 |
George Napier Perkins (Oklahoma Historical Society Photograph Collection, OHS). |
But his story starts with his birth into slavery right here in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee around 1841. He was the son of Moses and Millie Perkins - both of whom were born in Virginia and then brought to Tennessee in bondage. They all appear to have been enslaved on the expansive Perkins family plantations on Del Rio Pike in the Forest Home area of Franklin. Some of the Perkins holdings include Two Rivers, Meeting of the Waters, and Montpier. I have researched and written about several other people who were held in slavery by the Perkins family such as USCT veteran Abraham Perkins McGavock. Additionally, Nancy Perkins Gardner was enslaved by the Perkins family and was George Napier's Perkins' niece. I suspect that George N. Perkins was enslaved in Williamson County by Nicholas Bigbee Perkins. When Nicholas Bigbee Perkins died in 1848, he left his children large groups of enslaved people as property, including George Perkins' own extended family.
I believe that George N. Perkins was inherited by Nicholas Bigbee Perkins' son Constantine Perkins. By 1860, Constantine Perkins was operating a plantation on the bank of the Arkansas River in Campbell Township, just south of Little Rock, Arkansas. He doesn't appear to have lived there, but he enslaved 79 people - including perhaps 18 year old George Napier Perkins - and employed an overseer named A. J. Jones. Perkins was described as a planter with real estate assets worth $100,000 and personal property - which would have included enslaved people like George Napier Perkins - valued at $90,000.
 |
| 1860 Federal Census Campbell, Pulaski County, Arkansas, page 1 Showing C. Perkins and his overseer's family |
 |
| 1860 Census Slave Schedule Campbell, Pulaski County, Arkansas, pages 2-3 Census of people enslaved by C. Perkins, managed by overseer A. J. Jones |
My blog post about the Bostick family explores how the enslaved family of Charlotte and Washington Bostick from the Triune area of Williamson County were likewise divided by slavery; some of their oldest children were also sent to Arkansas from Williamson County before the Civil War.
 |
| Daily_Arkansas_Gazette Saturday, January 4, 1873 |
Constantine Perkins also owned a large farm in Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee. In the 1860 Federal Census, his real estate holdings there were valued at $205,000 and his personal property - including enslaved people - were valued at more than $170,000.
1st Sergeant of the 57th US Colored Infantry
I have not been able to uncover details about George N. Perkins' early time in Arkansas, but in September 1863, Federal troops took control of the Confederate state's capital at Little Rock. Perkins was likely living nearby and well aware of the victory. Just a few months later, on December 4, 1863, he enlisted in Company C of the 57th Regiment of the US Colored Troops in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was described as being 23 years old and 6 feet tall - which was quite tall at the time.
Also enlisting in the same company on the same day were four other men with the last name of Perkins who were also born in Williamson County, Tennessee: William Perkins, Matthew Perkins, James Perkins and Grundy Perkins. A few weeks earlier, on November 10, 1863, Charles Perkins from Williamson County had also enlisted in Company C of the 57th US Colored Infantry Regiment. It seems likely that they had all six men had been enslaved by Constantine Perkins and his family in Williamson County, Tennessee and were brought to Arkansas to work his land. Following the occupation of the area by federal troops, it appears as though many of these men took the opportunity to join the US Army as privates in the 57th US Colored Infantry.
 |
| George N. Perkins Descriptive Card |
The regiment was initially designated as the 4th Regiment Arkansas Volunteer Infantry (African Descent) and assigned garrison duty at Helena and Little Rock until August 1864. A detachment of the regiment participated in Steele's Camden Expedition, March 23-May 3, 1864, as bridge train guard - but it is not clear if George N. Perkins participated in this effort.
