Early life Little is known about Perry's background other than that he was born in Key West, Florida, to West Indian immigrants. He was the second child of Joseph Perry, a cigar maker from Jamaica (although some sources indicate the Bahamas)United States Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Tampa Ward 5, Hillsborough, Florida; Roll: T624_162; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0054; FHL microfilm: 1374175. and Dora Monroe, a seamstress from Nassau, The Bahamas. Both of his parents came to the United States in the 1890s, where they married. By 1910, the family had moved north to Tampa, Florida. Another source says he was adopted when he was 11 years old and taken to live in Montgomery, Alabama.
Early life Little is known about Perry's background other than that he was born in Key West, Florida, to West Indian immigrants. He was the second child of Joseph Perry, a cigar maker from Jamaica (although some sources indicate the Bahamas)United States Census, Year 1910; Census Place: Tampa Ward 5, Hillsborough, Florida; Roll: T624_162; P:age: 14A; Enumeration District: 0054; FHL microfilm: 1374175. and Dora Monroe, a seamstress from Nassau, The Bahamas. Both of his parents came to the United States in the 1890s, where they married. By 1910, the family had moved north to Tampa, Florida. Another source says he was adopted when he was 11 years old and taken to live in Montgomery, Alabama.