Perry / Rone
Adopted Perrys & The Rone Bloodline — From the Slave Ship to Las Vegas
“The name was given. The blood was not. We trace what they tried to erase.”
Research Subject
Summary
The Perry family case study is deeply personal to Code Black — Armand Perry is one of the ten founders listed on the Code Black wall at Bishop Gorman High School. This research traces two distinct bloodlines: the adopted Perry surname (from slaveholders) and the biological Rone bloodline through Tasha Rone. THE RONE LINE: The white Rone slaveholding family traces to patriarch Adam Rone (1762, Netherlands/Pennsylvania → Butler County, Kentucky, d. 1829). The family spread through Mecklenburg County NC, Henderson County TN, Attala County MS, and Ray County MO — all Deep South plantation belt. 32% of modern Americans with the Rone surname are African American (1,059 people in 2010 Census), almost certainly descended from people enslaved by the Rone family. The enslaved-to-freedmen name adoption matches the exact geographic corridor of the white Rone family. THE PERRY LINE: Perry County, Alabama contained 18,206 enslaved persons in 1860 — the 14th largest slaveholding county in the entire United States. 1,045 slaveholders operated there. After emancipation, 7,204 Black Perrys appeared in the 1870 census nationwide. In South Carolina, the Perry Family Papers (1784-1924, SCHS 317.00) document Roslin Plantation slave lists, cotton/rice accounts, and a mortgage on five enslaved persons by name (1837). Governor Benjamin Franklin Perry of SC owned enslaved people and championed the Black Codes. The Seven Perry Brothers of Granville County NC trace to John Perry of Nansemond County, Virginia (c.1650) — colonial-era slaveholders who migrated south with the cotton frontier. The Peach Point Plantation in Brazoria County, Texas (Perry family, est. 1832) held 42 enslaved persons by 1860, working sugar cane under forced labor. Stephen F. Austin himself drew plans for the house.
Methodology
Census cascade: Present → 1950 → 1940 → 1930 → 1920 → 1910 → 1900 → 1880 → 1870
Rone surname deep analysis: Adam Rone patriarch (1762-1829), WikiTree 275 profiles, migration corridor mapped
Rone slaveholder identification: NC (Mecklenburg/Wake County), KY (Warren/Butler/Logan), TN (Henderson/Madison), MS (Attala)
Perry slaveholder identification: SC Historical Society (Perry Family Papers, 1784-1924, SCHS 317.00)
Perry County AL Slave Schedule analysis: 165-page manuscript, 18,206 enslaved, 1,045 slaveholders
Seven Perry Brothers of Granville County NC genealogy (Virginia origin, c.1650)
Peach Point Plantation TX: James Franklin Perry papers at Dolph Briscoe Center, UT Austin
Governor Benjamin F. Perry papers: SC Dept. of Archives (acquired 2024)
Cross-reference 1860 Slave Schedules: Colleton County SC — PERRY Est. E.F. (89 enslaved), PERRY J.B. (90 enslaved)
Freedmen's Bureau search: NMAAHC Portal (3.5M indexed names), Alabama/SC/VA/NC field offices
FamilySearch Rone DNA Pool Study: Mobley H. Rhone (c.1800 Wake Co NC), Samuel Rone (1813), Mathew L. Rone (1814)
SlaveVoyages.org: 36,000+ documented voyages, African Origins Database (93,605 names)
DNA triangulation for ethnic group identification (pending)
Key Findings
ARMAND PERRY connection: Code Black Founder — Bishop Gorman High School pioneer class
RONE PATRIARCH IDENTIFIED: Adam Rone (1762, Netherlands/PA → Butler County KY, d. 1829) — American Rone family patriarch
RONE SLAVEHOLDING CORRIDOR: Mecklenburg Co NC → Warren/Butler/Logan Co KY → Henderson/Madison Co TN → Attala Co MS → MO/TX
RONE CENSUS DATA: 32.13% of 3,296 Rones in 2010 are African American (1,059 people) — Black Rone population grew 23.86% from 2000-2010
KEY RONE SLAVEHOLDERS: Henry Rone (1770, Mecklenburg NC → Henderson TN), James M. Rone (1805 NC → Madison TN), Samuel Rone (1813 Mecklenburg NC)
PERRY COUNTY AL: 18,206 enslaved persons in 1860 — 14th largest slaveholding county in the U.S.; 1,045 slaveholders on 165-page manuscript
PERRY COUNTY AL TOP HOLDERS: W.H. Tayloe (152), J.W. McGehee (150), Isaac Billingsley (133), William & Thomas Bell (123)
Perry slaveholder dynasty: SC Perry Family Papers (1784-1924) — SCHS 317.00 with Roslin Plantation slave lists
SEVEN PERRY BROTHERS: Colonial slaveholders from Nansemond Co VA (c.1650) → Granville Co NC (1751) → cotton frontier expansion
PEACH POINT PLANTATION: James F. Perry, Brazoria Co TX (est. 1832) — 42 enslaved, sugar cane forced labor, Stephen F. Austin connection
GOVERNOR B.F. PERRY: SC provisional governor (1865), slaveholder, Black Codes champion — papers acquired by SC Archives 2024
Roslin Plantation: Perry-owned, documented slave lists, cotton & rice accounts, planting diaries (1807-1814)
1860 Colleton County SC: Two Perry estates held 179 enslaved persons combined
John Perry Sr. (1690-1760, Bertie County NC): Estate distributed 17 enslaved persons among children
Rone surname in Virginia from 1658 — overlaps with codification of American racial slavery (Virginia slave code, 1705)
Mortgage on enslaved persons (1837): J.H. Waring to Sarah F. Miles — five enslaved people by name in Perry collection
Register of Slaves Brought into Perry County AL (1832): Pre-Civil War forced migration documentation (FamilySearch catalog #523696)
ALBERT PERRY DNA BREAKTHROUGH: Born enslaved SC c.1819-1827, carries Y-DNA haplogroup A00 — oldest known male lineage (208,000-338,000 years), linked to Mbo people of Cameroon
NOTABLE BLACK PERRYS: Rufus Lewis Perry (1834-1895, escaped slavery → Baptist minister), William Perry (1860-1946, KY first Black physician), Henry Perry (Tuskegee Airman)
RHODE ISLAND CONNECTION: Perry family of Newport lived at epicenter of colonial slave trade — 1,000+ slaving voyages from Newport (1705-1805)
1870 CENSUS EMERGENCE: 7,204 Black Perrys appeared in first post-emancipation census — from invisible to documented
Generation Timeline
Document Evidence
Legal Evidence Package
Court-admissible evidence bundle for reparations documentation, identity restoration, and legal proceedings.