Editing Oliver Hazard Perry (section)

==Childhood and early life==
Perry was the oldest of five boys born to [[Christopher Raymond Perry|Christopher]] (1761–1818) and Sarah Wallace Perry (née Alexander) (1763–1830). As a boy, Perry lived in Tower Hill, Rhode Island,<ref name="capace">{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Rhode Island |first1=Nancy |last1=Capace |location=St. Clair Shores, Michigan |page=368 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHPYeCvnASoC&q=1761+Milestone&pg=PA368 |isbn=978-0-403-09610-7
|publisher=Somerset Publishers, Inc |year= 2001 |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref> sailing ships in anticipation of his future career as an officer in the United States Navy.<ref name="Bloom"/>  Perry came from a long line of naval men from both sides of his family. His mother taught Perry and his younger brothers to read and write and had them attend [[Trinity Church (Newport, Rhode Island)|Trinity Episcopal Church]] regularly, where he was baptized by Reverend William Smith on April 1, 1794, at the age of nine. Reverend [[Theodore Dehon]], rector of the church from 1797 to 1810, had a significant influence on the young Perry.<ref>[[#Skaggs06|Skaggs, 2006]], p. 6</ref> He was educated in [[Newport, Rhode Island]]. His earliest ancestor to the Americas was Edward Perry, who came from [[Devon]], [[Kingdom of England|England]], and settled in [[Sandwich, Massachusetts]], around 1650 with his wife, Mary Freeman.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cKxEAAAQBAJ&dq=oliver+hazard+perry+devon+england&pg=PA660 | isbn=978-3-382-30918-3 | title=Lives of Illustrious Men of America | date=March 3, 2023 | publisher=BoD – Books on Demand}}</ref>