James De Wolf Perry

The Most Reverend James De Wolf Perry III
Bishop Perry as a young man
7th Bishop of Rhode Island
In office 1911–1946
Preceded by	William N. McVickar
Succeeded by	Granville G. Bennett
Personal details
Born	(1871-11-03)November 3, 1871 Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	March 20, 1947(1947-03-20) (aged 75) Summerville, South Carolina
Parents	James De Wolf Perry II
Education	Germantown Academy University of Pennsylvania

The Right Reverend James DeWolf Perry (October 3, 1871 – March 20, 1947) was an American Episcopal clergyman and prelate. He was the 7th Bishop of Rhode Island (1911-1946) and the 18th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (1930-1937).

The third of five children, Perry was born in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Rev. James DeWolf Perry II and Elizabeth Russell Tyson. His father was rector of Calvary Church in Germantown; he was also a descendant of Captain Christopher Raymond Perry, (who was the father of Commodores Oliver Hazard Perry and Matthew C. Perry), and Senators William Bradford and James De Wolf, and was great great grandson of Lieutenant Benjamin Bourne who served in the American Revolution.

After graduating from Germantown Academy in 1887, he received Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in 1891 and from Harvard University in 1892. In 1895 he earned a Bachelor of Divinity from the Episcopal Theological School. Perry was ordained a deacon by Bishop William Lawrence on June 9, 1895 and a priest on February 18, 1896. He then served as a curate at Christ Church in Springfield, Massachusetts until 1897, when he was named rector of Christ Church in Fitchburg. During the Spanish–American War, he was chaplain of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry from 1898 to 1904. In 1904 he became rector of St. Paul's Church in New Haven. In 1908 he married Edith Dean Weir (daughter of John Ferguson Weir). She was an author and painter of miniatures. They had three children: James DeWolf, John Weir, and Beatrice Weir.