On April 26, 1864 - just a few weeks after the massacre of USCT troops at Fort Pillow - Perkins' regiment was involved in a skirmish near Little Rock. Then in May the 57th conducted operations against Confederate General Joe Shelby north of the Arkansas River. The regiment was next involved in skirmishes near Little Rock on May 24 and 28, 1864. During this time, on May 27, 1864, Perkins was promoted from private to corporal, which indicates that he could read and write.
The regiment marched to Brownsville, Arkansas on August 23, 1864, and then moved to Duvall's Bluff - about 50 miles to the west of Little Rock on the Smith River - on August 29, 1864. That October Perkins was on duty as the color Sergeant for the regiment. Perhaps he is one of the men in this photograph.
The regiment was on duty there and at Little Rock until June 1865. During that time, on May 23, 1865, George N. Perkins was promoted 1st Sergeant of the regiment. In January 1865, the regiment was sent back to Little Rock.
 |
| Special Orders No. 28, Department of Arkansas, dated January 31, 1865, from Little Rock, instructed the 57th United States Colored Infantry to report to the commanding officer at Little Rock, Arkansas, for duty. |
When the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi surrendered on May 26, 1865, the 57th USCT was divided between Little Rock and Duvall's Bluff. The regiment was then transferred to Ft. Smith, Arkansas.
 |
| Federal soldiers encamped at Fort Smith during the Civil War. Courtesy of the Fort Smith Museum of History |
While at Fort Smith, the 57th guarded property and maintained law and order. During this time, 46 enlisted men married women at the Fort Smith Freedmen’s Bureau office (more records here). That March/April 1866 Perkins was marked as being sick in the hospital on his muster cards but he must have recovered quickly because that is the only reference to illness in his records.
In September 1866, it appears as though the 57th was sent to New Mexico, although it is interesting that most of the official descriptions of the regiment omit this part of their service. Several newspapers reported that on September 13, 1866, the regiment reached Fort Union, New Mexico after marching for 67 days over almost 700 miles across Oklahoma from Fort Smith.
 |
| The Evening Telegraph Mon Sep_24, 1866 |
The 57th remained on duty at Fort Union in New Mexico until November when they seem to have marched northeast another 660 miles to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where they arrived in early December 1866.
 |
| The Atchison Daily Free Press Mon Dec 3, 1866 |
Just a few weeks later, on December 13, 1866, Perkins mustered out in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, a full 18 months after the end of the Civil War. He was paid a $100 bounty, but charged $6 for retaining his "musket and accouterments."
Little Rock, Arkansas 1867-1891.
One month later, on January 30, 1867, Perkins married Margaret A. Dillard in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Maggie appears to have been the divorced mother of a 6-year-old son, John Spring.
Perkins quickly became very involved in politics during an incredibly tense and significant time in Arkansas history. In 1868 Arkansas adopted a new state Constitution and the Republican-controlled government - which was advocating changes that favored former slaves - took power. As was the case in former slave-states across the country, tensions arose regarding new laws empowering former slaves while disfranchising former Confederates. The Ku Klux Klan used violence to intimidate African Americans and Republican voters.
Perkins moved his new family to an area called "Perkins" near the state capital - Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. In the 1870 Census, George N. Perkins was listed as 25 years old and working as a Justice of the Peace. He served as justice of the peace for six years in Campbell Township near where he had been enslaved. He was also a two-term alderman on the Little Rock City Council. Perkins was admitted to practice law in 1871 after having attended a night law school.
A further hint that it was Constantine Perkins who enslaved George Napier Perkins in Arkansas comes in this newspaper clipping from 1871. It stated that "of six of Constantine Perkins' negroes, in Arkansas, one is a constable, two are magistrates and three are lawyers." It seems quite likely that one of these "negroes" referred to was George Napier Perkins - who was at that time serving as a Justice of the Peace as well as being an attorney.
 |
| Nashville Union and American Tuesday Mach 2, 1871, page 3 |
During this time, on January 2, 1873, Perkins helped his step-son John Spring open a Freedmen's Bank account in Little Rock. It showed that the family was living in Campbell Township and John was working for his step-father.
