who came to the Historical Society. When his illness robbed him of the use of his legs for a period, he literally would crawl up flights of stairs to retrieve an artifact for someone. When his eyesight declined, he would look for information in a document or book with a big magnifying glass, or have a colleague read it to him – just so he could answer a question for someone. Even in his last days, on those occasions when he was strong enough to talk at length, he still loved to talk about history and the Historical Society and what was going on with all of us. His close friendships sustained him, but he was always insistent that we get back to people to tell them how much he valued the help, attention and love that others had shown for him through his long illness. Even someone’s quick note deserved a response, he would say.

Our words only but scratch the surface of who Jerry Perrin was and what he has meant to the Historical Society and the North Country community. Perhaps better are some of the many notes we received after his passing: “he was the absolute best”; “we have lost one of the greatest”; “a true gentleman”; “one of the nicest people I ever met”; “always friendly and helpful”; “a champion of preserving local history”; “really liked his kind and gentle manner”; “have been trying to find the right words – the very soul of the Historical Society”; “he was my friend”; “a very gifted historian”; “such a kind man and always brought me an antique thimble for Christmas”; “what a great, knowledgeable person”; “will always remember the cooperative spirit that was his”; “such a kind soul”; “his quiet, gentle spirit with his sparkling blue eyes always impressed me”; “generous with his time and intellect”; “never lacked in caring for the Society, it collections and community”; “a Lewis County treasure.” Hopefully their words give some sense of who this good man was. Jerry Perrin: a dedicated historian; a genuinely good and decent human being; our friend. We will miss him greatly.

Oft called the “First Lady of Ornithology,” Florence Merriam Bailey broke barriers as a woman by developing a pioneering approach to ornithological study that has come to define modern bird-watching. Having developed her interests exploring the wooded hilltops around her family’s Homewood estate outside Locust Grove, New York, she is today remembered not only for her expertise, but her moving writings and activism.

At 26, she wrote what is considered the first bird field guide in the modern tradition, “Birds Through An Opera-Glass.” She traveled widely and spent almost three decades with her husband covering the American West. Of her many books, “Birds of New Mexico” is regarded as her magnum opus. Her writings were compared favorably to those of John Muir and John Burroughs, and she was known as “one of the most literary ornithologists of her time, combining an intense love of birds and remarkable powers of observation with a fine talent for writing and a high reverence for science.”

She waged a successful battle before Congress against the indiscriminate killing of birds for feathers to decorate ladies’ hats (a fashion trend that resulted in the death of over 5 million birds annually). She is the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the American Ornithologists Union; first woman recipient of the acclaimed Brewster Medal; founding member of the Audubon Society; and both Mount Bailey in southern Oregon and the Bailey’s Mountain Chickadee are named in her honor.

Born into one of Lewis County’s earliest and most influential families, Florence Merriam was born on the family estate – Homewood – just outside Locust Grove in the town of Leyden. Her great grandfather was Judge Nathaniel Merriam, one of Lewis County’s earliest judges; her grandfather was Ela Merriam, a General in the NY Militia, and for years an operator in Lewis County of stage and mail coach lines and one of the men principally responsible for creating and maintaining many of the wooden “plank roads” that ran through the County; her father was Clinton Levi Merriam, a Congressman for Lewis, Jefferson and Herkimer counties and a deft businessman and investment banker; and her brother, C. Hart Merriam, was renowned as the “father of American mammalogy” and, in the fields of zoology and natural history, can scarcely be judged as anything less that preeminent.

So she came from “good stock,” as they say. She grew up at her family’s wooded estate, Homewood, where she cultivated a fascination and passion for birdwatching. Not only did her family greatly support and encourage her scientific pursuits, but famed nature author Ernest Thompson Seton, a family acquaintance and regular visitor to the Merriam home, strongly encouraged Florence to seek out her interests in ornithology and pursue seriously a role in the field. And she did just that. After attending preparatory school, Florence went on to Smith College and received a certificate of completion in 1886 (the college would later award her a Bachelor of Arts) and in 1893-94, she furthered her studies at Stanford University.

In 1885, she joined the American Ornithologists’ Union (OAU), a group in which her brother was a founding member. She was the first woman to do so. A few years later, at the young age of 26, she published her first book, Birds Through an Opera Glass (1889). The book was monumental, considered to be the first modern field guide for birdwatching. Her purpose in writing it was to benefit and aid both ornithologists and the casual observer when birdwatching. Her book truly set her place in the field as a serious ornithologist, characterizing her expertise and strength as a writer. In following years, she released many more publications on both scientific writings and one memoir on her travels, particularly her experience with visiting the Latter Day Saints group.

Vernon Bailey, a biological naturalist and friend of the family, was staying with the Merriams when he inevitably met Florence. Due to their shared passions, the two got along quickly and were married on December 16, 1899. The couple shared their lives traveling across the country together conducting field work, with Vernon studying animals and Florence studying birds. Her strength and vitality is especially remarkable considering that she experienced ill health for a large portion of her life, including tuberculosis. The couple had no children, instead devoting their life to scientific service.

Along with her invaluable scientific expertise, Florence Merriam Bailey was renowned in her activist work. Traditional ornithology consisted of general classifications and identification. Oftentimes, scientists conducted this research through the use of the “skins” of deceased birds, which were typically found in private collections. Florence Merriam Bailey, on the other hand, was much more interested in studying the behaviors and manner of birds, so she championed the study of live birds and is generally considered the first to have proposed using binoculars when birding. Her passion motivated her to found the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia, a group dedicated to the conservation of birds. Now, ornithology is mostly concerned with the study of living birds as opposed to dead birds, much thanks to Florence Merriam Bailey.

Additionally, she was disheartened at the act of killing birds for use of their feathers in fashion. Women’s hats adorned with bird feathers were particularly fashionable. Moved to publicize this slaughter, Florence wrote passionately against the practice of decorating hats in that fashion and ultimately laws were passed outlawing the practice.

Throughout her life, Florence Merriam published under her own name, an unusual practice at the time. Her independence and belief that the efforts of women deserved respect was often reflected in her own writing. In describing a female warbler, for example, she wrote: “Like other ladies, the little feathered brides have to bear their husbands’ names, however inappropriate. What injustice! Here an innocent creature with an olive-green back and yellowish breast has to go about all her days known as the black-throated blue warbler, just because that happens to describe the dress of her spouse!”

Florence Merriam Bailey died on September 22, 1948 in Washington, D.C. She is interred with her family in the old Merriam cemetery along Route 12D in Locust Grove, Lewis County, New York. Her legacy is reflected in her dedication to modernizing the field of ornithology. In her honor, a subspecies of chickadee in California was named after her – the Bailey’s Mountain Chickadee (Parus gambeli baileyae), as was a mountain in the Oregon Cascade Range (Mt. Bailey). Some other highlighted publications include: Birds of Village and Field: A Bird Book for Beginners (1898); Handbook of Birds of the Western United States, Including the Great Plains, Great Basin, Pacific Slope, and Lower Rio Grande Valley (1902); Birds of New Mexico (1928). Her rich and literary writing is as impressive as her knowledge in the field.