James R. Perry Papers
Provenance
The James R. Perry Papers were donated by the estate of Mr. Perry in September of 1991. Mr. Perry’s friend, Ken Bowling, worked with the papers after Mr. Perry’s death. Mr. Bowling ordered the personal correspondence by date, and made some of the letters available to the original authors. He is confident that all these letters were returned to the collection. A detailed note on Mr. Bowlings work with the collection can be found in folder 98. Some outgoing correspondence may have been added to the collection by the recipients of the letters, notably by John Briggs. Biographical information and memorials were also added to the collection.
Scope and Content
The James R. Perry Papers are the personal papers of a Gay man living in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. A lengthy correspondence with John Briggs of Boston is included. Some letters are with friends in Paris, France. The papers show Gay life in Boston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. They also show some of the internal politics of the history profession. Some of the correspondence is between people with AIDS and indicates the emotional hardships of friends living with AIDS. Folder 87 contains copies of the Bowers v. Hardwick decision and other federal cases. Snapshots of many of the correspondents are included as are photographs of Gay Pride Day, 1986 in DC and the 1987 National March on Washington.
History or Bio
James R. Perry was born on January 3, 1950 in Southington, CT. After attending local schools, he did undergraduate work in history at the University of Connecticut, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1972. He received a full scholarship to Johns Hopkins University and earned a MA in history from them in 1974, and a Ph.D. in 1980. His dissertation was entitled “The Formation of a Society on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, 1615-1655.” From 1980 to 1985 Mr. Perry served as co-editor of the first three volumes of “The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800” and in 1987 took a job as a writer-editor at the General Accounting Office in Washington, DC. He died of AIDS related causes on October 16, 1990.
Folder List
Box 1
1. Incoming Correspondence, 1968. <1/4 inch
2. Incoming Correspondence, 1969. <1/4 inch
3. Incoming Correspondence, 1970. <1/4 inch
4. Incoming Correspondence, 1971. <1/4 inch
5. Incoming Correspondence, 1972. <1/4 inch
6. Incoming Correspondence, 1973. <1/4 inch
7. Incoming Correspondence, 1974. <1/4 inch
8. Incoming Correspondence, 1975. <1/4 inch
9. Incoming Correspondence, 1976. <1/4 inch
10. Incoming Correspondence, 1977. <1/4 inch
11. Incoming Correspondence, 1978. <1/4 inch
12. Incoming Correspondence, 1979. <1/4 inch
13. Incoming Correspondence, 1980. <1/4 inch
14. Incoming Correspondence, 1981. <1/4 inch
15. Incoming Correspondence, 1982. <1/4 inch
16. Incoming Correspondence, 1983. <1/4 inch
17. Incoming Correspondence, 1984. <1/4 inch
18. Incoming Correspondence, 1985. <1/4 inch
19. Incoming Correspondence, 1986. <1/4 inch
20. Incoming Correspondence, 1987. <1/4 inch
21. Incoming Correspondence, 1988. <1/4 inch
22. Incoming Correspondence, 1989. <1/4 inch
23. Incoming Correspondence, 1990. <1/4 inch
24. Incoming correspondence from Judy Kahn [not sorted by date. Includes Christmas card lists(?)]. <1/4 inch
25. Incoming Correspondence from parents 1971-1975. 1/2 inch
26. Incoming Correspondence from parents 1976-1988. 1/2 inch
27. Incoming Correspondence from sister Diana Perry Mooney [1971-1990, see note from Diana to Ken Bowling in folder 98]. <1/4 inch
28. Incoming Correspondence from Kathleen Anton Sinnamon [1971-1986, Bulk 1971-1975]. <1/4 inch
Box 2
29. Incoming Correspondence from John Briggs, 1972-1976. <1/4 inch
30. Incoming Correspondence from John Briggs, 1977-1979. <1/4 inch
31. Incoming Correspondence from John Briggs, 1980-1985. <1/4 inch
32. Incoming Correspondence from John Briggs, 1986-1989. 1/2 inch
33. Outgoing Correspondence to John Briggs, 1971-1979 – Bulk 1976-1979 [These are originals. Annotations by John Briggs are in folder 98]. 1/2 inch
34. Outgoing Correspondence to John Briggs, 1980-1983. 1/2 inch
35. Outgoing Correspondence to John Briggs, 1984-1985. 1/2 inch
36. Outgoing Correspondence to John Briggs, 1986-1989. 1/2 inch
37. Outgoing Correspondence, 1975-1990 – Bulk 1975-1976 [Originals, mostly to Jody Meier in France]. <1/4 inch
38. Outgoing Correspondence, 1974-1977 – Bulk 1975-1977. 1 inch