 |
| Freedmen's Bank Account statement 11-year old John Spring listed his step-father George N. Perkins as the depositor and guardian of the account |
Due at least in part to the tactics of the KKK, including violence and intimidation, Conservatives began to gain political power in Arkansas, and the 1872 election became a political nightmare for the Republicans - with whom Perkins aligned. The state Republicans split into two factions. Elisha Baxter led one faction, known as the Minstrels. The other group, called the Brindletails, supported Joseph Brooks. Perkins joined the Brindletails.
 |
| Daily_Arkansas_Gazette_Tue__May_21__1872 Article quoting George N. Perkins |
Despite widespread accusations of voter fraud and intimidation, and after two months of counting votes, the state election commission declared Baxter the winner for the Governor's race. Brooks challenged the decision and won a court decision. On April 15, 1874, he and a group of armed men physically removed Baxter from the State House. Fighting erupted on the streets of Little Rock. The incident and resulting skirmishing became known as the Brooks-Baxter War.
 |
Image from The Constitutional Convention of 1874 by Walter Nunn, The Arkansas Historical Quarterly Vol. 27, No. 3 (Autumn, 1968), pp. 177-204 |
The Legislature called for a new constitution. The Constitutional Convention assembled at the State House on July 14, 1874. Perkins was chosen to be one of four Black delegates to the Convention. Before the convention, Perkins was suspicious that the Democrats intended to limit the rights of Black citizens. His suspicions were well-founded and the enactment of the 1874 Constitution marked the end of Reconstruction in Arkansas. This was the fifth and current Constitution of the State of Arkansas.
 |
| Daily Arkansas Gazette Tuesday, July 7, 1874 page 4 The newspaper printed George Perkins and the other Perkins delegate to the convention in the newspaper. In an apparent attempt to discredit them, the paper included any spelling errors in their statements. |
At that time, Perkins was still living in Campbell, Arkansas - a suburb of Little Rock. Perkins was a substantial landowner. He was a founder of the town of Woodson, Arkansas (Saline County), which was created from parts of two 40-acre tracts that he owned. Perkins remained active in the efforts of Black men to collaborate on a widespread basis. In 1879, Perkins attended a National Conference of Colored Men of the United States in Nashville, Tennessee, as a representative of Arkansas. Representatives came from all over the country. Williamson County's ANC Williams represented Tennessee. I have to wonder if George N. Perkins paid a visit to his birthplace during the visit.
 |
| The (Nashville) Daily American Wednesday, May 7, 1879 |
At the Convention, Perkins was appointed to serve on the Committee on Migration to discuss the interest in large-scale migration by African Americans out of the south to northern and western states.
 |
| Proceedings of the National conference of colored men of the United States, held in the State capitol at Nashville Tennessee, May 6, 7, 8 and 9, 1879 by National conference of colored men of the United States, Nashville, Tenn., 1879. |
Perkins proposed a resolution "favoring wholesale emigration on account of oppression and intimidation." His resolution also stated that "the Negro is not naturally inferior to the white man, and is capable of self-governance."
 |
| A resolution offered by George N. Perkins Advocating for "wholesale emigration on account of oppression and intimidation." |
At the Conference, the members formed the American Protective Society to Prevent Injustice to the Colored People, in recognition of the discrimination, segregation, and racial violence that was continuing throughout the country. (See this blog post for more information.) George N. Perkins was appointed a Vice President of the organization to represent the state of Arkansas.
During this time, Perkins was practicing law in Little Rock. He was listed in Little Rock City Directories as an attorney from 1885 to 1890. In 1889, he was listed as among the "colored" members of the Little Rock bar.
He continued to pressure white Republicans for more African American participation in politics and was an opponent of the Separate Coach Act of 1890. However, when this Jim Crow law passed, Perkins appears to have given up on bringing about change in his adopted home state and migrated to Oklahoma.
