Simeon Perkins

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Simeon Perkins (February 24, 1735 to May 9, 1812) was a Nova Scotia merchant, diarist and politician.

He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, one of sixteen children of Jacob Perkins and Jemima Leonard. He came to Liverpool, Nova Scotia in May 1762 as part of the New England Planter migration to Nova Scotia. In Liverpool, Perkins immediately established a dealership in fish and lumber and forged trading ties with New England, Newfoundland, Europe and the West Indies. During the American Revolution, he invested in several privateer ships. He kept a diary from 1766 until his death that paints an important portrait of the man and his times in colonial Nova Scotia.

A born leader, he held public office for a long period as the local representative to the colonial government of Nova Scotia (1765 to 1799). He also held positions as a judge and leader of the militia.

He had nine children from two marriages. His home is open to the public. It was purchased by the Province of Nova Scotia and opened as a museum at the suggestion of the author Thomas Raddall who lived in Liverpool. [1]

[edit] Further reading

Early Liverpool and its Diarist by C. Bruce Fergusson (1963)
The Diary of Simeon Perkins (5 volumes), edited by Harold A. Innis et al, published by The Champlain Society (1947-78).
The Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution: Excerpts from Simeon Perkins' Diary (1774-1782) Queens County Museum (1992)