Thomas David Perry was born in 1960. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1984. He founded the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust in 1990. He served as its president from 1990 to 1992 and has served at various times on the trust's board of directors. He has also served on the boards of directors of the Jubal Early Homeplace and the Patrick County Historical Society. In North Carolina, Perry has been a founding member of both the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History and the Surry County Civil War Round Table. Perry has presented numerous speeches on Patrick County, "Jeb" Stuart, and the Civil War. He has also conducted several symposia and tours and published several works on these topics.
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