Guthrie, Oklahoma
 |
| Daily_Arkansas_Gazette_Wed__Apr_15__1891 |
 |
| Daily_Arkansas_Gazette_Wed__Apr_22__1891 |
In Guthrie, the territorial capital, he served as an alternate delegate to the Republican Convention in 1891. Green I. Currin (another Williamson Countian) was the only Black man elected to serve in that first Territorial legislature of Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Guide - Newspaper
Perkins purchased a Guthrie newspaper, the Oklahoma Guide. Started in 1892, the paper became the longest continuously published Black urban weekly in Oklahoma Territory. Perkins used the Guide, as editor and publisher, to advocate for civil rights. He also encouraged the migration of other African Americans to Oklahoma.
Public Service
Perkins served on the Guthrie City Council from 1894 to 1902 and ran for police judge of Guthrie in 1896. That same year the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Plessy v. Ferguson which must have felt like another blow to Perkins. However, Perkins continued his public service and was a justice of the peace in Guthrie. He was active in the Missionary Baptist church. Perkins was a Mason and also served on the Commercial Business Men’s League (a national Black organization), as well as the Guthrie Library Board. During this time he mentored a young Black attorney named Stuart C. Pryce.
Republican Politics
Perkins worked behind the scenes and at the grassroots level for civil rights and equal protection under the law. He supported the Negro Protective League and opposed Jim Crow laws. When the state Democrats used the Grandfather Clause to deny the vote to Black men - such as Green Currin - he appealed to the governor and encouraged Currin to bring his lawsuit all the way to the US Supreme Court, which he did.The African Lion
By 1910, Perkins was 68 years old. His niece Louisa Ridley. and her 33-year-old daughter Elmira were living with him in Guthrie. Louisa and her husband Sam had emigrated from Williamson County to Shawnee, Kansas with their family around 1880, and then to Guthrie in 1900. Sam Ridley died in 1909. Judge Perkins was very close to his niece and his extended family. I have written previously about Nancy Perkins Gardner. She had also been enslaved by the Perkins family in Williamson County, Tennessee and was a niece of George Perkins. After being sold to Alabama as a child, in 1912 she reunited with her family in Oklahoma including her uncle and cousins.
In early October 1914, George Perkins appeared to know that his life was coming to an end. The Oklahoma Guide published a statement of ownership showing that Perkins was sharing the enterprise with his niece, Elmira Ridley.
 |
| The Oklahoma Guide Oct. 1, 1914 |
Within a week, Judge Perkins died. His grief-stricken niece published this notice on the front page of their newspaper. George Napier Perkins died on October 6, 1914, shortly before the Supreme Court declared the Grandfather clause unconstitutional on June 21, 1915. His long and vigorous protest for civil rights earned him the title of "the African Lion." His legacy as a soldier, lawyer, publisher, and devoted uncle will live on forever.
 |
| Oklahoma Guide, October 8, 1914 |
 |
| A Card of Thanks published in the paper by Judge Perkins' survivors |
Sources:
- Judith Kilpatrick, “(EXTRA)Ordinary Men: African-American Lawyers and Civil Rights in Arkansas Before 1950,” 53 Ark. Law Rev. 299, 302 n7, 307, 311 n71, 320, 327-30, 334, 336, 340-41, 343, 345, 347 n352, 374 (2000)
- 1 Who’s Who of the Colored Race 214 (1915)
- 1886, 1890 Little Rock City Directories
- “Proceedings of the National Conference of Colored Men of the United States,” 5/6-9/1879, Nashville, TN, pp. 16, 29, 67
- R.O. Joe Cassity, Jr., “African-American Attorneys on the Oklahoma Frontier, 27 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 245 (2002)
- African American Biographical Database, Profile available at http://aabd.chadwyck.com/bbidx/full_rec
- Oklahoma Historical Society listing
