PERKINS, Justin, missionary, born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, 12 March, 1805" died in Chicopee, Massachusetts, 81 December, 1869. Until his eighteenth year he lived on his father's farm, but, desiring to qualify himself as a missionary, he studied in his native town and at Amherst, where he was graduated in 1829. He spent two years in Andover theological seminary, was a tutor for nearly a year in Amherst, and in 1833 the American boar;] sent him to begin a mission to the Nestorians of Persia. He was ordained a minister of the Congregational church on 8 September, and soon afterward sailed with his wife, reaching Oroomiah in November, 1834. Here, almost unaided, he laid the foundation of a mission, the history of which is identified with his life. Aided by a priest, he reduced the language of the Nestorians to writing, and translated the whole Bible into modern Syriac. He also translated other books, prepared and published a commentary on Genesis and Daniel, and also aided in general missionary work, and in establishing and directing various mission-schools. In 1842 he visited the United States, and was accompanied by Mar Yohannan, bishop of the Nestorian church, who was one of his first converts. In 1843 he returned to Persia, and soon afterward, in company with another missionary, visited Teheran, the capital, with the object of defending the Protestants against misrepresentation and persecution, in which he was entirely successful. He revisited his native country in 1858, and in August, 1869, wearied by his labors, he came home to die. His connection with the mission, of which he was the chief support, lasted about thirty-six years. He published "A Residence of Eight Years in Persia" (Andover, 1843) and "Missionary Life in Persia" (1861).