This group photo was taken at a “Council for Colored Churchmen” at St. Athanasius in Brunswick.
Robert Nathaniel Perry, Sr. was born in Lewisburg, North Carolina on December 6, 1881. He was the oldest son of Alice Logan and Louis Wesley Perry, Sr. Robert Perry married Mary Ada Jackson of Lexington, Kentucky and to this marriage six children were born: William Montgomery, Robert Nathaniel, Jr., Alice Louise Perry Johnson, John Richard Logan, Frank Hargrave, and Henry Buford (A Tuskeegee Airmen). An AI retouched photo of the Rev. Robert N. Perry, Sr. from a portrait taken when he served in Wilson, NC.
Robert Perry, Sr. began his higher education at Biddle University in Charlotte, North Carolina (Now John C. Smith University). He next studied at King Hall, a theological college for blacks at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He completed his studies in 1905 at Bishop Payne Divinity School in Petersburg, Virginia. The school, founded in 1878, as St. Stephen’s Normal and Industrial School was charted in 1884 and later renamed for the first Episcopal Bishop of Liberia. By 1921, Father Perry was among its 91 alumni, who comprised about sixty percent of the Black clergy in the Episcopal Church.
Father Perry first served as a priest at St. Mark’s Mission in Wilson, North Carolina where he remained for 15 years. In her book, The Episcopalians of Wilson County: A History of St. Timothy’s and St. Mark’s Churches in Wilson, North Carolina 1856-1995, Patrick M. Valentine’s writes: “… Perry ‘found things some what neglected and the congregation scattered but hopeful. The work began to take on new life and enthusiasm was created for anything [that] might be suggested.’ During his fourteen years in Wilson, Perry married thirty-four parishioners, baptized forty-three, presented thirty-three for confirmation, and buried eight. Membership rose rapidly from eighteen in 1906 to twenty-five in 1907, thirty-three in 1909, forty-seven in 1917, and sixty-seven the very next year. The congregation remained at that level during the rest of his tenure.”
He left St. Mark’s for an assignment at St. Luke’s Parish in Columbia, South Carolina. At this charge, his duties included the Parish Church at Columbia and a mission at Casey, South Carolina. After a tenure of five years, Father Perry moved with his family to Thomasville, Georgia to serve at Good Shepherd mission.
At Good Shepherd, Father Perry served as Vicar as well as headmaster to a parochial school that was in operation upon his arrival. The school served students in grades Kindergarten through five. The families in the community were invited to participate regardless of denominational affiliation.
The majority of the students who completed educational offerings at the Good Shepherd School were advanced one grade level upon entering the public schools in Thomasville. The teachers at Good Shepherd consisted of mission members—Mrs. Maggie Lee Catchings, Miss Tabby Griffin, Miss Hadley, Mrs. Wright, and the vicar’s wife, Mary Ada Jackson Perry, were among them. The basic curriculum focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic along with requirements in English, history, and religion. The parochial school educated many of the black children of Thomasville until the public school system made provisions for them. After that, the church operated a primary school only.
Father Perry encouraged members of the community to pursue post-high school education through proclamation of need and through example. The school operated throughout Father Perry’s tenure as vicar of Good Shepard which lasted for thirty-two years. He retired January 1, 1957, and moved to Norfolk, Virginia. Robert Perry died in 1971. Father Perry’s remains were returned to Thomasville, which had become his home, to be buried beside his wife and eldest son. The photo is of the Good Shepherd Church and School as they look in the 2020s. Efforts are underway to restore the buildings even as ministry continues though worship services and in maintaining vital social services with a food pantry, soup kitchen, and community garden.
A Note in Father Perry’s Bible
Ten years following his retirement from Good Sheperd Father Perry wrote in his bible that had accompanied him since the age of 16 years:
” … Still striving in the Lord and the power of· his might until he calls me home. If this should be my last day, Happy I will be. If He comes late, I can wait and be thankful. Robert Nathaniel Perry—88th birthday and looking back it seems such a short time. The paid years for eternity—and will be satisfied with Working. Monday December 18, 1969. Amen.”
