Elliston Perot

"Background note
Elliston and John Perot, sons of James and Frances Mallory Perot, were the first of the
Perot family to establish their business and families in the Philadelphia area. The
brothers arrived in the Quaker city in 1785 and, drawing on several years of prior
experience in the West Indies, opened a reputable mercantile firm on Water Street
known as Elliston and John Perot. The brothers purchased many Philadelphia
properties, became involved in the civic affairs of the city, and were noted
philanthropists. Elliston subsequently joined the Society of Friends and married Sarah
Sansom, daughter of Samuel and Hannah Callender Sansom, who were also Quakers.
Elliston and Sarah had nine children, five of whom survived to maturity: Hannah,
Sansom, Francis, Joseph, and William Sansom. "

"Their second eldest son Francis Perot (1756-1885) chose a career in brewing. In 1811,
after receiving his father’s blessing, Francis paid one thousand dollars and entered into a
six-year apprenticeship to Thomas and Joseph Morris, who were the leading brewers in
Pennsylvania at the time. Francis spent two years in the malt house, one year as a miller,
one year in the cool cellar managing the brewed beer and raw materials, and in his last
year was put in charge of brewing. Having served his apprenticeship, Francis went into
business for himself in 1818 and purchased his first brewing and malting plant on Vine
Street in Philadelphia. One year later, his brother, William, joined the enterprise under
the title Francis and William S. Perot. In 1823, Francis married Elizabeth Marshall
Morris, the daughter of Sarah Marshall and his former employer Thomas Morris, and
absorbed the Morrises’ brewery on Second Street, which had been founded in 1687.
Francis and William S. continued brewing until 1850, when they turned their attention to
malting. (See Appendix.) Francis and Elizabeth had three children: Elliston, Thomas
Morris (T. Morris), and Sarah Morris. "

"T. Morris Perot (1828-1902), who eventually followed his father in business, began his
career in pharmaceuticals. He graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in
1849, and in 1851 he started his own wholesale drug company at No. 21 North Fourth
Street. A year later he took his brother-in-law Edward H. Ogden into partnership as T.
Morris Perot and Company. Their business lasted until 1869, when one of their
wholesale drugstores caught fire and they were forced to shut down. The two then
entered into partnership with Francis, and the malting company became known as
Francis Perot’s Sons Malting Company. Under T. Morris’s presidency, the company
continued to grow rapidly and new malt houses were opened at Twenty-first and Spruce
Streets and later at Thompson and Hutchinson Streets. In 1882, a malt house on the
Erie Canal at Oswego, New York, was also purchased because of its closeness to the
Canadian barley fields. "

source: https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingai...