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This biography is from Landmarks of Albany County, New York, edited by Amasa J. Parker of Albany, N. Y., Syracuse, N. Y.; D. Mason & Co. Publishers, 1897.

Isaac G. Perry

Isaac G. Perry, architect and commissioner of the State Capitol, is of Scotch descent and was born in Bennington, Vt., March 24 1822. His father, Seneca Perry, a native of White Creek, Washington county, N. Y., was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and died in 1868, his wife, Martha Ann Taggart, a native of Londonderry, N. H., and an ardent member of the old Presbyterian church, having died in 1860. Mr. Perry's grandparents were Valentine and Patient (Hays) Perry, both of White Creek, N. Y.

When a lad of seven years Mr. Perry moved with his parents to Keeseville, Essex county, N.Y., where he attended the village school and served an apprenticeship with his father at the trade of carpenter and joiner. He soon mastered the business and won a local reputation as an architect, and for several years successfully prosecuted the work of contracting and building on his own account. In 1852 he moved to New York city and opened an office at No. 239 Broadway, where for twenty years he carried on a steadily increasing architectural business. In 1837 he received a commission to furnish the plans and superintend the construction of the New York State Inebriate Asylum at Binghamton, a fine specimen of castellated Gothic architecture, which won for him a wide and permanent reputation. He also designed and erected many other notable buildings in Binghamton, including the First Baptist church, the Centenary M. E. and Congregational churches, St. Patrick's church, the Phelps and First National Bank buildings, the McNamara, Hagaman and Perry blocks, the High School, Hotel Bennett, the Phelps mansion, and numerous others of equal prominence. His works extended throughout and beyond the Chemung Valley.

In 1872 Mr. Perry removed to Binghamton in order to be nearer the scene of his labors, and thenceforward his work was pushed into adjoining cities and towns with a vigor which has characterized all his undertakings. At Scranton, Pa., he built the Lackawanna court house, the Dickson Manufacturing Company's machine shops, the Second National and the Scranton Trust Company's Banks, the library edifices, and many dwellings, such as those of Hon. Joseph H. Scranton, Jr., and the Messrs. Linnen and Green. In Wilkesbarre, Pa., he designed and erected the First Natianal Bank, the opera house, several blocks, and many residences, including those of Charles Parish and Stanley Woodward. At Port Jervis, N. Y., he built the Dutch Reformed and Catholic churches, the Farnum & Howell block, and a number of private and public edifices. This is but a small portion of the work designed and executed by Mr. Perry, but it furnishes an idea of the wide and varied demands upon his services, which were sought in many Western States and in other sections of the east. It has been estimated that at times the work in his office aggregated $1,000,000.

On March 30, 1883, Governor Cleveland appointed Mr. Perry the regular commissioner of the State Capitol at Albany, under a new law creating a single commissioner to have "entire charge of the interests which had heretofore been confided to a board of commissioners," and six days later this appointment was confirmed by the Senate. The office was conferred upon him without solicitation, and was most favorably received by the press of all political parties. Since then he has most ably administered his duties, superintending the work with commendable energy, diligence and fidelity.Much of the interior arrangement and decoration as well as the principal exterior embellishments of that immense structure are due to his artistic taste and skill, and many of the designs are his own creations. He has not only established the highest reputation as a first-class builder, but he has won merited praise as an accomplished architect, and is deservedly styled the master of his profession. He is also the architect of the new armory building on the corner of Washington avenue and Lark street.

Mr. Perry was married in December, 1848, to Miss Lucretia L. Gibson of Keeseville, N. Y.



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