 As one of 24 proprietors of a large parcel of property that took up much of what is now the State of New Jersey, Perth sponsored an expedition in 1684 to establish a settlement there.The City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, which sits on the waterfront facing Staten Island, New York, and which was once a port city in its own right, is named in his honor — a statue of Lord Perth stands in front of City Hall ("Amboy" comes from a Lenape word meaning "the point").In 1685 the 4th Earl of Perth converted to Roman Catholicism, along with his brother, the 1st Earl of Melfort, which brought him into high favour with King James II.