39. Outgoing Correspondence, 1978-1979. 1/2 inch
40. Outgoing Correspondence, 1980-1982. 1 inch
41. Outgoing Correspondence, 1983-1985. 1 inch
42. Outgoing Correspondence, 1986-1987. 1 inch
43. Outgoing Correspondence, 1988-1989. 1/2 inch
44. [Miscellaneous Personal Papers including writings of James Perry on AIDS, art work sent by friends, and a discussion of Tom Hickey’s will (1989).] <1/4 inch
45. Professional Correspondence: 1972-1979 <1/4 inch
46. Professional Correspondence: 1980-1982 [mostly about finishing his dissertation]. 1/2 inch
47. Professional Correspondence: 1983-1985 [mostly about articles he is writing, some on revision of dissertation]. 1/2 inch
48. Professional Correspondence: 1986 (January – June) [Some about dissertation and articles, but mostly job hunting]. 1/2 inch
49. Professional Correspondence: 1986 (July – December) [Dissertation, articles, job hunting]. 1/2 inch
50. Professional Correspondence: 1987 [mostly about articles, also accepts a job with the Government Accounting Office, and talks of revising his dissertation for publication]. 1/2 inch
Box 3
51. Professional Correspondence: 1988-1990 [about articles and publication of dissertation]. 1 inch
52. Miscellaneous Correspondence – DHSC [Documentary History of the Supreme Court] 1979-1985. 1 inch
53. Misc. Documents Re: Institute for Editing Hist. Docs. 1976. <1/4 inch
54. ADE Nominating Committee 1983 [Association for Documentary Editing]. <1/4 inch
55. Rough Notes for Report on Committees — Copies of Report [Society for History in the Federal Government]. <1/4 inch
56. HFG Committee on Committees 1981-1982 [Society for History in the Federal Government]. <1/4 inch
57. Committee on Committees 1982-1983 [Society for History in the Federal Government]. 1/2 inch
58. OAH, 1984 [Organization of American Historians]. <1/4 inch
59. SHFG Paper 1985 [Society for History in the Federal Government]. <1/4 inch
60. ADE Paper — Oct. 1985 [Association for Documentary Editing]. <1/4 inch
61. Rockefeller 1984 [Rockefeller Foundation Humanities Fellowships]. <1/4 inch
62. AASLH 1984-1985 [American Association for State and Local History Grants-in-Aid Program]. <1/4 inch
63. NEH Summer Stipend 1985 [National Endowment for the Humanities]. <1/4 inch
64. AHA Grants 1986 — Beveridge — Littleton/Griswold [American Historical Association]. <1/4 inch
65. NEH [1980-81, 2 peer reviews done by James R. Perry for the National Endowment for the Humanities]. <1/4 inch
66. Misc. Documents Re: Johns Hopkins 1972-1977 [includes photo ID from 1972-73, registration information, financial papers and course schedules]. 1/2 inch
67. Re: Copyright/UMI [1980 copyright papers for dissertation and agreement with University Microfilms International for filming of dissertation]. <1/4 inch
68. Ph.D. Progress [schedule of work on dissertation]. <1/4 inch
69. Comments on Ph. D. [from readers assigned by Institute of Early American History and Culture]. <1/4 inch
70. U Conn [undergraduate transcript from University of Connecticut, Fall 1968 – Spring 1972]. <1/4 inch
71. JHU Placement & Transcript [Johns Hopkins University placement report – 1985, and transcript, Fall 1972 – Spring 1980]. <1/4 inch
72. Re: Preparation for Job Description at Supreme Court [1985, and Supreme Court employment application, 1979]. <1/4 inch
73. Volumes — Organization of Doc. History Project [1981]. <1/4 inch
74. Jan. 1, 1977 – June 30, 1978 — Budgets, budgets, & more… etc. Re: Supreme Court Project [actually 1977-1981]. <1/4 inch
75. Supreme Court Employment — Bitch File/Notices/Retirement [1981-82. includes indications of difficulties with Maeva]. 1/2 inch
76. 1981 NHPRC Computer Conference [National Historical Publications and Records Commission]. <1/4 inch
77. [Supreme Court Documentary History Project.] <1/4 inch
78. Pawtucket Creche Case [1984]. <1/4 inch
79. Travel — Alphabetically by State, City (Misc. at beginning, foreign at end) [clippings and brochures about vacation spots]. <1/4 inch
80. 1977 IRS + D.C. Tax. <1/4 inch
81. 1978 Tax Statements. <1/4 inch
82. 1979 Taxes. <1/4 inch
83. 1980 Tax Forms. <1/4 inch
84. 1981 Tax Forms. <1/4 inch
85. Private Life [includes 1975 constitution of Baltimore Gay Alliance, medical articles, and Gay political pamphlets, 1980-1984]. 1/ inch
86. Re: Treasury Securities (not current) [1980-1982]. <1/4 inch
87. Gay Cases [copies of decisions from Supreme Court and from District Court: Dronenburg v. Zech, Chief of Naval Personnel, 1983-1984; Bowers v. Hardwick, 1986; San Francisco Arts and Athletics, Inc. v. United States Olympic Committee, 1987; Clarke v. United States of America – re: Nation’s Capitol Religious Liberty and Academic Freedom Act, 1988; Padula v. Webster, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1987]. <1/4 inch
88. SHARE/Medical Records/ATEU [Study to Help the AIDS Research Effort Neuropsychiatric Study, 1982-1987]. <1/4 inch
89. Unemployment Information – 1985 <1/4 inch
90. GAO Job Description/Actions/ Training Cert. [1987]. <1/4 inch
91. Resumee [and application for Federal Employment, 1986]. <1/4 inch
92. File of Clippings [Photocopies, 1973-1984, Bulk 1980-1984]. <1/4 inch
93. [Expense Records, 1973-1990, Bulk 1984 to 1990, removed from 3 ring binder and placed in folder.] 1 inch
94. [Receipts & charge slips, 1983-1990; check registers 1971-1990.] <1/4 inch
95. [Musical Library Index, Annotated Programs, List of Discarded Programs.] <1/4 inch
96. [Awards, Honor Societies, Graduate Record Exam Scores.] 1 inch
97. [Memorial tributes and obituaries for James R. Perry.] <1/4 inch
98. [Miscellaneous notes etc. added to collection by the Perry family and by John Briggs after Perry’s death. Includes John Brigg’s annotations of his correspondence with Perry, biographies of Perry, and a list of programs and Playbills which were removed from the collection.] <1/4 inch
Box 4
99. Color Photographs – School Pictures, Jody, Joan Mills & Jim Perry 1986, Larr and I 1975, Gay Pride Day 1983, Zoo August 1985 with Tom / Newport September 1985 with me, Tom’s party September 1986, Gay Pride Day June 22, 1986, March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, October 1987. 1/2 inch
100. [Photos of Jim, family, and friends.] <1/4 inch
101. [Color slides, 1969-1972: University of Connecticut; Newport, RI; Cape Cod, MA; Boston, MA; Meridian, CT.] <1/4 inch
102. [Color slides, 1976: France, mostly Paris; Baltimore, MD.] 1 inch
103. [Color slides, 1983: Grenada; Newport, RI; Zoo; 1984: Thanksgiving, probably Baltimore.] <1/4 inch
104. [Photocopies of articles by James R. Perry, ads and reviews for his books.] 1/2 inch
105. [Address book, removed from binding and placed in folder.] 1/2 inch
106. [Diary, 1971 to 1974, removed from 3 ring binder and placed in folder.] 1 inch
107. I.R.S. & D.C. – Estate [1990]
108. I.R.S. & D.C. – Jim [1990]
109. Notes [disbursements from the estate, 1990-91]
110. Archives [1992]
111. Book & historical stuff
112. Court correspondence [1991]
113. Credit union & IRA [1990-91]
114. Death certificates & letters of administration [1990]
115. Sando correspondence [Jack C. Sando, Attorney, 1991]
116. Will [1989]
117. Receipts for donations and personal belongings [1991-92]
118. Treasury notes [1989-91]
119. Medical bills & insurance [1990-91]
120. Roche [Biomedical Laboritories – bills & insurance, 1990-91]
121. Caremark [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
122. Fairfax Hospital [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
123. Maryland Medical Lab [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
124. G.W. Medical Center & miscellaneous [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
125. Fairfax Pathology [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
126. Disability [1988]
127. Georgetown [University – bills & insurance, 1990-91]
128. G.W. room & board [George Washington University Medical Center – bills & insurance, 1989-90]
129. Ward/DiGioia [doctor bills & insurance, 1990-91]
130. G.W. Medical Faculty Assoc. [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
131. Home Oncology & CCI [Complete Care, Inc. – bills & insurance, 1990-91]
132. Closed (misc.) [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
133. Homedco [bills & insurance, 1990-91]
134. Medical bills [1987-89]
Box 5
135. 1982 Tax returns
136. 1983 Income tax – Aniello version
137. 1983 Tax returns – including Sunstar
138. 1984 Tax returns – including Sunstar
139. 1985 Taxes
140. 1986 Taxes
141. 1987 Taxes
142. 1988 Taxes
143. 1989 Taxes
UNFOLDERED ITEMS
Box 6:
[Date books, 1977 to 1990.]
[Diary, 1975 to 1985, spiral notebook.]
[Scrapbook mostly from grammar school and high school, 1956-1973, bulk 1956-1968.]
[Photo album with snapshots of family and friends, 1966-1988. Includes many of the people represented in his correspondence and also Washington, D.C. Gay Pride Day festivities from 1986.]
Five rolls of 35 m black and white film
Four identifications from the University of Connecticut